an advanced state.

One result of the determination of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to extend its lines into New York City and thus move its principal station from Jersey City, was that the down-town local and suburban as well as through business was not provided for properly. Mr. William G. McAdoo, appreciating this opportunity, revived the scheme of an electric subway from Jersey City to New York, originally promoted by Mr. Corbin and associates, but not including the extension via Maiden Lane to Brooklyn, and entered into negotiations with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to provide for this down-town business by extensions of the tunnel lines of the New York and New Jersey Railroads to Exchange Place, Jersey City, under the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, and thence across the Hudson River to Cortlandt and Church Streets. As a result, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company was organized in 1902, and contracts were made with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for the sub-surface use of its station in Jersey City, and for the interchange of passenger business at that point between the trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and the tunnel of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company. Later, a further contract was made with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company providing for the construction of the tunnel of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Company westward under the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Jersey City to a junction with the latter at Summit Avenue, at which point can be installed a joint station, and the operation effected of a joint electric train service between Church Street, New York City, and Newark, N. J., the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks between Summit Avenue and Newark to be electrified for that purpose, with a transfer station established east of Newark, at Harrison, at which point the steam and electric locomotives will exchange. By means of this, all down-town passengers will transfer to the electric service at Harrison Station, and thus the Pennsylvania Railroad Company is expected to be relieved of maintaining a separate steam service for passenger traffic to Jersey City and a large down-town station with extensive contingent facilities at that point.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the final decision to extend the Pennsylvania Railroad into and through New York City by a system of tunnels, and erect a large station in that city on a most eligible site, was not reached in a hurried or off-hand manner, but after years of painstaking study and a full and extended investigation of all routes, projects, and schemes, whether originating with the company or suggested by others.

Plate VI.— Pennsylvania Railroad Extension: Map Showing Proposed Lines Leading to Those Finally Adopted

Plate VI is a map of New York City and vicinity on which are shown the various lines contemplated in the evolution of the New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad hereinbefore outlined.

The question of tunnels under the North River was an uncertain factor in the larger Pennsylvania Railroad scheme, owing to the nature of the ground composing the river bed in which the tunnels would be constructed.

It is well known that about 35 years ago an attempt was made to construct a tunnel under the North River by using a "Pilot" system under compressed air and forming the tunnels in brick masonry. Owing to the very soft nature of the materials through which it passed, several serious accidents occurred, and the work was abandoned after about 2,000 ft. of tunnel had been constructed. Later, this work was taken up again, when a shield was installed and an additional 1,800 ft. was built with cast-iron segmental lining, but the work was again abandoned, owing principally to financial difficulties while coincidentally before entering a rock reef which presented another serious difficulty in construction. The experience then in the construction of this tunnel led capitalists and engineers to believe that, owing to the very soft nature of the ground, a tunnel could not be built that would be sufficiently stable to withstand the vibration due to heavy traffic, and for this reason tunnels under the North River were not looked upon as practicable. The writer devised a scheme to carry within the tunnel the rolling loads on bridging supported on piers or piles extending from the tunnel invert down to hard material. These would be attached to the tunnel itself or would pass into it independently through sliding joints in the tunnel shell. This scheme gained the confidence of the management, as it was believed that, by adopting such a plan, tunnels could be built in the soft material underlying the Hudson River and remain stable under all conditions of traffic. After thus feeling assured that by this method the tunnels could be made safe beyond question, orders were given to proceed with the great work of the extension into New York of the Pennsylvania and Long Island Railroad systems.

Fig. 1.—(Full page image)
ENGINEERING STAFF ORGANIZATION

The organization of the engineering staff is shown on the diagram, Fig. 1. In the beginning of 1902 and during the period of making studies, additional borings, and preliminary triangulations, and prior to making the contract plans and specifications, James Forgie, M. Am. Soc. C. E., was appointed Chief Assistant Engineer by the writer. To him all the Resident Engineers and other heads of the Engineering Departments reported.

The work was divided into three Residencies:

1.—The Terminal Station-West, under the charge of B. F. Cresson, Jr., M. Am. Soc. C. E., Resident Engineer, comprising the work from the east side of Ninth Avenue to the east side of Tenth Avenue, including excavation, retaining and face walls, and the extensive work of underpinning Ninth Avenue with its surface and elevated railroads and other structures.

2.—The River Tunnels, under the charge of B. H. M. Hewett, M. Am. Soc. C. E., General Resident Engineer, and Mr. H. F. D. Burke and William Lowe Brown, M. Am. Soc. C. E., Resident Engineers, including the land tunnels from the east side of Tenth Avenue, New York City, to the commencement of the iron-lined tunnels, and extending westward from there to the Weehawken Shaft, New Jersey.

3.—The Bergen Hill Tunnels, under the charge of F. Lavis, M. Am. Soc. C. E., Resident Engineer, including the rock tunnels from the Weehawken Shaft to the Hackensack Portal on the west side of the Palisades, all in New Jersey.

Paul A. Seurot, M. Am. Soc. C. E., acted as Office Engineer in charge of the drawing office, and Mr. J. Soderberg as Mechanical Engineer in charge of the mechanical drafting. Prior to the construction of the above works Mr. C. J. Crowley acted as Resident Engineer