Overview
- Covers the complete history of new York City Transit System from the beginnings of horse-drawn omnibuses to the present day
- Demonstrates the often complex relationships among the City, its politics, its people and businesses, and the transit system
- Wonderful illustrated book not only for readers interested in NY transit history but also for New York City lovers
- Includes a large set of new and original pictures and illustrations
Part of the book series: Springer Tracts on Transportation and Traffic (STTT, volume 1)
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
Keywords
About this book
New York began as a fur trading outpost run by the Dutch West India Company, established after the discovery and exploration of New York Harbor and its great river by Henry Hudson. It was eventually taken over by the British, and the magnificent harbor provided for a growing center of trade. Trade spurred industry, initially those needed to support the shipping industry, later spreading to various products for export. When DeWitt Clinton built the Erie Canal, which linked New York Harbor to the Great Lakes, New York became the center of trade for all products moving into and out of the mid-west.
As industry grew, New York became a magnate for immigrants seeking refuge in a new land of opportunity. The City's population continued to expand. Both water and land barriers, however, forced virtually the entire population to live south of what is now 14th Street. Densities grew dangerously, and brought both disease and conflict to the poorer quarters of the Five Towns. To expand, the City needed to conquer land and water barriers, primarily with a public transportation system.
By the time of the Civil War, the City was at a breaking point. The horse-drawn public conveyances that had provided all of the public transportation services since the 1820's needed to be replaced with something more effective and efficient. First came the elevated railroads, initially powered by steam engines. With the invention of electricity and the electric traction motor, the elevated's were electrified, and a trolley system emerged. Finally, in 1904, the City opened its first subway. From there, the City's growth to northern Manhattan and to the "outer boroughs" of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx exploded.
The Wheels That Drove New York takes us through the present day, and discusses the many challenges that the transit system has had to face over the years. It also traces the conversion of the system from fully private operations (through the elevated railways) to the fully public system that exists today, and the problems that this transformation has created along the way.
Reviews
From the reviews:
“Roess and Sansone … engineers familiar with New York City transportation issues, provide a comprehensive history of the city’s public transit systems. Their thesis is that New York’s growth depended on having effective mass transit. … The book’s organization is chronological … which detail every type of subway car the system used and unimplemented transit plans. … The Wheels That Drove New York will provide a handy reference to those interested in the topic. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.” (T. S. Reynolds, Choice, Vol. 50 (7), March, 2013)Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Wheels That Drove New York
Book Subtitle: A History of the New York City Transit System
Authors: Roger P. Roess, Gene Sansone
Series Title: Springer Tracts on Transportation and Traffic
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30484-2
Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg
eBook Packages: Engineering, Engineering (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-642-30483-5Published: 23 August 2012
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-642-43569-0Published: 20 September 2014
eBook ISBN: 978-3-642-30484-2Published: 23 August 2012
Series ISSN: 2194-8119
Series E-ISSN: 2194-8127
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 432
Topics: Engineering Economics, Organization, Logistics, Marketing, Civil Engineering, History of Science