New York State Public Service Commission New York City Subway Contract Drawings and Plans

Chronological by year and therein by route number and alphanumeric contract drawing number.

The series consists of sets of contract drawings of New York City subway system routes and facilities in Brooklyn for 1907 and 1908. Each set includes several portfolios of drawings, plans, maps, details, and sectional drawings.

The portfolios dated 1907 were produced by the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York, which was established by Chapter 4 of the Laws of 1891 to oversee the expansion of surface rapid transit facilities and plan the construction of subways. The portfolios dated 1908 were produced by the New York State Public Service Commission for the First District, which was established as a result of the Public Service Commissions Law, Chapter 424 of Laws of 1907; the First District was the regulatory authority for New York City and inherited the powers of the Rapid Transit Commission to plan and construct subways. These bound copies are apparently the finished product, at least in part, of the commission's work.

The portfolio sheets are printed unannotated copies of uniform size and preparation. The volumes include an initial map and profiles sheet followed by the contract drawings. All include a route number and title, contract drawing number, horizontal and vertical scales, date, and the signature of the chief engineer. The drawings include station plans; typical details (e.g., for ticket booths and news stands); standard sections (vertical, horizontal, cross sections) of culverts, sewers, pipe galleries and manholes; and supplementary drawings of route maps. There are extensive notes on the various sheets, giving explanatory information (e.g., girder schedules, conventional signs for topography, cross references to floor and roof plans).

There are five portfolios in the 1907 set, each representing a separate route. The drawings generally measure 39.5 x 59 cm within neat lines, with some folding out to 40 x 79 cm; the general sheet size is 42 x 70 cm. There are six volumes in the 1908 set, each representing parts of the Fourth Avenue and Bensonhurst routes. This set is slightly larger; the drawings generally measure 38 x 61 cm, with some folding out to 39 x 99 cm, within a uniform sheet size of 43 x 72 cm.

The series was held by the Massachusetts State Library from January 11, 1911 until June 1977 when it was transferred to the New York State Library.

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