New York's Lost Tunnel Police Railcar

have you ever noticed those catwalks inside the Lincoln and Holland tunnels well believe it or not when these tunnels first opened the little catwalks were used by police to Patrol traffic however given the discrepancy and speed between a walking officer and a moving car A new solution was needed and in 1954 the Port Authority police department had an answer they installed tiny electric bi-directional cars to whisk the cops back and forth at a whopping 12 miles per hour this is the story of New York's forgotten tunnel police car I'm your host Ryan so cash and you're watching its history [Music] foreign the rise of the automobile changed many things about the way people traveled to and around Manhattan requiring a small army of police to hold order in the city still given the fact that with tunnels people could now cross independently the city's landscape and architecture was forever altered but the story actually goes back much further than that let's start off by acknowledging the fact that historically speaking Crossings were always done in groups which limited the total number of vehicles needed to be stored and policed in fact the only other time when people crossed in their own craft was when the tribal people accessed the land via canoes or when the Dutch settlers came over in their wagons but even when the 17th century Dutch settlers developed and expanded roads for horse-drawn carriages they ultimately relied on ferries to cross the Water Gap as the other way would have been a long way around meaning there was still serious friction in the number of vehicle that could be brought onto the island from the West even so there did come a time when their numbers were so massive that it influenced the city's layout in a way bringing forward the groundwork for a city of cars streets had to be wider the ground floors of buildings were altered to accommodate loading and unloading of goods from wagons leading to loading docks and allies in some cases Warehouse design was also enhanced to handle a better flow of goods including multi-story facilities with hoist elevators and even internal circulation systems pedestrian traffic was also an issue here as now cities needed to designate space for people walking by installing curbs and sidewalks there was also the concept of traffic control ensuring that wagons were parked in designated areas and didn't disturb the piece by unloading throughout the night to enforce this order the city created an ordinance pertaining to horse-drawn wagons and it's rather remarkable because if you exchange the word wagon for car these rules will sound very familiar Section 1 definitions horse-drawn wagons refers to any vehicle drawn by one or more horses used for transportation of goods or passengers section 2 designated wagon routes all horse-drawn wagons engaged in commercial activities shall follow the designated routes specified by the Department of Transportation these routes shall be established to minimize congestion and ensure the safe and efficient flow of traffic Section 3 loading and unloading zones commercial horse-drawn wagons May load or unload Goods within the designated loading and unloading zones as indicated by signage loading and unloading activities shall not obstruct traffic or impede pedestrian movement section 4 hours of operation loading and unloading activities by horse-drawn wagons should be restricted to certain hours of the day typically during off-peak traffic periods the department of trans Transportation shall determine the specific hours of operation Section 5 staging areas staging areas for horse-drawn wagons awaiting loading or assignments shall be designated by the Department of Transportation wagon operators shall not stage their vehicles on public streets obstructing traffic or pedestrian access section 6 license and registration all horse-drawn wagon operators engaged in commercial activities within the city should obtain a valid license and registration from the city's licensing Authority these license shall be prominently displayed on the wagon section 7 prohibited activities it should be unlawful for horse-drawn wagons to engage in any of the following activities obstructing intersections crosswalks or fire hydrants operating in a reckless or unsafe manner parking or staging in unauthorized areas overloading beyond the vehicle's designated capacity by the 19th century with the onset of Indus industrialization it seemed like individual Vehicles wouldn't necessarily congest the city the same way that wagons did the quantity just wasn't there yet additionally trains enabled the masses to access the city from Regional destinations at the same time a new subway system introduced commuting an urban sprawl so it seemed that these Technologies would be Paramount but it needs to be emphasized that aside from the actual smoke of Steam Trains this option seemed like a great deal trains could move massive amounts of goods and people but were limited to either a large detour or a rail float so they couldn't rapidly overcrowd the city or congest the streets even if many lines actually ran at street level the wagons were easy to store in designated places like the west side rail yard and although trains had their own legal ordinance and enforcement everything was designated to a professional industry and specific spaces so it was rather easy to supervise in other words trains were and are probably what's best for New York but when the automobile came into the picture none of that would matter much longer although early automobiles were seen as a novelty it didn't take long for their presence to raise questions about road infrastructure and traffic regulations by the 20th century everything changed roads were expanded to include multiple Lanes gas stations driveways and parking lots appeared with some buildings even having their own parking garage but the downsides were serious beyond the obvious pollution issue the city's Bridges were clogged for example the Brooklyn Bridge was initially designed and completed in 1883 as a hybrid suspension bridge intended for passing pedestrians horse-drawn vehicles and elevated trains however as automobile use became more widespread in the early 20th century modifications were made to the bridge to accommodate cars as a side effect of this some of the bridges rail track tracks were removed to make way for cars and additional entrance ramps were set up in fact for those of you who've been subscribed to the channel for a while you might recall our video about the World building which was demolished exactly for this purpose anyhow cars were putting too much pressure on New York's infrastructure and hence tunnels were built the construction of the Holland and Lincoln tunnels didn't really help the congestion situation in fact it probably made matters much worse well the city enjoyed improved Commerce and trade it was as if no one really foresaw how to manage the traffic flow and congestion around the tunnel's entrances and exits to be fair the tunnels were built in the 1920s and 30s at a time when automobiles were popular but City officials probably couldn't really imagine the pure surge of popularity that would come post World War II when basically everyone bought a car this sudden and massive increase in traffic meant that the tunnels required significant planning and coordination to prevent bottlenecks and ensure smooth transit for both locals and through traffic one of the ways officials manage their strategy was with foot patrol officers equipped to recognize the early warning signs of a traffic jam and alleviate them as soon as possible when the foot units would notice an inconsistent traffic flow a sudden decrease in speed and lots of red brake lights within the tunnel they would travel on foot via the 2.5 foot wide catwalk to find the source of the problem their Solutions may have been very simple such as directing drivers around a stalled vehicle or assisting in a difficult merge however with each tunnel being over a mile and a half long this type of supervision would require several police officers so in 1954 the Port Authority PD ran a test in the Holland Tunnel by installing a specifically made fixed vehicle to a track Line running the entire length of the tunnel the vehicle ran on a three horsepowered electric motor moving giving the officers at 12 miles per hour in either direction this New Concept enabled Swift responses to any issues and helped the city budget by reducing the number of officers needed down to just four the test was a success and by 1960 the Lincoln Tunnel was added to the program with a second generation model featuring an almost aerospace-like design these new cars had eight horsepower gas engines and could reach a top speed of 35 miles per hour these catwalk cars played their role until the year 2011 when cameras signage and computer enforcement replaced them that's right modern technology had finally caught up with the tunnel and the foot patrols before wrapping up here I do have to acknowledge one somewhat sensitive observation referring back to this image of an officer sitting inside the catwalk car back in the 1960s he looks rather cramped the catwalk itself is only 2.5 feet wide and from the photograph we can estimate that around half a foot of the platform ledge is not covered by the vehicle the edge of the car itself also takes up space leaving an incredibly small area for a full-grown man to fit and if the average shoulder width of an adult male is only about 1.8 feet wide then this would be a very tight squeeze now I want you to imagine a modern physique and ask yourself if these small cars became unusable because they could no longer accommodate most police officers I'd love to hear your answer to that question in the comments section and a special thanks to the subscriber who recommended this topic to me on Instagram if you have ideas for an episode you'd like to see please feel free to reach out to me as well and we'll see about making it anyways until next time I'm Ryan silkash signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

Views: 314,998

Keywords: tunnel, lincoln tunnel, tunnels, holland tunnel, freedom tunnel, north river tunnels, living in a tunnel, underwater tunnel, homeless tunnels, train tunnel, gateway tunnel project, east river tunnel, new york tunnels, vehicular tunnels, new york city tunnels, north river tunnels collapse, freedom tunnel new york, holland tunnel new york, tunnels under new york, tunnel boring, gateway tunnel, holland tunnel new york city, nyc tunnels, forgotten tunnels, hudson tunnel

Id: E8VTn8rEncU

Length: 10min 33sec (633 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 02 2023