New Charles Harvey Making A Exam Operate Along The Greenwich Street Constituent Of His Cable-Driven Westward Side In Addition To Yonkers Patented Railway. December 1867 At The Corner Of Morris Street In Addition To 39 Greenwich Street.

That job ended upwards becoming the ninth avenue elevated line, which became known for having the worst accident inwards the history of NYC's elevated lines.

In 1867, Charles T. Harvey (1829-1912), a self-trained civil engineer who had built the Soo Canal uniting Lake Superior as well as Lake Huron, built an experimental single-track cable-powered elevated railway from the due south halt of Manhattan Island, northward upwards to Cortlandt Street.

His fellowship had been chartered the yr earlier nether the raise of the West Side as well as Yonkers Patent Railway Company, alongside subscribed working capital alphabetic quality of $100,000, to construct a 25 mile elevated railroad from the southern extremity of the urban inwardness northward through the urban inwardness as well as thence to the hamlet of Yonkers.

The half-mile job was dubbed the “one-legged railroad,” because the unmarried rail ran inwards a higher house the street on a unmarried row of columns. The cable was a loop, driven past times a stationary engine, that ran betwixt the rails for propulsion of the cars, as well as so returned nether the street.

 The concept was similar inwards many respects to that used past times the San Francisco cable cars 5 years later—the primary departure beingness that Harvey's patent called for the machine to hold out secured to the cable past times a kind of hook that would catch onto metallic collars woven into the cable

The organisation broke downwards oft as well as stopped running to a greater extent than or less fourth dimension inwards 1870. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 contemporary periodical article says "The Greenwich Elevated Railway, which at kickoff was a full failure every bit long every bit several stationary engines were used, moving the cars past times agency of a wire rope, has croak a decided success since the occupation of small-scale locomotives, each pulling ii or 3 quite long cars."

Another article describes the applied scientific discipline as well as its problems inwards to a greater extent than detail: "...the master copy problem past times which the kickoff administration lost considerable money, (and in all probability the movement of the breaking of the fellowship financially,) were the costly experimental contrivances intended for the propulsion of the trains. They consisted inwards an endless wire rope of close a mile long, as well as of which half moved over pulleys betwixt the rails, spell the returning half moved through a small-scale tunnel underground, along the base of operations of the columns.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 periodical article close to a greater extent than or less other proposed cable-driven organisation concluded "If this inventor were acquainted alongside the drawbacks connected alongside the organisation of drawing trains past times endless ropes, as well as had seen how it has been gradually abandoned inwards every representative where it was possible to apply the motive ability inwards to a greater extent than or less other way, he would non hollo upwards of applying it inwards a representative similar this. Does he non know that this was the invention upon which the Greenwich street elevated railroad was kickoff worked; that it was given a fair trial, as well as that after so many thousands of dollars had been spent inwards experimenting every bit to bankrupt the whole concern, it was in conclusion abandoned every bit valueless for the purpose?" ("An Absurd Rapid Transit Plan", [Manufacturer as well as Builder, Volume 11, Issue 5, May 1879)

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