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Groundbreaking for the New West Side Line, December 1929

3,547 views · Published 2 June 2018 · 10:09 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: Speed Graphic Film and Video · 2018 · Autos & Vehicles

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On the last day of the year 1929, New York Mayor Jimmy Walker and New York Central Railroad President Patrick Crowley marked the start of construction of the new West Side Line.  Attended by officials, railroad executives and a new J1 4-6-4 Hudson locomotive, it marked the beginning of a major project to get trains off 10th and 11th Avenues in Manhattan.
Since the 19th century, New York Central railroad tracks had run down the middle of 11th Avenue, helping to earn it the nickname "Death Avenue."  This project replaced the street-level tracks with a separate right-of-way.  Parts of it were below ground level, parts above.  Sections of the above-ground way are now part of the city's High Line Park.
Note: while the ceremony, including rail removal, seems to suggest that the street-level West Side Line was closing for good, in fact it continued to operate for a number of years more while the new right of way was being constructed.

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