mta
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$25.00 – $80.00The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York was founded in 1968 with the mission of unifying all transit facilities under one roof. To reverse decades of under-investment of mass transit, the MTA released their ambitious Program for Action, a multiphase rehabilitation and expansion of the subways and commuter rail. At the core of the program was the 63rd St Tunnel and 2nd Ave Subway. Elevated lines in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn would be replaced by subways, and existing lines would be extended deeper into the outer boroughs. The LIRR would be extended to Midtown East and Lower Manhattan, while electrification would be expanded on Long Island and the Hudson Valley.
The ambitions of the new agency immediately ran into the harsh reality of decades of disinvestment. The costs of simply fixing what existed proved vastly more expensive than originally thought. The City of New York had been over spending on services at the same time as the tax base dwindled. Within 6 years, most of these plans were quietly shelved. Work on the 2nd Ave Subway was halted (only to be restarted in 2007). Only the 63rd St Tunnel, which had advanced too far to cancel, and the Archer Ave Subway in Jamaica, which was being built with Federal funds, limped along. Both would only open in the late 1980s.
This print is a recreation of a promotion brochure from 1969. A more in depth history, with additional maps, can be found on my blog.
The map is printed at 16″x20″ on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Framed prints at the same size are also available. Standard production time is 5 Days. Please add more time for framing and shipping.
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$45.00“I defy anyone to take this psychedelic creation and figure out how to get anywhere!” -State Senator Albert B. Lewis 1967.
The Chrystie Street Connection didn’t just revolutionize how commuters got around by creating new subway lines but it also helped usher in a new era of modernist wayfinding and system maps. Chrystie St took a decade to build and knit together the once separate BMT and IND subway systems to create a new network which we still use today. This map was part of a brochure issued when the first new lines were opening in November 1967. This map was the first to introduce the idea that each line would be shown with its own color and lettered bullet, simplifying naming conventions. For a further look at the Chrystie St Connection check out my blog post!
This map has been carefully recreated down to the exact typeface. Included at the bottom was the reverse side of the original brochure, featuring a station by station listing of each new line. Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM, 24″ x 36″.
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$45.00There are two “official” maps of the IND Subway’s expansion plans from the 1930s, colloquially known as the Second System. The plans for expansion evolved greatly as the IND was built. In the 1930s, the New York City subways were still operated by three separate companies. In 1940 the two private companies, the IRT and BMT were purchased by the City of New York under a unification plan. Thus, subway planners were able to imagine physically combining the three systems.
In 1940, John Delaney, Chairman of the Board of Transportation, outlined a new plan, with some additions in 1943. Until now, there were no maps of this plan. So I made one! The 1943 Lost IND Second System Map is probably the last time the city thought about such a large expansion program. The map here is based on the design of the 1939 map, with some changes.
To learn more about the history of this map, and see an outline of the ideas it shows, check out my post.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM, 24″ x 36″.
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$25.00 – $80.00A fictitious service guide of the IND division, New York Subway, had the 1939 Second System plans been built after World War 2. This service diagram is based off of the original Board of Transportation map of 1937 showing the new IND 8th Ave Lines, and the modern update done by Chris Neuherz.
The map is printed at 16″x20″ on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 Days. Please add more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The City of New York built Independent Subway (A/B/C/D/E/F/G trains) was opened between 1932 and 1940. All the subway stations at the time featured tile bands and art unique to each station. The IND’s architect, Squire Vickers, created a new tile pattern based on color theory. He grouped express and local stations with color so that each time a rider rode through an express station the color of the tiles would change. He created a modern, streamlined design which featured two colors per station. The idea was that a rider would recognize their station’s color and know when to get off. This map shows how each color group looks when laid out like a subway map.
Note: The design features an orange tile outline. Some frames may obscure this outline.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM, 18″ x 24″.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Babylon Branch is a section of the greater Montauk Branch which runs from Long Island City to Montauk. Babylon service is electrified and runs along the Main Line from Penn Station to Jamaica and then along the Montauk Branch to Babylon. The Babylon Branch was opened in the 1860s by the South Side RR of Long Island and was leased to the LIRR in 1876. Unlike the Main Line of the LIRR, which was built for high speed travel through sparsely developed areas, the Montauk was built to serve the many small villages (now major suburban towns) of the South Shore of Long Island.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Far Rockaway Branch was opened in 1869 by the South Side RR and initially ran all the way to Rockaway Park via southeast Queens and the Five Towns of Long Island. The branch was leased to the LIRR in 1876. In 1880 a trestle was constructed over Jamaica Bay which shortened the trip to the Rockaways. This line was run by the LIRR after 1887 and various services were run over both the Rockaway and Far Rockaway branches. In 1950 the trestle burned and instead of rebuilding it the LIRR chose to sell off the line to the City of New York which then rebuilt it as part of the A train. LIRR service was then cut back to Far Rockaway. Service runs from both Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn but when East Side Access opens (scheduled 2022) all service will be routed to Penn Station.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Long Beach Branch runs from Penn Station and Atlantic Terminal To Valley Stream and down to Long Beach. It was opened by the New York and Long Beach RR Company in 1880 and the original terminal was closer to the ocean as at the time Long Beach Island had not been developed. A short extension was built to Point Lookout but service ended in 1895. Originally the line was built only to Lynbrook but was connected to the LIRR at Valley Stream in 1910.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Montauk Branch which runs from Long Island City to Montauk. The Montauk Branch was opened in the 1860s by the South Side RR of Long Island and was leased to the LIRR in 1876. While service on the Montauk uses the Main Line to Hicksville, the original South Side Main Line was what is now known as the Lower Montauk which runs a more winding route through Maspeth, Ridgewood, and Middle Village. Passenger service on the Lower Montauk ended in 1998 due to low ridership and today the tracks are used exclusively for fright. Montauk service is run express to Babylon using diesel-electric trains.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Oyster Bay Branch opened in 1865 by the LIRR owned Glen Cove Branch RR as a branch off the Main Line at Mineola to Glen Head. The line was extended further and by 1867 it reached Locust Valley. An extension to Oyster Bay was only proposed as a counter to a rival railroad which had proposed a line to Northport. The LIRR eventually opened an extension to Oyster Bay in 1889. A large new pier was built next to the terminal for ferry service to New England. Although the line was intended to be electrified in the 1930s the work was never done and as such the line uses diesel trains which don’t run to Penn Station.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Port Jefferson Branch is a branch off the Main Line at Hicksville and was opened to Syosset in 1854. The line was extended to Northport in 1868 but due to disputes between the LIRR and the towns of Cold Spring and Huntington the new line bypassed both. In 1873 the line was extended to Port Jefferson but branched off south of Northport, leaving the original terminal a spur line that would be abandoned by 1899. In 1895 the line was extended a final time to Wading River with plans on continuing it to Riverhead, though this was never done. The Wading River extension was eventually abandoned in 1938. Due to rising ridership the LIRR is constructing a third track along the Main Line from Floral Park to Hicksville so many Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma trains can run express to Jamaica.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Port Washington Branch runs from Penn Station to Port Washington through Flushing and is the only LIRR branch that does not run through Jamaica. Built and opened by the Flushing RR in 1854 it was the first non-LIRR railroad on Long Island. Originally the line was supposed to reach Roslyn, Oyster Bay and Huntington but this was thwarted by the LIRR which reached there first. By 1874 the Flushing RR had combined with other competitors to form the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad but in two years would be bought by the LIRR. Additionally there was a branch to Whitestone but this was eliminated in 1932.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Ronkonkoma Branch is the service which runs along most of the original Main Line of the LIRR from Brooklyn to Greenport through Hicksville. Service today runs to Ronkonkoma with shuttle service continuing to Greenport. The original Main Line opened from Brooklyn to Jamaica in 1836 and was extended to Hempstead in 1839. By 1844 the line had been extended out to Greenport with ferry service to New England. At the time train technology was thought too primitive to navigate the rough terrain of the Connecticut coast so a train-ferry-train service was devised to travel between New York and Boston. The LIRR Main Line ran as straight as possible down the center of Long Island, avoiding existing towns, to have the fastest service. But in 1848 a railroad was opened through Connecticut and the LIRR was now a railroad to nowhere. Over the next 30 years the LIRR grew by buying up the competition and by 1880 had a monopoly on Long Island. Today the LIRR is the oldest railroad in the country which still operates from its original charter.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR Hempstead Branch is a short branch off the Main Line from Jamaica to Hempstead. The branch is all that remains of a much larger system, the Central Railroad of Long Island, which opened in 1873 from Flushing to Babylon. The Central RR was founded by Alexander Turney Stewart as a way to develop land in central Long Island which eventually became Garden City. Over the next 20 years the LIRR bought the rights to the Central RR and various other lines and began to consolidate them. Due to redundancy the Central RR was cut up into smaller branches and spurs and connected to the Main Line. The LIRR had a similar Hempstead Branch which ran off the Main Line at Mineola and service to Hempstead ran along both branches until 1935 when the line was consolidated due to grade separation construction.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The LIRR West Hempstead Branch is a short, single track line which runs from Valley Stream to West Hempstead. Most service is run as a shuttle but a few trains are through run at peak times. The West Hempstead Branch was opened by the New York Bay Extension RR Company as part of a larger, unrealized line from Brooklyn to Garden City. The line originally had complex connections to the Hempstead Branch, Main Line, and Oyster Bay Branch so that many different services could be run. Eventually these connections were eliminated due to the need for grade separation.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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$30.00 – $80.00The Metro North Pascack Valley Line is a mostly single tracked line running from Spring Valley, NY through northern New Jersey to Hoboken Terminal. Pascack Valley is one of two Metro North lines which run through New Jersey (the other being the Port Jervis Line) but unlike the Port Jervis Line which is owned by Metro North in New York, the Pascack Valley Line is entirely owned by New Jersey Transit and the stations in New York are leased to Metro North. The line was originally chartered in 1856 and was bought by the Erie Railroad in 1896. New Jersey Transit and Metro North took over in 1983.
Printed on Satin finish 80# cover stock – 220 GSM. Made in the USA! Standard production time is 5 days. Allow more time for shipping.
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