72nd Street was a station on the demolished IRT Ninth Avenue Line

IRT Ninth Avenue Line

The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, often called the Ninth Avenue El, was the first elevated railway in New York City. It opened in 1868 as the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, a cable-hauled line. It ceased operation in 1940....

. It had two levels. The lower level was built first and had two tracks and two side platform

Side platform

A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...

s and served local trains. The upper level was built as part of the Dual Contracts and had one track that served express trains that bypassed this station. It closed on July 11, 1940. The next southbound stop was 66th Street

66th Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line)

66th Street was a station on the demolished IRT Ninth Avenue Line. It had two levels. The lower level was built first and had two tracks and two side platforms. The upper level was built as part of the Dual Contracts and had two track and two side platforms over the lower level local tracks. The...

. The next northbound stop was 81st Street

81st Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line)

81st Street was a station on the demolished IRT Ninth Avenue Line. It had two levels. The lower level was built first and had two tracks and two side platforms and served local trains. The upper level was built as part of the Dual Contracts and had one track that served express trains that bypassed...

.