Forty-Second Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Forty-second Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad was a horse
-drawn streetcar line in Manhattan
, New York City
, USA. It ran from the 42nd Street Ferry on the Hudson River
to the Grand Street Ferry
on the East River
. The line was distinguished by a light green light.
At least until 1879, the tracks ran along 42nd Street
, Tenth Avenue
, 34th Street
, Broadway, 23rd Street
, Fourth Avenue, 14th Street
, Avenue A
, (using Second Street westbound to cut the corner), Houston Street, Cannon Street/Goerck Street (eastbound/westbound) and Grand Street
.
In October 1863, the New York and Harlem Railroad
, which had tracks down the middle of Fourth Avenue, took the Forty-second Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad to court to prevent them from laying a track on each side of Fourth Avenue (between 14th Street
and 23rd Street
). The NY&H charged that the new tracks would obstruct access between their line and the sidewalk, and claimed exclusive rights to lay track on Fourth Avenue. The defendant argued that it had the same right as anyone else to any part of Fourth Avenue not in use by the NY&H. Since the railroad began to operate, it presumably won the case.
On April 6, 1893, the Metropolitan Crosstown Railroad leased the line; the lessee merged with the Metropolitan Street Railway on May 14, 1894. That company was leased to the Interurban Street Railway on April 8, 1902.
Eventually, the line was not operated as a through line. Instead, the trackage was used for the 42nd Street Crosstown Line, 34th Street Crosstown Line, 23rd Street Crosstown Line, and 14th Street Crosstown Line
.
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
-drawn streetcar line in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, USA. It ran from the 42nd Street Ferry on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
to the Grand Street Ferry
Grand Street Ferry
The Grand Street Ferry was a ferry route connecting Manhattan and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, United States, joining Grand Street and Grand Street across the East River.-History:...
on the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
. The line was distinguished by a light green light.
At least until 1879, the tracks ran along 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
, Tenth Avenue
Tenth Avenue (Manhattan)
Tenth Avenue, known as Amsterdam Avenue north of 59th Street, is a north-south thoroughfare on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It carries uptown traffic as far as West 110th Street, also known as Cathedral Parkway for the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine...
, 34th Street
34th Street (Manhattan)
34th Street is a major cross-town street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, connecting the Lincoln Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Like many of New York City's major crosstown streets, it has its own bus routes and four subway stops serving the trains at Eighth Avenue, the trains at...
, Broadway, 23rd Street
23rd Street (Manhattan)
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...
, Fourth Avenue, 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
, Avenue A
Avenue A (Manhattan)
Avenue A runs from north to south and is the westernmost of the avenues to be defined by letters instead of using the numbering system in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Avenue A runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a loop road in Stuyvesant Town, connecting to...
, (using Second Street westbound to cut the corner), Houston Street, Cannon Street/Goerck Street (eastbound/westbound) and Grand Street
Grand Street (Manhattan)
Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....
.
History
The railroad was chartered on February 16, 1862 (some sources say 1863).In October 1863, the New York and Harlem Railroad
New York and Harlem Railroad
The New York and Harlem Railroad was one of the first railroads in the United States, and possibly also the world's first street railway. Designed by John Stephenson, it was opened in stages between 1832 and 1852 between Lower Manhattan to and beyond Harlem...
, which had tracks down the middle of Fourth Avenue, took the Forty-second Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad to court to prevent them from laying a track on each side of Fourth Avenue (between 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
and 23rd Street
23rd Street (Manhattan)
23rd Street is a broad thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is one of few two-way streets in the gridiron of the borough. As with Manhattan's other "crosstown" streets, it is divided at Fifth Avenue, in this case at Madison Square Park, into its east and west sections. Since...
). The NY&H charged that the new tracks would obstruct access between their line and the sidewalk, and claimed exclusive rights to lay track on Fourth Avenue. The defendant argued that it had the same right as anyone else to any part of Fourth Avenue not in use by the NY&H. Since the railroad began to operate, it presumably won the case.
On April 6, 1893, the Metropolitan Crosstown Railroad leased the line; the lessee merged with the Metropolitan Street Railway on May 14, 1894. That company was leased to the Interurban Street Railway on April 8, 1902.
Eventually, the line was not operated as a through line. Instead, the trackage was used for the 42nd Street Crosstown Line, 34th Street Crosstown Line, 23rd Street Crosstown Line, and 14th Street Crosstown Line
14th Street Crosstown Line (surface)
The 14th Street Crosstown Line is a public transit line in Manhattan, New York City, United States, running mostly along 14th Street from Chelsea to the Lower East Side. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the M14 bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority...
.