The Pelham Bay Monorail

Source:  Linder, B. "Pelham Park Railroad Company" in New York Division Bulletin, Electric Railroaders' Association, Vol. 38, No. 8, August, 1995, pp 2-3.  Map is by the Electric Railroaders' Association but it is marked "December, 1944,  Electric Railroads".  Map presented to ERA by Francis J. Goldsmith with other documents.

  Many people do not know that the City Island - Pelham Bay Park area had a monorail from approximately July 17, 1910 (one trip only because the car derailed) and from October 1910 to March 16, 1914 between the Bartow station of the New Haven Rail Road and Marshall's Corner at the entrance to City Island.  Original service to City Island was by horsecar but was eventually replaced by battery cars.  Streetcar service to City Island ceased on August 9, 1919 and was replaced by buses  Horsecars were still operating when the monorail stopped running.  Battery cars operated from August 17, 1914 to August 9, 1919.  Although the map does not show actual City Island streetcar trackage, it does shown other interesting features such as the railroads that ran through the area and other Bronx trolleys.  I believe the horsecar and then battery car route was from the Bartow Station to the trip of City Island.

Please see this interesting map below.  Other comments will follow in the future.

A drawing from the same source shows a view of the monorail from three angles.  Notice that the "monorail" was on the bottom of the car attached to ties.  Two brackets supported the car from above and the power source was in the middle.  Since the support structure was low, it would have made it difficult for crossing traffic, both road and electric transit.  I believe that the advantage of this monorail was that it was able to handle uneven surfaces but it would make it difficult for crossing traffic.

 

A picture is below:



 

  What is ironic is that City Island is very near to Co-Op City, which is a vast multi-story housing development in the Northeast Bronx.  Co-op City opened in stages around the year 1971 and the newsletter from the development at that time stated "...the monorail from the subway to Co-Op City is 'just around the corner'...".  In all the years that have past, no new extension to the IRT Pelham Bay Park Line was ever built, nor was any light rail.  There are plans to utilize the New Haven Railroad that runs at the east margin of Co-Op City by opening a station  perhaps at the same location discussed in the map and other locations in the east and south Bronx, thus providing additional rapid transit access to the east and south Bronx to Grand Central Station.  I am not sure if there were any plans involving Light Rail for Co-Op City.  In addition, and I am not sure of this, the Independent Subway (second system) was supposed to reach the area around Co-Op City by going along Burke Avenue east from the 205th Street area in the north Bronx.