F Train the New Silicon Subway?

Hi Folks:  Please see the attached article. The F train in Brooklyn covers part of the original Culver Line route.  Who would think that part of the Culver Line would become fashionable?  Map drawn by myself to show New York City neighborhoods connected by the F train in Brooklyn and Manhattan.  Shapefile is not of the latest routing.  Tramway Null(0)

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120729/REAL_ESTATE/307299984

Various Elevation Indicators near the Culver Viaduct in Brooklyn

   In the above map, I looked at elevation values near the Culver Viaduct in Brooklyn which is the concrete elevated structure that runs from south of Fourth Avenue and 9th Street to north of Carroll Street and Smith Street.  I used ARCGIS 10.1.  I brought in a subway stop file from several years ago and through a spatial join, I was able to assign the nearest elevation available near a subway station.  The problem with the elevation file is that most of the points given are at street level but others are the heights of structures, such as the viaduct itself, the expressway that goes over the canal and so on.  As far as coding is concerned, both street elevations and structure elevations are coded the same so I can not tell them apart.  Since I do not know how the height of a structure is defined, I would believe that the Transit Authority's official height of the Smith and  9 th Street station will not match mine.  Nevertheless, it would be interesting to look at the map anyway.  In the map, the white numbers are heights above sea level and comes from a contour height file.  The color dots are either street elevations or the elevations of a structure, however they are defined.  Here are my observations:

1. The 15th Street - Prospect Park station on the F and G lines is underground but the height assigned is 200 feet.  The nearest heights around the station are in the 132 to 249 feet range. but the contours show values around 164 feet.  My reading may be a mistake.
2. The 7th Avenue Station which is underground is listed as 100 feet.
3. The 4th Avenue Station on the F and G routes is above ground the the elevation is listed as 60 feet.  Heights around the station as street level is around  40 feet with a sharp downward slope towards the water.  The structure is is rising at this point as one goes westward.
4. The Smith and 9 th Street station is listed at 90 feet which is the height of the structure.  At the surface, which is at the canal, the heights are a few feet.
5. The viaduct takes a sharp turn here and decends downward towards the Carroll Street station. The Carroll Street station is underground and is listed as 50 feet.  These are the values at street level in the area.

It is interesting to note that the 7th Avenue station which is underground is 40 feet higher than the open air Fourth Avenue Station  and 10 feet higher at street level than the very high Smith and 9th Street Station.  Now you know why Park Slope is called Park Slope.

This material is not official and was an experiment.  To be verified.  Tramway Null(0)

Example of a "Modern" (1919) Local Elevated Station

This photo, taken this morning at 7:10 am is at the Avenue "P"  "subway" station at Avenue P and McDonald Avenue on the IND Culver Line (F-Train).  The shot is from the Manhattan bound platform looking south towards the Kings Highway express station.   The Avenue "P" station is a three track station with two local tracks and one express track.  The reconstruction of the 3rd Avenue El around this time (1914-16) added a third track.  Many of the local stations on the 3rd Avenue El had a similar configeration, but the express stops in many of the Manhattan stations were built above the local tracks.  19th Century elevated construction used a lighter, lattice type of steel construction compared to the  1919 elevated station shown here in the picture.  On three track elevated structures, the express track may have express service in the direction of heavy traffic.  For the 3rd Avenue Line, there was express service southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening.  On the IND Culver Line, when express service existed around 1968 to 1974, express service was available using the middle track northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening.  At this location on McDonald Avenue and Avenue "P", some form of rapid transit existed since 1875 and continues to today.  The former railroad tracks that became trolley tracks under the structure are long gone.

Tramway Null(0)