Description
Book SynopsisChronicle of twenty specific events in the history of New York’s mass transit systems between 1940 and 1968, including large numbers of rare photos. 1940 to 1968 was chosen because those years bracket two sea change events – the June 1940 subway unification, and the March 1968 inception of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
Trade Review"After many years of deep and effective involvement in the operation of one of the world's most complex suburban rail operations (Long Island Rail Road), Andy Sparberg has now turned his attention to one of the world's most complex rapid transit operations. His research on not just what happened but why, and more important what we can learn from history, is in this new volume. I look forward to learning from it." -- -Donald O. Eisele Director of Operations and Service Planning. L.I.R.R. (retired) "Mr. Sparberg traces nearly three decades at the dawn of public ownership, from the city's acquisition and unification of the subway system, to the demolition of the elevated lines, to the replacement of trolleys by buses, to the elimination of the politically sacrosanct nickel fare and the first air-conditioned subways." -The New York Times "There never has been a better, more comprehensive history of New York's elaborate transit system than From a Nickel to a Token. Better still, Andy Sparberg takes us on this comprehensive journey in a most readable fashion. This is not a book merely for transit buffs, it should be a must-read for any New Yorker who wants an inside view of his and her city during a gripping, tumultuous era. Nobody in the transit-writing business can do a better job than Sparberg has done for us." -- -Stan Fischler author of The Subway and the City: Celebrating a Century "In each of the book's 20 chapters, the author investigates a particular event that altered New York City transit during those 28 tumultuous years in New York and American History." -- -D. Brand, Harvard University Choice "A very strong discussion of a time of evolution in the New York City transit system." -- -Joseph B. Raskin author of The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System
Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. Unification: IRT and BMT Join the IND, and Subways Become 100% Publicly Owned 2. 1941: Fifth Avenue Coach and New York City Omnibus 3. 1941: Dyre Avenue Subway Extension Opens 4. Third Avenue Transit: Rails to Rubber in the Bronx and Manhattan 5. 1944 and 1950: Goodbye to Brooklyn Bridge Rails 6. 1947-1948: Private to Public Bus Operations 7. 1948: Goodbye to the Nickel 8. 1947-1956: Final Decade for Brooklyn Trolleys 9. 1950: Farewell, Lexington Avenue 10. 1953-1968: The TA, Tokens, and TWU Triumphant 11. 1953: Last Double-Deck Buses Operate on Fifth Avenue 12. The BMT and IND Begin a Courtship 13. Sunshine Returns to Third Avenue 14. Fifth Avenue Coach 15. 1957-1959: IRT West Side Improvement 16. Fifth Avenue Coach Suddenly Disappears 17. 1964: World's Fair, Blue Subways, Steel Subways 18. 1966: Mike Quill's Last Hurrah 19. The BMT and IND Marry Forever 20. 1968: The MTA Is Created and Express Buses Appear Bibliography Index
