Morris Park (IRT Dyre Avenue Line)

Morris Park New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	Paulding Avenue & Esplanade Bronx, NY 10461
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Morris Park
Coordinates	40.854429°N 73.860397°W / 40.854429; -73.860397
Division	A (IRT, formerly NYW&B)
Line	IRT Dyre Avenue Line
Services	5  (all times)
Structure	Embankment in open cut
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	May 29, 1912 (May 29, 1912) (NYW&B station) May 15, 1941 (May 15, 1941) (re-opened as a Subway station)
Traffic
Passengers (2010)	535,823  2.2%
Rank	401 out of 422
Station succession
Next north	Pelham Parkway: 5
Next south	East 180th Street: 5
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

Morris Park Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Under Esplanade Ave. at Bogart and Colden Ave. and Hone Ave., Bronx, New York
Area:	less than one acre
Built:	1912
Architect:	Reed and Stem; Fellheimer & Long
Architectural style:	Mission/Spanish Revival
Governing body:	State
MPS:	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference#:	05000677
Added to NRHP:	July 6, 2005

Morris Park is a station on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Served by the 5 train, it is located at Paulding Avenue and the Esplanade in Morris Park, Bronx.

The station has two side platforms with four tracks (2 center express tracks formerly used by the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway) and is partially underground and partially in the open cut on an elevated embankment. The underground portion is at the south end of a 4,000-foot (1,200 m) long, four track tunnel which was mandated to carry the right of way under the Bronx and Pelham Parkway. This tunnel includes a four track, completely underground station called Pelham Parkway about half a mile up the line from Morris Park. The heavy construction and high clearances greatly exceed the size and weight requirements of IRT subway cars.

The headhouse is notable for its graceful Spanish Mission style architecture and robust reinforced concrete construction. The handsome exterior, with its tall arched windows and tiled roof, has been restored to good condition. It was designed by Alfred T. Fellheimer who was the lead architect for Grand Central Terminal.

History

The station was first placed in service in 1912 as part of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad, a subsidiary of the New York, New Haven and Hartford. The line was designed for the weight of the heaviest main line steam trains.

The emblem of the NYW&B, the Cadeusus, is cast into several locations of the concrete facade facing toward the Esplanade. The NYW&B offered frequent service between 138th Street in the South Bronx, and the towns of White Plains, and Port Chester in Westchester County. The White Plains and Port Chester branches diverged at Mount Vernon Junction near Columbus Avenue along the border between Mount Vernon and Pelham.

The two outer tracks at Morris Park were for trains that made local stops in the Bronx, and went to Port Chester. The two inner tracks were for express trains that made limited stops in The Bronx, and went to White Plains. The trains were powered by 11,000 volt 25 Hz alternating current supplied from an overhead catenary. The cut-off stumps of the catenary bridges still remain along the right of way and can be seen from the south ends of the platforms.

The NYW&B was doomed by the bankruptcy of its patron, the New Haven. Service ended in 1937.

A few years later, the portion in The Bronx became part of the New York City Transit System. Initial subway service was a shuttle (nicknamed "The Dinky") to the old NYW&B platforms at East 180th Street. In the late 1950s, the construction of a flying junction with the White Plains Road line allowed Dyre Avenue trains to enter the East 180th Street subway station and continue to Manhattan.

Around this period, the Morris Park platforms were extended towards the south to accommodate ten car subway trains. This required reducing the height of the outboard plate girders of the bridge over Colden Avenue, so that the bottoms of the platforms would be above the tops of the girders. The massive overdesign of the bridge allowed ample margin for trimming the girders.

On November 24, 1979, an R22 car, #7602, was involved in a rear-ending accident here.

In the late 1990s, the original concrete exterior walls alongside the station platforms, and the original roof that had been supported on concrete columns and massive cantilevered timbers, were replaced with steel bents supporting a clad metal wall system and a corrugated metal roof deck.

External links

Media related to Morris Park (IRT Dyre Avenue Line) at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org — IRT White Plains Road Line: Morris Park
• Station Reporter — 5 Train
• The Subway Nut — Morris Park Pictures
• Paulding Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View