Next Stop, St. George Terminal: A Public Transit TL

Something I've been working on for a bit, that hopefully should interest you guys

1


The New York City Subway, ever since it had first started operating in 1904, had been in a period of constant expansion between the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), starting with the construction of the first subway all the way to the Dual Contracts. The election of Mayor John Hylan in 1918, would bring a change to the nature of construction by both the IRT and BMT, with his motivations for a city-operated and controlled subway. While initially pushing for a grandiose plan of subways to be built, the Board of Transportation would scale down those plans to eventually be left with a total of five lines to be built, two trunk lines in Manhattan running under 8th and 6th Avenue respectively, one trunk line in Queens running from 53rd Street (with connections to the Eighth and Sixth Avenue trunk lines) across the East River through Long Island City and continuing under the Queens Boulevard and Hillside Avenues, a Brooklyn-Queens crosstown with connections through the lines in Brooklyn and in Queens, and a line in the Bronx splitting from the 8th Avenue at 145th Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue proceeding under the Grand Concourse. The five separate lines represented the Independent's 'First System' for service throughout New York City, and the ground for future expansion of the system.

In 1929, the Board of Transportation would move forward with plans to further expand the Independent Subway System with the release of the 'Second System'. The proposed Second System represented a massive development of the Independent Subway, with over a hundred miles of new services, and lines through every borough but Staten Island, but the 'heart' of the Second System was the Second Avenue Subway, which had been designed to accommodate much of the new traffic that would 'open' up as a result of it. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 would rapidly derail the proposed Second System, however the Board of Transportation would consistently work on newer 'Second System' proposals for expanding the Independent Subway and increasing subway service to more residents of New York City. No matter the revised plan, each plan was consistent of having the focal point around the Second Avenue Subway, with a variety of different plans and routes for it to take, both creating new lines and connecting to existing ones. The Independent Subway System would start to rapidly take up shape around New York City as construction began to finish and lines opened up for service. The Eighth Avenue Subway would open first from 207th Street to Chambers Street-Hudson Terminal on September 10th, 1932, with the Cranberry Street Tunnel opening up service on February 1st, 1933 with service to Broadway/Nassau Street (in Manhattan) and Jay Street-Metrotech Borough Hall (in Brooklyn) (High Street-Brooklyn Bridge would not open until June 24th, 1933). The South Brooklyn Line would first open up with Bergen Street on March 20th, 1933, but not be fully completed until October 3rd, 1933, with the opening of Church Avenue. The Concourse Line would open on July 1st, allowing trains to run from 145th Street (from the Eighth Avenue Subway) to 205th Street (in the Bronx), further expanding the 'reach' of the Independent. The Crosstown/Queens Boulevard would be first opened, with Nassau Avenue (on the Crosstown) through Roosevelt Avenue (on the Queens Boulevard) opened up on August 19th, 1933. By this point, a total of five separate services ran on the Independent, the A train running 207th Street to Church Avenue, the C train running 205th Street to Hudson Terminal, the CC train running from Bedford Park Boulevard to Hudson Terminal, the E train running from Roosevelt Terminal to Hudson Terminal, and the GG train running from Queens Plaza to Nassau Avenue as a shuttle.

Whether it was merely good timing, or 'intervention' from some higher power, the 1935 Second System proposed by the Board of Transportation would find itself taken up for notice by the Works Progress Administration, with significant delays miring the construction of the Triborough Bridge. The 1935 Second System proposal, once more found itself centered around the Second Avenue Subway, but unlike the previous proposals was focused solely on the Independent and at a much 'smaller' size than before. In part, the proposals for certain components had also been shaped by the ongoing talks for the purchase of the IRT's Sixth Avenue Elevated, and rumored financial aspects from the BMT. In Manhattan, the Second Avenue Subway was the focal point of the expansion, running from the Harlem River all the way to the East River and Brooklyn. The line would run as a two-track line from Court Street Station in Brooklyn to Houston Street, where it would then turn into a four track line all the way up to the Harlem River. The express tracks of the Second Avenue Subway south of Houston Street were to head east along Stanton Street and across the East River into Brooklyn, where it would arrive at South 4th Street alongside that of the Worth Street Line (which had emerged from bellmouths just north of Hudson Terminal).

Two of the more interesting components of the Second Avenue Subway were that of two proposed stations and interchange points, Grand Street and 60th Street. Grand Street Station sat along both Grand Street and Chrystie Street, and was designed as a station for where both the Sixth Avenue express tracks and the Second Avenue local tracks would meet (the Sixth Avenue express tracks would diverge between Broadway-Lafayette Station and Second Avenue Station). From the proposed interchange at Grand Street Station emerged the 'Chrystie Street Connection', which was intended to tie in the BMT and ISS together if the BMT was to ever suffer bankruptcy or be purchased by the city to take control. The Chrystie Street Connection proposed a major rerouting of traffic from the Manhattan Bridge, with the southern tracks of the Manhattan Bridge being disconnected from the Nassau Street Loop and reconnected to the Broadway Line express tracks, while the northern tracks of the Manhattan Bridge which had formerly connected to the Broadway Line express tracks would be connected to the Sixth Avenue express tracks at Grand Street Station. In part due to the width of Grand Street, the station would be built as a bilevel station, with the Second Avenue tracks on the lower level and the Sixth Avenue express tracks on the upper level preventing any kind of traffic interchange between them.

The other station and interchange point, 60th Street Station, had been designed in a similar method to West 4th Street, but of a radically different approach. While the upper level would facilitate the Second Avenue Subway in its entirety, the lower level was intended as the interchange point for traffic connecting to and from Queens, but also that of trains heading to or from the Sixth Avenue tracks or even those of the Broadway tracks (as advocated for in the similar approach of the Chrystie Street Connection). As part of such a connection, a two-track tunnel running along 57th Street between the Sixth Avenue and Second Avenue line would be built, with provisions for an additional extension to the BMT Broadway Line. The proposed connection to the BMT Broadway Line, would involve one of two approaches planned; the first approach would see the 57th Street Connection connect just south of 57th Street-Seventh Avenue along the local tracks, while the second approach would see a rebuilding of both the local and express tracks in between 49th Street and 57th Street-Seventh Avenue, to allow the 57th Street Connection to connect to the express tracks of the Broadway Line.

Extending into Brooklyn, both the Stanton and Worth Street Lines converged meeting at Marcy Avenue Station (along South 4th Street), at a bilevel station. Both lines continued east arriving at South 4th Street junction, where both the Stanton and the Worth Street Lines 'terminated'. Continuing on from South 4th Street junction was the Utica Avenue Line, which would proceed southeast on a newly built street extended from Bushwick Avenue, before proceeding down Stuvyesant Avenue and then Utica Avenue (with a transfer available to the Fulton Street Line), before making a final turn at Flatbush Avenue and terminating at Avenue U. From South 4th Street to Kings Highway, the Utica Avenue Line would run four tracks, and at Kings Highway, the line would convert to being a two-track line with the express tracks continuing down to Avenue U where they would end. A hefty debate emerged in the Board of Transportation if provisions should be built as to allow the construction of an additional line along the new street and Bushwick Avenue before the Utica Avenue Line turned south onto Stuyvesant Avenue. The eventual determination was that the provisions should not be included due to cost, and the city would take the costs of needing to underpin the existing Utica Avenue Line if so needed.

In Queens, much of the work would be in extending the existing lines under construction, intended to stretch the reach of the Independent to the outer reaches of Queens. The Fulton Street Line (from the original planned terminal of Euclid Avenue), would be extended eastwards along Pitkin Avenue before turning onto Linden Boulevard just before the Cross Bay Boulevard. Bellmouths for a proposed connection with the Rockaway Branch (if/once bought under the Independent) would be in place along Linden Boulevard just east of the Cross Bay Boulevard. The Fulton Street Line continued along Linden Boulevard, and at Merrick Boulevard, the line would be brought down to two-tracks and continue just before reaching the end of Queens where it would terminate. In the north, the Queens Boulevard would be extended as a two-track line from the proposed terminus at Jamaica-179th Street, running along Hillside Avenue before terminating at Springfield Boulevard. Provisions would be made for a further extension of the Queens Boulevard line from the terminal at Springfield Boulevard. Finally, the bellmouths on the Queens Boulevard just past Briarwood-Van Wyck Boulevard would be exercised for the construction of the Van Wyck Boulevard line. Running as a two-track subway, it would run from the bellmouths to Rockaway Boulevard where it would terminate. While having originally being proposed as an elevated, significant community opposition was one of the key factors in having been a shift in it from an elevated to a subway.

The Bronx like Queens was expected to see significant improvement in terms of the general area covered by the Independent Subway, along with those who had yet to be connected to any kind of general mass-transit. The Second Avenue Subway would continue north as a four-track line crossing under the Harlem River under Lincoln Avenue and continue north along Morris Avenue and Park Avenue before cutting east to 163rd Street and 'terminating' at Prospect Avenue. From Prospect Avenue, two lines would emerge, both as two-track lines. In the south, the Lafayette Avenue Line would continue east along 163rd Street, turning south along Hunts Point Avenue before heading east along Seneca Avenue where it would emerge as an elevated line to cross the Bronx River; the line would continue as an elevated line along Lafayette Avenue before reaching the neighborhood of Throgs Neck where it ran southeast along East 177th Street and terminate at East Tremont Avenue. The northern branch would primarily be the former New York, Westchester & Boston Railway, to be bought by the city between Westchester Avenue Station (which met with the IRT's Pelham Line) and East Kingsbridge Road, while 'beyond' Westchester Avenue Station. The line would begin descending after it reached the surface, and continue as a subway along Westchester Avenue before reaching East 163rd Street. Finally as the last component in the Bronx, would be the Concourse Extension, which would emerge on an elevated viaduct over Bronx Park from 205th Street and return as a subway under Bronx Boulevard and continuing under Burke Avenue; the Concourse Extension would eventually connect with the ex-NYW&B tracks which would be operated by Second Avenue trains.

The construction of the Independent Subway System by the Works Progress Administration was seen as rather an oddity, considering the practicality of roads being built in several other places and also in New York City as well. Significant delays to the construction of the Triborough Bridge, impacts to development of parkways within New York City, and several other issues had impacted the development, bringing an attitude change to the construction and development of roads within New York City, and a better look at development of public transit by the WPA within NYC. Several discussions between Interior Secretary Harold Ickes and Mayor Fiorella H. La Guardia, would eventually result in the release of WPA funds directed towards components of the Independent Subway System for construction. As part of the First System, WPA funds would be brought in to assist the completion up to Broadway Junction for the Fulton Street Line, 71 Av-Continental Ave for the Queens Boulevard Line, and the completion of the Crosstown Line, while the rest of the First System (including the Sixth Avenue Line) would be left to the City. The Second System would be a much more different affair in part because the Second Avenue Subway would require the underpinning of the IRT's Second Avenue Elevated line, before construction could begin north of 23rd Street. A construction plan would eventually be worked on and agreed between the WPA, Board of Transportation, and the City of New York for the work responsible on the Independent's 'Second System'. Due to the large costs required in underpinning the Second Avenue Elevated before construction of the Subway could be built, a temporary terminal for the Second Avenue Subway would be built at 42nd Street and continue construction southbound. The Second Avenue Subway would run as before, as a four-track subway to Houston Street-2nd Avenue Station, where the express tracks would head east under Stanton Street to the Utica Avenue Line, while the local tracks proceeded south to the Pierrepont Street Tunnel, where they would connect to Court Street Station. The Second Avenue Subway (from Court Street to 42nd Street), the Stanton Street Line, Worth Street Line, and Utica Avenue Line would all be built with major assistance from the WPA, and it was hoped that by 1942, construction would be completed on the lines agreed upon between the WPA and the Board of Transportation.

(Map here for what the Second System should look like overlayed a modern map of NYC)
 
Unfortunately not. However the lack of Moses is intentional.

Don't get me wrong I love subways and NYC and I'm intrigued… but :)

It's a fantastic book. If Moses is dead then all of this is too optimistic, you need him alive but pro-transit (that could be your POD, in fact), because most NYC Mayors sucked and there were all kinds of problems blocking city planning. If Moses is not dead then he'd probably block all of this because he was racist and hated transit. If Moses is out of power (possible, if unlikely, pre-Authority… impossible after) then he'll be scheming for a comeback and would view transit as taking away money he could use… and torpedo it with his newspaper friends. Etc…

Any NYC timeline in the Moses era needs to handle Moses in some way. And if you kill him you'll change NYC beyond belief, so there's a ton of extra work heh.
 
Don't get me wrong I love subways and NYC and I'm intrigued… but :)

It's a fantastic book. If Moses is dead then all of this is too optimistic, you need him alive but pro-transit (that could be your POD, in fact), because most NYC Mayors sucked and there were all kinds of problems blocking city planning. If Moses is not dead then he'd probably block all of this because he was racist and hated transit. If Moses is out of power (possible, if unlikely, pre-Authority… impossible after) then he'll be scheming for a comeback and would view transit as taking away money he could use… and torpedo it with his newspaper friends. Etc…

Any NYC timeline in the Moses era needs to handle Moses in some way. And if you kill him you'll change NYC beyond belief, so there's a ton of extra work heh.

Admittedly, that was a thought originally with keeping Moses alive but having him pro-transit, but... the ramifications from that in my mind were a bit more unpredictable, considering the likelihood of him still working forward to become manager of the Triborough Bridge Authority which gave him the capitol needed for further expansion of parkways in New York City during the Great Depression.

And in regards to the second part, who says I haven't already started looking at some of the changes that NYC would suffer without Moses there? (Not to mention other slight changes due to different opinions and ideas...) ;)
 
And now changes start to slowly open forth as a result of what is happening. ;)

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Even before the first ground could start to be dug for the Second System, the New York City Board of Estimate started to see... problematic issues emerge over the funding of the Second System. The debt limit of New York City was limited by the New York State constitution which made it so that ten percent of combined real estate average over the past four years could make up the total debt allowed to any city, thus impacting any kind of direct funding into the Independent Subway System. In addition to the funding issues, Staten Island Borough President Joseph A. Palma, would place some opposition against the Second System for the lack of connections to Staten Island. It was a 'disservice' to those that lived in Staten Island as he claimed, and that the City should look at building a connection to Staten Island alongside the construction of the Second System. Despite the approval of the Second System among the rest of the other borough presidents and the Board of Estimate, it made clear the issues that were to start occurring over the subway both politically and economically. Adding to the measure of both politics and financing, the rapid crowding of the Eighth Avenue Line made a clear and present need to acquire both the IRT's Second and Sixth Avenue Els to build additional trunk lines to 'spread' the load.

The Bronx would seem to have some of the strongest ire, both for the extension of the Concourse Line and the Lafayette Avenue Line. The extension of the Concourse Line was intent on having it run along Burke Avenue to connect to the proposed ex-NYW&B line, along with a cheaper cost to be mitigated for the subway due to the less distance provided. Bronx Borough President James J. Lyons supported the proposed line (being a strong advocate for it) and supported the changed routing (from which it had been originally proposed to run along Boston Road in the 1929 System Plan). The ire and anger would emerge at the questions of why a 'bankrupt' railroad should be saved by the taxpayers, and that the only routing should be along Boston Road. Protests would start to ignite over the matter of routing, with attempts to shift the route back to along Boston Road, or to push it back towards the intersection of Boston Road and Burke Avenue with the decision for whether to continue along Burke Avenue or along Boston Road to be decided at a later date. The debate would eventually be settled in favor of the Board of Transportation proposal along Burke Avenue (with much grumbling from those who had lived along Boston Road and had been in heavy favor of having the route along there from Burke Avenue). For the Lafayette Avenue Line, it had both been in some appearances a replication of the Flushing Line attitude from those who had lived in Flushing in the 1910s, along with the general malcontent towards elevated lines. Significant opposition had emerged from the neighborhood of Throgs Neck for the construction of the line in any shape or form, while the neighborhoods of Park Versailles, Union Port, and Classon Point had been in favor of its construction (evan as an elevated in their grumblings). Icy discussions over the construction of the Lafayette Avenue Line would eventually force the line to be 'terminated' at Westchester Creek, before where it would cross the boundary of Throgs Neck, but with the reduced length, some considerations were being placed for its construction as a subway rather than elevated.

Nearly everywhere else would have support of the expansion of the Independent Subway, albeit there were concerns for the required 'construction' of a new street in Brooklyn (between Union Avenue and Flushing Avenue), which would bisect numerous streets in it's construction. For the most part, opposition to it in Williamsburg would be pushed under in order to get the full approval of it for the construction of the subway within Williamsburg. In addition, many of the strong supporters in Williamsburg hoped it would lead to the demolition of the Broadway El, which would remove the 'blight' upon Williamsburg as they had called it. The 'groundbreaking' ceremony of the first component of the Second System would take place in Williamsburg in July of 1936, with the beginning of the extended Beaver Street (running from Flushing Avenue to Union Avenue) starting to be built and the demolition of the first buildings in the way of the new street and subway.

As construction started on the Second System, the period of major WPA-assisted construction on the First System started to wind down, with the Crosstown Line being fully complete by September of 1936, the Queens Boulevard Line reaching 71 Av-Continental Ave by October of 1936 and full completion of the Fulton Street Line up to Broadway Junction by March of 1937; the Independent's Sixth Avenue Line, itself not a WPA-assisted construction project would see the first segment opened between Broadway-Lafayette Street and York Street in Brooklyn in May of 1936. As the components finished on the First System, constructed started to shift more and more towards the Second System, slowly increasing in scale. One of the earliest components to start seeing construction would be the three East River tunnels to cross between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Worth Street Tunnel, the Pierrepont Street Tunnel, and the Stanton Street Tunnel (in that order for their start of construction). Lower Manhattan was the major site of construction so far, with construction on the Worth Street Line, Second Avenue Line (with both the separate express and local track divergences to their East River tunnels). Even as major construction was taking place in Lower Manhattan, it was extending into Brooklyn for the rest of the Utica Avenue Line, from both the new construction along Beaver Street to along that of Bushwick Avenue, and down Utica Avenue to Kings Highway. Initial purchases and planning were starting to wrap up as the first phases of construction were starting to begin for construction of the Utica Avenue Line.

As the end of 1937 came, immediate impacts would start to reverberate for the construction of the Second System in the Bronx, as the New York, Westchester & Boston Railway fell into bankruptcy. Calls came on both sides on what to do with the bankrupt railroad, with one side wanting to bail out the railroad and to keep it running, while the other side was wanting to just let it fail and not to 'subsidize' the commuters who relied upon it. The former opinion would find itself becoming the majority opinion in the New York State government, for the bailout of the NYW&B and its creation into a public entity. Pressure would emerge from Mayor La Guardia on the matter of the bailout, with the Independent Subway System seeking to acquire all four tracks between Westchester Avenue Station and East Kingsbridge Road, and in turn to not allow the bailout of the NYW&B. As the danger for a permanent closure of the NYW&B rapidly closed, a compromise would be reached with the acquisition of the outer tracks for the Independent Subway System between East Kingsbridge Road and East 180th Street (and all the tracks south of East 180th Street), while the inner tracks and the rest of the line outside of the Bronx would be owned by the newly formed Bronx-Westchester Railroad Authority (BWRA). The BWRA would engage in immediate talks with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad for a continuation of service along the Port Chester branch (after it had been terminated in 1930 from the NYW&B), along with the construction of a connection to the NYNH&H mainline heading into the New York Central at Columbus Avenue in Mount Vermont to allow trains to terminate at Grand Central (which the BWRA was itself discussing with the New York Central Railroad if the NYNH&H agreed). Eventually, by the start of 1939, all agreements had been made and construction was starting on the track connection at Columbus Avenue Station to allow the commuter trains to head into Grand Central.

Alongside the creation of the BWRA, other drastic shifts were starting to emerge in the Bronx, with the organization and creation of the 'New York Municipal Airport' located in the Northeastern Bronx by Pelham Manor. The earliest talks for the construction of a major airport in the Bronx had emerged near the end of the 1920s, with a suggested proposal by the Port Authority of New York to build a 'tentative' airport in the Northeast Bronx near the Pelham Bay Parkway, which could offer a site for such a development. It intensified following the acquisition of land by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation who had desired a nationwide chain of airports and airport servicing facilities across the United States primarily focused on American cities. What would follow would be a major fight between the Curtiss-Wright Corporation and the Pelham Bay Manor over it, and only the Great Depression would prevent the construction of the proposed airport by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. The Great Depression had soured any attempts at the construction of such an airport for now, but the Bronx would continue to advocate for the construction of the airport in the Northeast Bronx, with Bronx Borough President James Lyons addressing the Bronx Civics Congress in 1935 to push for such a construction. In 1936, efforts would accelerate with Mayor Fiorello La Guardia calling for a domestic airport for New York City, and would find themselves being decided among between the Glenn H. Curtiss Airport located in Queens, and the proposed former Curtiss-Wright Airport in the Bronx. Eventually, near the end of 1937, it would be decided for the construction of an airport located in the Bronx at the site of the proposed Curtiss-Wright Airport.

The decision for construction for the new airport in the Northeast Bronx, combined with the creation of the Bronx-Westchester Railroad Authority had shifted some of the plans for the construction of the Concourse Line extension. Construction had already begun along the Bronx Park Viaduct, but the debates beyond Gun Hill Road had reemerged entirely. The original connection to the ex-NYW&B tracks had been axed with the organization into the Railroad Authority, but now a proposal to extend it beyond towards the 'New York Municipial Airport' had emerged. The issue of the marshy swampland throughout the area (which was being expected to be reinforced for the construction of the airport) had presented an issue for any type of construction of a subway to the airport. A ramification that had been proposed was the construction of it as an elevated, emerging before Corsa Avenue and running as an elevated to the airport terminal (which had been proposed to be built in the northern side of the purchased land). The issues in public opinion of building a new elevated, combined with the limited amount of funding available would have the route terminate at East Gun Hill Road and Burke Avenue at the East Gun Hill Road Station (where it was originally planned).

Development for the Second System was continuing, even with the emerging impacts of the Recession of 1937. The First System was continuing in the pace of construction and completion (slowing down as the City's finances strained due to the Recession of 1937), as work and negotiations on purchasing both the IRT's Second and Sixth Avenue Elevated lines were apparent and rapidly approaching a stage of maturity by the end of 1937, but emerging changes had started to show for both the Interborough Rapid Transit and Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit companies. Both companies were growing increasingly near the edge of bankruptcy, and drastic questions were being raised over if the companies should be bought and integrated into the Independent Subway System as a single unified system. Despite that, an executive decision would be made for the acquisition of both the Second and Sixth Avenue Els before any contemplation of acquiring and bringing in the IRT and BMT. Eventually, by the end of 1938, negotiations were rapidly coming to a close on the acquisition of both Elevated lines, and it was expected by the start of 1939 that both lines would be bought and acquired. The Independent Subway System was in a strong state by the end of 1938, with the Queens Boulevard Line expected to reach the 'completion' of its first phase sometime in the middle months of 1939 with the opening of a new terminal station at 179th Street, and strong progress on the construction of the Second System's numerous lines in Lower Manhattan. It looked bright for the Independent Subway, but storm clouds were slowly brewing on the horizon, emanating from both Europe and Eastern Asia...
 
It looks like the POD is that the city managed to score federal funding for the subway in the Depression? I like the idea, and I especially like that it isn't papering over the problems. Presumably the big cost overruns on all those multilevel interchange stations are going to lead to delays, and not everything that's planned for the Second System will be built, but many lines will manage to be completed.
 
Just curious: what's the POD?

Good TL...

It looks like the POD is that the city managed to score federal funding for the subway in the Depression? I like the idea, and I especially like that it isn't papering over the problems. Presumably the big cost overruns on all those multilevel interchange stations are going to lead to delays, and not everything that's planned for the Second System will be built, but many lines will manage to be completed.

When I first started writing it, the PoD found itself having been that Robert Moses had never found himself in charge of the Triborough Bridge Authority (including during it's construction) from whatever means there were (which itself was likely to lead to a whole litany of issues, such as significant and continuing delays in its construction which helped in 'getting' the additional WPA funds to the Independent).

Of the WPA funds that had been allocated to New York City IRL, a fair amount went into the construction of the initial parkway system throughout the Five Boroughs, along with swimming pools, parks, etc. Some of the funding did wind up towards the Independent Subway System from what I remember, although I can't recall the exact timeframe for when though.
 
If any of y'all have questions, feel free to ask. Pace might slow a wee bit with this being the 'last' of the pre-war updates.

3

Opening up the year of 1939 for the Independent Subway System would be the purchase of both the Second and Sixth Avenue Els from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The acquisition of both elevated lines had been a major discussion between the Independent and Interborough, and one that was now straining the coffers of the city to the limit (which was considering the cost to build the remainder of the First System, and help in building the Second). The acquisition of the Second Avenue El had been one of the biggest 'discussions' and costs, due to the presence of the IRT-owned tracks along the side of the Queensborough Bridge to connect to both the Astoria and Flushing Lines (which were joint operated between the BMT and IRT). At first, the IRT had been open for a cheaper price much earlier in the discussion for the sale of the Second Avenue tracks north of 61st Street, but it had been refused by the Independent (in part due to the heavy construction expected for building the 60th Street Station which would entirely disrupt the Second Avenue El from where it came off the bridge). Eventually, the deal had been reached for the purchase of both, but construction for the Second Avenue Line was expected to not continue north of 42nd Street until the Sixth Avenue Line was finished, in part due to the priorities placed on the completion of the Sixth Avenue Line in order to relieve the crowding occurring on the Eighth Avenue Line.

The Sixth Avenue Line's main portion in midtown had begun construction in 1936, with the ground first being broken by Mayor La Guardia. Due to the existence of the Elevated still above, a major expenditure was set on the underpinning of the El as construction progressed. The Sixth Avenue Line as originally built was to run from 50th Street to York Street, with the express tracks diverging at Second Avenue and continue running across the East River to the South 4th Street station, while the local tracks would continue south and arrive at Jay Street-Metrotech to meet trains from the ISS Eighth Avenue and proceed to the ISS South Brooklyn (or the ISS Fulton Street via switching). This had diverged since then, with the Sixth Avenue express tracks diverging at Broadway-Lafayette Street and continuing to Grand Street (where it was hoped they would cross the Manhattan Bridge). The ISS Houston-Essex Street Line (as had been dubbed between West 4th Street and East Broadway) would open first on January 1st, 1936, before extending to Jay Street-Metrotech on April 9th, 1936. One of the biggest issues for the construction of the Sixth Avenue Line was in Midtown, due to the large amount of tunnels built through it. The express tracks between West 4th Street and 34th Street were planned to be bought and taken over from the Hudson & Manhattan while a new subway at a lower level would be built for the Hudson & Manhattan to replace their former tracks that ran to Pennsylvania Station. However, considering the cost of converting the Hudson & Manhattan tracks to be able to use the Independent rolling stocks along with building a new subway tunnel, it was determined to be cheaper to build the express tracks for the Sixth Avenue between 34th Street and West 4th Street at a later date.

One of the biggest events that would be held in New York, would be the 1939-1940 World's Fair, which had started organization in 1935. Significant amounts of effort had gone into the preparation for the World's Fair, including the clear of the former ashdump at Flushing Meadows, and the construction of the new Grand Central Parkway (which ran along Northern Queens from the Triborough Bridge to the Nassau County-Queens border) and Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (both of which would fully open before the World's Fair began). In addition, an extension for the Independent Subway from 71 Av-Continental Av would be built, going through the Jamaica Yard to the World's Fair was built, which would be served by the GG (Crosstown service). In honor of George Washington's 150th anniversary of his inauguration, the World's Fair would open on April 30th, 1939, with the season to run from April to November. The World's Fair would see more than 200,000 people on it's opening day, with many popular fixtures seeing a constant attendance and viewing. The World's Fair however would be a symbol of what was happening across the Atlantic in Europe as tensions continued to increase more and more. As war would break out in Europe on September 1st, 1939, the 1940 season of the World's Fair would be affected, with both the Polish and Czechoslovakian Pavilions not reopening; in addition, two NYPD officers would be killed by a blast while investigating a bomb near the British pavilion in 1940. Despite attempts to keep the World's Fair Line intact, existing laws had forced that the creation of any new line must be a subway, and so the line would be torn down in 1941, with Jamaica Yard reconfigured to its original planned configuration.

The next year [1940] would see the opening of additional lines throughout New York City, with the first components of the Second System becoming ready for usage along with the final components of the First System. The first line that would open would be the extension of the Grand Concourse Line on March 9th, with White Plains Road Station (connecting as a free transfer to the IRT's White Plain Road Line at Burke Avenue Station), Boston Road Station, and Burke Avenue Station all being opened. The tracks extended beyond Burke Avenue Station in the event an expansion to the New York Municipal Airport was approved to be built in the future. On December 15th, 1940, the Sixth Avenue Line was officially opened in it's entirety, from 47th-50th Street-Rockefeller Center to West 4th Street (besides the express tracks from 34th Street to West 4th Street), opening and relieving the growing pressure that had found itself on the Eighth Avenue Line. The lack of express tracks between 34th Street and West 4th Street did present itself as a capacity problem for the Sixth Avenue, with only two services being capable of operating south of West 4th Street, while the other two services would have to turn at 34th Street. Once the Second Avenue opened north of 60th Street Station, and if the express tracks between 34th Street and West 4th Street were not yet completed, a debate would have to be made if to allow trains from the Eighth Avenue or Second Avenue south of 34th Street for service.

The near completion of the First System and the slowly opening components of the Second System, showcased the need of rolling stock for the Independent, for what was already present. Known as the 'Arnines', the rolling stock was composed of the R1s, R4s, R6s, R7s, R7As, R9s, and the R9As. The Arnines had been built virtually the same with little differences in construction, the few changes being primarily cosmetic in nature. The R1s would be the first order, and serve as the general basis of the entire Arnine series, incorporating tried and tested methods used on both the IRT and the BMT. The R1 order would total three hundred cars in all, being built by American Car and Foundry Company and being employed on the Eighth Avenue Line. Beyond that, the rest of the cars followed the same general design as the R1, with little differences between them. A total of five hundred R4s would be bought, built by American Car and Foundry, employing a different side door panel (with the inclusion of small handle notches below the door windows). The R6s would follow the R4s and employed a 'two-pane' front window rather than the one pane, with a total of five hundred built by Pressed Steel (100), Pullman Standard (150), and American Car and Foundry (250). The R7s and R7As would be ordered as supplements to the R6 order, totaling two hundred and fifty between them, built by American Car and Foundry (75 R7, 50 R7A) and Pullman Standard (75 R7, 50 R7A). The R9 car would again be of the same exact design as of the R6, ordered specifically for the opening of the Sixth Avenue Line, for a total of one and hundred fifty cars, built by American Car and Foundry (50) and Pressed Steel). Finally concluding the order of the Arnines, was the R9As as a supplementary order to the R9s intended for the opening of the Second Avenue Line and the Utica Avenue Line along with replacements, totaling one hundred and fifty-five cars built by American Car and Foundry (80) and Pressed Steel (70). In all, the Arnines would total 1,855 cars for the Independent Subway System.

As the world found itself engulfed into conflict, the Independent Subway System had continued to move forward in it's preparations for the opening of new lines. The first components of the Second System would open on February 11th, 1941, with the Worth Street Line opening for service all the way up to South 4th Street-Broadway and be followed later in the month by the opening of the first portion of the Utica Avenue Line between South 4th Street and Melrose Street on February 28th. The D train (which ran via the Concourse to the Sixth Avenue and terminated at Hudson Terminal after switching at West 4th Street) found it's terminus shifted to South 4th Street (and then Melrose Street) as the sole Utica Avenue service once it opened. On April 9th, the Fulton Street Line would be extended to Euclid Avenue 'officially' completing the First System's construction in it's entirety (except for the express tracks on the Sixth Avenue Line); construction on the rest of the Fulton Street Line was slowly progressing, with the section to Cross Bay Boulevard having already started to be dug. On August 19th, the Second Avenue would officially open service on all stations south of 42nd Street including the Pierrepont Street Tunnel; the HH found itself extended north along the Second Avenue to 42nd Street and east to Euclid Avenue as the full time Second Avenue-Fulton Street Line local, and the A was shifted to run express along Fulton Street. On October 12th, the Stanton Street Line would open to full revenue service, with the H being added running express along the Second Avenue to Melrose Street. Finally, on December 4th, the portion of the Utica Avenue Line between Melrose Street and Fulton Street (meeting with the Fulton Street Line) would open for revenue service, with both the D and H being extended.

On December 7th, 1941, the United States would find itself involved in the Second World War as the Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, following up with attacks on the Philippines and Guam. Whether the United States had chosen to or not, it was involved in the Second World War, one that was not expected to end anytime soon. For the Independent Subway System, it meant one thing, and one thing only. A full moratorium on any kinds of construction, with priority now on fighting the war. The Second System was in a wide variety of construction states, with the Queens Boulevard Line extension to Springfield Boulevard being one of the most complete portions. Beyond that, it continued in a series of states for construction, with the Second Avenue Line between 42nd and 60th Street and the Utica Avenue Line between Euclid Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard having started to see some construction. The rest of the Second System, including the 57th Street Connection, and Van Wyck Boulevard Line had yet to even start any type of digging due to the strained finances of the City.
 
Might the butterflies keep the Dodgers and/or the Giants in New York (yes, I know it's the Brooklyn Dodgers, but Brooklyn is a New York borough)?

Good TL and good detail; waiting for more...
 
To note, much of the information on rolling stock from here on out comes from They Moved the Millions. In addition, I'll be shifting a bit to (probably) a weekly schedule due to the rapidly growing length of chapters... And feel free to ask any questions or what have you.

4

As the end of the Second World War came around, the transit infrastructure of New York City found itself in an interesting situation. The Independent Subway System had started to show issues due to the lack of completion in both the Second Avenue and Utica Avenue Lines, with the H being one of the few Independent services to lack a direct connection to a yard, forcing occasional moves of equipment to compensate for it. In addition, the Independent Subway System had found itself forced to raise the fare to ten cents in 1943 due to the large amount of infrastructure it had and the need to prevent deferred maintenance throughout the system. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation meanwhile were still forced to maintain a five cent fare per the Dual Contracts, forcing both companies into a constantly increasing rate of both debt and deferred maintenance throughout their lines. Finally, political changes also emerged with the end of the war, with Fiorello H. La Guardia being succeeded by William O'Dwyer as the next mayor of New York City.

The arrival of William O'Dwyer also brought changes into the Board of Transportation (and the Independent Subway System) with the emerging post-war situation. A whole litany of construction components still remained for completion on the Second System, but the financial ruin of both the IRT and the BMT represented a much greater need to handle in any kind of situation. Funding would be earmarked for the completion of the extension of the Queens Boulevard Line (as the component most near completion) first, with the City to also begin talks for the acquisition of both the IRT and the BMT for the city itself. Construction would resume on the extension of the Queens Boulevard Line (taking at most eighteen to twenty-four months for completion), while talks would open up on the acquisition of both the IRT and BMT (which would be brought under the Board of Transportation). Beyond the completion of the Queens Boulevard Line, questions were still wondering over what lines would be built next, and if the City would even have the funding required to complete the Second System after acquiring both the IRT and BMT.

By July 1st, 1946, the negotiations for the acquisition (or more properly, leasing) of both the IRT and BMT would be complete, bringing a so-called 'unification' of all three New York City subway systems; but the unification was merely in name only. All three systems, the IRT, BMT, and ISS remained fully intact and independent of one another despite the ownership of them all being under the Board of Transportation. But as the Board of Transportation looked through the IRT and BMT, it was worse than it had appeared; significant components of both the IRT and BMT were in serious need of emergency maintenance, elevated lines were in poor condition, and the list went on. Numerous elevated lines had remained intact throughout World War II, but in the post-war environment several had been identified for dismantlement by the Board of Transportation that were deemed unusable versus the aspect of using the subways. For the IRT, the Ninth Avenue El between South Ferry and 155th Street would be closed and dismantled immediately, while the segment from 155th Street to Anderson-Jerome Avenue would remain as the Pole Ground Shuttle; the Third Avenue El between South Ferry and 149th Street would be planned for dismantlement within ten years or when the Second Avenue Subway was fully completed (whichever came first). For the BMT, the Fifth Avenue El, Lexington Avenue El, and the Fulton Street El to Broadway Junction would all be closed and dismantled immediately; the Myrtle Avenue El (between Myrtle Avenue and Park Row) would be planned for dismantlement beyond the Broadway-Jamaica El in the next ten to fifteen years. In nearly all cases, it was a joy of celebration as the 'blighted elevated lines' would finally be torn down in numerous areas of New York City.

The city's finances found themselves at the near breaking point from the acquisition of the BMT and IRT, and combined with the experience from the Great Depression, it was realized that so long as the New York City Subway remained tied to the city's finances under the Board of Transportation, it would continue to raise problems. Mayor O'Dwyer would push the State Legislature to pass an amendment to the New York State Constitution to modify the available debt limit for capital projects. The New York State Constitution had established that any city, town, or village could borrow up to ten percent of the average total real estate value over the previous four years. The amendment would remove the requirement of the debt limit for up to eight hundred million dollars dedicated towards rapid transit projects within New York City. The amendment would pass the State Legislature in both 1947 and 1948, with it heading for a state referendum in 1949.

The Board of Transportation was preparing a revised series of plans for the funding and construction of the Second System, with a series of priorities for the respective components. Two components had been shifted for the construction in comparison to the original Second System from when it had started in 1935. The first major component changed was the 57th Street Tunnel, which was to run from the ISS Sixth Avenue to the ISS Second Avenue, with plans for a connection to the BMT Broadway Line. The Board of Transportation had recognized that with the leasing of the BMT and IRT, it was prudent to make connections between the 'IND' (the new three letter service designation) and the BMT in order to 'integrate' the system together. The original planning with the IND 57th Street Tunnel connection to the BMT Broadway Line presented numerous issues, and an expensive construction to even implement no matter what option had been taken. The Board of Transportation presented a revised plan to go along 61st Street, with the BMT Broadway's express tracks (then bellmouths for an original proposed extension along Central Park West before the Independent Subway System) being connected to the 61st Street Tunnel alongside that of a connection to the IND Sixth Avenue. The IND 61st Street Tunnel would connect to the 63rd Street Station (which had been moved up three blocks north of the original planning) and it would follow the original track layout from there. The second component that had been shifted was the routing of the Second Avenue Line in the Bronx. The original route had run along Morris Avenue, Park Avenue and 161st Street (into 163rd Street), entirely bypassing the route of the IRT's Third Avenue Elevated. The revised route instead had the Second Avenue Line running under Third Avenue before crossing over to 163rd Street where it would connect with the Dyre Avenue and Lafayette Avenue Lines; provisions would be built so as to allow the creation of a Third Avenue subway replacement without interrupting service on the Second Avenue in the Bronx.

In 1949, the referendum for the New York State constitutional amendment would pass, and the Board of Transportation would begin preparing the plans for an 800-million dollar bond for the people of New York City to vote on in 1950. The bond arguably had four main components, the funding and construction of the Second System (along with the construction of the IND Sixth Avenue express tracks), the extension of the BMT's Southern and Queens Divisions to 600ft long stations (along with fixing deferred maintenance issues), the interconnection between both the BMT and the IND, and finally the acquisition of new and additional rolling stock to supplement the new lines (and replace the older ones owned and operated by the former IRT and BMT). The third component emphasized a total of five separate construction projects, with four being track connections, and the last being a much bigger project. The four track connections were the 60th Street Tunnel Connection (which would connect the BMT 60th Street Tunnel to the local tracks of the IND Queens Boulevard at Queens Plaza), the Culver Ramp (which would connect the tracks from the IND South Brooklyn to the BMT Culver Line allowing IND services to go directly to Coney Island), the Liberty Avenue Ramp (which would involve the connection of the BMT Fulton Street El between 80th Street and Lefferts Boulevard to the IND Fulton Street at Euclid Avenue along with a new station built at Grant Avenue) and finally the Chrystie Street Connection (which would allow services from the Williamsburg Bridge to connect to the IND Sixth Avenue local tracks at Broadway-Lafayette). The final project involved a major rebuild of the DeKalb Avenue junction along with the 'rewiring' of the Manhattan Bridge tracks, with the southern tracks being disconnected from the Nassau Street Loop and being reconnected to the BMT Broadway express tracks, while the northern tracks would be connected to the IND Sixth Avenue express tracks at Grand Street Station.

DeKalb Avenue had been the heart of the BMT, but several issues with the junction had limited the amount of trains that could run through, emerging as a severe bottleneck for all BMT services. As built, the extreme outer tracks hosted the BMT Fourth Avenue local services, the middle tracks hosted the BMT Brighton services, and finally the center tracks (which bypassed the station) hosted the BMT Fourth Avenue express services. Directly north of the station, level crossovers allowed any of the services to go on the Manhattan Bridge or Montague Street Tunnel, with the BMT Fourth Avenue local tracks coming directly from the Manhattan Bridge, while the BMT Brighton tracks came from the Montague Street Tunnel. The rebuild would involve the closing of the Myrtle Avenue station, along with nearly the entire rewiring of the DeKalb Avenue junction. The BMT Brighton Line tracks would be changed as to be the outermost tracks of the station, with the BMT Fourth Avenue local tracks being in the middle of the station. North of the station, the level crossovers would be replaced by two flying junctions, as to allow trains from either the north or south side of the Manhattan Bridge to connect to either the BMT Brighton Line or the DeKalb Avenue bypass tracks.

Since the end of the war, the New York City Subway had been in a period of both adding additional rolling stock along with replacing the previous worn down rolling stock on both the IRT and the BMT. The first of the post-war orders, as the R10, would be a major step forward in comparison to the Arnines which had made up the pre-war Independent fleet and serve as the basis for the next series of cars ordered for the combined subway system. The R10s major features were not apparent to the passengers, which included one 100hp traction motor per axle (rather than the one 190hp traction motor per truck), the inclusion of dynamic braking (which significantly reduced the wear and tear expressed on the brakes), and the usage of roller bearing axle journals (which were brass bearings lubricated by turning in a reservoir of oil) which dropped the maintenance requirement on them to nearly zero versus the friction bearings which needed constant attention in keeping them oiled. In addition, all-welded construction, fluorescent lighting, and large 'sashes' (to replace the previous double hung portholes) for the windows on the car doors also appeared. The R10s would be slated purely for the A service (which ran as the Eighth Avenue Express), and total four hundred cars in all, manufactured by American Car & Foundry. The R12s would follow after, built as an IRT-sized model of the R10 for use on the Flushing Line, with one key difference. The R12s would see the introduction of electric door motors rather than pneumatic door motors which had been used much more before hand. Due to the size of the IRT tracks, only three sets of side doors were featured on each car, along with only longitudinal seating. A total of 100 would be ordered from American Car & Foundry. The R14s would follow after, as a 150-car supplementary order to the R12s and again be manufactured by American Car & Foundry, also slated for the Flushing Line. The R15s, while similar mechanically to the R12/R14 cars, were quite different aesthetically. The primary mechanical change saw the inclusion of the conductor's door controls in the cab rather than outside the car, where they were forced to mount steps in between the cars in order to close them. Aesthetically, the side doors had port holes on them rather than rectangular panes, and had the inclusion of a new roof as an 'arch' which allowed a better 'false ceiling' to be there, which hosted a new setup of forced air ventilation to help keep the cars cool.

As preparation for putting the bond to public vote for 1950 was underway, tensions had finally reached a boiling point in Eastern Asia. The nation known as Korea had found itself divided along the 38th Parallel after the Second World War had ended, with the northern portion becoming the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea' while the southern portion had become the 'Republic of South Korea', both being respectively established by the respective occupational forces (Soviet Union and the United States). On June 25th, 1950, the DPRK launched a full attack against the entire border, and within three days Seoul had been captured with President Syngyman Rhee along with some of the South Korean government fleeing south. The Truman Administration had found themselves not expecting an attack at South Korea, with the focus being on Europe rather than East Asia; concerns of the 'Korean War' erupting into a world war remained on the minds of the Truman Administration, but the United States would intervene in the conflict due to the threat that Japan would be faced with as the important counterweight to the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. The United Nations Security Council would also find themselves emerging in the conflict, and on June 25th, the UNSC would pass UN Security Resolution 82 calling upon the DPRK to pull their forces back north of the 38th Parallel. It was refused by the North Korean government. On June 27th, UN Security Resolution 83 would be passed recommending states to provide military assistance to the Republic of Korea; Truman would order air and sea forces to begin aiding the Republic of Korea later that day.

The capabilities of the United States would be severely limited in part due to the post-war cuts that had sliced through the military, and it would show throughout the military (President Truman himself would call for a 'blockade' of North Korea, only to be told it would be effective on paper considering the numbers available); an eventual twelve billion dollars would be appropriated for military action in Korea by August. President Truman would order ground forces to assist the Republic of Korea, and the 24th Infantry Division would be the first to respond to the order (along with being the closest). Major General Dean would dispatch a 540-man force to help in delaying the North Koreans while the rest of the division prepared to move out from Japan to South Korea; this force would be known as Task Force Smith. On July 5th, 1950, Task Force Smith would be engaged by North Korean forces and be forced to withdraw after nearly seven hours of combat, with nearly 40% casualties for Task Force Smith. Over the next week and a half, elements of the 24th Infantry Division continued with delaying actions to buy time for the rest of the Eighth Army to setup a perimeter around Pusan, but the division would be eventually forced into battle. The city of Taejon had found itself defended by the 24th Infantry Division, with Major General Dean determined to defend the city and delay North Korean forces until the Pusan Perimeter could be setup. From July 14th to July 21st, the 24th Infantry Division fought against the North Koreans, before being eventually forced to withdraw after Taejon had been surrounded. They had suffered a little more than a third in terms of casualties (including those who went missing), but the 24th had managed to delay the North Koreans enough to allow the creation of the Pusan Perimeter.

The Pusan Perimeter was arguably the 'last stand' of the United Nation forces in South Korea, because if they fell, then it would be nearly impossible to get another 'beachhead' in order to free the Republic of Korea. The Eighth Army (alongside the 1st Cavalry Division and 25th Infantry Division) had found themselves moved to South Korea following the 24th Infantry Division, and more responsible for the establishment of the Pusan Perimeter; in addition, the Eighth Army had found itself placed in charge of the United Nation forces throughout the Pusan Perimeter. For over a month, the United Nation forces stood their ground along the Pusan Perimeter against the North Korean forces, with the battle being concluded as American forces hit the beaches at Inchon. The Battle of Inchon's origins had been planned out by MacArthur since the start of the Korean War, and knew that the South Korean forces (battered as they were) were unlikely to be able to hold off the North Koreans even with American support. If a decisive troop movement was made behind the enemy's lines, it was hoped it could lead to the defeat of the North Korean forces entirely. Preparations began, with tests and drills throughout Korea in order to confuse the North Koreans and not make it clear where the landing would occur, as both the 1st Marine Division and 7th Infantry Division began preparing for the landing that would hopefully 'win' the war. On September 15th, the landing at Inchon occurred, with all three beaches being taken by the end of the day and the arrival of additional equipment and manpower. General MacArthur had pushed that the Kimpo Airfield be seized for operations by the Fifth Air Force, and felt bound by honor promises to seize Seoul as fast as possible. Only two days after the landing, General MacArthur would arrive at the battlefield to note six knocked out T-34s as sniper fire shot out all around him; one would eventually hit it's mark, striking General Douglas MacArthur in the neck. By the end of the day, the General would be pronounced dead, having been killed in action. General Walton Walker of the Eighth United States Army would find himself in charge of the United Nations Command by the next day.

Initial orders from General Walker would be sent out for United Nation forces to encircle the North Koreans as best as possible in order to destroy them as a combat effective force and to not cross the 38th Parallel to the best of their ability. The planned attack against Seoul as part of Operation Chromite would be shifted, with the 1st Marine Division to move eastwards to the best of their ability in order to prevent the escape of the North Koreans and to effectively destroy them as a combat force. General Walker would be recalled back to Washington for a meeting with President Truman nearly immediately in order to provide the situation and recommendations for what to do next. The conference with President Truman, would be somewhat of a 'success', with the agreement for United Nation forces to hold along the border at the 38th Parallel until a cease-fire and peace treaty had been signed, or after sixty days of a refusal by the North Koreans for any kind of cease-fire or peace treaty, with United Nation forces to continue northwards again and reunite Korea under the Republic of Korea. On September 21st, the United Nations would send a proposal for a ceasefire to be established along the 38th Parallel to North Korea, and await a response. On October 19th, the DPRK would agree to the proposed ceasefire and negotiations for the peace treaty would begin. From the perspective of the United Nations and more precisely the American public, it would be seen as a 'victory' that had defeated the North Koreans in the field of battle.

Alongside the rapid victory over Korea, the bond measure put forth by the Board of Transportation would pass by a 61%-39% vote, a strong success as preparation for construction throughout the subway system began. In addition to the long list of construction, a series of programs for overhaul and acquisition of new rolling stock had been started to be put underway. With the rapid end of the Korean War (despite some impact to inflation on construction costs) all seemed bright for the subway system of New York City.

(Map of what the 1950 Bond Measure covers in terms of construction)
 
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A rapid victory over Korea? This might have effects in 1952...

Good update, and good riddance to MacArthur, IMO.

Oh yeah, correction: where it says 48th parallel, it should be 38th.
 
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State Constitution to modify the available debt limit for capitol projects.
Cool, the state legislature will be meeting in the subway tunnels? ;)
'capital'

The first of the post-war orders, as the R10, would be a major step forward in comparison to the Arnines which had made up the pre-war Independent fleet and serve as the basis for the next series of cars ordered for the combined subway system. The R10s major features were not apparent to the passengers, which included one 100hp traction motor per axle (rather than the one 190hp traction motor per truck), the inclusion of dynamic breaking (which significantly reduced the wear and tear expressed on the brakes)
Why 'Arnine', not 'R9'? Or was 'Arnine' a name, and people just decided to backform a pattern?
'braking', one would hope. Although 'breaking' surely happens, it is not a design feature. ;)
proposal for a ceasefire to be established along the 48th Parallel to North Korea
So... Vladivostok becomes part of South Korea? ;)
'38th'
 
A rapid victory over Korea? This might have effects in 1952...

Good update, and good riddance to MacArthur, IMO.

Oh yeah, correction: where it says 48th parallel, it should be 38th.

Cool, the state legislature will be meeting in the subway tunnels? ;)
'capital'

Why 'Arnine', not 'R9'? Or was 'Arnine' a name, and people just decided to backform a pattern?
'braking', one would hope. Although 'breaking' surely happens, it is not a design feature. ;)

So... Vladivostok becomes part of South Korea? ;)
'38th'

Thanks for the slight grammatical corrections there guys.

I mentioned it in the third chapter, but the Arnines was the general name that referred to the pre-WWII rolling stock of the Independent Subway. I'm unsure why it earned that moniker though.
 
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Thanks for the slight grammatical corrections there guys.

I mentioned it in the third chapter, but the Arnines was the general name that referred to the pre-WWII rolling stock of the Independent Subway. I'm unsure why it earned that moniker though.
A mystery!
Google....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnines said:
Arnines is a casual term used to refer to 1,703 similar New York City Subway cars built between 1930 and 1940 for the Independent Subway System. The name comes from the literal spelling out of the final contract under which these 1,703 cars were ordered - contract "R9".
apparently contracts were R1-R9...
 
Right, uh, sorry about the delay. This has gone through the cutting board twice (or thrice, can't remember), and have tried to rewrite some segments to make it seem a bit more better. Hopefully y'all like it...

5

The bond measure for a lack of a better word immediately reignited work through Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens as 1951 rolled around. All kinds of work from the underpinning of the IRT's Third Avenue El between 138th and 163rd Street (in the Bronx), to the near immediate restart of construction of the IND Fulton Street Line east of Euclid Avenue, to the overhaul and connection of the BMT Culver Line to the IND South Brooklyn Line began in earnest, but the Board of Transportation had a primary focus in work and effort. The primary focus for the Board of Transportation was focused on the completion of the IND Second Avenue Line along with its associated lines in both Manhattan and the Bronx, with the DeKalb Avenue rebuild, Sixth Avenue express tracks, and Chrystie Street Connection following behind the IND Second Avenue in terms of priority (ranked in that order). Both the completion of the Utica Avenue Line and the extension of the Fulton Street Line ranked closer to the bottom for the total priority by the Board of Transportation, due to the more pressing matters that had to be dealt with.

Despite the priority on the IND Second Avenue Line, work was underway on the track connections intended to integrate the IND and BMT together. One of the highest priorities would be the need to relieve the pressure off the IND Queens Boulevard, with only the express trains providing through service between Queens and Manhattan. The 60th Street Tunnel Connection would found itself as a major priority in order to add an additional service between Manhattan and Queens, receiving some of the largest priority by the Board of Transportation (behind that of the Second Avenue). Following after that was the Culver Ramp, which was intended to directly connect the IND South Brooklyn with the BMT Culver in order to be able to provide through service all the way to Coney Island via the Independent (something that the Independent had wanted to do since the IND South Brooklyn was completed). The actual work for the construction of the Culver Ramp did require the extension of McDonald Avenue between Avenue C and Cortelyou Road, but much of the work behind the Culver Ramp was in improving the BMT Culver for operations. New signal work, general rehabilitation, and extending all the platforms to IND-standard was included in the program behind the Culver Ramp. Finally, of the list of track connections was the Liberty Avenue Ramp, which was intended to connect the ex-Fulton Street Line (between 80th Street and Lefferts Boulevard) to the Fulton Street Line for continued mass transit service. Along with improving and extending the stations along the 'Liberty Avenue Line', a new station would be built at Grant Avenue as part of the Liberty Avenue Ramp to replace the former elevated station at Grant Avenue. The three track connections were set on a variety of schedules for construction and completion, with the 60th Street Tunnel Connection expected to take the shortest, while the Culver Ramp and Liberty Avenue Ramp expected to take longer and at an unknown period of time.

The New York City Board of Transportation had for a long period been in desire of acquiring the Rockaway Beach Branch from the Long Island Rail Road. Since 1929, it had been in nearly every major plan, but the 1950 Bond Measure was not 'planned' to cover it's acquisition, but it still remained planned for one day to acquire it from the Long Island Rail Road. Throughout the late 1940s, the wooden trestles of the Rockaway Beach Branch had seemed more fire prone, until it all came tumbling down for the LIRR. On May 8th, 1952, a major fire broke out, destroying several significant pieces of the structure. Due to the poor financial state of the LIRR, they opted to not rebuild it, and continued the offers of selling the Rockaway Beach Branch to the Board of Transportation. Eventually a deal would be settled between the Board of Transportation and the Long Island Rail Road for the sale (and purchase) of the Rockaway Beach Branch in September of 1952 (within the limits of NYC) for a total of 8.5 million, which was considered a 'steal'. Starting in May of 1953, work would begin on replacing the wooden trestles with a new concrete trestle for subway operations.

For the United States, 1952 would find itself dominated by the Presidential election and the questions of if the Republicans could defeat the Democrats with President Truman pledging to run for a third term as President. The Republicans had faced a battle like 1948, with major efforts to draft Dwight D. Eisenhower as the nominee, but like before he again refused to contemplate being the Presidential nominee, with Senator Robert A. Taft facing off against Governors Stassen and Warren (of Minnesota and California respectively). Senator Taft would secure the Republican nomination for President (albeit, barely), and be faced with the pick of a Vice President who could help appeal to the other side of the Republicans. William Knowland would be selected as the Vice-Presidential nominee, securing it as Taft/Knowland for the Republicans in 1952. The Democrats on the other hand would face some infighting, with Senator Richard Russell Jr. intending to run and seek the nomination away from Truman who had already been President since 1945. Nonetheless, the 1952 Democratic Convention would once more confirm Harry S. Truman as the Presidential nominee for the Democrats, but the question would emerge over the Vice Presidential side. Vice President Barkley had committed himself to not run again (citing failing health), and Truman would desperately look for another figure who could replace Barkley and be voted on by the Democrats. Eventually, a decision would be settled in favor of Governor Adlai Stevenson II from Illinois for a person who could help favor the 'liberal' sides of the party in running against the Republican ticket of Taft/Knowland.

The 1952 Presidential Election would find itself dominated over by questions over how long the Democrats had had national office for (since 1932), questions over national security, and other major affairs. The 1952 Election would be well thought of as anyone's game, but in early October, Dwight D. Eisenhower (who had been pushed for as the Republican nominee) would endorse President Truman over that of Senator Taft in order to preserve American security abroad and to keep the United States defended well against the threats of communism. The endorsement of Truman by Eisenhower was a blow to Senator Taft's election bids, and as Election Day came around, many thought that Truman would win reelection for a third term. The results would confirm it, with Harry S. Truman having won a third term, a record with no other party having served for that long in the Presidency. Congress would be continue to be held by the Democrats, albeit with tighter margins than from the 1950 mid-term elections (in which the success of the Korean War had led to a swing for the Democrats from the local to federal levels).

President Truman would find himself involved in another major affair with the start of 1953, over the nation of Iran. On April 28th, 1951, Mohammad Mosaddegh would be appointed as Prime Minister of Iran, and would lead the efforts on behalf of the National Front on passing forth the oil nationalization efforts that had passed Parliament in March of 1951. On May 1st, 1951, the Oil Nationalization Act received Imperial assent, thus nationalizing the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). Britain would mobilize their military and engage in an embargo of Iran, as they pushed forward an application to begin proceedings in the International Court of Justice later that month. In July of 1951, President Truman would dispatch Secretary of Commerce Averell Harriman with the rapidly growing rise in tensions between Iran and Britain. The Truman Administration opposed any kind of military action to deal with Iran, and appeared supportive of the general position they were facing. The United Kingdom would continue trying to push efforts by putting a proposal forth in the Security Council, but any kind of resolution would be delayed until the ICJ would make it's decision. On July 22nd, 1952, the ICJ ruled 9-5, that the 1933 Agreement was not between two states, but a state and private company and said that they lacked jurisdiction to rule on the case. For Britain, this had ended any hopes of having any internationally backed solution by either the ICJ or the UNSC, while the problem of Iran maintaining it's oil nationalization remained intact.

The British would face increasing ire at the 'embarrassments' that had occurred, and the need to deal with the matter of Iran soon. Westminster Palace had deemed that Mosaddegh was a threat to British interests and have to be removed quickly and promptly. The United States on the other hand under President Truman was willing to confront a communist takeover of Iran, but not to attempt a coup in Iran or to allow a British invasion of Iran. Per National Security Council 136/1, the United States had planned to maintain the government of Iran at any costs to prevent the Tudeh Party (the communists) from gaining control, which would threaten stability of the entire region. It had been deemed that the United States had to in every practical mean to bring an end to the oil nationalization to allow the reopening of the Iranian oil industry; that if a deal could not be reached between Iran and the United Kingdom, the United States was to take all necessary measures to restart her oil industry and to provide markets for it's sale; and finally, be prepared to provide prompt budgetary aid to Iran pending the restart of the Iranian oil industry, if it was necessary to halt a serious deterioration of financial and political situation in Iran. But, the United States had to avoid excess damage to the foreign relations with the United Kingdom in this endeavor, but to also prevent any kind of British veto on American measures that would prove vital to the achievement of the policy means.

Unfortunately for the United States, the start of 1953 would find the United States being forced to find itself involved much more heavily in Iran. The failure to pass the extensions of emergency powers in January of 1953 for Prime Minister Mosaddegh, greatly heightened worries and tensions throughout Iran, as the economy continued to worsen for Iran. On February 11th, an attempted coup'd'etat would be launched against Mosaddegh by unknown elements, sending Tehran into chaos as questions over what was happening. By February 13th, it would be learned that the United Kingdom had organized the attempted coup'd'etat against Mosaddegh, and would force the hand of the United States. With the threat of Iran falling into chaos, and either a Soviet intervention or the Tudeh Party gaining power growing by the day, the Truman Administration would be forced to bring Iran out of her 'blockade' and restart the production of oil (and it's sale) to prevent it's fall. On February 15th, President Truman would take immediate moves for the restart of the Iranian oil industry along with talks with other countries for the purchase of oil from Iran, and follow-up the next day with further meetings for the release of up to $30 million to Iran via the Export-Import Bank. Immediate discussions would take place between the United States and United Kingdom over what had happened.

The discussions between the United States and United Kingdom would eventually 'settle', and the United States would begin major discussions with Iran near the end of the month. The primary diplomatic approach by the United States would become akin to a carrot and stick approach, to bring the 'crisis' to an end. The United States would offer significant financial aid to modernization programs for the Imperial State of Iran, but a deal would have to be reached with the United Kingdom which would see a '50-50' arrangement in terms of the ownership of the reformed Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, with Iranians allowed on the board of directors and open the books. The United States in addition, said that the United Kingdom would be... quite willing to accept the decision. Iran would nearly steadfastly refuse any kind of such negotiations, but the promise of the United States moving to pull out workers and technicians from the oil industry and the agreement for the sale of relatively modern weapon systems, rather than WWII surplus. The agreement for sale of modern weapon systems rather than WWII surplus would be suggested by Undersecretary of State Bruce, and be considered one of the primary reasons the deal would be agreed upon between Iran and the United Kingdom (with the United States having acted as a mediator). Nonetheless, relations between the United Kingdom and Iran would remain nearly entire hostile following the entire nationalization and attempted coup'd'etat, but to many in Iran, it had seemed that Mosaddegh had won strongly with the help of the United States.

In April of 1953, the New York State Legislature would pass a state law to reform the New York City Board of Transportation into the New York City Transit Authority as a public-benefits corporation to remove transit authority (such as setting the fare) away from the city. As part of the creation of the New York City Transit Authority, they had until July 1st, 1955, to create a plan to sell it's bus and trolley operations to private operators. One of the first acts of the newly created NYCTA would be to raise the fare to fifteen cents on July 8th, along with instituting tokens for entry into the subways. Buses and trolleys still required the payment of cash, and no free transfer was allowed between the 'surface' operations and subway operations of the NYCTA. The other major political election that would take place in New York City would be the election of the Mayor. The 1953 Mayoral Election of New York City, would find itself to be an affair between Robert F. Wagner Jr. for the Democrats and Harold Riegelman for the Republicans, with the Liberals having not endorsed anyone for the election. While Robert F. Wagner Jr. would be elected as the next mayor, it would represent a feud in the Democratic Party between Eleanor Roosevelt (who was a strong supporter of Robert F. Wagner Jr) and Carmine DeSapio (head of Tammany Hall, and offering only reluctant support to Robert F. Wagner Jr).

Beyond the increase of the fare, the New York City Transit Authority was dealt the issue of having to handle the needs of additional rolling stock to be acquired. The New York City Transit Authority had started to take notice of what was being adopted by other mainline railroads and emerging transit systems, but the need for new rolling stock for the replacement of significantly older rolling stock along with car shortages presented a significant need. The R16 cars would find themselves using the base framework of the R15s (used on the IRT Flushing Line) in terms of appearance, while in terms of the size it represented the Arnine cars which had made up the Independent fleet. They were the first of the 'BMT-IND' cars, with the purchase of them slated for running along the BMT Jamaica Line. A total of 200 would be bought as part of the contract, built by American Car & Foundry. The R17s cars would come next, based off as an IRT-sized model of the R16, with few differences (including the implementation of foam seating) from the previous IRT cars. Nonetheless, the R17s would start the ball rolling on the replacement of all of the IRT's old equipment by first being implemented on, and then replacing the entirety of the Pelham Line's previous rolling stock. A total of four hundred would be ordered and built by the St. Louis Car Company.

The New York City Transit Authority would with the impending opening of the Second Avenue Line in its entirety, begin the outlining of the new R18 contract. The R18 cars would be intended as a prototype order ahead of a much larger order for the entirety of the Second Avenue Line. The R18s would be be built as 'married pairs', meaning that each units had specific components and had to be specifically connected to each other. On the even numbered cars, they had the motor generator and batteries (for providing voltage to for control equipment and doors), while the odd numbered cars had the air compressor, main reservoir, and feed value for brakes. Due to the operation style of the changes, the number one end of each car would be equipped with the motorman cab while the number two end would have the conductor's cab (and be where the cars were coupled together). Further than that, the cars could be cut in switching operations thus giving them the nickname of being 'Protestant' married pairs. The conductor controls also saw a transformation with buttons replacing levers and operating via relays (these would prove to be an issue, but operating rules were put into effect to prevent the doors from opening while the train was in motion). As one of the 'biggest' changes was the construction of them using a stainless steel body. The construction of them as a stainless steel body would be due to the contract being awarded to Budd Company, who would manufacture the set of ten cars. Budd was hoping that as a result of the cars, that the next contracts provided by the NYCTA would be awarded to Budd based off the usage of stainless steel construction in the cars. The R18 cars would be toured throughout the Independent for both testing of operations and views by the public on them.

The construction of the Second Avenue Line, despite the large amount of work being put into it by the New York City Board of Transportation (and then the New York City Transit Authority) still encountered delays in the construction of the line, based off slight design changes in part for provisions for future lines. One of the more troublesome issues would be the required work in underpinning the Second Avenue Line from 63rd Street to 72nd Street, for the future tunnel that would run from the Second Avenue Line to Queens. Plans had cemented that the tunnel would likely run along 72nd Street, making no stops along the Second Avenue Line until 63rd Street. The second design change would be the inclusion of provisions just north of 120th Street Station along the local tracks for a turnout of a hypothetical 'crosstown' line running along 125th Street. Beyond that, work on the Second Avenue Line continued, despite disputes over where a new train-yard could be built. The NYCTA had planned on the construction of a new trainyard to be built alongside the Lafayette Avenue Line in Throgs Neck, but the question had been of where. Planning had eventually settled on the idea of it being built alongside the Hutchinson River Parkway, but would require the purchase of some homes in the area to be demolished for the entirety of the trainyard. Disputes did emerge over it, and arguments of why it couldn't be built 'elsewhere', but the construction of the new Randall Avenue Yard would move ahead despite local protest (the promise of building a subway had outweighed that of the destruction of some homes for the building of a trainyard).

Projections for when the Second Avenue Line would open in it's entirety slowly found themselves delayed from late 1954, pushing into late 1955 by the time it slowly seemed like it would be ready. Alongside the opening of the entirety of the Second Avenue Line (with both the Dyre and Lafayette Avenue Lines) was the planned opening of the 61st Street Tunnel. It was hoped to coincide all the components together for opening by the NYCTA, considering the factor of how close they were to completion, but as it closed for the planned opening, they were expecting that the 61st Street Tunnel to be a delay of at least six weeks compared to the Second Avenue Line. On October 12th, 1955, the NYCTA would fully open the entirety of the Second Avenue Line (with both the Dyre and Lafayette Avenue Lines). The inaugural opening would also see service with the newly arriving R21 cars (a four hundred car production order of the R18), with numerous reports acclaiming that the New York City Transit Authority had 'finally stepped into the modern day'. The operating patterns of the Second Avenue Line had the express services running from the Lafayette Avenue Line, while the locals were running from the Dyre Avenue Line. The opening of the 61st Street Tunnel on December 18th, would see a third service added to the Second Avenue Line, known as the KK, running on weekdays along the Lafayette Avenue Line to the Second Avenue Line (as a local), crossing over the 61st Street Tunnel and then along the Sixth Avenue Line as a local before terminating at 34th Street-Herald Square. On weekends, the KK was replaced by a shuttle running between 63rd Street and 34th Street-Herald Square to provide a connection between the Second Avenue and Sixth Avenue north of Houston Street. Unfortunately, no service was able to be provided between the BMT Broadway and IND Second Avenue yet due to the lack of terminals in the Bronx.

The significant financial cost of building the Second Avenue Line, compounded with the need of rolling stock acquisitions for the IRT, BMT, and IND, had drained a significant amount of money from the bond measure, with the remainder of the money having been earmarked for the completion of more vital components, handling deferred maintenance, and component rebuilds. This would be pictured most heavily on the planned extension of the IND Fulton Street Line, which had slowly started work on the extension east. Unfortunately, changing priorities had left the first portion of the extension to Cross Bay Boulevard half-built, and changing questions over it's construction were continually raised. The acquisition of the Rockaway Beach Branch helped to cement some of the planning, but finally it would be settled by the end of 1954 for how the Fulton Street Extension would be built. Continuing as a four track line east of Euclid Avenue, both express tracks would terminate just after Cross Bay Boulevard Station, while the local tracks would continue to 105th Street where the Fulton Street Line would end. A pair of flying junctions would be built to allow connections between the Fulton Street Line and Rockaway Beach Branch, with trains from either the local or express tracks able to head to the Rockaways after Cross Bay Boulevard Station. Considering the half-completed state of the extension, it was expected to take at most for up to two years for the completion up to Cross Bay Boulevard, with another eighteen months (at most) following after that for the construction and completion of the station at 105th Street.

The litany of other construction projects as part of the bond measure were reaching their own respective states as 1955 passed by into 1956. The 60th Street Tunnel Connection was completed and opened for service in July of 1955, with the Brighton Local (running via the Montague Street Tunnel) running to 71 Av-Continental Av during weekdays, with no service on either late nights or weekends. The Utica Avenue Line would see an extension from Fulton Street to Kings Highway in February of 1956 (much of the remaining construction was focused on finishing stations, signal installation, and building train storage just beyond Kings Highway), but any expectations of construction beyond Kings Highway remained in doubt, considering the amount of money remaining and the other priorities for the Transit Authority. The Culver Ramp was completed by June of 1956, which would see the F extended across the BMT Culver all the way to Coney Island, thus completing something the Independent had desired since they had first started services. The Liberty Avenue Ramp was expected to open by October as one of the last pieces of components to be opened in 1956. The rebuilding of DeKalb Avenue, having begun in 1952, was expected to finish by the start of 1958, while the Sixth Avenue express tracks were expected to be completed sometime from early 1958 to late 1959, due to significant delays in construction and progress on it. The opening of the Sixth Avenue express tracks had originally been hoped to be coincided with the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection, however design changes following it's initial beginnings had caused a series of delays in construction and it's expected completion.

Construction had been originally planned to start in 1953 for the Chrystie Street Connection, however issues had started to be noticed with the way the Chrystie Street Connection was to be built. While the moniker had been originally used to refer to a connection between the Sixth Avenue local tracks and the Nassau Street local tracks just before Essex Street station, it had expanded to include the eventual work in connecting the Manhattan Bridge to Grand Street Station, but even a proposed third component for the project. The proposed third component had come about among planning for the Second Avenue Subway for when a tunnel to Queens was built, and how to handle the through service running through. The IND Fulton Street realistically had enough service running with one local and one express, with the addition of a second local bound to cause problematic issues such as a low occupancy rate on both local services. Planning by the NYCTA had started to notice the decreased TPH on the Nassau Street Line west of Essex Street once the Chrystie Street Connection had been fully completed, and could easily be able to handle another service. The issues however had started to emerge in regards due to the amount of space available for any kind of construction, with the Second Avenue Subway and the existing plans for the Chrystie Street Connection. Eventually, the design had been settled with significant design changes being implemented along the Nassau Street Line. The southern Bowery Station platform would be demolished, with both tracks descending and curving prior to it, both of them aimed to connect to the Second Avenue local tracks leaving from Houston Street Station. Along the Nassau Street Line itself, a single crossover would 'rearrange' the pair of express tracks, so as to be reoriented as 'Jamaica (D)-Second Avenue (D)-Jamaica (U)-Second Avenue (U)' for arrivals at Canal Street; Canal Street itself would see the pair of bumper blocks removed along the center tracks, and both tracks that had formerly terminated there would be extended straight through connecting to both tracks that went beyond Canal Street. Unfortunately due to the configuration at Chambers Street, it was expected that there would be extensive use of the switches directly north of the station, and considerations were being taken if it would be possible to upgrade the switches to improve capacity.

Both the Democrat and Republican conventions in 1956 would be expected to be dominated by those who had won the primaries, but it was anything but for both parties. The Democratic primary would find itself being fought over by Vice President Adlai Stevenson II, Governor W. Averell Harriman, and Senators Lyndon B. Johnson and George Smathers. Nonetheless, due to President Truman's endorsement of Adlai Stevenson to succeed him, he would rapidly gain a majority of the delegates, thus securing him the nomination for the Presidency. Rumors had been constant, but Stevenson would announce that the delegates could choose his running mate. This would rapidly result in those that had the most connections and influence were likely to move ahead in securing the nomination. While Estes Kefauver would take the lead initially in delegates, both Lyndon B. Johnson and Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. would rapidly catch up, and force it to be between the pair of them. Eventually, the majority of delegates would wind up going to Governor Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., thus giving him the VP slot for the 1956 Presidential ticket for the Democrats.

The Republican primary similarly enough to the Democrats, would find itself quickly dominated by Joseph McCarthy, considered to be the 'one man' who could in all likelihood win and secure the Presidency for the Republican Party. Three weeks before the Convention however, Joseph McCarthy would be hospitalized following a collapse in the Senate during a speech. Slightly less than a week later, Joseph McCarthy would die with the cause being identified as 'acute hepatitis'. This would open the floodgates with the release of McCarthy's delegates and attempts by the other candidates who had run in order to secure them. Eventually, it would narrow down to four main candidates who would have a fair count of delegates, Senators William F. Knowland, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr, George H. Bender, and finally Barry Goldwater. Back-door negotiations between William F. Knowland and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., would eventually see Knowland awarded the nomination of the party by handing Cabot's delegates over to him, while Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. would be the Vice President as part of the ticket.

The 1956 Presidential Election had been set for Stevenson/Kennedy Jr. versus Knowland/Lodge Jr. The question now was, which party would win the Presidency, the one that had held it since 1932, or the one that had not had since Hoover?
 
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Joseph Kennedy, Jr. lives? This is interesting; I see that the butterflies are flapping...

WI Joseph McCarthy had lived TLs will be popular on TTL's AH.com, methinks...
 
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