Grand Central and Park Ave Viaduct
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Grand Central and Park Ave Viaduct |
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By Peggy Darlington (about) (contact) Grand Central Terminal is a vast complex, including
office buildings, several subway lines (4,5,6,7,S) as well as two
levels of railroad tracks. More on the subway lines can be found in
our various subway line guides. The railroad portion of the terminal is accessed through the main concourse, probably one of the most easily-recognized interiors in the world. The building has recently been renovated to its as-built design. This is most noticable on the ceiling of the terminal, where a painting depicting constellations had been painted over for years. Grand Central's upper level features 29 tracks surrounding island platforms, as follows (from west to east): 41/42, 39, 40, 38, 37/36, 35/34, 33/32, 30/29, 28/27, 26/25, 24/23, 21/20, 19/18, 17/16, 15/14 and 13/11. The lower level's tracks are numbered in the 100s and are arranged in platforms as follows: 117, 116, 115, 114/113, 112, 111/110, 109/108, 107/106, 105, 104/103, 102/101. Formerly, long distance trains to places like Albany, Boston, and Chicago operated from the upper level, and local commuter trains used the lower level. Now that all long-distance trains are concentrated at Penn Station, the tracks are used interchangably for all of Metro-North's services. Departing by train from Grand Central, the tracks combine
to a four-track trunk line through a tunnel under Park Avenue. Along
the tunnel are three former stations, located at 59th Street, 72nd
Street, and 86th Street, each of which had side platforms on the two
outer tracks. These are now used for storage and emergency exits. The tunnel portal is at 97th Street and we rise to a full
viaduct by 99th Street, the structure being full concrete tie and
ballast construction. We arrive at 125th Street, recently restored to
original appearance. Tracks four and two share the west island; tracks
1 and 3 share the east island, with tracks one and two on the
"express" side of the platforms. This is the last transfer point for
all three lines. For continuation: |
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