10-27-1947 NYC Subway Opens
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Civil Engineering Construction Engineering Geological Engineering History of Science and Technology |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Community - Blog |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Matthew Ohland |
| Description: | The Engineering Pathway's blog for October 27. Excerpt: "Today in History - October 27, 1904 - the New York City subway first opens. The New York City Subway is the largest subway car fleet in the world, operates 24-hours-a-day, and (along with the connecting bus system) supports a ridership of approximately seven million daily. That's now. Although smaller private ventures operated earlier, the official opening of the New York City Subway system was October 27, 1904. Although it was operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the system served only Manhattan until it was expanded to the Bronx in 1905. It reached Brooklyn in 1908 and Queens by 1915. The system took a break from this period of rapid construction to help Britain with The Great War, as they called World War I. William Barclay Parsons, Chief Engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission until the subway opened in 1904, was very vocal about the social implications of engineering. In a March 1905 address at Purdue University, "Rapid Transit in Great Cities," he argued that large-scale engineering projects of the day required "something more in the way of a foundation than an enthusiastic dream; there is needed from the beginning the cold analytical methods of a trained and educated mind." That educated mind, however, would be "concerned not only with calculations, but will also have to study men and their needs, questions of industrial demand, the law of finance, and much in regard to legislation." Even in the early 1900's, Parsons foresaw the important relationship between engineering and society - good perspective to have as he left the just-opened NYC Subway system to serve on the Isthmanian Canal Commission in Panama." |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | subway |
| Is Component of: |
"Today in History" Blog of the Engineering Pathway Digital Library |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
Could be used to connect history of technology to current technologies and theory. "In addition to the benefits to commuters and reducing the environmental impact of transportation into New York City, the infrastructure of the NYC subway is a useful conduit for emergency services. After the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the transit system brought 3,500 employees and enough heavy equipment to cover five city blocks to the affected area within hours. The rubble from the disaster buried over - mile of the #1 and #9 line between Liberty and Barclay Streets and took just over a year to clear." |
| Difficulty: |
Easy |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | October 2008 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.k-grayengineeringeducation.com/blog/index.php/2012/10/ |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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