New York Elevated Railroad Company

IRT Ninth Avenue Line

Company type	Elevated railway
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	July 1, 1868 (1868-07-01)
Founder	Charles T. Harvey (West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway)
Defunct	June 11, 1940 (1940-06-11) (main section)
Fate	Closed and dismantled; last portion operated as Polo Grounds Shuttle until 1958
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	Manhattan and Bronx, New York City
Products	Passenger rail transport

The IRT Ninth Avenue Line, frequently referred to as the Ninth Avenue Elevated or simply the Ninth Avenue El, holds the distinction of being New York City's inaugural elevated railway. It began service in July 1868 under the name West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, initially operating as a single-track cable-driven elevated system stretching from Battery Place northward along Greenwich Street to Cortlandt Street. By 1879, this line had been extended up to 155th Street at the Harlem River. In 1903, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company acquired the line and converted it to electric traction.

Operations on the main section of the line ended in June 1940 after it was replaced by the IND Eighth Avenue Line, which had commenced service in 1932. The last remaining portion, known as the Polo Grounds Shuttle, continued to run across the Harlem River until August 1958. This segment included passage over the now-demolished Putnam Bridge, a swing bridge, and traversed a tunnel featuring two stations that were partially underground.

On September 11, 1905, the line was the site of New York City's most severe elevated railway disaster when a train derailed and plunged onto the street below, causing 13 fatalities and injuring 48 out of 61 total casualties.

West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway

The forerunner to the Ninth Avenue Elevated was the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, constructed along Greenwich Street under Charles T. Harvey's direction, operating from July 1, 1868, until 1870. This system utilized several one-mile cable loops powered by steam engines housed in nearby buildings. Cars attached to these cables using "claws," which resulted in jerky movements due to their inability to slip smoothly. The mechanism proved unreliable, frequently malfunctioned, and ultimately failed financially. Subsequently, new proprietors replaced the cable cars with steam locomotives.

In 1885, this line hosted New York's initial public demonstration of an electric traction engine.

Extension

By 1891, the Ninth Avenue Elevated had expanded along Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue. On April 1, 1903, the Manhattan Railway Company leased its lines—including the Ninth Avenue El—to the Interborough Rapid Transit Company for a term of 99 years. Among its distinctive features was "Suicide Curve," a sharp bend at 110th Street where the line rose more than above street level to switch from Columbus Avenue onto Eighth Avenue.

The derailment at 53rd Street on September 11, 1905, resulted in 13 deaths and 48 serious injuries, marking it as the most catastrophic accident in the history of New York's elevated railways. Following reconstruction, the line was extended northward to 116th Street and became Manhattan's first elevated railway with three tracks; express service utilizing the center track began in 1916.

The route originated at South Ferry and proceeded along Greenwich Street from Battery Place to Gansevoort Street before continuing up Ninth Avenue through midtown Manhattan (where it connected with the Sixth Avenue El at 53rd Street). It then ran along Columbus Avenue between 59th and 110th Streets, turned east on 110th Street, and continued north on Eighth Avenue (known as Central Park West and Frederick Douglass Boulevard) up to the Harlem River.

A third track was completed by January 1917, allowing express trains to operate starting July 1918 between 125th Street and 155th Street, with a newly constructed express station at 145th Street. Concurrently, service extended into the Bronx reaching 162nd Street with stops at Sedgwick Avenue and Anderson–Jerome Avenues. By December 1921, Lexington Avenue–Jerome Avenue subway trains provided full-time service north of 167th Street, replacing elevated trains except during rush hours when elevated operations continued up to Woodlawn.

As of 1934, service patterns were as follows:

• 9th Avenue Local — operated from South Ferry to 155th Street throughout all hours; on Sundays and late nights it extended via Jerome Avenue Line to Burnside Avenue.
• 9th Avenue Express — ran from Rector Street to Burnside Avenue via Jerome Avenue Line during weekdays and Saturday daytime; extended further north to Fordham Road during weekday rush hours and Saturday peak periods. The express service south of 155th Street varied depending on time of day.

Closure and Polo Grounds Shuttle Service

The majority of the line ceased operations on June 11, 1940, and was subsequently dismantled following the City of New York's acquisition of the IRT. However, a portion north of 155th Street continued functioning as the "Polo Grounds Shuttle" until August 1958. This service concluded after the New York Giants moved to San Francisco and passenger operations on the New York Central's Putnam Division were discontinued.

List of Stations

Stations, arranged from north to south, were as follows:

FranklinStreet Local January21,1873 June11,1940 WarrenStreet Express February14,1870 June11,1940 BarclayStreet Local February14,1870 June11,1940 DeyStreetstation — July3,1868 1874 Original southern terminus CortlandtStreet Express May25,1874 June11,1940 RectorStreet Local May25,1874 June11,1940 MorrisStreet Local August15,1872 / April15,1877 March19,1873 / September27,1879 BatteryPlace Express June5,1883 June11,1940 Linked to IRT Sixth Avenue LineSouthFerry Express April5,1877 June11,1940 (9th Ave) / December22 ,1950 (other services) Linked to Second, Third, and Sixth Avenue Lines, plus ferries

Station	Tracks	Opening date	Closing date	Transfers and notes
Anderson–Jerome Avenues	Express	July 1, 1918	August 31, 1958	Remnants still exist; connected northward via IRT Jerome Avenue Line to 167th Street and subsequently Woodlawn (1919)
Sedgwick Avenue	Express	July 1, 1918	August 31, 1958	Ruins remain; transfer point with NYC Putnam Division
155th Street	Express	December 1, 1879	August 31, 1958	Located adjacent to NYC Putnam Division terminus; served as transfer location until 1918
151st Street	Local	November 15, 1917	June 11, 1940
145th Street	Express	December 1, 1879	June 11, 1940
140th Street	Local	September 27, 1879	June 11, 1940
135th Street	Local	September 27, 1879	June 11, 1940
130th Street	Local	September 27, 1879	June 11, 1940
125th Street	Express	September 17, 1879	June 11, 1940
116th Street	Express	September 17, 1879	June 11, 1940
110th Street	Local	June 3, 1903	June 11, 1940
104th Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940
99th Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940
93rd Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940
86th Street	Local	June 21, 1879	June 11, 1940
81st Street	Local	June 9, 1879	June 11, 1940
72nd Street	Local	June 9, 1879	June11,1940
66th Street	Express	—	June11,1940
59th Street	Local	June9,1879	June11,1940	Connection to IRT Sixth Avenue Line elevated
55th Street	Local	January18,1876	Before1887
53rd Street	Local	June2,1878	Before1887
50th Street	Local	January18,1876	June11,1940
42nd Street	Local	November6,1875	June11,1940
34thStreet	Express	July30,1873	June11,1940
30thStreet	Local	December13,1873	June11,1940
29thStreet	—	July3,1868	1873	Initial northern terminus
23rdStreet	Local	October21,1873	June11,1940
21stStreet	Local	October21,1873	Before1887
14thStreet	Express
June11,1940
LittleWest12thStreet	Local	June17,1872	Circa1880
BethuneStreet	Local	November5,1875	Before1887
ChristopherStreet	Express	November3,1873	June11,1940
HoustonStreet	Local	November3,1873	June11,1940
WattsStreet	Local	May6,1872	Before1887
DesbrossesStreet Express November23,1873 June11,1940

External links

• Beach Pneumatic Transit Co by Joseph Brennan A comprehensive collection of photographs and in-depth details, with a focus on Chapter 14.
• NYCsubway.org — The 9th Avenue Elevated
• 1939 track map
• Time Traveling on the NYC Ninth Ave El — A historical overview of Manhattan’s elevated railway systems