West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway The predecessor of the Ninth Avenue Elevated was the West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, which was built on
Greenwich Street by Charles T. Harvey and ran in experimental operations beginning July 1, 1868, and for public use from June 15, 1870 through August of that year. The line used multiple one-mile-long (1.6 km-long) cable loops, driven by
steam engines in cellars of buildings adjacent to the track. Each loop was started when a car neared it and stopped when it had passed. The cables were equipped with collars that the car connected to with "claws". As the claws could not be "slipped" the car was jerked each time it moved to the next cable. The system proved cumbersome, broke down several times and eventually the company ran out of money and the system was abandoned. The new owners replaced the cable cars with
steam locomotives, and begun operations anew on April 20, 1871. In 1885, the first demonstration of an electric traction engine in New York took place on the Ninth Avenue El.
Extension The Ninth Avenue Elevated was extended up Greenwich Street and Ninth Avenue by 1891. The Ninth Avenue El and several other lines of the
Manhattan Railway Company were taken over with a 99-year lease by the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company on April 1, 1903. The Ninth Avenue Elevated extended over above the street at "Suicide Curve", where the line made two 90-degree turns above 110th Street to travel from Columbus Avenue to Eighth Avenue. On
September 11, 1905, the worst accident in the history of New York's
elevated railways took place at a curve at 53rd street, resulting in 13 deaths and 48 serious injuries. In January 1917, the installation of a third track was completed. The third track allowed the IRT to begin running express trains on the line in July 1918, from
125th Street to
155th Street; trains began using the new express station at
145th Street for the first time. At the same time, the line was extended to 162nd Street in the Bronx, and stations were opened at
Sedgwick Avenue and
Anderson–Jerome Avenues. As of 1934, the following services were being operated: • 9th Avenue Local — South Ferry to 155th Street all hours, extended Sundays and late nights to
Burnside Avenue via Jerome Avenue Line. • 9th Avenue Express — Rector Street to Burnside Avenue via Jerome Avenue Line weekdays and Saturdays daytime, extended to Fordham Road weekday rush periods, also Saturday morning rush and afternoon thru PM peak. These trains ran express south of 155th Street southbound until noon and northbound after noon, and made all stops in the opposite direction.
Closing and Polo Grounds Shuttle Most of the line was closed June 11, 1940, and dismantled, following the purchase of the IRT by the City of New York. Service ended in August 1958 as a result of the departure of the
New York Giants baseball team, which had
relocated to
San Francisco, and the ending of passenger service on the
New York Central's
Putnam Division. ==Station listing==