Morris Park (IRT Dyre Avenue Line)

Morris Park
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	Paulding Avenue & Esplanade Bronx, NY 10461
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Morris Park
Coordinates	40°51′16″N 73°51′37″W / 40.854429°N 73.860397°W / 40.854429; -73.860397Coordinates: 40°51′16″N 73°51′37″W / 40.854429°N 73.860397°W / 40.854429; -73.860397
Division	A (IRT, formerly NYW&B)
Line	IRT Dyre Avenue Line
Services	5  (all times)
Structure	Underground / Embankment
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	May 29, 1912; 104 years ago (1912-05-29) (NYW&B station) May 15, 1941; 75 years ago (1941-05-15) (re-opened as a Subway station)
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	629,282  1.2%
Rank	396 out of 425
Station succession
Next north	Pelham Parkway: 5
Next south	East 180th Street: 5
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US
Morris Park Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of New York Show map of the US
Location	Under Esplanade Ave. at Bogart and Colden Ave. and Hone Ave., Bronx, New York
Area	less than one acre
Built	1912
Architect	Reed and Stem; Fellheimer & Long
Architectural style	Mission/Spanish Revival
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference #	05000677
Added to NRHP	July 6, 2005

Morris Park is a station on the IRT Dyre Avenue Line of the New York City Subway served by the 5 train. It is at Paulding Avenue and the Esplanade in Morris Park, Bronx.

The station was first placed in service in 1912 as part of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad, a subsidiary of the New York, New Haven and Hartford. The line was designed for the weight of the heaviest main line steam trains.

The emblem of the NYW&B, was the caduceus, a staff entwined with serpents that has served as a symbol of commerce since Classical times. It is cast into several locations of the concrete facade facing the Esplanade. The NYW&B offered frequent service between 138th Street in the South Bronx and White Plains and Port Chester in Westchester County. The White Plains and Port Chester branches diverged at Mount Vernon Junction near Columbus Avenue along the boundary between Mount Vernon and Pelham.

The two outer tracks at Morris Park were for trains that made local stops in the Bronx, and went to Port Chester. The two inner tracks were for express trains that made limited stops in The Bronx, and went to White Plains. The trains were powered by 11,000 volt 25 Hz alternating current supplied from overhead catenary. The cut-off stumps of the catenary bridges remain along the right of way and can be seen from the south ends of the platforms.

The NYW&B was doomed by the bankruptcy of its patron, the New Haven. Service ended in 1937.

A few years later, the portion in The Bronx became part of the New York City Transit System. Initial subway service was a shuttle (nicknamed "The Dinky") to the old NYW&B platforms at East 180th Street. In the late 1950s, the construction of a flying junction with the White Plains Road line allowed Dyre Avenue trains to enter the East 180th Street subway station and continue to Manhattan.

Around this period, the Morris Park platforms were extended towards the south to accommodate ten-car subway trains. This required reducing the height of the outboard plate girders of the bridge over Colden Avenue so that the bottoms of the platforms would be above the tops of the girders. The massive overdesign of the bridge allowed ample margin for trimming the girders.

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Wikipedia