The line was proposed in 1936, and the New York state legislature approved the line's construction the next year. Construction began in early 1938. The line and station were only open in 1939 and 1940 during the fair's two operating seasons. Passengers had to pay a ten-cent fare to use this line, double the subway's standard five-cent fare. The Interborough Rapid Transit and the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit operated a competing service to the fair via the World's Fair station of their joint-operated IRT Flushing Line. The World's Fair Railroad and station are the only IND line and station to have been closed and demolished.
By October 1936, there were plans to construct a spur of the IND line, diverging from the Queens Boulevard Line in the south and traveling northward to Horace Harding Boulevard.[12][13] According to Grover Whalen—the president of New York World's Fair 1939 Inc., which was developing the fair—the IND spur would be able to accommodate 40,000 hourly passengers, while the IRT and BMT station would serve 40,000 additional passengers an hour.[13] That December, the BOT and the New York State Transit Commission sent a request to the New York City Board of Estimate to provide $1.2 million for a spur of the IND line to the World's Fair grounds.[14][15] Of this amount, $700,000 was to be allocated to construction and $500,000 to equipment.[14] The city government also had the option to spend another $100,000 to construct a permanent line to the fairground.[16]
Delaney and New York Transit Commission chairman William G. Fullen recommended in January 1937 that an 8,400-foot (2,600 m) spur of the IND line, with two revenue-service tracks and an additional storage track, be built for the World's Fair.[17] Whalen also endorsed the spur's construction.[18][19] According to Whalen, without the spur, 70% of the fair's visitors would be forced to use the BMT and IRT station at the extreme north end of the fairground,[18] and IND riders would be disadvantaged because they would have to pay an additional 10 cents to transfer to a bus.[20] Conversely, Moses derided the line as "extravagant and unnecessary",[21][22][23] prompting Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to convene a committee to discuss the spur's construction.[24] Despite Moses's objections, the Board of Estimate approved $1.2 million for the World's Fair spur that March.[25][26]
New York state lawmakers John J. Dunnigan and Herbert Brownell Jr. sponsored legislation in April 1937 to authorize the Board of Estimate to issue $1.2 million worth of bonds for the project.[27][28] The New York State Senate passed the bill with minimal opposition,[29][30] but New York State Assembly members objected to the fact that the proposed line would charge an additional 5 cents to anyone entering or leaving the World's Fair station.[31][32] The Assembly ultimately passed the bill in May 1937 on the condition that no one using the station be charged more than 5 cents.[33][34] Governor Herbert H. Lehman signed the Assembly bill into law at the end of that month.[35][36] For legal and financial reasons, the line was called the "World's Fair Railroad" and was considered a separate entity from the IND, in part due to the state legislation.[4][37][38] By July 1937, the estimated cost of the line had increased to $1.742 million. At the time, BOT chief engineer Jesse B. Snow anticipated that the spur would take 22 months to construct. He also estimated that the line would accommodate 13 million passengers during 1939 and 10 million passengers during 1940.[39][40]
The plans for the IND World's Fair Line prompted increased interest in homes that were being built near the spur.[41] During the line's planning stages in 1937, city officials considered making the line permanent the end of the fair. They also looked at the possibility of intermediate stations along the line to serve the local areas, comprising what is now Kew Gardens Hills and Flushing.[42] At the time, city officials estimated that a permanent structure would cost $3.683 million if built above ground or $6.088 million if built underground.[43] Despite pressure from Queens borough president George U. Harvey and Queens residents, the line was ultimately not made permanent. The Board of Estimate believed that such a line would not serve any useful purpose, since the site of the fairground was undeveloped. The board's members also felt that if the line were to be permanent, it should not have been built at ground level.[44] Attractions in Flushing Meadows, such as the Citi Field baseball park and the USTA National Tennis Center, were not added until later.[45]
Construction
The Jamaica Yard, which connected the World's Fair and Queens Boulevard Lines
La Guardia sent an emergency message to the Board of Estimate in September 1937, requesting funding for the spur.[46] Despite opposition from Board of Aldermen president William F. Brunner and Manhattan borough president Samuel Levy,[46][47] the Board of Estimate provided $225,000 in corporate stock for the initial construction of the spur.[47] The Board of Transportation awarded the first contract for the IND World's Fair Line on October 26, 1937, to the P. T. Cox Contracting Company. The company had been the lowest bidder for the contract, having offered to construct the trestle for the World's Fair Line at a cost of $308,770.[48][49] As part of the contract, the Cox Company was to construct a pile trestle along the eastern edge of Flushing Meadows, with track beds made of rock ballast.[50]
By February 1938, there were concerns that excessively high wages would delay the line's construction.[51] The same month, the Board of Estimate awarded nine contracts for the construction of the line's tracks, which cost a total of $148,595.[52] Work on the World's Fair station commenced on April 2, 1938,[53] and six construction contracts were underway by that May.[44] The Board of Estimate began soliciting bids for the line's signaling system that July;[54][55] the contract was awarded to the Utility Electric Company, which had bid $125,577.[56][57] Neither Union Switch & Signal nor General Railway Signal, which had manufactured every existing signal in the subway system, submitted any bids for the signal system, as they were protesting the city's requirement that labor unions install the signals' wiring.[54][55] The line's contractors thus had to obtain parts from these two companies.[55]
During mid-1938, the BOT considered implementing a 5-cent exit fare for passengers leaving the World's Fair station and a 10-cent entrance fare for people entering the station.[4] Delaney predicted that the line would earn $369,000 during the fair's 1939 season and $236,700 during the 1940 season; these were based on ridership projections of 13.072 million in 1939 and 10.458 million in 1940. However, Delaney also anticipated that the line would incur a net loss of $932,570 due to the need to pay interest and amortization fees on the line's construction.[58] The BOT awarded an $11,816 contract for 18 turnstiles to the Perry Manufacturing Company Inc. in September 1938. The turnstiles were configured to accept either nickels or dimes because the BOT had not yet decided whether to implement the increased fares.[59][60] To pay for the line's construction, the Board of Estimate decided in February 1939 to charge an additional fare at the World's Fair station.[61][62] By then, the line was more than 85 percent complete.[58][61] The line's construction was expedited so it would be complete by April 15, 1939.[63] Ultimately, the line cost the IND $1,187,512,[64] though the city's parks department planned to pay back $1.7 million to the IND.[65]
Operation
A portion of a New York City Subway map from 1939, showing the World's Fair Line as a spur heading northwest off the Queens Boulevard Line. The Queens Boulevard Line is the red line stretching roughly horizontally across the map's center.
Test trains on the IND World's Fair Line began running in mid-April,[66] and news media reported that empty trains were to start operating on the line on April 29, when a new IND schedule went into effect.[67][68] The line opened the following day, April 30, 1939.[2]: 314, 409 [3]: 83 [69] The line was mostly served by the GG local train, running between Smith–Ninth Streets and the World's Fair station.[70] As such, IND riders had to change trains up to two times.[61] Additional E express service ran between the World's Fair station and Hudson Terminal during afternoon rush hours and evenings. Passengers on the E or GG trains who were not going to the Fair would transfer at Continental Avenue.[2]: 264 Service generally ran until 1:30 a.m..[68][71] When the E and GG trains both ran to the fair, trains arrived every 3–6 minutes. Trains ran every 6–12 minutes after the fair closed for the day, serving people who were still on the fairground.[68]
The fair ran for two six-month seasons in 1939 and 1940.[72] Of the fair's first million visitors, just over 9% (or 90,000) used the IND World's Fair Line to access the fair. By comparison, 203,000 passengers used the LIRR, and 189,000 passengers used the BMT and IRT line.[73] Reflecting the IND line's temporary nature, it had to be repaired and reinforced every time there was a severe rainstorm.[74] Initially, the line carried more passengers away from the fair than toward it.[75] This trend continued throughout the rest of the 1939 season, since the station was next to the fairground's amusement area, where fairground visitors tended to congregate at the end of the day.[76] The line ultimately carried 7,067,948 riders in 1939, far below the city's original estimate of 13 million. The ridership figures included 2.9 million passengers traveling to the fair and 4.2 million passengers leaving the fair.[76][77] The most popular month for the line was May, when the line carried 1.2 million total passengers.[77] Service for the first season ended on November 1, 1939.[78]: 189 [76][77]
The IND World's Fair Line was closed between seasons,[3]: 27, 83 [79] and police officers patrolled the area outside the station during the off-season.[79] The subway station reopened on May 11, 1940, when the second season of the World's Fair commenced.[80][81] That June, Harvey proposed retaining the line after the fair,[82][83] and he formed a committee to advocate for its continued operation.[84] Harvey also proposed extending the line, which was supported by the local communities, elected officials in Queens, and the president of Queens College.[45] Even as there were plans to redevelop the fairground as a city park,[85] the BOT said the World's Fair Line would still be closed and demolished at the end of the fair.[3]: 27, 83 [85] The last train ran on October 28, 1940, at 5 a.m., the day after the fair closed.[86]
Demolition
Plans called for the IND station and the connecting ramp to be demolished after the fair ended.[87] While most of the fairgrounds were torn down soon after the event, the line remained intact for several months afterward. The BOT deemed it infeasible to retain the World's Fair Line because the trestle was constructed to be temporary, and due to regulations at the time which required permanent lines for subway service to be built underground.[85] The BOT also said it would be "an improvident waste of public funds" to continue to operate the line.[74]
Parks and highway commissioner Robert Moses, meanwhile, wished to utilize the right-of-way for the further development of Flushing Meadows Park and the extension of the 135th Street.[74] The Board of Estimate authorized the demolition of the line in December 1940,[88] and on January 15, 1941, removal of the line commenced.[45] The right-of-way was replaced with an extension of 136th Street, and eventually the northern portion of the Van Wyck Expressway which formed today's Interstate 678.[45] Seven train signals that were modified for the World's Fair Line still exist along the Jamaica Yard's track connections to the Queens Boulevard Line. Instead of controlling the speeds of passenger trains, these signals are now used to control the speeds of yard traffic.[89]
Preparation for the 1964 World's Fair started in 1960. An extension of the IND Queens Boulevard Line to the fair grounds was considered. Moses, who was also in charge of the corporation that operated the 1964 fair, rejected the proposal once he found out that the line would have cost $10 million.[90] In the end, improved Flushing Line service, and increased E, F, and GG service on the Queens Boulevard Line would provide improved transportation facilities for the fair.[3]: 83
The line originated at the Queens Boulevard portal of Jamaica Yard as a continuation of the tracks that diverged from the Queens Boulevard Line east of 71st−Continental Avenues.[92] The line ran along the eastern edge of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park for 1.83 miles (2.95 km)[4][58] to approximately what is now the interchange of the Long Island Expressway and the Van Wyck Expressway.[45] The line consisted of two tracks ending in a stub-end terminal, the World's Fair station. The marshy swampland in the line's right-of-way was filled in, and a trestle was built over the landfill.[50] The line was designed to be removed following the fair in 1940.[39] The World's Fair Railroad and station are the only IND line and station to have been closed and demolished.[1]
Station
The World's Fair station was the line's northern terminus[a] and its sole station.[58][93] The stop was alternately named the Horace Harding Boulevard station, after the avenue where it was located.[71] It was open only from April 30, 1939, to October 28, 1940,[2]: 314, 409 and no service operated there in the off-season between 1939 and 1940.[3]: 27, 83 [79] The station was located in the Amusement Area of the World's Fair,[93] next to the Flushing River.[58] The closest attractions to the station were the New York State Amphitheater (also known as the Aquacade) and the World's Fair Music Hall. Conversely, it was about 1 mile (1.6 km) away from the foreign nations' exhibits at the northern end of the fairground.[58] During the 1940 season, the Parachute Jump attraction was relocated so that it was also near the subway station.[94]
The World's Fair Corporation allocated a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m2) site for the station's construction. The station was a three-story wood, steel, and concrete structure. One level was used as a bus terminal, while the other two stories were used as the subway station. Three ramps, each measuring 132 feet (40 m) long and 17.6 to 32 feet (5.4 to 9.8 m) wide, connected the platforms with the upper levels.[53] A New York Herald Tribune article likened the IND station to "a modernistic suburban railway station".[95] Before the beginning of the 1940 season, thirty lights were installed on the ramp leading to the World's Fair station. Each lamp consisted of a pair of 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) "wheels" atop a 20-foot-tall (6.1 m) pole.[96]
The station itself was a stub-end terminal with two tracks and three platforms, organized in a Spanish solution. A third siding was built south of the station.[89] The platforms and tracks were built atop 317 wooden pilings, or stilt foundations. Each of the pilings measured 75 to 90 feet (23 to 27 m) long and 6 to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm) across and were installed using pneumatic hammers. Due to the expense of removing the pilings, workers decided to leave the foundations in place after the fair.[53]
For passengers entering the station, an additional 5-cent fare was charged on top of the standard nickel fare.[70][58] Eighteen special turnstiles were used at the World's Fair station that permitted traffic flow in both directions and accepted two different fares depending on the direction of travel. Fairgoers disembarking from trains paid a nickel as they exited through the turnstiles while passengers entering the station from the fairgrounds paid a ten-cent fare upon passing through the turnstiles.[1][37][38] The double fare was instituted to avoid a financial deficit.[38] Discounts were offered to certain groups of passengers; for example, students were allowed to pay for a 5-cent round trip ticket at the end of the 1939 season,[97][98] and low-income adults were also permitted to pay 5 cents at the end of the 1940 season.[99] A double fare was later implemented on stations of the IND Rockaway Line, which opened in 1956 and used this fare system until 1975.[45][100][101]
Competing service
The IRT and BMT also served the World's Fair, but did so directly with World's Fair (now Mets–Willets Point) station on the dual-operated Flushing Line, which was rebuilt into an express station for the Fair. A Long Island Rail Road station, the current Mets–Willets Point station, was built next to the Flushing Line station.[37] Unlike the IND line, the IRT and BMT charged a standard 5-cent fare. The LIRR station charged a 24-cent fare for trips to or from Pennsylvania Station.[58]
Notes
^Geographically, trains running southeast on the Queens Boulevard Line would then turn northward along the World's Fair Line. In terms of railroad directions, however, the trains would be traveling "railroad north" for the entire duration of their trip.
^"Wasteland Site On Flushing Bay Chosen for Fair: Area Extends 5 Miles South to Kew Gardens, Lies Near Traffic Arteries Moses Pleased by Action Sees Chance to Buy More Land for Parkway Plans Where World's Fair Is to Rise Out of Flushing Meadows". New York Herald Tribune. September 23, 1935. p. 3. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1329290776.
^ ab"Traffic Plans For World Fair Are Announced: Present Lines to Transport' 250,000 to 800,000 Daily Visitors, Whalen Reveals No Commuting Conflict Own Rapid Transit and Buses to Save Walking". New York Herald Tribune. October 26, 1936. p. 18. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1248170581.
^"$1,850,000 Aid To Fair Subway Is Asked of City: Board of Estimate Gets Proposal for Extension of Lines for Exposition". New York Herald Tribune. December 24, 1936. p. 30. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1243525110.
^"Whalen Urges City to Approve Fair Tube Link: Asks Prompt Voting of Requested $1,200,000 for Spur to Flushing Site". New York Herald Tribune. January 26, 1937. p. 37. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1222268498.
^"Albany Asked To Let City Run Subway to Fair: Dunnigan and Brownell Sponsor Bill to Authorize $1,200,000 Serial Bonds Rockaway Act Is Passed". New York Herald Tribune. April 27, 1937. p. 4. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1240319984.
^"5-Cent Fare Up In World's Fair Subway Debate: Issue Flares in Assembly as Bill for Spur to the Grounds Is Considered". New York Herald Tribune. May 6, 1937. p. 14. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1327554705.
^"Albany Senate Votes Fair Fund Of $2,200,000: Measure to Provide for Building and Amphitheater Put Up to Assembly Sponsored by Dunnigan He Tells of Benefits To Be Derived From Expenditure". New York Herald Tribune. May 8, 1937. p. 2A. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1243540421.
^"Bill to Allow Subway Branch To Fair Signed: Just Permissive Measure, Lehman Notes; Authorizes Independent Line Spur Fare Limited lo 5 Cents Decision to Construct It Rests With City Boards". New York Herald Tribune. May 30, 1937. p. 7. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1240435304.
^"Mayor and Aids Discuss World's Fair Subway Spur: Temporary or Permanent Construction Is Taken Up". New York Herald Tribune. July 22, 1937. p. 17. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1240404310.
^ ab"Permanent City Subway Link to Fair Is Opposed: Board of Transportation Rules Against Appeals in Queens to Keep Transit Line After Display Closes". New York Herald Tribune. May 24, 1938. p. 20. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1251439407.
^ ab"City Will Act Monday on Fair Zoning Plans: Mayor, Tired of Delay, Says He Will Demand Vote Then After Final Hearing Owners Press Protests Program Affects Signs, Parking in Adjoining Area". New York Herald Tribune. September 25, 1937. p. 3. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1242872029.
^"High Pay Rates Halt 60 Million In Public Works: Citizens Budget Commission Calls City, State Schedules 'Grossly Excessive'". New York Herald Tribune. February 28, 1938. p. 13. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1250902816.
^ abc"40,000 Persons Hour Capacity Of Huge Depot: Builder Promises Completion of Station in 120 Days; Structure Is Mile and Half From Main Line World's Fair Railroad Terminal to Rest on Wooden Legs". New York Herald Tribune. April 3, 1938. p. C2. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1260663107.
^ abcdefgh"Fair Railroad Almost Ready; Fare 10 Cents: City Subway Passengers to Pay Nickel Getting On and Nickel Getting Off World's Fair Railroad Spur of Independent Subway, Near Completion". New York Herald Tribune. February 27, 1939. p. 13. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1267935212.
^"Making a Park Of Fair Site to Cost 5½ Million: City Reveals Plans for Big All-Year Playground; 59 Million Spent Previously". New York Herald Tribune. May 15, 1939. p. 12. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1255849989.
^"B. M. T., I. R. T. Express Trains Start April 24: Subways Will Make Run to Willets Point Boulevard Station in 24 Minutes". New York Herald Tribune. April 17, 1939. p. 6. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1254731448.
^"Bride Honored at Fair As Its Millionth Visitor: Dutch and Finnish Pavilions Formally Opened; Program Dedicated to World Peace Is Held; Exposition Enjoys a Sunny, Warm Day". New York Herald Tribune. May 5, 1939. p. 1. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1244879624.
^ abc"Fair Will Have Theme Center Court for 1940: Special Entertainment Field to Replace Flower Beds in Front of City Building". New York Herald Tribune. November 3, 1939. p. 15. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1259435558.
^North, Simon Newton Dexter; Wickware, Francis Graham; Hart, Albert Bushnell (1940). The American Year Book. Thomas Nelson & Sons. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
^ abc"Fair's $75,000,000 Property To Have Strong Winter Guard". New York Herald Tribune. October 27, 1939. p. 22. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1252696086.
^"Rush to the Fair Taxes All City's Traffic Systems: Subways and L. I. Road Tag 5,175 Through in 1st 10 Minutes Parking Lots Busy Snip and the World's Fair of 40 Is Officially Open". New York Herald Tribune. May 12, 1940. p. 31. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1242959008.
^"World's Fair Building Progress From Blueprints to All Colors: Even as the Big Construction Proceeds Rapidly, Landscaping Is Going On and the Show's Theme Begins To Be Evident". New York Herald Tribune. September 11, 1938. p. A3. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1243091894.
^"Fair Will Admit Children Today On Nickel Rate: Schools to Excuse 125,000 Students to Attend the Special 5-Cent Festival". New York Herald Tribune. October 27, 1939. p. 22. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1252362643.
^"Adults on Relief To Ride Free to Fair, Get In Free: Subway and Gale Tickets Will Go to 246,500 on City Rolls Next Week Only sixteen days left to see the New York World's Fair". New York Herald Tribune. October 12, 1940. p. 1. ISSN1941-0646. ProQuest1320026228.
Note that this is a list of New York City Subway lines, which are the physical infrastructure over which services operate. Lines with colors next to them are trunk lines; trunk lines determine the color of New York City Subway service bullets, except for shuttles, which are dark gray.
