A look back at the New York Westchester & Boston RR and the successor operation of the IRT Dyre Ave Subway Line of the New York City Transit System. The reason that there was a NYW&B station at Dyre Ave and 233rd St was that there was a trolley line on Dyre Ave which ran from Mt Vernon to a landing on the Hutchinson River. The NYW&B opened on May 29, 1912 as a subsidiary of the New York New Haven & Hartford RR and it operated as a 11,000v AC Electric Railway. The line operated with 70' steel Mutliple Unit (MU) passenger cars supplied by the Stillwell Co. NYW&B Operations ceased on January 31, 1938. The New York City Transit System purchased the ROW from 174th St to the City limits and began operating the Dyre Ave Line from the 180th St Terminal on May 15, 1941. The two track Dyre Ave Line was equipped with standard subway overruning covered 600v DC third rail. The original equipment was NY Elevated Gate cars equipped with subway third rail shoes. The line retained the 11,000v AC catenary over the two express tracks for a couple of years in the event that the Westchester RR began operation again. There was no thru train service between the IRT White Plains Road Line and the Dyre Ave line until 1957. The terminals at 180th St and Dyre Ave were operated as single track turn-backs. The El cars were replaced by IRT subway cars. On May 4, 1957, the Dyre Ave Line was connected to the rest of the IRT West Farms Line via a flying junction at Unionport Road so that Dyre Ave Trains used the East 180 St Station instead of the former NYW&B RR Station. The Dyre Ave Line started Route 2 Seventh Ave Express train through service between the Dyre Ave Terminal in The Bronx and the New Lots Ave Terminal in Brooklyn. IRT Route 9 Dyre Ave Locals operated to/from the East 180 St Station instead of the former NYW&B terminal.

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Looks like the stump of a catenary pole on the right beyond the signal. Is the City Line in this view?
jimboylan | 104577.651@compuserve.com | July 27, 2006

Hello Charles (and Jim Boylan!)

Yes, the CITY LINE in in the background...see the white left to right wide band line...THAT is very top segment of the concrete retaining wall of the NYW&B embankment on the Mount Vernon side of the NY City-Mt. Vernon line bisected by and along the north curb of, Kingsbridge Road in Mount Vernon. The Kingsbridge Road station remains are part of and north beyond that wall which is the southern end ortion of the local track station and its original passenger entry doorways locations. Also, YES, that is a NYW&B catenary tower stump beyond the NYCTA signal cabinet at right. I also photgraphed this scene looking north and also south from the Kingsbridge Road embankment wall on the City side...around 1962-3....as well as the Kingsbridge Rd. station remains and station entry wall facade.
Joseph Frank | nycmodeltransit@webtv.net | May 16, 2007