Editing New York Tunnel Extension (section)

==Planning==
The PRR had consolidated its control of railroads in New Jersey with the lease of [[United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company]] in 1871, thereby extending its rail network from [[Philadelphia]] northward to [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]]. Crossing the [[Hudson River]], however, remained a major obstacle. To the east, the [[Long Island Rail Road]] (LIRR) ended at the [[East River]]. In both situations, passengers had to transfer to [[ferry|ferries]] to [[Manhattan]]. This put the PRR at a disadvantage relative to its closest competitor, the [[New York Central Railroad]], which already served Manhattan via its [[Grand Central Terminal#Grand Central Station|Grand Central Station]].<ref name="Schafer">{{Schafer-Pennsylvania-2009 | pages=61–64}}</ref><ref name="Cudahy">{{Cudahy-Hudson}}</ref>{{rp|28}}

===Early tunnel and bridge proposals===
Various plans to build a physical link across the Hudson River were discussed as early as the 1870s, and both tunnel and bridge projects were considered by the railroads and government officials.<ref name="Scientific American 1910">{{cite journal |title=Opening of the Pennsylvania Terminal Station in New York |journal=Scientific American |date=1910-09-10 |volume=103 |issue=11 |pages=200–201 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican09101910-200 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951001389797u&view=image&seq=208 |access-date=2020-02-29|url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{rp|200}}  A tunnel project for the [[Hudson and Manhattan Railroad]] (H&M), a [[rapid transit]] line, began in 1874, and encountered serious engineering, financial and legal obstacles. The project was halted in 1880 after a blowout accident that cost 20 lives.<ref>{{cite book| last=Burr| first=S.D.V.| title=Tunneling Under The Hudson River: Being a description of the obstacles encountered, the experience gained, the success achieved, and the plans finally adopted for rapid and economical prosecution of the work | publisher=John Wiley and Sons| year=1885| location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56pDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA24| page=24 ff}}</ref> (Work on the H&M tunneling project, later known as the [[Uptown Hudson Tubes]], continued intermittently but was not completed until 1906;<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/05/26/archives/under-the-hudson-river-by-tunnel-about-to-become-a-reality-october.html|title=Under the Hudson River by Tunnel About to Become a Reality; October 1 Will See the End of a Romance of Thirty-four Years' Struggle of Capital and Brains Against the Seemingly Insurmountable Obstacles of Nature.|date=May 26, 1907|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 24, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> it was opened to passenger trains in 1908.<ref>{{cite web | title=TROLLEY TUNNEL OPEN TO JERSEY; President Turns On Power for First Official Train Between This City and Hoboken. REGULAR SERVICE STARTS Passenger Trains Between the Two Cities Begin Running at Midnight. EXERCISES OVER THE RIVER Govs. Hughes and Fort Make Congratulatory Addresses -- Dinner at Sherry's in the Evening. | website=The New York Times | date=February 26, 1908 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/02/26/archives/trolley-tunnel-open-to-jersey-president-turns-on-power-for-first.html | access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref>)

The technology of tunnel-building was still primitive and risky in the 1880s, and this gave impetus to a major bridge design proposal promoted by engineer [[Gustav Lindenthal]].<ref name="Jonnes">{{cite book |title=Conquering Gotham - A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and its Tunnels |last=Jonnes |first=Jill |year=2007 |publisher=Viking |location=New York |isbn=978-0-670-03158-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/conqueringgotham00jonn |url-access=registration }}</ref>{{rp|20}}<ref name="Scientific American 1910"/>{{rp|200}} The bridge would be situated between [[Hoboken, New Jersey]] and 23rd Street in Manhattan. However, due to the congested shipping conditions in [[New York Harbor]], the design called for an enormous bridge span that would have been twice that of the [[Brooklyn Bridge]]. At one point, plans for the bridge called for it to carry 14 tracks.<ref name="Cudahy"/>{{rp|29}} Although [[United States Congress|Congress]] granted Lindenthal's company a charter in 1890 for construction of a bridge, the huge $27 million project cost would have to be shared by several railroads.<ref name="Couper">{{cite book | title=History of the Engineering Construction and Equipment of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's New York Terminal and Approaches |last=Couper |first=William. |year=1912 |publisher=Isaac H. Blanchard Co. |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyengineer00unkngoog/page/n30 7]–16 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyengineer00unkngoog }}</ref> The [[Panic of 1893]] made large capital investments nearly impossible for some time, as one third of the nation's railroads failed.<ref name="Jonnes" />{{rp|20}}<ref name="Scientific American 1910"/>{{rp|200}} Some foundation masonry was laid on the Hoboken side in 1895, but the PRR was unsuccessful in getting other companies to share in the expenses, and the bridge project was abandoned.<ref name="Couper" />

===Revised plans===
The PRR, working with the LIRR, developed several new proposals for improved regional rail access in 1892.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Project Gutenberg eBook of The New York Tunnel Extension of the Pennsylvania Railroad, The North River Division, By Charles M. Jacobs.|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18548/18548-h/18548-h.htm|access-date=2020-10-11|website=www.gutenberg.org}}</ref>  They included construction of new tunnels between [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] and Manhattan, and possibly a tunnel via [[Brooklyn]] and the [[East River]]; new terminals in midtown Manhattan for both the PRR and LIRR; completion of the Hudson Tubes; and a bridge proposal.<ref name="Couper" /> These ideas were discussed extensively for several years but did not come to fruition until the turn of the century. In 1901 the PRR took great interest in a new railroad approach just completed in [[Paris]]. In the Parisian railroad scheme, [[electric locomotive]]s were substituted for steam locomotives prior to the final approach into the city. PRR President [[Alexander Johnston Cassatt]], upon his return from Paris, adapted the method for the New York City area in the form of the New York Tunnel Extension project, which he created and led the overall planning effort for.<ref name="Cudahy"/>{{rp|29}} The PRR, who had been working with the LIRR on the Tunnel Extension plans, made plans to acquire majority control of the LIRR so that one new terminal, rather than two, could be built in Manhattan.<ref name="Couper" /> The PRR acquired the LIRR in 1900.<ref>{{cite web | title=PENNSYLVANIA'S NEW PLANS OUTLINED; Big Improvements to be Made in Long Island's Acquisition. NO THOUGHT OF MONTAUK POINT Ferry Connection from Jersey City to Bay Ridge and Tunnels to Follow, an Official Says. | website=The New York Times | date=May 8, 1900 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/05/08/archives/pennsylvanias-new-plans-outlined-big-improvements-to-be-made-in.html | access-date=May 23, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Cudahy"/>{{rp|30}} A board was created to study each of the proposals to bring the PRR directly into New York. The team ultimately found that a direct approach was better than any of the alternatives.<ref name="Cudahy"/>{{rp|29}}

The original proposal for the PRR and LIRR terminal in Midtown, which was published in June 1901, called for the construction of a bridge across Hudson River between 45th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, as well as two closely spaced terminals for the LIRR and PRR. This would allow passengers to travel between Long Island and New Jersey without having to switch trains.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/06/26/archives/north-river-bridge-plan-pennsylvania-road-negotiating-with-banking.html|title=NORTH RIVER BRIDGE PLAN; Pennsylvania Road Negotiating with Banking Houses.|date=1901-06-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In December 1901, the plans were modified so that the PRR would construct the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River, instead of a bridge over it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/12/12/archives/pennsylvanias-tunnel-under-north-river-property-already-acquired.html|title=PENNSYLVANIA'S TUNNEL UNDER NORTH RIVER; Property Already Acquired for the Great New York Terminal. TO PUSH THE CONSTRUCTION City Neighborhoods' to be Improved -- Depth of the Tunnel So Great Subways Will Not Be Obstructed.|date=1901-12-12|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The PRR cited costs and land value as a reason for constructing a tunnel rather than a bridge, since the cost of a tunnel would be one-third that of a bridge. The North River Tunnels themselves would consist of between two and four steel tubes with the diameter of {{Convert|18.5|to|19.5|ft|m}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/12/13/archives/pennsylvanias-tunnel-a-submerged-bridge-new-york-terminal-to-be-a.html|title=PENNSYLVANIA'S TUNNEL A SUBMERGED BRIDGE; New York Terminal to be a Magnificent Structure. DETAILED PLANS DISCLOSED Vice President Rea Credited with the Idea Which Will, Experts Believe, Advance the City's Interests to an Unparalleled Degree.|date=1901-12-13|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The New York Tunnel Extension quickly gained opposition from the New York City Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners, who objected that they would not have jurisdiction over the new tunnels, as well as from the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]], which saw the New York Tunnel Extension as a potential competitor to its as-yet-incomplete rapid transit service.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/03/21/archives/more-opposition-to-pennsylvanias-bill-rapid-transit-commissioners.html|title=MORE OPPOSITION TO PENNSYLVANIA'S BILL; Rapid Transit Commissioners Will Appear Against It. THEIR RIGHTS INFRINGED E.M. Shepard and A.B. Boardman, Counsel for Board, Say that It Af- fects That Body's Usefulness -- Mr. Cassatt's Views.|date=1902-03-21|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The project was approved by the [[New York City Board of Aldermen]] in December 1902, on a 41-36 vote. The North and East River Tunnels were to be built under the riverbed of their respective rivers. The PRR and LIRR lines would converge at [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|New York Penn Station]], an expansive [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] edifice between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The entire project was expected to cost over $100 million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/12/17/archives/pennsylvania-tunnel-franchise-passed-aldermen-approve-the-grant-by.html|title=PENNSYLVANIA TUNNEL FRANCHISE PASSED; Aldermen Approve the Grant by a Vote of 41 to 36 Borough President Cantor Speaks and Votes Against the Measure -- Excited Debate Before the Final Action. PENNSYLVANIA TUNNEL FRANCHISE PASSED|date=1902-12-17|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-05-22|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The PRR created subsidiaries to manage the project. The '''Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York Railroad''' and the '''Pennsylvania, New York and Long Island Rail Road''', were the [[New Jersey]] and [[New York (state)|New York]] parts, respectively. The PNJ&NY was incorporated February 13, 1902, and the PNY&LI was incorporated April 21, 1902. They were consolidated into the '''Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad''' (PT&T) on June 26, 1907.<ref name="Couper" />