Editing Hell Gate Bridge (section)

=== 1930s to 1960s ===
[[File:Boxcabs under the wires (inside the bridge) (51282999984).jpg|thumb|upright|A freight train on the bridge, 1948]]
By 1932, residents of Long Island were advocating for the construction of a second rail link between their island and the Bronx, due to the lack of direct freight service to eastern Long Island via the Hell Gate Bridge.<ref name="p1114851555">{{cite news |date=August 16, 1932 |title=Bronx-Nassau Rail Link Asked For 6,000,000: Long Island Villages Urge State to Make Nine Roads Provide Direct Service Also Seek Upstate Outlet Say Roundabout Trips Now Cost Time and Boost Fare |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=16 |id={{ProQuest|1114851555}}}}</ref> The same year, the ICC hosted hearings over whether to run passenger trains over the bridge between eastern Long Island and New England;<ref name="n142619547">{{Cite news |date=November 22, 1932 |title=Service Is Asked for L.I.R.R. Over Hell Gate Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-service-is-asked-for-lirr/142619547/ |access-date=March 3, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=9 |postscript=none |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304001130/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-service-is-asked-for-lirr/142619547/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=November 22, 1932 |title=Hell Gate Service Plea Given Hearing |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-hell-gate-servi/142619518/ |access-date=March 3, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=24 |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304001120/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-hell-gate-servi/142619518/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the ICC ultimately rejected a Long Island–New England passenger train as impractical, inconvenient, and of little benefit.<ref name="nyt-1933-08-26">{{Cite news |date=August 26, 1933 |title=New England Line Denied to Nassau; I.C.C. Dismisses Long Islanders' Plea for Through Passenger Train Route |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/08/26/archives/new-england-line-denied-to-nassau-icc-dismisses-long-island-ers.html |access-date=March 3, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |postscript=none |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304001121/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/08/26/archives/new-england-line-denied-to-nassau-icc-dismisses-long-island-ers.html |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |last=Manning |first=George H. |date=August 26, 1933 |title=Hell Gate Route Asked by Nassau Rejected by I.C.C. |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-hell-gate-route-asked/142620772/ |access-date=March 3, 2024 |work=The Standard-Star |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-hell-gate-route-asked/142620922/ 2] |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304001124/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-hell-gate-route-asked/142620772/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1934, the NH put up its share of the bridge as [[Collateral (finance)|collateral]] for a $6 million{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1934|value=6|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} loan from the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]]. The NH was allowed to take back its portion of the bridge even if the RFC foreclosed on the loan;<ref name="p181629939">{{cite news |date=December 1, 1934 |title=RFC Gets Hell Gate Bridge as Collateral on New Haven Loan |work=Chicago Tribune |page=21 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|181629939}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=December 2, 1934 |title=Half of Hell Gate Bridge Put Up as RFC Collateral |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-half-of-hell-ga/142623173/ |access-date=March 4, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |issn=2577-9397 |pages=38 |postscript=none |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304001121/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-half-of-hell-ga/142623173/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |date=December 1, 1934 |title=Hell Gate Bridge is Pledged for Loan; RFC Accepts New Haven's Interest in Span to Back $6,000,000 Advance. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/01/archives/hell-gate-bridge-is-pledged-for-loan-rfc-accepts-new-havens.html |access-date=March 3, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304001120/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/01/archives/hell-gate-bridge-is-pledged-for-loan-rfc-accepts-new-havens.html |url-status=live}}</ref> the NH declared bankruptcy the next year, remaining under [[trusteeship]] until 1947.<ref name="Northeast Corridor Improvement Project, Electrification, New Haven to Boston [CT,MA]: Environmental Impact Statement 1994 p. 3-PA25">{{cite book | title=Northeast Corridor Improvement Project, Electrification, New Haven to Boston [CT,MA]: Environmental Impact Statement | issue=v. 1 | year=1994 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZ42AQAAMAAJ&pg=SA3-PA25 | access-date=May 5, 2024 | page=3.25}}</ref>

During World War II, in 1940, officials disarmed a live bomb under the Hell Gate Bridge.<ref name="p151278527">{{cite news |date=September 14, 1940 |title=Bomb Found Beneath Vital Hell Gate Bridge |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=1 |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|151278527}}}}</ref> The bridge's economic value made it a target of [[Operation Pastorius]], a Nazi sabotage plan,<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacDonnell |first1=Frances |title=Insidious Foes: The Axis Fifth Column and the American Home Front |url=https://archive.org/details/insidiousfoesaxi00macd |url-access=limited |date=November 2, 1995 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-1950-9268-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/insidiousfoesaxi00macd/page/n151 131]}}</ref> which was thwarted in 1942.<ref name="p1256915976">{{cite news |date=June 28, 1942 |title=Nazis Cached Explosives at Amagansett: Carried $150,000 for 2 Years of Destruction From N. Y. to Mid-West Planned to Blow Up N. Y. |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|1256915976}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |last=Lissner |first=Will |date=June 28, 1942 |title=Invaders Confess; Had TNT to Blast Key Factories, Railroads and City Water System |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/06/28/archives/invaders-confess-had-tnt-to-blast-key-factories-railroads-and-city.html |access-date=March 4, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304021956/https://www.nytimes.com/1942/06/28/archives/invaders-confess-had-tnt-to-blast-key-factories-railroads-and-city.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The NYCR began leasing out land around the bridge's approach viaducts to nearby property owners in the 1940s.<ref name="Gannon 2016 t043" /> The property owners paid an annual fee and were obliged to maintain the land.<ref name="Gannon 2016 t043">{{cite web |last=Gannon |first=Michael |date=September 1, 2016 |title=Astoria residents hit with Amtrak hikes |url=https://www.qchron.com/editions/western/astoria-residents-hit-with-amtrak-hikes/article_b56bf215-5421-5f12-b6eb-74d2ddfb14b9.html |access-date=February 26, 2024 |website=Queens Chronicle |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226225831/https://www.qchron.com/editions/western/astoria-residents-hit-with-amtrak-hikes/article_b56bf215-5421-5f12-b6eb-74d2ddfb14b9.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="n142906312">{{Cite news |last=Gentile |first=Don |date=October 11, 1977 |title=Hell Gate Brim Stony |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-hell-gate-brim-stony/142906312/ |access-date=March 8, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |pages=412 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308011346/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-hell-gate-brim-stony/142906312/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, passengers had to pay a surcharge on tickets for train trips that used the bridge, unless they were traveling to or from New York City; the surcharge had resulted an estimated $20.9 million{{efn-lr|About ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|start_year=1950|value=20.9|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP|group=lower-alpha}}}} in revenue for the bridge from 1920 to 1950.<ref name="nyt-1951-12-20">{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1951 |title=I.C.C. Orders Inquiry on 90c Extra Fare On Certain Trips Over Hell Gate Bridge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/20/archives/icc-orders-inquiry-on-90c-extra-fare-on-certain-trips-over-hell.html |access-date=March 2, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302230950/https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/20/archives/icc-orders-inquiry-on-90c-extra-fare-on-certain-trips-over-hell.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The surcharge prompted investigations from the ICC in the mid-1940s and again in 1951,<ref name="p1237390911">{{cite news |date=December 20, 1951 |title=90-Cent Hell Gate Bridge Toll, In Effect 31 Years, Faces Inquiry |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |page=29 |id={{ProQuest|1237390911}} |postscript=none}}</ref> but the surcharge was upheld both times.<ref name="p882979990" />

Train traffic in the U.S. started to decrease in the mid-20th century as a result of increased automobile usage. This adversely affected both of the NYCR's co-owners and caused the bridge to fall into disrepair.<ref name="Healy 2016 i391">{{cite web |last=Healy |first=Ryan |date=February 22, 2016 |title=The Strange History Of NYC's Mighty Hell Gate |url=https://gothamist.com/news/the-strange-history-of-nycs-mighty-hell-gate |access-date=March 7, 2024 |website=Gothamist |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308222724/https://gothamist.com/news/the-strange-history-of-nycs-mighty-hell-gate |url-status=live}}</ref> The NH had declared bankruptcy in 1961<ref name="Northeast Corridor Improvement Project, Electrification, New Haven to Boston [CT,MA]: Environmental Impact Statement 1994 p. 3-PA25"/><ref name="Middleton Smerk Diehl 2007 p. 331">{{harvnb|Middleton|Smerk|Diehl|2007|ps=.|page=331}}</ref> but continued to own a 50% stake in the bridge.<ref name="p179078084">{{cite news |last=Clark |first=William |date=October 21, 1966 |title=Chicago Bondholders, Will File Own Plan for New Haven Sale: Chicagoans Say Plan Would Sell Rail Short |work=Chicago Tribune |page=E7 |issn=1085-6706 |id={{ProQuest|179078084}}}}</ref> A feasibility study on the possible [[liquidation]] of the NH found that the bridge's [[salvage value]] was equal to the theoretical cost of demolition.<ref name="n142898712">{{Cite news |date=January 31, 1967 |title=Superhighway Urged in Place of New Haven's Harlem Line |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/mount-vernon-argus-superhighway-urged-in/142898712/ |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=Mount Vernon Argus |pages=17 |archive-date=March 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307233658/https://www.newspapers.com/article/mount-vernon-argus-superhighway-urged-in/142898712/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The PRR's own issues compelled it to merge with New York Central in 1968, forming the [[Penn Central Transportation Company]],<ref name="Daughen Binzen 1999 p.">{{cite book |last1=Daughen |first1=J.R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ur402YHf7gC |title=The Wreck of the Penn Central |last2=Binzen |first2=P. |publisher=Beard Books |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-893122-08-6 |page=4 |access-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-date=March 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308062316/https://books.google.com/books?id=5ur402YHf7gC |url-status=live}}</ref> which also included the NH.<ref name="Middleton Smerk Diehl 2007 p. 332"/> Penn Central itself [[Bankruptcy of Penn Central|filed for bankruptcy]] in 1970<ref name="Healy 2016 i391" /> and was absorbed by [[Conrail]] in 1976.<ref name="Middleton Smerk Diehl 2007 p. 332">{{harvnb|Middleton|Smerk|Diehl|2007|ps=.|page=332}}</ref>

During the 1960s and early 1970s, there were suggestions to transfer ownership of the bridge to the [[New York City Transit Authority]]<ref name="n142898712" /> and to run commuter rail across the bridge.<ref name="p899011711" /><ref name="n142899845">{{Cite news |date=November 19, 1973 |title=DelBello asks rail service to Penn Sta. |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-delbello-asks-rail-ser/142899845/ |access-date=March 7, 2024 |work=The Standard-Star |pages=11 |postscript=none |archive-date=March 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240307233705/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-star-delbello-asks-rail-ser/142899845/ |url-status=live}}; {{Cite news |last=Hudson |first=Edward |date=June 9, 1973 |title=A New Rail Link Sought for Bronx |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/09/archives/a-new-rail-link-sought-for-bronx-3-officials-propose-use-of-the.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204154607/http://www.nytimes.com/1973/06/09/archives/a-new-rail-link-sought-for-bronx-3-officials-propose-use-of-the.html |archive-date=February 4, 2018 |access-date=December 25, 2016 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In addition, there had been concerns about the bridge's upkeep as early as 1967, when debris from the bridge fell to the ground near [[Astoria Park]].<ref name="p278397980">{{cite news |last=Moss |first=Michael |date=July 17, 1991 |title=City: Hell Gate Bridge Is One Heck of a Mess |work=Newsday |page=20 |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|278397980}}}}</ref> The freight tracks were de-electrified in 1969.<ref name=":1" />