been devised, which excels
any system heretofore used and is unique in its mechanism. The third
rail for conveying the electric current is covered, so as to prevent
injury to passengers and employees from contact. Special emergency and
fire alarm signal systems are installed throughout the length of the
road. At a few stations, where the road is not near the surface,
improved escalators and elevators are provided. The cars have been
designed to prevent danger from fire, and improved types of motors
have been adopted, capable of supplying great speed combined with
complete control. Strength, utility, and convenience have not alone
been considered, but all parts of the railroad structures and
equipment, stations, power house, and electrical sub-stations have
been designed and constructed with a view to the beauty of their
appearance, as well as to their efficiency.

The completion of the subway marks the solution of a problem which for
over thirty years baffled the people of New York City, in spite of the
best efforts of many of its foremost citizens. An extended account of
Rapid Transit Legislation would be out of place here, but a brief
glance at the history of the Act under the authority of which the
subway has been built is necessary to a clear understanding of the
work which has been accomplished. From 1850 to 1865 the street surface
horse railways were sufficient for the requirements of the traveling
public. As the city grew rapidly, the congestion spreading northward,
to and beyond the Harlem River, the service of surface roads became
entirely inadequate. As early as 1868, forty-two well known business
men of the city became, by special legislative Act, incorporators of
the New York City Central Underground Railway Company, to build a line
from the City Hall to the Harlem River. The names of the incorporators
evidenced the seriousness of the attempt, but nothing came of it. In
1872, also by special Act, Cornelius Vanderbilt and others were
incorporated as The New York City Rapid Transit Company, to build an
underground road from the City Hall to connect with the New York &
Harlem Road at 59th Street, with a branch to the tracks of the New
York Central Road. The enterprise was soon abandoned. Numerous
companies were incorporated in the succeeding years under the general
railroad laws, to build underground roads, but without results; among
them the Central Tunnel Railway Company in 1881, The New York & New
Jersey Tu