The IND was nearing completion, while the great Manhattan & Brooklyn els were not yet torn down. The BMT and IRT meanwhile had nearly attained their present trackage. Dozens of ferries plied the rivers. The map doesn't even show the trolley lines which were still in existence.
I'm reminded of reading as a kid abt the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when dinosaurs had also reached their zenith and were kings of the land, the air and the seas. Well, you know what happened to them.
Sure it was the depression, but I'd set my time machine for 1936, if only I could afford one..
www.forgotten-ny.com
Peter Rosa on Tue Jan 22 10:16:38 2002
"Sure it was the depression, but I'd set my time machine for 1936, if only I could afford one.."
Things weren't ALL wonderful in 1936. Construction of the IND was nearing completion without any firm plans for future work. In other words, it was sort of like today, with no 'dotted lines' on the map. In saying this, I'm assuming that it was becoming obvious in 1936 that the Second System was not going to be built anytime soon (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Attempts at building the Second Avenue line were going nowhere. And finally, the Sixth Avenue El was being torn down and the Second Avenue El was nearing its end.
Ed Fenning on Tue Jan 22 17:45:48 2002 That's also an interesting map, since the the Queens IND route doesn't yet show the dogleg route the express tracks took between Roosevelt Ave. and Queens Plaza. One trade off for the old time machine setting though, is that if you set it for the mid 30's, that means you'd be too early for the temporary and unique, IND "Worlds Fair Railroad" spur. And of course, if you set it for 1939 to ride the IND where the Van Wyck runs today, you'd have missed the 6th ave. el, by at least 4 months.