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A Subway for New York
David Weitzman
Non-Fiction
Ages 8 and up
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005, 0-374-37284-5
  New York City in 1900 was an incredibly busy and crowded place. Indeed it was so crowded that it was getting increasingly difficult to get around the world’s second largest city. There was only one solution to this problem – the city had to build a subway. Traveling under the city was the way to go and in the February of 1900 the planning began. It was decided that the first line would run the length of the island of Manhattan and workers began to relocate all the pipes, sewers, and lines which would have to make way for the new IRT – Interborough Rapid Transit – line.
  Once the planning and preparatory work was complete the subway construction began. All the work was done by hand with simple tools and, on occasion, dynamite. First a trench was dug and then this was covered over with a temporary road and sidewalk so that life could continue above ground as the laborers worked below. Many of the buildings in the subway’s path needed to shored up and an extensive system of beams had to be put in place to stop the roof and walls of the subway from caving in. There were some places along the route of the line where the workers had to literally tunnel through the soil and this was a very dangerous and difficult process. Indeed, as we look back in time to see how New York City’s first subway was built, we cannot help marveling that the project was such a success and that it is still in service today.
  With detailed black and white pen and ink drawings to accompany the text, the author of this book carefully describes how New York’s first subway line was built from start to finish. Readers will see that building a subway line without being able to use heavy machinery was a very complicated and difficult business. Anyone who is interested in trains and/or in building and construction will find this book fascinating.

 

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