Grand Central's Engineer: William J Wilgus and the Planning of Modern Manhattan

摘要

In 1903 a collision between two passenger trains occurred in the New York Central Railroad's smoky and congested tunnel beneath Park Avenue, New York City. Many fatalities resulted and the public outcry was such that the city ordered the company to electrify the line within five years. William J Wilgus, the Railroad's Chief Engineer, put forward a bold plan not only to do this but to widen the line, erect an iconic new bi-level terminal (Grand Central) and finance the whole scheme by selling the air rights above the tracks — a concept then almost unknown.