10. The Inclined Elevator at the 34 Street-Hudson Yards Station
The depth and angle of one of New York’s newest stations created a daunting task for engineers to construct an elevator down to the platform level. The Hudson Yards Station is one of the deepest stations in the system, and a long escalator helps commuters descend the 125 feet in between levels. But it created a difficult problem: how do you build an elevator down a slope?
Engineers from the Italian company Maspero Elevatori designed the funicular-style elevators to run on a track next to the escalators, moving at 100 feet per minute on a 27-degree angle slope, and the ride takes two minutes from door to door. The elevator project actually held up the station’s opening after problems with the elevator were discovered before being shipped over to New York from the factory in Italy. The elevator is the only one of its kind in the entire system.
Next, read about the top 10 secrets of the Brooklyn subway!