The Simpson Street station is a local station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue in the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 2 train at all times, and the 5 train at all times except late nights and rush hours in the peak direction.
To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.[7]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.4 million in 2023) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.[8]: 15 The northbound platform at the Simpson Street station was extended 50 feet (15 m) to the front and 55 feet (17 m) to the rear,[8]: 114 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.[8]: 106 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the White Plains Road Line.[7]: 168 [9]
Later years
The New York State Transit Commission announced plans to extend the southbound platforms at seven stations on the line from Jackson Avenue to 177th Street, including Simpson Street to accommodate ten-car trains for $81,900 on August 8, 1934.[10]
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[11][12] The Bergen Avenue cutoff, which allowed Third Avenue trains to access the White Plains Road Line, was abandoned on November 5, 1946, as part of the gradual curtailment of elevated service on the IRT Third Avenue Line.[5] On June 13, 1949, the platform extensions at this station, as well as those on White Plains Road Line stations between Jackson Avenue and 177th Street, opened. The platforms were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow full ten-car express trains to open their doors. Previously the stations could only accommodate six-car local trains.[13]
The station was renovated in the early 2000s. This station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2004, along with the Westchester-Simpson Street Substation, also known as IRT Substation #18.[3]
Exit/entrance Uptown elevator at southwest corner of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue; downtown elevator at northwest corner
The station during a snowfall
This station has two side platforms and three tracks. The center express track is used by the 5 train during rush hours in the peak direction. To the north, the line curves from Westchester Avenue to Southern Boulevard. The IRT Pelham Line (6 and <6> trains), which curves above Westchester Avenue five blocks northeast of this station, is visible from the east end of the platforms.
As with other original IRT elevated viaducts, the elevated structure at Simpson Street is carried on two column bents, one on each side of the road, at places where the tracks are no more than 29 feet (8.8 m) above the ground level. There is zigzag lateral bracing at intervals of every four panels.[14]
Both platforms have cream-colored windscreens and red canopies. Both platforms also have green outlines, frames, and support columns in their center and green waist-high, ornament-style steel fences at either ends with several lampposts. The station's signs are in the standard black name plates with white Helvetica lettering.
Exits
Due to the tracks' low height above ground, both station houses are at platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. Elevators from the street to each platform make this station ADA-accessible. The station's elevators were installed in August 1989, making the station one of the earliest to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The southbound platform (for trains headed to Manhattan) has a station house that is staffed full-time and contains several sets of doors leading to the small waiting area from the platform, a turnstile bank, token booth, two staircases going down to either northern corners of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue, and one elevator going down to the northeast corner. A high exit-only turnstile on either side of the station house leads directly to one of the street stairs from the platform.[15]
The northbound platform's station house is unstaffed, containing several sets of doors leading to the small waiting area from the platform, a bank of three turnstiles, two staircases going down to either southern corners of Simpson Street and Westchester Avenue, and one elevator going down to the southwest corner. It had a customer assistance booth until April 2010. A high exit-only turnstile on either side of the station house leads directly to one of the street stairs from the platform.[15]
Artwork
The 2006 artwork here is called What We Build is Not Permanent, We Are Not What We Build by Lisa Amowitz. It consists of stained glass panels on the platform windscreens and station houses with the theme with renewing or rebuilding what has died or fallen.[16]
^ ab"New York MPS Simpson Street Subway Station and Substation #18 (IRT)". Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006, Series: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017, Box: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York, ID: 75312116. National Archives.
^ abHood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City"(PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Archived(PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^"Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest1248134780.
^Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
^Transit Journal. 1904. p. 470. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain..{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.
Stations and line segments in italics are closed, demolished, or planned (temporary closures are marked with asterisks). Track connections to other lines' terminals are displayed in brackets. Struck through passenger track connections are closed or unused in regular service.
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