I’ve been trawling in the HABS index and came across a survey from 1974 of the Bronx portion of the Third Avenue elevated. After the rest of the line (in Manhattan and the very southernmost bit of the Bronx) was closed and demolished in the early 1950s, the portion from 149th Street to Gun Hill Road continued in use until 1973. For the last few years of its existence, the Bronx portion was known as the IRT 8 train. It connected to the 2 train on each end.
It was built, like the other els, with some flair in the steel design, even though it was serving areas filled with industry and low-cost housing.
The line was doomed by the lack of a direct connection connection to Manhattan after 1955 and by the general dislike of the old els. I believe the justification for its removal was a gradual loss of ridership (in part because of the lack of a direct connection) and the idea that bus service on Third Avenue and the presence of the Harlem line – a commuter railroad – would serve the area. There are Harlem stations near Third Avenue – Melrose, Tremont, Fordham, Botanic Garden, and Williams Bridge – but they are spaced much further apart than the el stations were and are local stations without the kind of frequent service that els and subways provide. Service during rush hour is roughly one train every twenty minutes; service at midday is every half an hour or so or further apart. Bus service on Third Avenue is frequent but slow. In other words, the two replacements for the el miss to either side of the mass-transit sweet spot of frequent and fast service.
Here’s the south end of the line after the 1950s demolition:
You can see where the deck beams for the next bay were burned off close to the cross-girder. The big timber mess on the upper left is a bumper, to stop any train driven carelessly.
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