For decades now there has been a mystery surrounding the '76th street' subway station.
Some old timers claim that they actually saw the station, while others refute it as absolute fiction.
The layup
Between Euclid Ave and Grant ave on the A/C line, there is a set of 'lay up tracks below the active A line. These tracks were built with the intention of building a new tunnel out to Cross Bay Blvd. The next stop past the solid concrete wall at the end was suppose to be 76th street.
There are several signals installed facing this wall - this one is just a few dozen feet from the wall - where a signal would make no sense to be installed unless there was track beyond the wall to fit an actual train.
Another one is a 'homeball' set facing the wall, just beyond which a set of switches was intended to be placed.
In a nearby tower, the board that shows the various tracks through the area explicitly shows a 76th street station.
Plans are clearly marked that the signals in question would be controlled by a future tower at 76th street.
Pitkin Yard
The Pitkin subway yard is connected to this tunnel, and if you go to the yard and into the tunnel, you'll find a yard lead was built pointing out towards the east - to connect to the 76th street station and Cross bay blvd route.
Actual rail ties were installed at the switches.
Here, you'll find more signals facing the wall.
The wall at the end is cinder block - and looks as if it were built as an afterthought - not an actual part of the concrete tunnel.
The bench wall here looks like it was chipped out after it was constructed.
And still more mysterious, when you shovel dirt from under the wall, an almost endless supply of clean soil can be scooped out.
Conclusion
So what is behind these walls?
I have it on good authority that a few years ago, the MTA did some inspecting. When they drilled a hole in the concrete wall at the end of the layup, water began to trickle out. The test droll hole was quickly re-sealed.
As for the cinder block wall and soil, I can tell you several people have spent a few man-hours digging out sand and not getting through.
Was the whole tunnel filled in, or just a small section? How was this soil placed here? Was it always here in the ground, or was it purposely piled here? Wouldn't the soil have been more gradually if they simply stopped the tunnel construction here, instead of a wall with soil packed in behind it?
Do I personally think there is a 76th station and/or more tunnel beyond the wall?
There's just not enough evidence to say either way. The tunnel was definitely planned, the provisions for it were definitely built - right down to the signals - but what lays behind these walls - particularly the yard lead wall - are a mystery we would love to see solved.
If you take the J or M trains to Essex street, you'll notice an unusual huge space next to the station. What is this, you might ask?
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The NYC subway system is massive, and not too surprisingly there are large sections of this system that are not publicly accessible.
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There comes a time in one's life where you simply need to go on solo missions.
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Anyone familiar with walking through subway tunnels will know how absolutely fucking quiet they are. You can hear a pin drop. If you listen closely, you can hear trains coming stations away. The slightest of sounds can leave you on edge, wondering if track workers are near.
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An old spot looking for moles, comin' away with just photos.
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NYC has a labyrinth under its streets like none other. Subway tunnels, steam tunnels, railroad tunnels, steam tunnels, auto tunnels, drains, water tunnels 600 feet below the ground, rivers and creeks covered so long ago most people don't even know they are there... You could say, NYC is a tunnel-centric city...
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In 2006 we happened across an abandoned Extroplating Factory mere steps from the intersection of North 7th street and Bedford in Williamsburg. At the time we had no idea what we were getting into.
Adventure:
So I'm out doing really bad things with The Chef and we walk by this tagged up building. Chef goes up to the door and smells abandonment. Sure enough the fucking front door is unlocked. This is unfriggin believable. Hundreds of people walk by this abandoned building every day - yet not one of them was curious enough to give the door a little tug?
This building was filled with junk - everything from a huge vinyl record collection to piles of old 1990s computers and a forklift. And let's not forget the lines of bucket paint - more than enough for a graffiti writer to go on an all city roller bombing spree.
So what was this place?
History
Apparently it was a former electroplating and metal-finishing plant that closed in 1997. The EPA claimed that the now abandoned Extroplating Factory was cleaned it out - yet there was still plenty of crap stored in this place (as seen in the photos). According to the EPA:
"EPA inspected the site this Spring at the city's request and found an incompatible mix of heavy metals, acids, corrosives and other hazardous materials improperly stored in leaking drums and bags. Several open vats and tanks containing a variety of chemicals and heavy metals are also inside the deteriorated building where fires and vandalism have occurred. Two trailers are parked outside the building that contain corrosives and acids in pails and drums.".
Today, this abandoned Extroplating Factory is completely gone.
It was bulldozed in 2011, and replaced with apartments and a very large Starbucks (no, you can't make this stuff up).
With it's demolition, NYC lost one more
industrial 'bando.
