IRT Dyre Avenue Line - History

History

The Dyre Avenue Line was originally part of the four-track main line of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway, an electrified commuter line that connected White Plains and Port Chester to a station at the Harlem River adjacent to the IRT Third Avenue Line. The NYW&B opened on May 29, 1912. Soon a transfer station opened at East 180th Street, with transfers to the IRT White Plains Road Line and various surface lines. Express trains stopped within the Bronx only at Pelham Parkway and East 180th Street. The NYW&B was abandoned on December 31, 1937 due to bankruptcy.

Plans were made for a parallel subway line even before the NYW&B's abandonment; a 1929 expansion plan included a line along Morris Park Avenue, Wilson Avenue and Boston Road to Baychester Avenue, fed by the IND Second Avenue Line. In 1939, after abandonment, the plan was to integrate the former NYW&B to Dyre Avenue into the IRT system branching off the IRT Pelham Line as the Westchester and Boston Line.

The New York City Board of Transportation bought the NYW&B within the Bronx north of East 180th Street, and opened it for service on May 15, 1941 as a shuttle, with a transfer to the IRT White Plains Road Line at East 180th Street. Plans for restoring the old line north into Westchester County failed.

A direct track connection was opened on May 6, 1957, and the old NYW&B station was closed. At first, direct service used the express tracks of the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, running during the day; the shuttle continued to run evenings, and the line did not run at night. In the early 1960s, Dyre Avenue service was moved to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in its current form. The line is still operated as a shuttle late nights; for more information on current and past services on the line see the articles for the 2, 5 and 9 services.