1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: New York City in the eighteen sixties. Yet traveled by 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,600 Speaker 1: horse or by foot, that's it. Then somebody builds an 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: underground train precursored subways, using giant fans to literally blow 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,440 Speaker 1: you from station to station. But then a legendary political 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: blowhard blows it up. I'm Patty Steele, New York City's 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: secret subway. Next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. Okay, 7 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,880 Speaker 1: dreaming about making the impossible possible is how we carve 8 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: out the future. For instance, getting around New York City 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:44,159 Speaker 1: in the eighteen sixties was a frustrating, filthy affair. Thick mud, 10 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:50,479 Speaker 1: bumpy cobblestones, horsecrap literally everywhere. So to get somewhere, you're 11 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: either riding horses or riding in horse pulled carriages or trolleys, 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 1: or you're walking in all that disgusting mess. But in 13 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty nine, along comes Alfred Beach, who wants a cleaner, faster, 14 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: more comfortable way to travel in the city. Who wouldn't 15 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,679 Speaker 1: want that? He gets the idea to build an underground 16 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: pneumatic railroad powered by air. Just imagine getting blown by 17 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: a mighty wind to your destination. Now, how tough could 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: that be well, As Beach said, a tube, a car, 19 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: a revolving fan, little more is required. So he plans 20 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: to build a demo, sinking his own money into it. 21 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: It's a one block long, single track single car line 22 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: below Broadway in Tribeca. Beach dreamed of it eventually connecting 23 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: Manhattan to Brooklyn across the East River, and Manhattan to 24 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,640 Speaker 1: New Jersey across the Hudson. It would carry passengers as 25 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: well as packages, mail and merchandise. But one thing stood 26 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: in his way. One of the most corrupt men in 27 00:01:55,920 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: New York City history, William Tweed, better known as Boss Tweed, 28 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: who ran the infamous Tammany Hall political machine. Now Tweed 29 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: wants to torpedo his company, Beach Pneumatic Transit. Why because 30 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: his fingers are in every development project in New York 31 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: City and his money is on the plan to build 32 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: the l trains that eventually crisscross the city on elevated tracks. 33 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: Stuff only got done if Tweed wanted it done. So 34 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,720 Speaker 1: Beach tells Tweed his tubes will only be used for 35 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: mail and banking purposes, and the project gets the green light. Secretly, 36 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: though Beach was building a passenger subway, his men actually 37 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: worked in the dead of night so they wouldn't be noticed, 38 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,360 Speaker 1: and it worked like a charm. The New York Times 39 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,840 Speaker 1: said the propulsion method was relatively simple. A massive steam 40 00:02:50,919 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: powered fan forces air into the tunnel to push the 41 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,079 Speaker 1: car along, and when the current is reversed, a vacuum 42 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,399 Speaker 1: is created, propelling the car in the other direction. Simple right, 43 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: But politics kept shutting it down. Here's the problem. Each 44 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,360 Speaker 1: time Beach petitioned the city to make it a transit line, 45 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: Tweed veted it, so Beach never got past the first 46 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: three hundred feet of his subway tunnel. Beach's original plans 47 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: for the subway had it extending all the way up 48 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: to Central Park, at least another five miles, but it 49 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: died thanks to Tweed's vetos since he saw it as 50 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: competition for his plans. Since it only ran for one stop, 51 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: it simply became a major attraction that people could ride 52 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: for twenty five cents a seat on a trip that 53 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: blew them one city block and then sucked them back 54 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,880 Speaker 1: again one city block. Over four hundred thousand visitors rode 55 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: Beach's subway in its first year of operation just for 56 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,120 Speaker 1: the joy of it. They enjoyed also the station platform 57 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: with its gas lit chandeliers, grand piano, and huge coy 58 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: pond with a sparkling fountain in the center. Now are 59 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: you wondering what finally happened to that? Well, after three 60 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: years of locking horns with tweed, Beach finally got the 61 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: state to support the project. But months later there was 62 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:20,279 Speaker 1: a stock market crash, tanking the economy. Beach's dream ended 63 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 1: when his investors walked. He bricked up his subway tunnel 64 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:28,839 Speaker 1: and walked away himself and never went back. Forty years later, 65 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen twelve, the tunnel was uncovered and Beach's station 66 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: was found intact, the train car, the piano, and the fountain. 67 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: Now today it's mostly gone or hidden, but bits of 68 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,839 Speaker 1: the Brickline tunnel are said to be visible in Lower 69 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: Manhattan through a manhole cover on Reid Street. And Beach's 70 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: technology well about one hundred and fifty years ahead of 71 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: his time. It has inspired SpaceX and Elon Musk in 72 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: their evolving plans for the hyperloop new underground train. Funny enough, 73 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: the hyperloop actually has more in common with beaches design 74 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: than you'd think. It uses highly pressurized air to shoot 75 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: a train car at an astonishing speed. Sounds familiar right 76 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 1: the hyperloop. In many ways, he's sort of like the 77 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:34,760 Speaker 1: grandchild of Beach's subway. Timing is everything. I'm Patty Steele. 78 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia and Steel Trap Productions. 79 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:42,839 Speaker 1: Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our executive producer is Steve 80 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: Goldstein of Amplified Media. We're out with new episodes twice 81 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: a week. Thanks for listening to the Backstory, the pieces 82 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: of history you didn't know you needed to know.