IND World's Fair Line
The IND World's Fair Line, officially the World's Fair Railroad, was a temporary branch of the Independent Subway System (IND) serving the 1939 New York World's Fair in Queens, New York City. It split from the IND Queens Boulevard Line at an existing flying junction east of Forest Hills–71st Avenue station, ran through the Jamaica Yard and then ran northeast and north through Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, roughly along the current path of the Van Wyck Expressway. The line continued along a wooden trestle to the World's Fair Railroad Station, located slightly south of Horace Harding Boulevard (now the Long Island Expressway). The World's Fair station, the only one on the line, consisted of two tracks and three platforms.
| IND World's Fair Line | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A colored image of a GG train on the IND World's Fair Line c. 1939. This is one of the few colored pictures of the line in existence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Demolished | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Queens, New York City, New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini |
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| Stations | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Rapid transit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | New York City Subway Independent Subway System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | IND Queens Boulevard Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depot(s) | Jamaica Yard | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | R1-9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | April 22, 1939 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | October 28, 1940 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 8,400 feet (2,600 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The line was planned beginning in 1936, and it was constructed in 1938. The line and station were only open in 1939 and 1940 during the Fair's operating season. Passengers had to pay a ten-cent fare to use this line, double the subway's standard five-cent fare. This was not the only line to serve the world's fair. The Interborough Rapid Transit and the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit operated service to the Fair via the World's Fair station of their joint-operated IRT Flushing Line. The World's Fair Railroad and station are the only IND line and station to have been closed and demolished. Remnants of the line are still present in the Jamaica Yard.