What follows will neither prove nor disprove the existence of 76th Street Station. It is a collection of observations made (and posted here) last month concerning the stub ends outside Pitkin Yard (A-7 and A-8). It did not attract much notice at the time, perhaps because strike fever was in the air. I apologize in advance for the photos, since the light is not the best down there:
"Sorry but this is going to be shorter than originally intended since everything i typed earlier decided to disappear.
"After 20 years I revisited the stub ends at Pitkin Yard today (12/13). I can comment on some of the things i have read or misread here over the past few weeks.
"The cutouts for Tracks A7 and A8 extend about 200 feet beyond the present yard leads. The benchwall ends about five feet short of the bulkhead, and the duct work steps down in a sort of staircase. The bulkhead is of cinder blocks, not the solid concrete ususally associated with IND bulkheads. Interest has certainly been stirred up about this bulkhead; one can see (1) a smashed cinderblock, and (2) the beginnings of a hole being dug under the bulkhead, with the shovel still in place.
"Only vestiges of the tracks that were here originally remain: ballast, some ties, signal boxes and pedestals, third rail junctions, reverse home signal [A7-2 (X66)], etc. The current signal prints, originally dated November 1964, indicate that switches 65 and 67 beyond H/S A7-5 (X70) have been removed, although their relays remain in service in the tower. These switches would have diverted trains towards the bulkhead. The spike holes can still be seen in the ties, which were, in some cases, shifted when the area was reconfigured. There is no pile of sand in front of the bulkhead.
"The rails on the current Track A7 were produced in March 1947. I am looking at the drawing for relay case A8-3Z, located at stationing 2+90 within the stub end, produced by the Board of Transportation, New York City Transit System, IND. Div, Engineering Bureau. The case wiring diagram for a contact rail indicator under contract S-44 and S-45 was approved on September 19, 1947. The original prints were produced on January 28, 1949. Track A8 is designated as the East Bound Track.
"Some pictures (darkish at times) are available at
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/metro_ny
look in the folder marked Pitkin Yard."
PS: on a return surface trip, there is an NYCTS manhole on the grass divider of the Conduit, closer to the W/B side; unfortunately the camera battery was dead. Next time it won't be.