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NYC Engineer Nuclear Attack: Shelters Now, Subway Stations Later - Solutions for Civilian Shelter
NYC Engineer Nuclear Attack: Shelters Now, Subway Stations Later - Solutions for Civilian Shelter
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Description:

20th Century New York City
New York, NY, October 9, 1965
NYC Engineer Nuclear Attack: Shelters Now, Subway Stations Later - Solutions for Civilian Shelter
Printed Doc

NYC Engineer proposes solutions for civilian shelter should there be a nuclear attack. 15 pp. Fold out drawings and 8 photos This fascinating series of reports by the former Director of the New York Transit Authority proposes the use of underground shelters in cities for protection against a nuclear attack that could later be used as subway stations connected by future lines; a portable dock solution that would provide for the rapid unloading of ship cargo by specially designed trains; and a system to convert city buses into ambulances for the evacuation of injured civilians. Typed Manuscripts, October 9, 1965, New York, NY. 15 pp., 8.5" x 11" in folder, together with five fold-out drawings of a "Combined Transport System and Relocatable Emergency Port" and eight black-and-white photographs illustrating the conversion of a city bus into an ambulance for the transportation of injured civilians. Very good.

Engineer Sidney H. Bingham drew on his World War II experiences to design these solutions to problems caused by an expected nuclear attack. He presented them in October 1965, three years after the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear conflict. The resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis lessened tensions in the Cold War between the superpowers, but they remained high throughout the 1960s.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson sent American troops to the Dominican Republic and to South Vietnam to support anti-communist regimes. COLD WAR. Sidney H. Bingham Associates, "Civilian Shelter Under Nuclear Attack" and "Combined Transport System and Relocatable Emergency Port,"

Excerpts

"The problem of providing protective shelter, under nuclear attack, for the millions of inhabitants of the nation's crowded cities, has been made the subject of intensive study by numerous highly qualified agencies and eminent groups.... We still have time in which to prepare defensive systems and facilities, the question is how much time?" (p1)

"During my directoral association on transportation with civil defense for the City and State of New York, and with the New York City rapid transit system I gave considerable thought to the development of plans which would make possible the construction of superior public shelters in large cities. These cities in the event of nuclear attack would probably be made prime targets. My concept of the orientations of such shelters were those which would provide, for the public, the requirements of emergency protection and which, at a later date, could be converted to useful public service." (p2)

"Only in certain sections are the New York subway tunnels deep enough to offer a measure of effective protection." (p3)

"New York City and other cities operating rapid transit systems currently require additional facilities. Washington, San Francisco and Los Angeles are in the process of developing rapid transit systems. Within a few years other large cities must take similar action to avoid traffic strangulation. Herein therefore, lies a promising medium for the development of an effective public shelter program at appropriately selected sites. These sites could later become the stations or the tunnel sections of a needed rapid transit system." (p3-4)

"The plan, developed by me while Chairman of the Board of Transportation of the City of New York, was designed to provide various types of subterranean shelters, all associated with proposed or existing subway lines. These shelters, as planned, would provide emergency sleeping accommodations for 101,500 persons and temporary shelter for 1,000,000 others." (p4)

"What can be possible in New York City through the construction of selected sections of a needed rapid transit line for emergency use as public shelters, which later would be joined together to provide essential rapid transit, can be done in other cities with comparable dual-natured problems." (p7)

"The unqualified success which resulted from this association of rail and ship as integrated components of transportation, under exceptionally hazardous circumstances [landing of rail cars and locomotives at Normandy in 1944], stimulated a resolve to explore other hazardous emergency transportation problems to which an association of rail and ship would provide an effective solution." (p9)

"With my wartime experiences and observations in London during air raids, as a guide, I designed equipment which permits public buses to be readily converted to emergency ambulances for the evacuation, on stretchers, of the seriously injured, and on seats, for ambulatory casualties. " (p15)

Sidney H. Bingham (1894-1980) was born in New York and served with the Army railway engineers in World War I. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in electrical engineering in 1922. Bingham served as executive director and general manager of the New York City Transit Authority. During World War II, he returned to the army and helped devise a system of landing 50,000 loaded freight cars and more than 3,000 locomotives, known as a "breathing bridge," which was used during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. He also designed the armored train used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander. After the war, he returned to New York and became general superintendent of the New York transit system in 1946. Mayor William O'Dwyer named him one of three commissioners of the Board of Transportation in 1947 and chairman in 1950. When the New York City Transit Authority took over the operation, Bingham became general manager in 1953 and executive director in 1954 before retiring in 1955. A New York Times editorial dubbed him "Mr. Subways." He then established a consulting engineering business. Among more than a dozen subsequent projects around the world, Bingham served as a consultant for the Disneyland monorail and completed several railroad projects in Canada.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 11"
  • Medium: Printed Doc

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