, the building under
consideration is the largest example of this kind of work yet done in
the neighborhood of New York City. It was adopted instead of
corrugated iron, as it is much more substantial, and it was considered
preferable to brick, as the later would have required much more
extensive foundations.

The doors at each of the bays of the building are of rolling steel
shutter type, and are composed of rolled-steel strips which interloop
with each other, so that while the entire door is of steel, it can
easily be raised and lowered.

[Sidenote: _Capacity and
Pit Room_]

All of the tracks in the north and middle bays are supplied with pits
for inspecting purposes, and as each track has a length sufficient to
hold six cars, the capacity of these two bays is fifty-four cars.

The inspection pits are heated by steam and lighted by electric light,
for which latter purpose frequent sockets are provided, and are also
equipped with gas pipes, so that gas torches can be used instead of
gasoline.

[Sidenote: _Trolley
Connection_]

As usual in shops of this kind, the third rail is not carried into the
shops, but the cars will be moved about by means of a special trolley.
In the middle bay this trolley consists of a four-wheeled light-frame
carriage, which will run on a conductor located in the pit. The
carriage has attached to it a flexible wire which can be connected to
the shoe-hanger of the truck or to the end plug of the car, so that
the cars can be moved around in the shops by means of their own
motors. In the north bay, where the pits are very shallow, the
conductor is carried overhead and consists of an 8-pound T-rail
supported from the roof girders.

The middle bay is provided with a 50-ton electric crane, which spans
all of the tracks in this shop and is so arranged that it can serve
any one of the thirty cars on the five tracks, and can deliver the
trucks, wheels, motors, and other repair parts at either end of the
shops, where they can be transferred to the telpherage hoist.

[Sidenote: _The
Telpherage
System_]

One of the most interesting features of the shops is the electric
telpherage system. This system runs the entire length of the north and
south bays crossing the middle bay or erection shop at each end, so
that the telpherage hoist can pick up in the main room any wheels,
trucks, or other apparatus which may be required, and can take them
either into the north bay for painting, or into the s