The Abandoned Kingsbridge Substation No. 3

 

I finally made it to the place I had been dreaming about for years. Ever since I found out the substation by the Harlem River was still standing, I had been trying to visit. Every time I came up from Brooklyn, though, the main gate was locked. It had become a routine—checking in once a year, hoping for a change, only to be disappointed. But today was different.

Funny enough, I almost didn’t go out at all. I had been putting up with the noise of kids playing next door, and their summer fun was starting to grate on me. I’d had enough of it. I needed to get out of the house, and this time I was determined to see if the gate would finally be open.

When I arrived, I started by photographing the building’s exterior. The gate looked like it might still be an issue, but I wanted to document what I could. While I was snapping shots, a guy pulled up on a motorbike. We got to talking about photography and our shared passion for preserving old, forgotten buildings. He told me he’d seen local kids sneaking in before, climbing inside when no one was watching. 

That got me thinking. I spotted a gap along the property line that seemed like it could work, but then I saw something even better—the gate was wide open. I could hardly believe it. The gate had been open the last time I was here too, but a security guard came out of a little hut and sent me packing. I played it cool back then, pretending I was lost but had to leave.

This time, though, it was different. The guard shack was empty, its windows shattered, and no one was inside. I hadn’t seen any workers or cars around while I was taking pictures, so I figured I was in the clear. I entered the same way the kids had, and what I found inside was like stepping into a time capsule. It looked almost the same as it did back in 2009. I had seen photos from that year and some more recent ones from 2015, and barely anything had changed.

There was no graffiti worth mentioning, no murals like you might expect in a place like this. The interior wasn’t on the radar of street artists, though the outside now had some large lettered white tags. A few bigger pieces had been sprayed on the roof, but nothing that stood out. My guess is the locked gate has kept people away, or maybe not many know about it. Either way, the place feels like it’s been frozen in time for over 15 years. It’s a hidden gem, a forgotten part of the city just waiting to be rediscovered.

Kingsbridge Substation No. 3 is one of the most overlooked and forgotten landmarks in New York City. Located on the Bronx side of the Harlem River, there is little mention of its history or architecture in public records. Even in Columbia University's comprehensive study of the Harlem River, this structure is conspicuously absent. The only notable historic reference to Kingsbridge Substation comes from a single photograph housed in the New York Public Library archives. The image is part of a 1926 collection titled The Pageant of America - Volume 4: The March of Commerce, and you can view it online through the library’s digital resource.

Built by Westinghouse, Church, Kerr & Company of New York, along with Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company of Pittsburgh, PA, Substation No. 3 was initially owned by the Interurban Street Railway Company. At that time, multiple substations like it were constructed across the city in the late 1800s and early 1900s to support New York’s growing transit system.

The Kingsbridge Rotary floor as it was in 1908.

These substations played a critical role in converting alternating current (AC) from power plants into the direct current (DC) necessary to power the city's trains. Inside the substations were massive rotary converters, machines responsible for this process. Operating these converters was no small task—they required constant maintenance and supervision by a dedicated team of workers around the clock. 

By the 1940s and 1950s, advancements in technology made the rotary converters obsolete. Newer systems could handle the conversion process without the need for moving parts or a full staff to maintain them. As a result, substations like Kingsbridge were no longer useful, and most were either demolished or abandoned. Today, Kingsbridge Substation No. 3 stands as a relic of a bygone era, its history largely forgotten, and its future uncertain.

The other side of the sub-basement.

The large rotaries still exist in a somewhat debilitated state.

The underbelly of the rotary converter from below.

At its peak, the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad's electric zone operated eight substations to power the city's growing rail network. These substations converted high-voltage AC into the 600-volt DC required for the third rail. The list of substations included:

Grand Central Terminal (No. 1)

Mott Haven (No. 2)

Kingsbridge (No. 3)

Yonkers (No. 4)

Irvington (No. 5)

Ossining (No. 6)

Bronx Park (No. 7)

Scarsdale (No. 8)

The current status of these substations is difficult to track, as many have been either demolished or repurposed over the decades. Substation No. 1 at Grand Central Terminal has likely been repurposed as part of the broader infrastructure at the terminal, which continues to be a hub of transportation. The fate of the others, such as Mott Haven, Yonkers, and Scarsdale, remains unclear, and no definitive, updated list of the substations’ current existence seems to be available.

The battery floor present condition. The batteries were probably disposed of after they no longer could maintain storage power. 

Each substation was equipped with a storage battery system designed to keep the trains running for an hour under normal conditions. The output of each substation was about 4,000 amperes for one hour, with some producing between 3,500 and 3,750 amperes for the same period. These powerful batteries were housed in buildings adjacent to the main substations.

The storage batteries were guaranteed by the installation company for 10 years, but there was a catch—the temperature had to be maintained at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. To achieve this, a heating and cooling system had to be installed. Cold water was circulated through the batteries to cool them down, as the fumes from the battery acid made traditional heating methods impractical. The fumes were corrosive and would destroy radiators and pipelines, so the heating system couldn’t be located within the same building. Instead, the boiler plant was housed in a separate structure to avoid damage from the acid fumes.

Two substations were equipped with this system. At the Kingsbridge Substation, the battery room and other spaces like the corridors, switch hall, controller room, and pumping room were heated and ventilated by a forced hot air system. The air was circulated through sectional pipe heaters, powered by a motor-driven fan made of steel plates. A small, low-pressure boiler in a nearby room supplied the steam for heating. 

The American Blower Company from Detroit, Michigan, designed the heating and ventilation systems, and John Rankin & Brother, a New York-based heating contractor, handled the installation. This setup was essential for keeping the batteries operational and preventing the corrosive fumes from causing damage, making it a typical example of how these systems were managed across multiple substations.

During its operational years, Substation No. 3, also known as the Kingsbridge Substation, was part of a larger network powering the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad’s electric zone. At the time, three other substations were in service, collectively providing a normal rotary capacity of 15,000 kilowatts (kW) and a storage battery capacity that could momentarily handle up to 22,342 kW. The storage batteries had an hourly capacity of 7,747 kW. Across the entire electric zone, eight substations worked together, with a combined rotary capacity of 27,000 kW, a momentary battery capacity of 37,876 kW, and an hourly capacity of 12,595 kW.

Kingsbridge Substation itself is a simple, functional building, standing two stories tall and made from red brick. Inside, two large skylights bring light into the open hall where three massive rotary converters remain, still standing despite some being stripped of their metal. The substation’s control boards, once the heart of its operations, are now covered in graffiti, as are the levers along the yellow-brown brick walls. The remnants of the substation’s inner workings still loom overhead, accessible via a modest staircase. While the interior has deteriorated over the years, exposed to the harsh Northeast weather, the building’s sturdy construction has allowed it to endure.

On the outside, the once-pristine brick walls have been overwhelmed by graffiti, with large lettering and tags becoming more prevalent in recent years. Despite this, the substation remains, standing as a relic of a bygone era. Its grounds are still used by the MTA as a parking lot and storage area, further highlighting its ongoing, if diminished, role in the city.

Kingsbridge Substation No. 3 Switch House.

Sources:

1. VJRurbex. (2015, January 21). Substation No. 3. VJRUrbex.

2. The Railway and Engineering Review. (1907). United States: Railway Review, Incorporated.

3. Engineering World: A Weekly Technical Journal of Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Mining and Architectural Engineering and Construction. (1907). United States: Engineering World Publishing Company.

4. The Street Railway Journal. (1907). United States: Street Railway Publishing Company. pg. 554.

5. Railroad Gazette. (1908). United States: Railroad gazette. pg. 489.

6. New York Review of the Telegraph and Telephone and Electrical Journal. (1903). United States: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. pg. 96. 

7. Kensinger, Nathan. (2009, October 28). Kingsbridge: Substation No. 3. kensinger.blogspot.com.