168 Street
168 Street is a two platform, four track station. The station is the reverse of most other express stations. The A express tracks are on the outside wall side and the C's terminating tracks are in the middle. The station is designed this way so C trains can reverse more easily. They simply come in on the uptown middle track, discharge of passengers, runs beyond the station at tiny bit (trains turning around are visible in the station) where the T/O changes ends, and then re-enter service on the downtown middle track (using a X-over switch before or after). If trains continue down these two tracks they reach the 174 Street upper level yard (this yard was built on the upper level as an easy way to build a, then proposed, extension over the George Washington Bridge). This unique layout was possible because after the station the line becomes two levels again with A Express trains going down to a lower bypass level for 163 and 155 Streets, and the C up onto an upper level to stop at the stations.
The station originally opened with a full-length mezzanine with exits at either end and the transfer corridor to the 1/9 elevators towards the middle of the platforms. The trim is Maroon with a black boarder and the standard '168' 1 tile below. On either platform there is no mention of the stations map name 168 Street-Washington Heights. At the southern end of the Downtown platform is a tower that includes a very unusual sign for “Stretcher” between two red crosses. A stretcher is kept (or was at one time) next to the tower. Across from this at the southern end of the Uptown platform, the tracks already begin to run on different levels with the Express platform ramping down and the local platform up a bit, with a fence running down the middle of the platform.
For exits, starting at the northern end of the mezzanine are 2 streetstairs at the NW corner, and one at the NE corner of the 6-way intersection between 169th Street where Broadway and St. Nicholas Avenue basically touch with Broadway curiving to run at more of an angle, and St. Nicholas Avenue curving into replace Broadway’s previous location on the street grid to the north.
In the middle of the mezzanine, across from the passageway to the 1 train’s elevator landing is the fare control area that contains the 24 token booth from here an elevator and staircase both lead out (at an angle to each other) to the SE corner of 168 Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
The station contains an abandoned exit at the southern end of the mezzanine, where two staricases that are closed off and say employees only are often left open because C train crews head up to the mezzanine to their crew quarters. This exit one led to two streetstairs at the SE corner of 167 Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, and two more streetstaris across from here inside Mitchell Square Park, after 167 Street ends at St. Nicholas Avenue and doesn’t continue west.
Photos 1: August 22, 2003; 2-6: August 16, 2004; 7 & 8: November 13, 2003; 9: August 7, 2005; 10 & 11: August 9, 2005; 12: November 13, 2004; 13: May 28, 2007; 14 & 15: June 1, 2007; 16-20: January 3, 2011; 21: September 13, 2012; 22: November 5, 2012; 23-31: January 30, 2013; 32: February 19, 2013; 33-39: May 30, 2013;
