Train Yards and Layups

THE GHOST YARD

The Ghost Yard, also known as the 207th Street Repair Shop is located on 10th Avenue between 207th and 215th streets in upper Manhattan overlooking the Harlem River. It is one of the largest yards in New York City. It is also one of the MTAs two major maintenance facilities. Housed in the yard are many lines including As, 1s, 3s, 5s and 2s. The Ghost Yard got it's name from countless rumors of haunting sounds coming from the yard. An explanation for the sounds might be sounds echoing off the river. A more probable route of the yard's name is the fact that it is the former location for The Nagel Burial Ground. By the 1920s the grounds had fallen into neglect. Much to the dismay of descendants of those buried there. The Board of Transportation transferred the remains to Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, where a monument stands to represent the 417 bodies exhumed.

In the mid and late 1980s this yard became marked territory. Writers not associated with the dominant crews that frequented the location, were vulnerable to robbery and beatings. The Ghost Yard was the birthplace for many legendary works.  


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