The shops and yards are equipped throughout with fire hydrants and fire plugs, hose and fire extinguishers. The water supply taps the city main at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 148th Street, and pipes are carried along the side of the north and south shops, with three reel connections on each line. A fire line is also carried through the yards, where there are four hydrants, also into the general storeroom. [Sidenote: _General Store Room_] The general storeroom, oil room, and blacksmith shop occupy a building 199 feet by 22 feet in the southwestern corner of the property. This building is of the same general construction as that of the inspection shops. The general storeroom, which is that fronting on 148th Street, is below the street grade, so that supplies can be loaded directly onto the telpherage hoist at the time of their receipt, and can be carried to any part of the works, or transferred to the proper compartments in the storeroom. Adjoining the general room is the oil and paint storeroom, which is separated from the rest of the building by fire walls. This room is fitted with a set of eight tanks, each with a capacity of 200 gallons. As the barrels filled with oil and other combustible material are brought into this room by the telpherage system they are deposited on elevated platforms, from which their contents can be tapped directly into the tank. [Sidenote: _Blacksmith Shop_] The final division of the west shops is that in the northeastern corner, which is devoted to a blacksmith shop. This shop contains six down-draught forges and one drop-hammer, and is also served by the telpherage system. [Sidenote: _Transfer Table_] Connecting the main shops with the storeroom and blacksmith or west shops is a rotary transfer table 46 feet 16-13/16 inches long and with a run of 219 feet. The transfer table is driven by a large electric motor the current being supplied through a conductor rail and sliding contact shoe. The transfer table runs on two tracks and is mounted on 33-inch standard car wheels. [Sidenote: _Employees_] The south side of the shop is fitted with offices for the Master Mechanic and his department. The working force will comprise about 250 in the shops, and their lockers, lavatories, etc., are located in the south bay. CHAPTER XII SUB-CONTRACTORS The scope of this book does not permit an enumeration of all the sub-contractors who have done work on the Rapid Transit Railroad. The following list, however, includes the sub-contractors for all the more important parts of the construction and equipment of the road. * * * * * _General Construction, Sub-section Contracts, Track and Track Material, Station Finish, and Miscellaneous Contracts_ S. L. F. Deyo, Chief Engineer. _Sub-sections_