life: More than a century after the opening of the system’s first underground line (long after elevated sections of the Interborough Rapid Transit, or IRT, system had been introduced), LIFE pays tribute to the Big Apple’s vast subway system; the army of men and women who, improbably, keep it up and running; and the intrepid souls who, every day, test their mettle and their luck in the tunnels beneath New York. See the photos here.

life:

More than a century after the opening of the system’s first underground line (long after elevated sections of the Interborough Rapid Transit, or IRT, system had been introduced), LIFE pays tribute to the Big Apple’s vast subway system; the army of men and women who, improbably, keep it up and running; and the intrepid souls who, every day, test their mettle and their luck in the tunnels beneath New York.

See the photos here.