168^th Street (1) 168^th Street has two tracks and two wall platforms. The station has two crossovers over the tracks which allow a view of the tracks. The crossovers have streetlight type lights. A third crossover and mezzanine, now used for employee space and a tower is at the North end. The north crossover is set into the wall on the northbound platform. A careful examination reveals scissor gates which were the original elevators which also exited at platform level. These elevators were removed due to the construction of the IND. Today the space is used for high powered fans and vent chambers. When the IND came, the elevators were moved to their current location. Even here, there are changes. Originally they had front and rear exits at lower mezzanine and upper mezzanine levels. Today, only the front exits are present and the passageway blocked by doors. Looks through the doors into the shaft will show this feature. If you lookout the front windows in the cab of the elevators you will see a machine room several stories below the upper mezzanine which also leads to the A Train ( See A Lefferts and A Rockaway)  and C Train. This station recently suffered a partial ceiling collapse as did 181. also on the 1 train. 

168^th Street (A, C) (Originally 168^th Street-Washington Heights) Opened 9/10/1932: This station is the transfer point to the IRT 7^th Ave #1/9 lines which originally was constructed at a single entrance local stop from 1906 to 1932. There are several fare control areas; the F/T entrance is at the east side of 168^th Street and Saint Nicholas Ave, with 1 street stair descending to the IND area, it faces the start of the transfer passageway to the IRT level and the newsstand. The P/T side at north end at 169^th street and Broadway/St. Nicholas, has ghost booth, 24/7 HEET access and 3 street stairs. Currently there is a full length mezzanine inside fare control, but clear evidence suggests there was also a full length passageway outside fare control too. This passageway extended from the current 169^th street side, all the way down to the closed area at 167^th Street at the south end of this station. The 167^th street exits were also closed in the 1980’s, for safety reasons (also suggests another ghost booth existed at this end too.), and 2 stairs to platform level were closed too. This area is now used for NYCT employees only. Station level is now 4 tracks on 2 island platforms, with the start of C Local service here, and 6 stairs from mezzanine to platform. One additional set of stairs at the south end is closed off for public use, it formerly was exit only and IRT transfer from this staircase was not allowed anyway. The A express uses the "local" wall tracks, while the C uses the 2 "express" tracks. The reason for this unusual configuration is because the C needs to relay (turn back so it can start its run in the Southbound direction), and is the way the IND track configuration was originally built. However, when leaving this station from 168^th Street to 145^th Street, the tracks "fly over" each other and the rest of the IND 8^th Ave line express stops in Manhattan is your normal local "against the wall", express "in the middle" configuration. The C local rises above the A express tunnels in this case. When the C is not scheduled to operate during late nights, or is suspended due to a General Order (an order by NYCT to alter scheduled service on a particular line or lines due to track or line maintenance.), the A makes local stops in Manhattan and Brooklyn instead. There is an X cross-over switches to the south of this station on the Downtown side, and the Uptown side has the X crossovers to the north. The 2 middle tracks lead to a underground mini-yard nearby. Sources have told your webmaster that the original intent was for a future extension to New Jersey, which you webmaster agrees will  probably never happen.