Broadway Line (Brooklyn surface)

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The Broadway Line (also known as the East New York Line) [1] was a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States along Broadway between Williamsburg and East New York. Originally a streetcar line, it later became a bus route, but no bus currently operates over the entire length of Broadway, with the BMT Jamaica Line above.

Contents

History

Horsecar and streetcar service

On August 20, 1858, the Broadway Railroad Company of Brooklyn was chartered. [2] It began running a horse trolley line over Broadway, from South 7th Street at the Grand Street Ferry in Williamsburg to the East New York Depot to connect with the Long Island Rail Road, [3] [4] [5] on March 22, 1859. The line's second track was not yet completed, but was expected to be put into service just after a week later, allowing service to run every six to eight minutes. The railroad's depot was at East New York. [6] Its omnibus cars could carry 16 passengers, and the line was 4.5 miles long. [7] A short single-track branch to Bushwick, outbound on Hooper Street, South Fifth Street, and Montrose Avenue to Bushwick Avenue, and inbound on Johnson Avenue, was built in late 1860. It was planned to be extended further with a double-track line running from Morrell and Johnson Streets to Cypress Hills Cemetery via Johnson Street, Cypress Hills Road, and Cypress Avenue. [8] The Grand Street Ferry was also served by using the Brooklyn City Rail Road's Greenpoint Line tracks on Kent Avenue.[ citation needed ]

An extension from East New York to Cypress Hills was jointly owned with the Brooklyn City and Newtown Railroad and was operated by steam power. [9] A branch of the railroad, the Reid Avenue Line, running from Broadway Ferry to Fulton Street and Reid Avenue opened on October 27, 1873. [10]

The Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad was organized on November 24, 1893, and, on January 15, 1894, [11] absorbed the Broadway Railroad Company. Electric streetcars began operating on the route on August 1, 1894. [12] [13] On July 1, 1898, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) acquired the route. [14]

On December 1, 1923, service over the Williamsburg Bridge ended, with all service ending at Broadway Ferry. Service was extend to Jamaica Avenue via Fulton Street and Crescent Street on October 15, 1928. [15]

In April 1946, service was cut back from Broadway Ferry to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. [15]

Replacement by bus service

On January 15, 1950, the streetcar line was discontinued and replaced by an extension of the B22 Atlantic Avenue bus by 1.25 miles (2.01 km) from Van Sinderen Avenue at the Broadway Junction station to Broadway and Gates Avenue, where transfers would be available to the Ralph and Rockaway Avenues Line streetcar that ran along Broadway to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. [16] [17] Broadway-Jamaica elevated trains provided substitute service along Crescent Street and Fulton Street. After the discontinuation of service, a group of local residents organized a mass meeting protesting the move, and a committee appeared at meetings of the Transit Commission and the Board of Estimate to request replacement bus service. Brooklyn's commissioner on the Board of Transportation agreed with the request, and pushed for the inauguration of bus service. This new bus route, the B27, started on March 12, 1950, running along Fulton Street between Alabama Avenue and Elderts Lane. [18] This route was discontinued on February 1, 1955 due to low ridership. [19]

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References

  1. ↑ The Citizen Almanac. Brooklyn Citizen. 1894.
  2. ↑ Commissioners, New York (State) Board of Railroad (1886). Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York.
  3. ↑ "For East New York, Evergreens and Cypress Hills Cemeteries, Brooklyn Water Works, Race Courses, &c., &c. Broadway Railrod Company of Brooklyn". The Brooklyn Times Union. June 17, 1859. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  4. ↑ Surveyor, New York (State) State Engineer and (1860). Annual Report of the State Engineer and Surveyor of Railroad Statistics of the State of New York. State Engineer and Surveyor's Office.
  5. ↑ Manual. Brooklyn (New York, N. Y. ) Common Council. 1864.
  6. ↑ "Brooklyn Railroads and Real Estate". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 29, 1859. p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  7. ↑ Poor, Henry Varnum (1860). History of the Railroads and Canals of the United States ... J.H. Schultz & Company.
  8. ↑ "Railroad Extension". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 30, 1860. p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  9. ↑ Stiles, Henry Reed (1884). The Civil, Political, Professional and Ecclesiastical History, and Commercial and Industrial Record of the County of Kings and the City of Brooklyn, N. Y. from 1683 to 1884. Munsell.
  10. ↑ Brooklyn Streetcars. Arcadia Publishing. 2008. ISBN   978-0-7385-5761-8.
  11. ↑ "STREET-CAR LINES UNITED.; The Brooklyn City Railroad Company Makes a Big Acquisition". The New York Times. 1894-01-17. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  12. ↑ Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac ...: A Book of Information, General of the World, and Special of New York City and Long Island ... Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1895. p. 245. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ Commissioners, New York (State) Board of Railroad (1894). Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New York.
  14. ↑ "Rapid Transit Statement: Issued to the Public Through a Wall Street News Bureau−Estimates of Future Earnings". Brooklyn Daily Eagle . August 26, 1898. p. 7. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2016– via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 Watson, Edward B.; Linder, Bernard (October 1969). "Brooklyn Trolley Companies" (PDF). Electric Railroaders' Association. 12 (5): 3.
  16. ↑ "Public Notice Broadway Trolley Line Atlantic Ave. Bus Line". Flickr.com. New York City Board of Transportation. 1950. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  17. ↑ "2 New Bus Garages to Open in Brooklyn". The New York Times. January 15, 1950. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  18. ↑ "E.N.Y.-Cypress Residents Hil Bus Fight Victory". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 14, 1950. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  19. ↑ Linder, Bernard (August 1965). "BMT Trolley Routes 1940-1956" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. 8 (3): 4.
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