Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad West End Line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stations | 20 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Type | Trolley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
System | Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operator(s) | Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1862–1916 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of tracks | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Character | Elevated at 36th Street terminal, ran on surface level after ramp down to ground level until last stop. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | 600V DC third rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The West End Line or New Utrecht Avenue Line was a surface transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running along New Utrecht Avenue and other streets between Coney Island and Sunset Park. Built by the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad as a steam line, it became a trolley line, along which elevated trains ran until the new elevated BMT West End Line opened. This route is no longer part of any bus line; its southern part (south of Bath Beach) was part of a bus route (the B64, which replaced the 86th Street Line trolleys, until 2010). In 2013, the B64 route to Coney Island was restored.
The Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad, incorporated in 1862 with Charles Godfrey Gunther as president,[ citation needed ] opened the first part of its line, from 25th Street and Fifth Avenue to Bath Beach mainly along New Utrecht Avenue (then the Bath Plank Road), on October 9, 1863. [3] [4] The extension to Coney Island was opened on June 9, 1864, making it the first steam railroad to bring beachgoers from downtown Brooklyn. (The Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad had been operating horse cars to the island since 1862.) At the Brooklyn end, the steam line ended at 36th Street and Fifth Avenue, where the BB&CI's own horse cars ran to a connection with those of the Brooklyn Central and Jamaica Railroad's Fifth Avenue Line and the Brooklyn City Railroad's Greenwood Line at 25th Street and Fifth Avenue. The odd double transfer was made necessary by the City of Brooklyn's refusal to allow the line to operate steam cars within its city limits. [5] [6]
The road took its common name from the area of its terminal on Coney Island, where a hotel of the same name, but unconnected to the railroad, existed. Its terminal was known as West End Terminal, a name which survived upon major rebuilding in 1919 as New West End Terminal before that name fell into disuse.[ citation needed ]
The road was reorganized in 1868, on January 22, 1879, and again on December 1, 1885, the latter time changing its name to the Brooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad, formalizing the use of West End in the line's name. Before that time, the original steam dummy cars, which consisted of a locomotive and passenger car in one railroad-coach-type frame, were replaced by conventional steam locomotives pulling unpowered coaches.[ citation needed ]
The Atlantic Avenue Railroad gained control of the West End in January 1893, [7] leased it on May 8, 1893, [8] and began to electrify it immediately without the permission of the town of New Utrecht. [9] Effective May 21, 1893, the Atlantic Avenue extended its Fifth Avenue Line (which was electrified March 14, 1893 [10] ) along the West End's trackage to the Union Depot at 36th Street, where West End trains were subsequently terminated. [11] Electric trolleys began running on the West End Line from the Union Depot to Coney Island on November 18, 1893, [12] and soon from the 39th Street Ferry. [13] The Nassau Electric Railroad leased the Atlantic Avenue, and thus the West End, at midnight at the end of April 4, 1896, [14] [15] implementing its universal five-cent fare between Downtown Brooklyn and Coney Island. [16] In late May the 86th Street Line was placed in operation, using the West End trackage from Bath Beach to Coney Island. [17] [18] Some West End cars were extended over the Brooklyn Bridge to Park Row in Lower Manhattan on February 15, 1898. [19] The Brooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad and Atlantic Avenue Railroad were consolidated into the Nassau Electric Railroad in July 1898. [20] [21]
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) gained control of the Nassau Electric in November 1898 [22] and leased it (and the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, operator of the Fifth Avenue Elevated, among other lines) to the Brooklyn Heights Railroad on April 1, 1899. [23] On June 4, 1899, a new switch at Bath Junction was placed in service, and the Park Row-Coney Island cars were rerouted via the Sea Beach Line; West End cars from Downtown Brooklyn continued to use the West End Line through Bath Beach. [24]
BRT control paved the way for the line to be connected to the elevated system, and, on December 19, 1900, trolleys between 36th Street and Bath Beach were replaced with elevated trains from Park Row in Lower Manhattan; the line beyond Bath Beach to Coney Island was part of the 86th Street Line. [25] [26] Trains operated by third rail power over the Fifth Avenue Elevated to a ramp at 37th Street, and, from that point, trains raised trolley poles to operate using overhead wire to Bath Beach. [27] A new bridge over Coney Island Creek was built to allow heavy elevated trains to run to Coney Island, [28] and this service, from Park Row to Coney Island, began on July 13, 1902, for ten cents. [29] [30] [31]
The Nassau Electric Railroad lease to the Brooklyn Heights Railroad was canceled on June 30, 1904, [23] and dual operation began, where the Brooklyn Heights (later the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad and New York Consolidated Railroad) operated the trains to 38th Street, and the surface operation beyond to Coney Island was done by the Nassau Electric. [32]
Elevated operations on the surface ended on June 24, 1916, when the new elevated West End Line, connecting into the Fourth Avenue Subway, opened to 18th Avenue. [33] The line was built as part of Contract 4 of the Dual Contracts, but at the BRT's own expense. [34] Trolleys continued to operate on the portion south of the Church Avenue Line (39th Street) until June 28, 1947.[ citation needed ]
Neighborhood | Station | Type | Opened | Transfers and notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Splits from the BMT Fifth Avenue Line | ||||
Sunset Park | ||||
39th Street [1] | local/express | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Borough Park | 44th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 |
49th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
54th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
58th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Bensonhurst | ||||
64th Street [1] | local/express | June 1862 | Transfer available to the Sea Beach Line | |
69th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
74th Street [1] | local/express | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
79th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Gravesend/Bath Beach | ||||
85th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Bath Beach Junction [1] | local/express | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
22nd Avenue [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Bay 35th Street [1] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Coney Island | ||||
24th Avenue [2] | local/express | June 1862 | Mini-siding; demolished between 1920 and 1930 [2] | |
Bay 38th Street [2] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
25th Avenue [2] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Tracks split to Unionville Depot | ||||
Coney Island | ||||
Bay 41st Street [2] | local | June 1862 | Demolished 1916 | |
Coney Island - Stilwell Avenue [2] | local/express | Transfer available to Culver, Sea Beach, Brighton Beach, Norton's Point and Sea Gate Lines | ||
The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the New York Stock Exchange.
The BMT West End Line is a line of the New York City Subway, serving the Brooklyn communities of Sunset Park, Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. The D train operates local on the entire line at all times. Although there is a center express track and three express stations along the line, there is no regular express service.
The BMT Lexington Avenue Line was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation, and then the City of New York.
The Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station is a New York City Subway terminal in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It is the railroad-south terminus for the D, F, N, and Q trains at all times and for the <F> train during rush hours in the peak direction.
The BMT Sea Beach Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, connecting the BMT Fourth Avenue Line at 59th Street via a four-track wide open cut to Coney Island in Brooklyn. It has at times hosted the fastest express service between Manhattan and Coney Island, since there are no express stations along the entire stretch, but now carries only local trains on the N service, which serves the entire line at all times. During rush hours, several W trains serve the line north of 86th Street.
Starting in 1899, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation operated rapid transit lines in New York City — at first only elevated railways and later also subways.
The South Brooklyn Railway is a railroad in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is owned by the government of New York City and operated by the New York City Transit Authority. Its original main line ran parallel to 38th Street from the Upper New York Bay to McDonald Avenue, and south on McDonald Avenue to the Coney Island Yards, mostly underneath the former Culver Shuttle and the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway.
Culver Depot, also called Culver Terminal or Culver Plaza, was a railroad and streetcar terminal in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States, located on the northern side of Surf Avenue near West 5th Street. It was just north of the boardwalk, near the former Luna Park amusement complex, and across from the current New York Aquarium. Originally built by the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad for the Culver surface line, it later became a major terminal for the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT).
The Culver Line, Gravesend Avenue Line, or McDonald Avenue Line was a surface public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running along McDonald Avenue and built by the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad. Most of its main line has been essentially replaced by the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway.
The B54 is a bus route on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City. The line travels between Downtown Brooklyn in the west and Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues station in the east. The B54 operates from MTA New York City Bus's Fresh Pond Depot in Ridgewood, Queens. The route serves only the section of Myrtle Avenue within Brooklyn; the section within Queens is served by the Q55 bus.
The DeKalb Avenue Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, running mostly along DeKalb Avenue, as well as eastbound on Lafayette Avenue, between Downtown Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the B38 DeKalb/Lafayette Avenues bus route, operated by the New York City Transit Authority.
The Nassau Electric Railroad was an electric street railway company in the U.S. state of New York. The company operated throughout the borough of Brooklyn, as well as over the Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge into Manhattan.
The B63 is a bus route in Brooklyn, New York City, running mainly along Fifth Avenue and Atlantic Avenue between Fort Hamilton and Cobble Hill. Originally a streetcar line called the Fifth Avenue Line, it is now operated by the New York City Transit Authority as the Fifth/Atlantic Avenues bus.
The Long Island Rail Road is a railroad owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the U.S. state of New York. It is the oldest United States railroad still operating under its original name and charter. It consolidated several other companies in the late 19th century. The Pennsylvania Railroad owned the Long Island Rail Road for the majority of the 20th century and sold it to the State in 1966.
The Fifth Avenue Line, also called the Fifth Avenue Elevated or Fifth Avenue–Bay Ridge Line, was an elevated rail line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It ran above Hudson Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Fifth Avenue, 38th Street, and Third Avenue from Downtown Brooklyn south to Bay Ridge. The portion on Third Avenue was called the Third Avenue Elevated to distinguish service from the elevated BMT West End Line; it was separate from the elevated IRT Third Avenue Line in Manhattan and the Bronx.
The B48 bus route constitutes a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running along Lorimer Street, Franklin Avenue, and Classon Avenue between Flatbush and Greenpoint. Originally the Lorimer Street streetcar line, it is now a bus route operated by MTA New York City Bus.
The Adams Street and Boerum Place Line was a public transit line in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running along Boerum Place and Adams Street. It served as access for the Atlantic Avenue Railroad to the City Hall area.
From 1898 to 1950, various companies operated local trolley lines over the Brooklyn Bridge, taking passengers from many points in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States to the Park Row terminal in Lower Manhattan. These lines entered the bridge roadway from Fulton Street or Sands Street in Downtown Brooklyn, some of them using elevated trackage at the Sands Street elevated railway station.
The 86th Street Line or Streetcar Line #31 was a streetcar line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, mostly running along Bath Avenue and other Streets between Coney Island and Sunset Park. Built by the Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation as a Streetcar line this route has now been entirely replaced by the B1 and B64 buses.