essachs@ihuxl.UUCP (Ed Sachs) (06/19/84)
================================================================== It seems that the discussion under the title of "Dade Co. Metrorail Opens" has gotten far off track, so I'm submitting this piece under a new title, even though it follows from some previous ones. The four Brooklyn steam rail lines which converged on the "Seaside Resort" of Coney Island were all absorbed into the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co. (BRT, predecessor of the BMT) and converted to electric operation around the turn of the century, entering New York City (Manhattan Island) via the Brooklyn Bridge. All of the lines underwent extensive rebuilding several times between their opening in the 1870's and incorporation into the Subway system around 1920. (Phil Burton mentions the Brighton, West End and Sea Beach lines, the fourth was the Culver (F) Line.) I grew up in the Sheapshead Bay section of Brooklyn, and rode on the Brighton Line (no D or QB then, just the old BMT standards and "D" units) every day to high school* in Manhattan (in "the city" as we called it then). (Oops -- my age is showing!) The Brighton Line (at least the elevated portion) shows evidence of an earlier incarnation, a two track elevated line located to the east of the present four track line. At several points, the concrete steps which led to the stations of the old line can be seen just to the east of the existing stations (at least they were still there a year or two ago). ------------- *Stuyvesant High School, in case anyone is interested. -- Ed Sachs AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville, IL ihuxl!essachs
burton@fortune.UUCP (06/21/84)
#R:ihuxl:-118000:fortune:8900016:000:472
fortune!burton Jun 21 09:21:00 1984
Ed,
I didn't forget the Culver line, originally built about 1875 by Andrew Culver.
I went to school from Queens to the Bronx (Bx. H.S. of Science), and my age
is shown since I recall the 10 cent fare.
Any other Electric Railroaders' Association members on the net?
Philip Burton 101 Twin Dolphin Drive-MS 133
Fortune Systems Redwood City, CA 94065 (415) 595-8444 x 526
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{ihnp4 [ucbvax | decvax!decwrl]!amd70 harpo hpda }!fortune!burtonessachs@ihuxl.UUCP (Ed Sachs) (06/22/84)
================================================================== Speaking of old surface right of way, the Culver line also had a surface right of way underneath it used by a freight railroad (the South Brooklyn Railroad, if memory serves me correctly), which ran from the docks in the Bush Terminal area (around 39th St) to Coney Island (the BMT Coney Island Shops). Along MacDonald Ave., the tracks were shared with trolley cars until about 1956 or so. The railroad at one time used steeple cab electric locomotives, operating either from third rail (they shared tracks with the subway for a short distance between 4th and 9th Aves) or trolley wire. It was later dieselized. Anyone know if it is still running? -- Ed Sachs AT&T Bell Laboratories Naperville, IL ihnp4!ihuxl!essachs