List of streetcar lines in Brooklyn
The following streetcar lines once operated in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States.
History
The history of surface line operation in Brooklyn is long and very complicated, and is best presented under one of the following sub-articles which maintain the proper family tree for each of the lines listed below. These subsidiary articles are:
- BRT/BMT subsidiaries
- Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation, the main company after 1929
- Brooklyn City Railroad
- Brooklyn Heights Railroad
- Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad
- Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad
- Coney Island and Gravesend Railway
- Nassau Electric Railroad
- Companies not owned by the BRT/BMT or jointly owned
- Brooklyn and North River Railroad
- Bush Terminal Railroad
- Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay and Ocean Avenue Railroad
- Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line
- Marine Railway
- Maspeth Railroad and Bridge Company
- Van Brunt Street and Erie Basin Railroad
BMT
Almost every surface line in Brooklyn eventually came under control of the Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation, a subsidiary of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation,[1] prior to the takeover of the lines by the New York City Board of Transportation on June 5, 1940. Many of the lines ended at the Brooklyn Bridge in downtown Brooklyn or Williamsburg Bridge in Williamsburg, with some going over to the Park Row or Essex Street terminals in Manhattan. The small number of BMT streetcar lines that operated only in Queens are also included here.
Name | From | To | Major streets | Abandoned | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
East-west lines | |||||
Sea Gate Line | Sea Gate | Sheepshead Bay | Surf Avenue, Neptune Avenue, and Emmons Avenue | December 1, 1946 | now the B36 bus |
Norton's Point Line | Sea Gate | Coney Island | private right-of-way | November 7, 1948 | now the B74 bus |
Norton's Point Shuttle | Sea Gate | Surf Avenue | September 26, 1935; also ran June 1943 | ||
86th Street Line | Bay Ridge | Coney Island | 3rd Avenue, 5th Avenue, 86th Street, and Cropsey Avenue | August 12, 1948 | now the B64 bus |
Bay Ridge Avenue Line | Bay Ridge | Coney Island | 3rd Avenue, Bay Ridge Avenue, 13th Avenue, 86th Street, and Cropsey Avenue | May 15, 1949 | now the B1 bus |
Bergen Beach Line | Flatbush | Bergen Beach | Flatbush Avenue and Avenue N | August 6, 1930 (east end); March 5, 1951 (whole line) | now the B41 bus |
Cortelyou Road Line | Kensington | Flatbush | Cortelyou Road and 16th Avenue | July 23, 1930 | Replaced as part of B23 bus on July 23, 1930. Discontinued on June 27, 2010 due to a budget crisis. |
Holy Cross Cemetery Line | Prospect Park South | Holy Cross Cemetery | Tilden Avenue | April 1, 1951 | |
Church Avenue Line | Greenwood Heights | Brownsville | 39th Street and Church Avenue | October 31, 1956 | now the B35 bus |
Gravesend and Church Avenues Line | Kensington | Brownsville | Gravesend Avenue (McDonald Avenue) and Church Avenue | June 1, 1949 | Identical service continued as branch of Church Avenue Line until 10/31/1956 |
New Lots Avenue Line | Brownsville | New Lots | New Lots Avenue | September 1, 1947 | now the B15 bus |
Fifteenth Street Line | Red Hook | Windsor Terrace | Hamilton Avenue and 15th Street | December 1, 1945 | |
Union Street Line | Red Hook | Windsor Terrace | Union Street and Prospect Park West | December 1, 1945 | |
St. Johns Place Line | Downtown | Brownsville | Atlantic Avenue, Sterling Place, St. Johns Place, and Rockaway Avenue | August 24, 1947 | now the B45 bus |
Bergen Street Line | Red Hook | Ozone Park, Queens | Sackett Street, Bergen Street, and Liberty Avenue | July 20, 1947 | now the B65 bus |
Fulton Street Line | Downtown | East New York | Fulton Street | August 10, 1941 | now the B25 bus |
Putnam Avenue Line | Downtown | Ridgewood, Queens | Fulton Street, Putnam Avenue, and Halsey Street | September 21, 1941; restored November 29, 1942 to February 5, 1950 | now the B26 bus |
Greene and Gates Avenues Line | Downtown | Ridgewood, Queens | Fulton Street, Greene Avenue, and Gates Avenue | October 5, 1941 | now the B52 bus |
DeKalb Avenue Line | Brooklyn Bridge | Ridgewood, Queens | DeKalb Avenue and Seneca Avenue | January 30, 1949 | now the B38 bus |
Montague Street Line | Downtown | Montague Street | |||
Myrtle Avenue and Court Street Line | Red Hook | Ridgewood, Queens | Court Street and Myrtle Avenue | July 17, 1949 | now the B54 and B57 buses |
Park Avenue Line | Brooklyn Bridge | Trinity Cemetery | Park Avenue and Wilson Avenue | June 19, 1930 | |
Flushing Avenue Line | Brooklyn Bridge | Maspeth, Queens | Flushing Avenue | November 21, 1948 | now the B57 bus |
Broadway Line | Williamsburg Bridge | Cypress Hills | Broadway and Fulton Street | January 15, 1950 | now the Q24 (ex-B22) bus |
Williamsburg Bridge Local | Williamsburg Bridge | Williamsburg Bridge | December 4, 1948 | now the B39 bus | |
Jamaica Line | Ocean Hill | Jamaica, Queens | Fulton Street and Jamaica Avenue | November 30, 1947 | now the Q56 (ex-B56) bus |
Bushwick Avenue Line | Williamsburg Bridge | Ridgewood, Queens | Meserole Street, Bushwick Avenue, and Myrtle Avenue | September 1, 1947 | |
Wilson Avenue Line | Williamsburg Bridge | Canarsie | Johnson Avenue, Wilson Avenue, and Rockaway Avenue | May 27, 1951 | now the B60 bus |
Cypress Hills Cemetery Line | Ridgewood, Queens | Cypress Hills Cemetery, Queens | Cypress Avenue | September 1, 1947 | |
Richmond Hill Line | Ridgewood, Queens | Jamaica, Queens | Myrtle Avenue | April 26, 1950 | now the Q55 (ex-B55) bus |
Metropolitan Avenue Line | Williamsburg Bridge | Jamaica, Queens | Grand Street and Metropolitan Avenue | June 12, 1949 | now the Q54 (ex-B53) bus |
Metropolitan Avenue Shuttle | Williamsburg | East Williamsburg | Metropolitan Avenue | 1920 | |
Flushing-Ridgewood Line | Ridgewood, Queens | Flushing, Queens | Fresh Pond Road, Grand Avenue, and Corona Avenue | July 17, 1949 | now the Q58 (ex-B58) bus |
Grand Street Line | Williamsburg | Maspeth, Queens | Grand Street and Grand Avenue | December 11, 1949 | now the Q59 (ex-B59) bus |
Calvary Cemetery Line | Greenpoint | Calvary Cemetery, Queens | Greenpoint Avenue | January 26, 1930 | now the B24 bus |
North-south lines | |||||
Furman Street Line | Red Hook | Downtown | Columbia Street and Furman Street | ||
Hicks Street Line | Red Hook | Cobble Hill | Hicks Street | 1921 | |
Erie Basin Line | Red Hook | Brooklyn Bridge | Columbia Street | March 5, 1944 | now the B61 bus |
Crosstown Line | Red Hook | Greenpoint | Columbia Street, Flushing Avenue, Wythe Avenue, Driggs Avenue, Bedford Avenue, and Manhattan Avenue | January 27, 1951 | now the B61 & B62 bus |
65th Street-Fort Hamilton Line | Fort Hamilton | Sunset Park | 3rd Avenue and 2nd Avenue | March 1, 1942 | |
Hamilton Avenue Line | Bay Ridge | Red Hook | 3rd Avenue and Hamilton Avenue | March 29, 1942 | |
Smith Street Line | Windsor Terrace | Brooklyn Bridge | 9th Street and Smith Street | February 11, 1951 | now the B57 bus |
Third Avenue Line | Fort Hamilton | Brooklyn Bridge | 3rd Avenue | March 1, 1942 | B37 bus until June 2010, service restored June 29, 2014 |
Fifth Avenue Line | Fort Hamilton | Cobble Hill | 5th Avenue and Atlantic Avenue | February 20, 1949 | now the B63 bus |
Seventh Avenue Line | Windsor Terrace | Brooklyn Bridge | 7th Avenue and Flatbush Avenue | February 11, 1951 | now the B67 bus |
Eighth Avenue Line | Bay Ridge | Sunset Park | 8th Avenue and 39th Street | May 15, 1949 | now the B70 bus |
West End Line | Coney Island | Sunset Park | New Utrecht Avenue | June 28, 1947 | |
Sixteenth Avenue Line | New Utrecht | Kensington | 16th Avenue and Cortelyou Road | January 26, 1930 | |
McDonald Avenue Line | Coney Island | Windsor Terrace | McDonald Avenue | October 31, 1956 | |
Coney Island Avenue Line | Coney Island | Windsor Terrace | Coney Island Avenue | November 30, 1955 | now the B68 bus |
Greenpoint Line | Downtown | Greenpoint | Myrtle Avenue, Kent Avenue, and Franklin Street | November 19, 1945 | |
Flatbush Avenue Line | Marine Park | Downtown | Flatbush Avenue | March 5, 1951 | now the B41 bus |
Vanderbilt Avenue Line | Windsor Terrace | Downtown | Vanderbilt Avenue and Flushing Avenue | August 20, 1950 | now the B69 bus |
Franklin Avenue Line | Prospect Park South | Williamsburg Bridge | Franklin Avenue and Wythe Avenue | October 28, 1945 | now the B48 bus |
Ocean Avenue Line | Sheepshead Bay | Crown Heights | Ocean Avenue and Rogers Avenue | April 29, 1951 | now the B49 bus |
Nostrand Avenue Line | Sheepshead Bay | Williamsburg Bridge | Nostrand Avenue and Lee Avenue | April 1, 1951 | now the B44 bus |
Meeker and Marcy Avenues Line | Stuyvesant Heights | Greenpoint | Marcy Avenue and Meeker Avenue | April 17, 1939 | now the B24 bus |
Tompkins Avenue Line | Prospect Park | Williamsburg Bridge | Empire Boulevard, Kingston Avenue, and Tompkins Avenue | August 24, 1947 | now the B43 bus |
Union Avenue Line | Ridgewood, Queens | Greenpoint | Knickerbocker Avenue, Flushing Avenue, and Union Avenue | December 1, 1945 | |
Lorimer Street Line | Prospect Park South | Greenpoint | Franklin Avenue, Lorimer Street, and Nassau Avenue | December 14, 1947 | now the B48 bus |
Graham Avenue Line | Brooklyn Bridge | Hunters Point, Queens | Flushing Avenue, Graham Avenue, and Manhattan Avenue | December 21, 1948 | now the B43 bus |
Sumner Avenue Line | Brownsville | Williamsburg Bridge | 98th Street, Sumner Avenue (Marcus Garvey Boulevard), and Broadway | July 20, 1947 | now the B15 bus |
Utica and Reid Avenues Line | Flatlands | Williamsburg Bridge | Utica Avenue, Reid Avenue, and Broadway | March 18, 1951 | now the B46 bus |
Ralph Avenue Line | Brownsville | Williamsburg Bridge | 98th Street, Ralph Avenue, and Broadway | November 1, 1943 | now the B47 bus |
Ralph and Rockaway Avenues Line | Brownsville | Williamsburg Bridge | Rockaway Avenue, Ralph Avenue, and Broadway | May 27, 1951 | now the B47 bus |
Rockaway Parkway Line | Canarsie Landing | Canarsie | Rockaway Parkway | April 29, 1951 | now the B42 bus |
North Beach Line | Elmhurst, Queens | North Beach, Queens | Junction Boulevard | August 24, 1949 | now the Q72 (ex-B72) bus |
Other companies
Name | From | To | Major streets | Abandoned | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manhattan Bridge Three Cent Line | Downtown Brooklyn | Chinatown, Manhattan | Manhattan Bridge | November 13, 1929 | |
Hudson Avenue Line | Prospect Park | Downtown | Flatbush Avenue and Hudson Avenue | 1871 |
See also
- Trolley dodger
- List of streetcar lines in the Bronx
- List of streetcar lines in Manhattan
- List of streetcar lines in Queens
- List of streetcar lines in Staten Island
- List of streetcar lines on Long Island
- List of town tramway systems in the United States
References
- Williams Map and Guide Company, Map of the borough of Queens, 1923
- Chicago Transit & Railfan Web Site: New York City Transit
- The Don Harold and Francis J. Goldsmith, Jr. Brooklyn El and Trolley Pages (The JoeKorNer: Brooklyn Trolleys)
- Brooklyn Streetcars, by the Branford Electric Railway Association, September 24, 2008
- BMT Surface Division map, undated
- Brooklyn Trolleys James Clifford Greller Xplorer Press