- Brooklyn City Railroad
The Brooklyn City Railroad (BCRR) was the oldest and one of the largest operators of
streetcars (horsecar s and later trolleys) in the City ofBrooklyn ,New York , continuing in that role when Brooklyn became a borough ofNew York City in 1898.Incorporation and first line
The BCRR was incorporated on
December 17 ,1853 with capital of $2,500,000, a large sum in those days. Its first line, the Myrtle Avenue Line, was the first horsecar line in Brooklyn, and opened onJuly 3 ,1854 . The line operated from Fulton Ferry via Fulton Street and Myrtle Avenue to the formerstagecoach stable s at Marcy Avenue.List of lines
The following lines were operated by the BCRR at the time of its 1893 lease to the BHRR: [ [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC19380048&id=n6axkp6ovaAC Report of the Special Committee of the Assembly Appointed to Investigate the Causes of the Strike of the Surface Railroads in the City of Brooklyn] , 1895, pages 33-34]
*Court Street Line ,Brooklyn Bridge to Red Hook
*Flatbush Avenue Line, Fulton Ferry to Flatbush
*Fulton Street Line, Fulton Ferry to East New York
*Furman Street Line , Fulton Ferry toHamilton Ferry
*Gates Avenue Line , Fulton Ferry to Ridgewood
*Graham Avenue Line , Fulton Ferry toGreenpoint Ferry
*Greenpoint Line , Fulton Ferry to Greenpoint
*Hamilton Avenue Line ,Hamilton Ferry to Greenwood Cemetery
*Myrtle Avenue Line, Fulton Ferry to Bushwick
*Putnam Avenue Line , Fulton Ferry to Ocean Hill
*Third Avenue Line, Fulton Ferry to Fort Hamilton;Built after the consolidations began
*Bowery Bay Line , Ridgewood to North Beach
*Corona Line, Ridgewood to Corona
*Flatbush Avenue Line, Flatbush to Flatlands
*Flushing Avenue Line , Bushwick to Maspeth
*Richmond Hill Line , Ridgewood to Richmond Hill
*Union Avenue Line, Greenpoint to Ridgewood;From the
Bushwick Railroad , leasedJuly 26 ,1888
*Bushwick Line , Williamsburg to Ridgewood
*Cypress Hills Line , Ridgewood toCypress Hills Cemetery
*Lutheran Cemetery Line , Ridgewood toLutheran Cemetery
*Tompkins Avenue Line , Williamsburg to Crown Heights;From the
Brooklyn Crosstown Railroad and its leasedCalvary Cemetery, Greenpoint and Brooklyn Railroad , leasedJuly 30 ,1889
*Annex Line , Long Island City
*Calvary Cemetery Line , Greenpoint toCalvary Cemetery
*Crosstown Line, Red Hook to Greenpoint
*Union Avenue Line,Downtown Brooklyn to Greenpoint;From the
New Williamsburgh and Flatbush Railroad and its leasedGreenpoint and Lorimer Street Railroad , leasedJuly 31 ,1889
*Holy Cross Line , Prospect-Lefferts Gardens toHoly Cross Cemetery
*Lorimer Street Line , Greenpoint to Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
*Nostrand Avenue Line, Williamsburg to Prospect-Lefferts Gardens;From the
Grand Street and Newtown Railroad , leasedApril 29 ,1890
*Grand Street Line, Williamsburg to Maspeth
*Meeker Avenue Line , Williamsburg to Penny Bridge;From the
South Brooklyn Street Railway , leasedApril 24 ,1891
*Second Avenue Line, Sunset Park to GravesendLeased to Brooklyn Heights Railroad
In 1893, the
Long Island Traction Company (LIT), aholding company , acquired theBrooklyn Heights Railroad (BHRR), operator of a short cable car line on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights and used this latter company as its operating arm. The BHRR obtained a 999-year operating lease on the Brooklyn City the same year. By this time the Brooklyn City operated 27streetcar line s.Part of Brooklyn Rapid Transit System
The LIT was foreclosed and reorganized in 1895 as the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), which soon acquired, through lease orstock ownership, most of the trolley andrapid transit lines in Brooklyn.The BRT (also known as "the rapid transit company" during its years of acquisition) became the public face of transportation in Brooklyn. Nevertheless, the BRT operated all of its lines through its operating companies, some of which were created just for that purpose, and others that were leased or subsidiaries, such as the Brooklyn City. Patrons may have noticed this in subtle ways, such as that streetcar transfers had the letters "B.C.R.R." imprinted on their face.
Company revival
In 1919, the BRT went into receivership as the result of a number of factors, such as the serious
inflation ofWorld War I , and not helped by theMalbone Street Wreck on the Brighton Line, which killed at least 93 people onNovember 1 ,1918 .Though the BRT was bankrupt, the Brooklyn City was declared solvent, and its charter and separate corporate existence were resumed. The lease by the Brooklyn Heights was ended and the lines the BCRR controlled in 1893 and more became its lines again on
October 19 ,1919 . The BCRR had its own crews, cars and carbarns, and even purchased new equipment in its own name, though the overall planning and management was still effectively with the BRT. A negative consequence for passengers was that BCRR lines no longer issued transfers to the lines still with the BRT, and vice versa.When the BRT was reorganized as the
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) in 1923, the former BRT companies gradually were brought out of receivership. Nevertheless, the Brooklyn City did not become part of the BMT, but remained a separate company untilJune 1 ,1929 , when the BMT formed theBrooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation to consolidate all of its surface operations in one operating company, which finally ended the corporate existence of the Brooklyn City.References
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