BMT Fulton Street El

A quick, incomplete history. Pieced together by David Pirmann from nyc.transit posts by Joe Brennan, Bob Weinstein, et al.

When the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad built the first el in Brooklyn, opened in 1885, it naturally ran from Fulton Ferry and the Brooklyn Bridge to East New York, with a station at Manhattan Junction (today's "Broadway Junction" at Broadway and Van Sinderen Avenue). This portion of the line is now the route of the J train. The Fulton Street Elevated was built by BER competitor Kings County Elevated Raillway Company and started service on April 24, 1888. Initially running from Fulton Ferry to Nostrand Avenue, the line was gradually extended, reaching East New York with a station at Atlantic Avenue and Snediker Avenue in 1889 (today's "Atlantic Avenue" station on the L-Canarsie Line), and reached the Brooklyn city line at Grant Avenue on December 28, 1893. East of Manhattan Junction, the Fulton Street turned south, then east to run on Pitkin Avenue and Liberty Avenue, whereas the Broadway el continues to this day to run over Fulton Street.

In 1896, a connection was made from the Brighton Line (at that time, the Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad) to the Fulton Street line, at Fulton St. and Franklin Avenue (the current terminus of the Franklin Shuttle), and shortly thereafter, the Kings County Co. took control of the Brighton Line. By 1900, the BER and KCER companies were absorbed into the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), which was quickly taking control of all elevated and streetcar lines in Brooklyn.

A one-block link was built between the KCER and BER lines at East New York, meeting the old BER line immediately east of Manhattan Junction station. For a few years, about 1900-1904, trains were operated via the "East New York Loop", e.g. out Fulton St El and in via Broadway (and via Lexington Avenue and Myrtle Avenue lines) and the reverse, with shuttles to the outer ends of the ex-BER and -KCER. This was not popular with all riders, as they say, and was given up.

The Canarsie elevated line, opened in 1907, ran as a branch of the Broadway El from Williamsburg, using the East New York Loop connection, sharing the Fulton St. section in Snediker Avenue.

Also around 1900, a connection was made from the Fulton Street line to the BRT complex at Sands Street, Brooklyn, allowing through operation of Fulton Street cars over the Brooklyn Bridge to Park Row, Manhattan.

As part of the Dual Contracts, the Fulton Street line was extended at its east end along Liberty Avenue from Grant Avenue to Lefferts Avenue (later Lefferts Boulevard). The subway extension of the Brighton Line under Prospect Park opened on August 1, 1920, at which time through service from the Fulton Street El to the Brighton Line ceased. The section of line between Prospect Park and Franklin Avenue continues to be operated as the Franklin Shuttle.

On the day that New York City acquired all the propreties of the BMT (sucessor to the BRT) and the IRT, June 1, 1940, service from Fulton Ferry and Park Row to Rockaway Avenue was abandoned. It had been duplicated by the IND Fulton Street subway since 1936. Service remained from Rockway Avenue to Lefferts Avenue. There was also a 14th Street-Fulton service which ran from 8th Avenue, Manhattan via the 14th Street line to Atlantic Avenue, and then switched onto the Fulton Street el to Lefferts Avenue. There was a non-rush hour cutback of el service to Eastern Parkway in 1952, with Rockaway Avenue served in rush hours only.

On April 29, 1956, a connection was opened from the IND Fulton Street subway line at Euclid Avenue to the Fulton Street el at Hudson Avenue, and the "A" train began running via this connection through to Lefferts Boulevard. The section from Rockaway Avenue to Hudson Avenue was then abandoned and torn down. Two months later, the connection from Rockaway Blvd. to the old LIRR Rockaway branch was opened and IND service to the Rockaways began.

The remains of the Fulton Street connection south of Atlantic Avenue was demolished in 2004.