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From: essachs@ihuxl.UUCP (Ed Sachs)
Newsgroups: net.railroad
Subject: Brighton Line (BMT, Brooklyn)
Message-ID: <1180@ihuxl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-Jun-84 13:47:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxl.1180
Posted: Tue Jun 19 13:47:55 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Jun-84 03:34:39 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 33

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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).
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*Stuyvesant High School, in case anyone is interested.
-- 
				Ed Sachs
				AT&T Bell Laboratories
				Naperville, IL
				ihuxl!essachs