Fulton Street Line (elevated)

Downtown terminals at Sands Street station in 1936, which the Fulton Street Line shared with others.

Fulton Street Line
Legend
to Park Row Fulton Ferry / Brooklyn Bridge across East River Fulton Ferry / Sands Street BMT Myrtle Avenue Line⌉ BMT Lexington Avenue Line | BMT Fifth Avenue Line⌋ Clark Street / Tillary Street Court Street / Myrtle Avenue Boerum Place Elm Place – Duffield Street Flatbush Avenue BMT Fifth Avenue Line Lafayette Avenue Cumberland Avenue Vanderbilt Avenue Grand Avenue Franklin Avenue Brighton Beach Line BMT Franklin Avenue Line Nostrand Avenue Brooklyn Avenue / Tompkins Avenue Albany Avenue / Sumner Avenue Troy Avenue Reid Avenue Ralph Avenue Saratoga Avenue Rockaway Avenue BMT Canarsie & Jamaica Lines Manhattan Junction LIRR Atlantic Branch Atlantic Avenue BMT Canarsie Line Eastern Parkway Hinsdale Street Pennsylvania Avenue Van Siclen Avenue Linwood Street Montauk Avenue Chestnut Street Crescent Street Grant Avenue IND Fulton Street Line Hudson Street – 80th Street Boyd Avenue – 88th Street Rockaway Boulevard IND Rockaway Line Oxford Avenue – 104th Street Greenwood Avenue – 111th Street Lefferts Avenue – 119th Street

The Fulton Street Line, also called the Fulton Street Elevated or Kings County Line, was an elevated rail line mostly in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It ran above Fulton Street from Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn in Downtown Brooklyn east to East New York, and then south on Van Sinderen Avenue (southbound) and Snediker Avenue (northbound), east on Pitkin Avenue, north on Euclid Avenue, and east on Liberty Avenue to Ozone Park, Queens. The portion in Brooklyn has been torn down, but most of the line in Queens has been connected to the New York City Subway and is now part of the IND Fulton Street Line (a portion of the A and C), an underground line that replaced the elevated line in Brooklyn. The structure was the main line of the Kings County Elevated Railway, first opened in 1888.

History

The Kings County Elevated Railway opened the line, from dual western terminals at Fulton Ferry and Brooklyn Bridge (Sands Street)^[1][2] east to Nostrand Avenue, on April 24, 1888.^[3] Construction on this line started in the fall of 1885, when ground was broken at the corner of Fulton Street and Red Hook Lane.^[4] It was extended east to Albany Avenue on May 30, 1888; Albany Avenue was an eastbound-only station, and the westbound station just beyond at Sumner Avenue had yet to be completed, so it temporarily served both directions.^[5] The line was further extended to Ralph Avenue on September 20, 1888^[6] and completed to BMT Fulton Street Line at the west end of East New York in early November.

The Fulton Elevated Railroad was incorporated on July 6, 1888 to build a disconnected line from Greenpoint south through Williamsburg to Kent and Myrtle Avenues, and to extend the Kings County Elevated east beyond Rockaway Avenue to the city line.^[7][8] The former was not built, but construction soon began on the latter. The first piece, over Fulton Street and Williams Place, opened on July 4, 1889, connecting with the Long Island Rail Road's Manhattan Crossing station at the new terminal at Atlantic Avenue.^[9] It was extended further, over Snediker Avenue and Pitkin Avenue, to Van Siclen Avenue on November 18, 1889; due to a shortage of wood for a storage yard, a temporary shuttle was operated between Pennsylvania Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue until mid-December.^{[10][11][12][13]} Construction above Pitkin Avenue progressed to Linwood Street on February 22, 1892^[14] and Montauk Avenue on March 21, 1892.^[15] The line was completed to Grant Avenue at City Line on July 16, 1894, with the opening of a structure above Pitkin Avenue, Euclid Avenue, and Liberty Avenue.^[16]

The Kings County Elevated leased the Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad on February 5, 1896.^[17] A two-block elevated connection between Franklin Avenue station and the Brighton Beach Line's Bedford station, including a new station at Dean Street, opened on August 15, 1896, and the Kings County Elevated began operating trains between the Brooklyn Bridge (Sands Street) and Brighton Beach.^[18][19]

The final extension, from Grant Avenue east to Lefferts Avenue, was built under the Dual Contracts and opened on September 25, 1915.^[20] In 1917 the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce started fighting for the removal of the Fulton Street El.^[21] The Dual Contracts also triple-tracked the line, which also led to the reconstruction, replacement, and elimination of some stations. The Public Service Commission received a petition on December 9, 1916 from a large number of civic and business organizations to restrict the third tracking to a point in the vicinity of Cumberland Avenue.^[22] Trains last ran on the line west of Rockaway Avenue on May 31, 1940, and these stations were closed the following day.^[23] The total cost of demolition of the Fulton Street Elevated was $2,000,000.^[24]

On June 1, 1940 a free transfer was provided to the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Avenue and a new "Fulton–Lexington Avenue" service via the Lexington Avenue Elevated west of East New York was introduced.^[25][26] The line west of Hudson Street was closed on April 26, 1956, and IND Fulton Street Line (A) trains began using the line east of Hudson Street on April 29.

Service patterns

The primary service pattern was a simple one-end-to-the-other operation, until May 31, 1940, when the 13 was cut back to Rockaway Avenue, and the BMT 12 took over operations from downtown Brooklyn to Lefferts Boulevard.

Station listing

Most Fulton Street trains left the line at Sands Street and ended at Park Row rather than Fulton Ferry.

Miles from Fulton Ferry	Name	Location	Opened	Closed	Notes
0.00	Fulton Ferry	Fulton Ferry	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
N/A	Sands Street	Fulton Street and Sands Street	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
0.52/0.68[1]	Clark Street (eastbound) Tillary Street (westbound) Clark–Tillary Streets	Fulton Street, Clark Street, and Tillary Street	April 24, 1888[1]
0.74[1]	Court Street (eastbound) Myrtle Avenue (westbound) Court Street – Myrtle Avenue	Fulton Street, Court Street, and Myrtle Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
0.91[1]	Boerum Place	Fulton Street and Boerum Place	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
1.18[1]	Elm Place – Duffield Street	Fulton Street, Elm Place, and Duffield Street	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
1.37[1]	Flatbush Avenue	Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
1.63[1]	Lafayette Avenue	Fulton Street and Lafayette Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]
1.88[1]	Cumberland Avenue	Fulton Street and Cumberland Street	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]	connection to Greene and Gates Avenues Line streetcars
2.14[1]	Vanderbilt Avenue	Fulton Street and Vanderbilt Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]	connection to Vanderbilt Avenue Line streetcars
2.48[1]	Grand Avenue	Fulton Street and Grand Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]	connection to Putnam Avenue Line streetcars
2.81[1]	Franklin Avenue	Fulton Street and Franklin Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]	connection to Brighton Beach Line trains and Franklin Avenue Line streetcars
3.15[1]	Nostrand Avenue	Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue	April 24, 1888[1]	June 1, 1940[23]	connection to Nostrand Avenue Line, Lorimer Street Line, Marcy Avenue Line, and Ocean Avenue Line streetcars
3.44/3.47[1]	Brooklyn Avenue (eastbound) Tompkins Avenue (westbound) Brooklyn–Tompkins Avenues	Fulton Street, Tompkins Avenue, and Brooklyn Avenue	May 30, 1888[5]	June 1, 1940[23]	connection to Tompkins Avenue Line streetcars
3.78[1]	Albany Avenue (eastbound) Sumner Avenue (westbound) Albany–Sumner Avenues	Fulton Street, Albany Avenue, and Sumner Avenue	May 30, 1888[5]	between 1912 and 1924	connection to Sumner Avenue Line streetcars
	Troy Avenue	Fulton Street and Troy Avenue	mid-1888	June 1, 1940[23]
4.15[1]	Reid Avenue	Fulton Street, Reid Avenue (now Malcolm X Blvd), and Utica Avenue	mid-1888	June 1, 1940[23]	Connection to Reid Avenue Line streetcars. Originally named Utica Avenue, but renamed between 1912 and 1924.[27][28]
4.60[1]	Ralph Avenue	Fulton Street and Ralph Avenue	September 20, 1888[6]	June 1, 1940[23]	Connection to Ralph Avenue Line streetcars. Service made redundant to Ralph Ave subway station at the same location.
	Saratoga Avenue	Fulton Street and Saratoga Avenue	December 3, 1888[29]	June 1, 1940[23]
5.18[1]	Rockaway Avenue	Fulton Street and Rockaway Avenue	early November 1888	April 26, 1956[30]	Connection to Wilson Avenue Line streetcars. Service made redundant to Rockaway Ave subway station at the same location.
	Manhattan Junction	Fulton Street and Sackman Street	July 4, 1889[9]		remainder of complex still exists as Broadway Junction serving the A  C  J  L  Z  trains
	Atlantic Avenue	Williams Place, Snediker Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue	July 4, 1889[9]	present	still serves the L  train connection to Long Island Rail Road at East New York station
	Eastern Parkway	Snediker Avenue and Eastern Parkway (old alignment, currently Pitkin Avenue)	November 18, 1889[12]	between 1912 and 1924
	Hinsdale Street	Pitkin Avenue and Hinsdale Street	between 1912 and 1924	April 26, 1956[30]	connection to Bergen Street Line streetcars
	Pennsylvania Avenue	Pitkin Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue (currently named Granville Payne Avenue)	November 18, 1889[12]	April 26, 1956[30]
	Van Siclen Avenue	Pitkin Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue	November 18, 1889[12]	April 26, 1956[30]	Service made redundant to the IND's Liberty Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue subway stations.
	Linwood Street	Pitkin Avenue and Linwood Street	February 22, 1892[14]	April 26, 1956[30]	Service made redundant to Shepherd Avenue subway station.
	Montauk Avenue	Pitkin Avenue and Montauk Avenue	March 21, 1892[15]	April 26, 1956[30]
	Chestnut Street	Pitkin Avenue and Chestnut Street	July 16, 1894[16]	April 26, 1956[30]	Service made redundant to Euclid Avenue subway station.
	Crescent Street	Liberty Avenue and Crescent Street	July 16, 1894[16]	April 26, 1956[30]
	Grant Avenue	Liberty Avenue and Grant Avenue	July 16, 1894[16]	April 26, 1956[30]	Replaced by the current underground Grant Avenue station, which serves the A  train.[30] It has an entrance half a block away from the old elevated train entrance.
	Hudson Street – 80th Street	Liberty Avenue and 80th Street	September 25, 1915[20]	present	still serves the A  train
	Boyd Avenue – 88th Street	Liberty Avenue and 88th Street	September 25, 1915[20]	present	still serves the A  train
	Rockaway Boulevard	Liberty Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard	September 25, 1915[20]	present	still serves the A  train IND service to the Rockaways splits from here[30]
	Oxford Avenue – 104th Street	Liberty Avenue and 104th Street	September 25, 1915[20]	present	still serves the A  train
	Greenwood Avenue – 111th Street	Liberty Avenue and 111th Street	September 25, 1915[20]	present	still serves the A  train
	Lefferts Avenue – 119th Street	Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard	September 25, 1915[20]	present	still serves the A  train

References

1. "Trains to Run". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). April 21, 1888. p. 6.
2. "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library.
3. "Heavy Travel". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). April 24, 1888. p. 6.
4. "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library.
5. "For Decoration Day Travel". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). May 29, 1888. p. 6.
6. "untitled". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). September 9, 1888. p. 8.
7. "Fulton Elevated Incorporated". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). July 7, 1888. p. 2.
8. "Fulton Elevated Railroad". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). July 9, 1888. p. 2.
9. "The Fulton Street Elevated". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). June 28, 1889. p. 6.
10. "Will Be Opened Monday: The Kings County Elevated Road's Extension". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 12, 1889. p. 6. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
11. "Adding a Mile". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). November 16, 1889. p. 3.
12. "Hats Tossed Up". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). November 18, 1889. p. 6.
13. "Kings County Road's Shuttle Train". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). December 10, 1889. p. 6.
14. "Another L Station Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). February 22, 1892. p. 4.
15. "Another L Station Opened". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). March 21, 1892. p. 6.
16. "Extending the Fulton Street Elevated". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). July 13, 1894. p. 10.
17. "Brighton Beach Road Leased". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). February 5, 1896. p. 14.
18. "New Route to Coney Island". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). August 14, 1896. p. 12.
19. "First Trains to Brighton". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). August 14, 1896. p. 7.
20. New York Times, New Elevated Line Opened for Queens, September 26, 1915, page 7
21. "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library.
22. "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library.
23. New York Times, Last Train is Run on Fulton St. 'El'
24. "Clipping from The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Newspapers.com". Brooklyn Public Library.
25. B.M.T. 'El' Lines to Shift Service; City to Close 2 Sections This Week, New York Times May 27, 1940 page 19
26. Broadway Junction Transportation Study (Part 1) (NYC.gov)
27. "www.nycsubway.org". nycsubway.org.
28. "www.nycsubway.org". nycsubway.org.
29. "untitled". Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY). November 27, 1888. p. 6.
30. "First Leg of Rockaways Transit Opened at Cost of $10,154,702". nytimes.com. The New York Times. April 30, 1956. Retrieved 29 June 2015.