Old New York

Nice  I wonder if that New York Central overpass is the one Peter has in the thread about lost in time

Ben....that NYC girder bridge says Mt Vernon/Yonkers/Westchester Co, etc to me......just a gut feeling.

Peter

Here's one that's probably near there:

The Woodlawn Flyover........I believe that is the 241st St bridge in the distance.

Peter

Hi, Ben.

I believe that view is facing west along Yonkers Avenue at Mount Vernon station.

Bob

Yes, indeed.....I was right......Mt Vernon!

The bridge design says....Westchester Co.

Peter

Ok here is a pair at Park Row, the lower end of the T line. Thinking this shot was right after WW2 and taken from the 3rd Ave El City Hall Spur structure.

Gorgeous pics!

Peter

Cool videos

This is the elevated yard at 38 st and 5th ave

Interesting Shot Ben. Was this yard adjacent to the El line . I recall seeing photos in this area where there was a structure but no yard, The building in the backround is interesting. It looks like a structure that maybe was used to coal and water the forneys in the steam days.

Hi LArry

This is a shot of the same area after the tracks were roved   It is looking from the other direction

Hi Ben

Thats the location I was thinking of. In the yard , that is a very clever use of double slip switches to increase maneuvarability in the yard.

This photo appears to show the Brooklyn station before the great  trainshed at sands street were built. The original line across the Brooklyn Bridge was a Cable railway . It was converted to steam and the steam trains met the El trains and the LIRR at this location. When the trainshed was built and the El station expanded, El service from many of the Brooklyn Lines began operating over the Bridge directly eliminating the physical transfer that we see in the photo.

I agree the tracks end in the photo foreground You can also see that the platform has a gate across it which seems to prevent passengers from accessing the platform area in the foreground, probably part of the physical transfer process. The steam forneys were eliminated when the Brooklyn Els were electrified in the early 1900s.

Time to add a little Brooklyn flavor.

Here's a YouTube link that shows pics of the 5th Avenue El.

Ok since we are in Brooklyn, we can visit the Broadway El near the Williamsburg Bridge; Before the Bridge was built, this elevated route went to the Broadway Ferry at the East River where boats connected to Manhattan at Grand Street, James slip, Houston street and East 23rd street. West of Marcy Ave, there were two stops, the Broadway Ferry terminal and a mid stop at Driggs avenue. This spur was used to connect Brooklyn El Trains and the LIRR Rockaway service to Manhattan via the ferries. In 1908, the El was connected to Manhattan by a new line over the Williamsburg  Bridge and an on grade junction installed with the Broadway El complete with a tower.

Here are a couple of views when the connection was first built.

Interesting that the Woodsided Gate cars were operating into Manhattan to the below grade Essex Street Station and shortly later extended to Bowery, Canal Street and Chambers street. The first Steel BMT standards were not on the system until 1916, some 8 years after the Williamsburg Bridge extension opened.

There was also a lot of Trolley action at Ground Level at Bridge Plaza as seen in this view

And This one as well

The cars in the Foreground are Brooklyn cars operated by what became the B&QT division of the BMT. The cars on the right are New York City trolleys known as the Green Line which eventually became the Fifth Avenue Coach Line . These cars made their last runs over the Bridge in the 1930s while the B&QT service lasted until 1948-49.

The Original Broadway El to Broadway Ferry was closed about the time of World war 1. There was a paper transfer at Marcy Avenue from the EL to the trolleys to continue to Broadway Ferry when the El section was closed. It lasted into the Bus era. The B&QT trolleys added a stop on the Bridge at Driggs ave. This service had a 2cent fare as opposed to the 5cent fare to ride the cars beyond the Driggs ave stop. Here is a PCC making a stop at Driggs ave. This was a fan trip as PCCs did not run on any of the routes that crossed the Williamsburg Bridge.

l

After the trolleys were eliminated, buses replaced the Bridge service and the Driggs ave stop was eliminated. In the late 1950s, there were still trackless trolleys using the trolley wire at Bridge plaza. Check out the work train with the BMT standards providing the power. I wonder what the conversation was about with the folks in the foreground.?

Fan trips provided for unusual equipment to show up at Marcy avenue. Here are the D types coming off the Bridge. D types were at home on the southern Division and were not assigned to the Broadway El service. The Broadway Ferry spur is gone for many years in this photo but the tower is still there.

Finally we close with a photo from just a few days ago with R-32s coming off the Bridge in the same spot. and yes the tower is still there , now more than 100 years old but it does look like it has seen  better days and is in need of some repairs.

That tower is still there as well as a number of others along the J and M lines   They haven't been used in years since they went to Master Towers  East New York master handles most of the line.

You can still see the remnants of the ferry line next to the tower just after Marcy ave

So still on the Broadway line we see in this photo the on grade junction of the Broadway line and the long gone Lexington Ave El. Yes there was a Lexington Ave El in Brooklyn . It was Brooklyn's first Elevated line and dated to 1885. Its route took it from the Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn, way out to Cypress Hills. Parts of today's Broadway Jamaica El were originally part of the Lexington Ave line when constructed. The Broadway line had several on grade junctions ie at Marcy Ave, Myrtle Ave, Gates ave, Manhattan Junction and Chestnut street . Myrtle ave connection still exists today. At Gates Ave, there was a tower that controlled the junction . It spanned the express track on the Broadway line. Only the east and west local tracks connected with the Lexington ave el. Gate cars were the normal vehicles on the Lexington Ave line. None of the lightweight BMT experimentals ventured on this line. The Lexington Ave El line was discontinued in 1950. A section in downtown Brooklyn continued to operate on the Myrtle Ave El until 1969 and the piece of the line that ran from Gates Avenue east to Cypress hills has been upgraded and still is used today on the Broadway Jamaica service.

So taking a little trip on the Lexington Ave line back around 1950, here is what we might experience. In Downtown Brooklyn, trains terminated at the Bridge and jay Street station along with the Myrtle ave Line trains. There was a paper transfer available for detraining passengers to enter the IND A and D lines at Jay Street .

The Northbound Lexington would leave Bridge and Jay street station on the Myrtle ave line and head up a few stops to Grand Ave station on the Myrtle ave line. Trains turned off the Myrtle Ave line, just south of the station and headed east towards the Broadway El along Grand Ave and then onto Lexington ave. The junction at Grand Ave was on grade with a tower. There was an interesting station arrangement on the Lexington Ave El at Grand Ave. Trains heading out to  East new York did not stop at Grand ave as inbound trains did. There was no outbound platform but only a platform for inbound trains which connected to platforms of the Grand Ave station on the Myrtle ave El. I think the theory was that an inbound passenger might want to be able to change here to go North on the Myrtle Ave El. Outbound passengers would take the appropriate train from Bridge and Jay street so therefore no need to stop at Grand Ave on the Lexingon ave line. Heres a photo of the Grand Ave station on the Lexington line. We have a three car gate car train. Note the third rail did not not have covers . Watch your step!!

Continuing toward east New York, the El veered off Grand Avenue onto Lexington ave via an "S" Curve on the El, not quite as dramatic as the curve on the 3rd ave Manhattan line at Coenties slip. Here is view from Street Level and also an aerial view which shows the line. The Lexington Ave El was a 2 track  line over this stretch.

The line had signals as well, pretty modern for the time i suppose.

great shots larry   is that the Rheingold brewery in the background

Hi Ben

Rheingold was in Bushwick. This shot is about where Bedford Stuyvesant meets Clinton Hill and is South of Bushwick. So sorry to say not Rheingold Brewery. There was a lot of manufacturing in this area . Also Pratt Institute is down in that area.