BMT Nassau Street Line
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The Nassau Street Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT Division of the New York City Subway system. It is served by the J, M, and Z trains. On NYC subway maps, station signs and train route signs the line is shown in brown.
The line starts in Manhattan and emerges to cross the Williamsburg Bridge and becomes the BMT Jamaica Line in Brooklyn.
[edit] History
After the original IRT opened, the city began planning new lines. Two of these were extensions of that system, to Downtown Brooklyn and Van Cortlandt Park, but the other two - the Centre Street Loop Subway (or Brooklyn Loop Subway) and Fourth Avenue Subway (in Brooklyn) - were separate lines for which construction had not progressed as far. The Centre Street Loop, approved on January 25, 1907 as a four-track line (earlier proposed as two tracks),[1] was to connect the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg Bridge via Centre Street, Canal Street, and Delancey Street. An extension south from the Brooklyn Bridge under William Street to Wall Street was also part of the plan, as were several loops towards the Hudson River and a loop connecting the bridges through Brooklyn. Construction contracts for the main line in Manhattan were awarded in early 1907, despite no determination of the operator once completed. The line was assigned to a proposed Tri-borough system in early 1908 and to the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) in the Dual Contracts, adopted on March 4, 1913.[2][3]
The BRT began operating through a short piece of subway, coming off the Williamsburg Bridge under Delancey Street to Essex Street, on September 16, 1908.[4] The Centre Street Loop was opened to Chambers Street (at the Brooklyn Bridge) on August 4, 1913,[5] with temporary operation at first on the two west tracks.[6] The south tracks on the Manhattan Bridge, also running into Chambers Street, were placed in service on June 22, 1915.[citation needed] An extension south from Chambers Street to the Montague Street Tunnel, known as the Nassau Street Loop, was not completed until May 30, 1931.[7]
Plans for the Chambers Street area changed several times during construction, always including a never-completed connection to the Brooklyn Bridge tracks. By 1910, only the west two tracks were to rise onto the bridge, and the east two were to continue south to the Montague Street Tunnel. As actually built for the 1931 opening south of Chambers Street, the two outer tracks ran south to the tunnel, while the two inner tracks continued several blocks in a lower level stub tunnel to allow trains to reverse direction.[8]
[edit] Stations
Stations on the Nassau Street Line, from compass north to south:
[edit] References
- ^ New York Times, Subway Loop Approved, January 26, 1907, page 16
- ^ James Blaine Walker, Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917, published 1918, pp. 203-239
- ^ Engineering News, A New Subway Line for New York City, Volume 63, No. 10, March 10, 1910
- ^ a b New York Times, Mayor Runs a Train Over New Bridge, September 17, 1908, page 16
- ^ a b New York Times, Passenger Killed on Loop's First Day, August 5, 1913, page 2
- ^ Public Service Commission For the First District, New Subways For New York: The Dual System of Rapid Transit, Chapter 1
- ^ New York Times, Mayor Drives Train in New Subway Link, May 30, 1931, page 11
- ^ Joseph Brennan, Abandoned Stations: Chambers St closed platforms, accessed March 22, 2007
New York City Subway lines | |
---|---|
IRT | Manhattan: 42nd St Shuttle • Broadway-7th Av • Lenox Av • Lexington Av Bronx: Dyre Av • Jerome Av • Pelham • White Plains Rd Brooklyn/Queens: Eastern Pkwy/New Lots • Flushing • Nostrand Av Former: Original subway • 2nd Av • 3rd Av • 6th Av • 9th Av |
BMT | Manhattan trunks and branches: 63rd St • Astoria • Broadway • Manhattan Bridge • Nassau St Eastern Division: Archer Av • Canarsie • Jamaica • Myrtle Av Southern Division: 4th Av • Brighton • Culver • Franklin Av • Sea Beach • West End Former: 3rd Av • 5th Av • Brooklyn Bridge • Fulton St • Lexington Av Former surface: Culver • West End |
IND | Manhattan/Bronx trunks: 6th Av • 8th Av • Concourse Brooklyn/Queens: 63rd St • Archer Av • Crosstown • Culver • Fulton St • Rockaway • Queens Blvd Former: World's Fair |
Connections | Chrystie St • 60th St |
Future | 2nd Av |