BMT Fourth Avenue Line

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The Fourth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, mainly running under 4th Avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn.

Fourth Avenue never had a streetcar line or elevated railway, due to the provisions of the assessment charged to neighboring property owners when the street was widened.[1]

Contents

[edit] Route

BMT Fourth Avenue Line
uLUECKE
BMT Broadway Line
uWTUNNEL1
Montague Street Tunnel
uHLUECKE uUTurmBHFu uHLUECKE
Court Street IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
uHLUECKE uUKRZo uHLUECKE
IND Culver Line
uHST
Lawrence Street–MetroTech
uSTR uLUECKE
Manhattan Bridge subway tracks
uSTR ueHST
Myrtle Avenue
uCPICAl uCPICAr
DeKalb Avenue
uABZld uABZrd
uHLUECKE uUKRZo uUKRZo uHLUECKE
IND Crosstown Line
uHLUECKE uUKRZo uUKRZo uHLUECKE
IND Fulton Street Line
uSTR uLUECKE
BMT Brighton Line
uHLUECKE uUKRZu uHLUECKE
IRT Eastern Parkway Line
uACC
Pacific Street
uHST
Union Street
uHLUECKE uUTurmBHFu uHLUECKE
Ninth Street IND Culver Line
uHST
Prospect Avenue
uHST
25th Street
uBHF
36th Street
uABZlf uHLUECKE
BMT West End Line
exHLUECKE ueKRZu exHLUECKE
New York Cross Harbor Railroad
uHST
45th Street
uHST
53rd Street
uBHF
59th Street
uABZlf uHLUECKE
BMT Sea Beach Line
HLUECKE uKRZo HLUECKE
LIRR Bay Ridge Branch
uHST
Bay Ridge Avenue
uHST
77th Street
uHST
86th Street
uHSTe
Bay Ridge–95th Street

The line is unofficially but conveniently broken into three sections.

[edit] Upper Fourth Avenue Line

The line begins as the two tracks of the Montague Street tunnel enter Brooklyn, coming from either the BMT Broadway Line Whitehall Street–South Ferry or the BMT Nassau Street Line Broad Street stations in Manhattan. It runs under Montague Street, through the Court Street station to Court Street where it curves slightly south through the Brooklyn Civic Center onto Willoughby Street, then through the Lawrence Street station to the point where Willoughby Street meets Flatbush Avenue Extension. There, it turns immediately into the DeKalb Avenue station under Flatbush. Here, it is joined by the four tracks coming from the Manhattan Bridge in a six-track station shared with the Brighton Line. Beyond the DeKalb station, it becomes a four-track system; it briefly turns east under Fulton Street before turning south under 4th Avenue.

[edit] Central Fourth Avenue Line

Coming south from the DeKalb Avenue station and off of Fulton Street, this four-track system runs entirely under 4th Avenue to just past the 59th Street station.

Much of the surface of this segment of 4th Avenue runs at the foot of what amounts to a cliff whose rise starts in the vicinity of Union Street and does not fully ease down until about 65th Street. Certain of the streets leading up to 5th Avenue are very steep, reminding one more of what you see in San Francisco than anything you could imagine elsewhere in Brooklyn or Queens. This segment of 4th Avenue is also exceptionally wide by New York City standards, particularly considering how long ago it was laid out.

[edit] Lower Fourth Avenue Line

South of the 59th Street station, the line reduces to two tracks. It continues running under Fourth Avenue to its terminus at the 95th Street station. On the surface, while still wide, Fourth Avenue is obviously narrower than the section north of Leif Erickson Park.

While this section of the line currently has two tracks, there were provisions to add two additional express tracks between 59th and 85th Streets if the need should ever arise:

The subway is carried in the lower deck of a bridge over the LIRR Bay Ridge branch cut, and here it can be seen that the bridge has four trackways of which only the western two are used. The tunnel leading up to each side of the bridge was built only for the existing two tracks. At Bay Ridge Ave. and 77th St. stations, the southbound platform has the usual columns, but the northbound, being where a trackway would be if expanded, does not. At 86th St, the southbound track swings out around the platform, but the northbound is straight (from the north); in other words, this would be the western half of an express station. [1]

[edit] Branching lines

Just south of the 36th Street station, the West End Line (i.e., the New Utrecht Avenue elevated line) branches off eastwards, running to its terminus at Coney Island. Until the mid-1950s, the BMT Culver Line also branched off from here.

Just beyond the 59th Street station, the Sea Beach Line branches off eastwards towards Coney Island via an open-cut right-of-way.

[edit] Neighborhoods served

In its upper section, the line serves Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn.

The central section serves Park Slope east of 4th Avenue, and on the west side, Boerum Hill and then Gowanus; then finally, Sunset Park.

In its lower section, it serves the Bay Ridge-Fort Hamilton community.

[edit] Service

The Fourth Avenue Line traditionally carries the R (local), N (Sea Beach express) and D (West End express) services. The M train operates as a local to 36th street and then on to the Bay Parkway station via the West End Line during rush hours.

The D and N trains function on the express tracks, while the local tracks carry the R. Manhattan-wards from the DeKalb Avenue station, the local tracks run to Manhattan via the Montague Street tunnel towards either the BMT Broadway Line Whitehall Street–South Ferry station or the Nassau Street Line Broad Street station. The express tracks go to Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge, to either the BMT Broadway Line Canal Street express station and thence uptown via Broadway or to the IND Grand Street station and uptown as part of the Sixth Avenue Subway.

[edit] History

The Fourth Avenue Line was part of the Dual Contracts.

It replaced the parallel elements of the old, now long-ago-demolished elevated system running above 5th Avenue and 3rd Avenue, and captured the BMT lines to the east of them.

Formerly, the Fourth Avenue Line serviced the BMT Culver Line, it connecting into the 36th Street station via the BMT yards south of Greenwood Cemetery, from a now-demolished elevated structure, the barest stub of which should still be visible at the Ditmas Avenue station (even the right-of-way is gone, replaced by 80s-era houses).

For the particular histories of these branching lines, see the articles on the Culver Shuttle, IND Culver Line, BMT West End Line, and BMT Sea Beach Line.

[edit] Station listing

Station service legend
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops all times except late nights Stops all times except late nights
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights and weekends only
Stops weekdays only Stops weekdays only
Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours only
Time period details
Handicapped/disabled access Station Tracks Services Opened Transfers and notes
Montague Street Tunnel branch (M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights)
Court Street local M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights March 11, 1920 2 all times 3 all except late nights (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line at Borough Hall)
4 all times 5 rush hours until 8:45 p.m. (IRT Eastern Parkway Line at Borough Hall)
Lawrence Street–MetroTech local M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights March 11, 1920 See note below.
 
Manhattan Bridge branch (B weekdays until 9:30 p.m. D all times N all except late nights Q all times)
Myrtle Avenue local June 19, 1915 Closed 1956; only Manhattan-bound platform remains
 
Tunnel and Bridge tracks merge (B weekdays until 9:30 p.m. D late nights M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights Q all times R all except late nights)
Handicapped/disabled access DeKalb Avenue all B weekdays until 9:30 p.m. D late nights M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights Q all times R all except late nights September 13, 1915
local tracks split to BMT Brighton Line (B weekdays until 9:30 p.m. Q all times)
Handicapped/disabled access Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street all D all times M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N all times R all except late nights September 13, 1915 2 all times 3 all except late nights 4 all times 5 rush hours until 8:45 p.m. (IRT Eastern Parkway Line)
B weekdays until 9:30 p.m. Q all times (BMT Brighton Line)
LIRR at Flatbush Avenue
Union Street local D late nights M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights September 13, 1915
Ninth Street local D late nights M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights September 13, 1915 F all times (BMT Culver Line at Fourth Avenue)
Prospect Avenue local D late nights M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights September 13, 1915
25th Street local D late nights M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N late nights R all except late nights September 13, 1915
36th Street all D all times M rush hours until 7:30 p.m. N all times R all times September 13, 1915
track connection with BMT West End Line (D all times M rush hours until 7:30 p.m.)
45th Street local N late nights R all except northbound late nights September 13, 1915
53rd Street local N late nights R all except northbound late nights September 13, 1915
59th Street all N all times R all times September 13, 1915
express tracks split to BMT Sea Beach Line (N all times)
Bay Ridge Avenue local R all times September 13, 1915
77th Street local R all times April 14, 1916
86th Street local R all times April 14, 1916
Bay Ridge–95th Street local R all times October 27, 1925

Note: A direct transfer from the Lawrence Street–MetroTech station to the Jay Street–Borough Hall IND station is planned as part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 2005–2009 Capital Program. This station is also where the "money train" for the IRT and BMT divisions deposit their collections, just beyond the western end of the station; the IND division does this upstairs in the Jay Street station.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Bold Schemes", Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 4, 1892, p. {{{page}}}. 


v • d • e
New York City Subway lines
A Division (IRT)
Manhattan: 42nd St • Broadway–7th Av • Lenox Av • Lexington Av • Bronx: Dyre Av • Jerome Av • Pelham • White Plains Rd • Brooklyn/Queens: Eastern Parkway • New Lots • Flushing • Nostrand Av • Former: Original subway • 2nd Av • 3rd Av • 6th Av • 9th Av
B Division
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 • Franklin Av • Sea Beach • West End • Former: 3rd Av • 5th Av • Brooklyn Bridge • Culver • ENY Loop • Fulton St • Lexington Av • Culver (surface) • West End (surface)
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 • Planned: Worth St
Other