Last Days of the Myrtle
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- On October 4th, 1969 the Myrtle Avenue Elevated was abandoned from Bridge-Jay Streets to Broadway-Myrtle. The portion north of Broadway-Myrtle remains today as part of the route of the M train. This video includes a series of photographs taken in the last days of the Myrtle Avenue El (South of Broadway-Broooklyn)
I attended Pratt Institute 1967-1972, which is located in Brooklyn just one block from the Myrtle El, so I travelled it often. The stations didn't have turnstiles. You got onto the train and the conductor would walk through each car and collect your fare into a hand-held token contraption. It accepted subway tokens only. If you didn't have one, the conductor would sell you one for cash. After you deposited your token, he would retrieve it from that device and sell it again to the next customer. This cumbersome procedure took time. If the conductor didn't get to every new rider, the train had to be held until he did. This was no express.
Also, the elevated structure was in poor condition and the lightweight trains they ran were short and used old wooden cars because they put less strain on the weak structure. Nevertheless, it was much more convenient than the nearby GG train which ran from nowhere to nowhere. But with the tracks falling apart and the cars near breakdown, it was no surprise that the TA shut it down. I rode it on the last day.
They could have at least temporarily shut down the line instead of tearing it down. NYC eventually recovered from the financial crisis, and they could have repaired the Myrtle Ave El and even extended the platforms to run longer and heavier trains. If this line existed today, it would almost definitely be at capacity as it serves a vital corridor. The buses are just not enough. Plus, the El would have spurred new development around the stations.
@@empirestate8791Its easy to make judgments in hindsight.
Wow the (MJ) only existed for a bit
I rode a special farewell trip on that el. Still remember it. Someone said it was okay to remove items from the interior and I got some of the brass window opening latches. Love the photos in the snow.
I recall riding the Myrtle Ave line in '68-69. Even then those cars were real antiques. The canvas straps and the wood were the most obvious giveaways of their antiquity. I remember them rumbling when they accelerated, and they were very slow. They probably had trailer cars in the mix.
You are correct - the Q Types that were combined into three car sets had a trailer as the middle car
I rode on the el everyday and I remember when they picked up speed from Vanderbilt Ave to Navy street where it ran down the hill. Sometimes it was scary when it ran across Fort Greene park where there was no cat walk on the right side of the track. Thanks for the wonderful memories.
@@masterdeeable1 That is part of the original April 10 1888 structure that had steam locomotives pulling the trains and the whole Myrtle Ave el line was built without catwalks.
@@luislaplume8261 yes I did know, I have a photo of the 1969 Myrtle Ave El from a window on Vanderbilt ave station. If you want to see it, you can see it on my Instagram page.
The original Peckham trucks on the motor cars were changed to IRT Maximum Traction trucks from retired IRT Composite cars to reduce their weight in order to be usable on the Third Avenue elevated line from 1950-1955. After the service south of 149th St. was discontinued in 1955 all the old elevated cars were replaced by surplus Steinway Lo-V cars and the third rail changed to subway type. The IRT motor trucks were less powerful than the original trucks and that is why their performance was inadequate but they did survive until service ended in October 1969.
I remember the Myrtle Avenue El. And I rode it many times. The Myrtle Avenue El trains all had a distinctive “rhythm” as they rolled on the tracks.
I really think a lot of the elevated closures were so short sighted. Short term savings, long term losses. 😞 Thank you for sharing these wonderful images.
It wasn't about saving anything, it was about the streets being dark and dingy. Buses were to be the next best thing which back fired on them. Bright open sky's with not enough capacity to replace lines not made into Subways.
@@Shinycelebi plus buses are slow the elevated lines should have been redesigned
@qjtvaddict You do realize what year that redesign would have taken place in, right? Other then a studier structure, the design itself was basically the same.
Indeed the demolition of the elevated Subway / Metro lines were short-sighted. These were designed to serve as vital connections to outerborough neighborhoods and Manhattan. The point of the elevated railway was to provide Non-Stop uninterrupted direct service between points without having to worry about traffic and other obstacles that are often faced by bus service. Sadly these elevated arteries of transportation will never resurface but hopefully the lessons have been learned.
@@Shinycelebi Also even though the streets were slightly darker under the ELs, the platforms were so much nicer. Most people I talk to tell me the old El stations are much more pleasant than the old subway stations, since the EL stations have fresh air and daylight, whereas the subway stations are often dark and poorly maintained. Plus, modern elevated guideways are made of concrete, so they're far quieter and far more reliable than the old steel viaducts.
This route today, as well as all others destroyed by NYC's carelessness, would be beyond capacity in ridership.
Well to me it was a good move, the elevated lines were in critical condition and were falling apart. Yes, MTA should’ve added a replacement but It’s better to have those lines removed than preserve them.
Fantastic images! Thank you!
I like these types of stories. I am a lifelong resident of Bed Stuy and utilized the B54 bus and the Myrtle-Broadway station over the years. I took note of the remnants of the old El everytime I headed down that way and imagined how it was. I also imagined how convenient it might be if it existed today.
Thanks for sharing. I love examining the different third rail and shoe types on this last remaining un-converted (BMT) elevated. Rebuilding the el in 1969 was not an option as the rest of the system was in desperate need of attention. Ridership was relatively low and they were not about to procure a small fleet of lightweight cars just for one or two long shuttles (like 3rd Ave). The future of the city was in doubt and it only got worse all the way into the 1980s. Any hope of economic revitalization could not be imagined without first removing the el - as was the custom since the 1930s all the way to the 1977 closure of the outer Jamaica line. Now we see middle class housing with balconies facing the tracks along Roosevelt, Livonia and Jerome Avenues.
Victor will be missed. I met him 35 years ago up at Branford. His love of the NYC Subway was immense - and he was known as one of the "3 Subway Guys" along with Alan Z and Ed S. I had the pleasure of working alongside all of them.
Fantastic video. I used to ride the Myrtle El a lot when I was a kid.
Glad you enjoyed it
It's so true That route today Would of been so awesome and very efficient
I am so jealous of people who got to ride the elevated lines. I wish they were around when I was a kid.
I rode on the Myrtle Ave el with my family in 1968 one year before it ended and also rode the Central Bronx el in 1972 one year also before it closed. It was known as the 8 line on the NYC subway map. It used R12s and R14s made from 1948 til 1949 and the conductor was in the middle of the train outside on running boards with air compressed pistons to open and close the doors.
Well, there are still quite a few left in The Bronx,Brooklyn,Queens…and 1 in Philly! Chicago Too!
Those old wooden cars in the snow sure looked like they were on their last legs, struggling in that blizzard! But those photos show that as time went on they became more and more dilapidated. It's a pity they couldn't maintain and rehabilitate the line and extend it back into Manhattan; it would be a very heavily travelled line today. 😢
Thanks for making this video. My family is from Ridgewood and rode this line all the time and shared stories about it.
Glad you enjoyed it
at least the'res a station on the elevated that's still in use. it's called Myrtle Avenue station. the closed myrtle el part is just a closed-for-good platform
Wow. That's awesome. Go be in time is fun.😊
Thankyou so much for your time today. 😊
Sandra Boston Massachusetts. 😊
The photo at the 2:35 mark is of the old 1890s Park Ave line as truncated
I would have been completely astonished to have seen anything as antique as a converted Gate Car still running in 1969. Then again, had I lived in the neighborhood, perhaps I wouldn't.
Not even the recently retired R42's look as pre-historical by today's standards, as did converted Q-type cars in 1969 when R32s, R36s and R40 slants were prevalent (and still very much clean).
I rode on them a year or two before the line closed and they were definitely a throwback. In fact they were the last wooden cars to operate on any transit line in North America. When the BMT introduced them on the Astoria and Corona lines in 1938 which it shared with the IRT they were considered an innovative solution which saved considerable amounts of labor since they replaced hand operated gates with sliding doors which only required a single conductor for an entire train. That is why they got sent back to the BMT after they were replaced on the Third Avenue elevated line in the Bronx by steel subway cars in 1956 or 1957. Shortly afterwards their clerestory sections were lowered to allow them to proceed through the DeKalb Ave. interlocking on their way to and from Coney Island Yard for heavy maintenance. The motor trucks had already been swapped out when they replaced Composites on the Third Avenue line in 1950 and the marker lights were moved inward IRT style so as not to interfere with the station platform canopies.
@@1575murray That's a great history... and to be honest, I had to look up "clerestory." Thanks for sharing your memories!
Thank you for sharing these interesting facts.
I rode the gate cars on the Myrtle Avenue Elevated.
An excellent video of the Myrtle Avenue El 👏
Thanks 👍
1:11 these are not the cars that were rebuilt into Q cars. They're actually 1300 series Brooklyn Union "Convertibles" with removable side panels for summer service. The Q cars were rebuilt from 1200 and 1400 series cars built in 1903 and 1907. I was 12 when I rode the last train west of Broadway on an Electric Railroaders Assn. fan trip the day after it closed. Great snow shots.
I remember the gate cars,i was born on Mytle and Hall street in 1945. The station's were heated with coal and pot belly stoves?
They shouldn't have torn down the myrtle ave 'EL' the b54 bus that was a replacement take too long. if they planed a new underground subway for myrtle avenue that would make a lot of sense.
The b54 and q55 were one bus too. With traffic on myrtle and a consistent downgrade in service/coverage on the L and J/Z, if the city hadnt been in a downturn then, thatd be one of the more important lines in brooklyn. Sure is a shame
@@antonioreconquistador Hey that's new yorkers for you. if they are so "smart" yet so dumb at the same time? oh BTW, thanks for answering my comment.
This was 12 days before the Mets won the world series over the orioles
I lived on the corner of mytle and hall street,and the train would stop at Washington Ave Station,those were the days
I remember when the new A&P opened
AMO história MAnda mais sobre os trens de NOVA YORK
The station's were heated with coal Pot belly stoves.
All the Elevated lines needed (at least in the outer boros) were to be maintained {and patrolled by police} adequately! I went to Brooklyn Tech from 1965-1969 and getting from the school to the train (IF you were lucky enough to get there unscathed by the ghetto criminals living in the projects) and it was a mere 30 minute ride! fast, efficient and relatively inexpensive especially if one considers the new move to electrical grids providing all city commuter transport.
I went to Bklyn Tech for those same 4 years. I used to look iut the window of the foundry class and dream of riding it. Never happened; thr neighborhood was dangerous, and it was easier to go the one block and grab the GG to the F at Queens Plaza. I DID get to ride the Jamaica elevated often, though.
Any photos of demolition of the line below Broadway/Myrtle junction?
Those train cars were ugly!