The Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate railway lines in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was a prominent corporation and industry leader using the single-letter symbol B on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. It operated both passenger and freight services on its rail rapid transit, elevated and subway network, making it unique among the three companies which built and operated subway lines in New York City. It became insolvent in 1919. It was restructured and released from bankruptcy as the

Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940. Today, together with the IND subway sy ...

in 1923.

Consolidation

The BRT was incorporated January 18, 1896, and took over the

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

Long Island Traction Company in early February acquiring the Brooklyn Heights Railroad and the lessee of the

Brooklyn City Rail Road The Brooklyn City Railroad (BCRR) was the oldest and one of the largest operators of streetcars (horsecars and later trolleys) in the City of Brooklyn, New York, continuing in that role when Brooklyn became a borough of New York City in 1898. In ...

. It then acquired the

Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad The Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad (BQC&S) was a street railway company in Brooklyn and Queens, New York (state), New York, United States. It originated as a horsecar line until it was acquired by the Long Island Traction Company o ...

leased on July 1, 1898. The BRT took over the property of a number of surface railroads, the earliest of which, the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad or West End Line, opened for passenger service on October 9, 1863, between Fifth Avenue at 36th Street at the then border of Brooklyn City and Bath Beach in the

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Gravesend, New York. A short piece of surface route of this railroad, near Coney Island Creek, is the oldest existing piece of

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

right-of-way in New York City, and in the U.S., having opened on June 8, 1864. Initially the surface and elevated railroad lines ran on

steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transf ...

. Between 1893 and 1900 the lines were converted to electricity operation. An exception was the service on the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

. Trains were operated by

cables Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a he ...

from 1883 to 1896, when they were converted to electric power By 1900, it had acquired virtually all of the

and

streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

operations in its target area: * Sea Beach Railway, acquired in November 1897 * Sea View Railroad (Coney Island Elevated), acquired in November 1897 * Nassau Electric Railroad (lessee of the Atlantic Avenue Railroad, Brooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad, Coney Island and Gravesend Railway, and

South Brooklyn Railway The South Brooklyn Railway is a railroad in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is owned by the government of New York City and operated by the New York City Transit Authority. Its original main line ran parallel to 38th Street from th ...

), acquired in November 1898 and leased to the BHRR in April 1899 *

Brooklyn Elevated Railroad The Brooklyn Elevated Railroad was an elevated railroad company in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It operated from 1885 until 1899, when it was merged into the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company-controlled Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad. ...

, acquired in March 1899 and leased to the BHRR in April 1899 * Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad (Brighton Beach Line), acquired in March 1899 *

Kings County Elevated Railroad The Kings County Elevated Railway Company (KCERy) was a builder and operator of elevated railway lines in Kings County, New York. Kings County is now coextensive with the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, but at the time the railway started, ...

(Fulton Street Line), acquired in November 1899 and merged into the Brooklyn Union Elevated on May 24, 1900 * Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad (Culver Line), leased to the BHRR on June 18, 1899 Only the

Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad The B68 is a bus route that constitutes a public transit line operating in Brooklyn, New York City. The B68 is operated by the MTA New York City Transit Authority. Its precursor was a streetcar line that began operation in June 1862, and wa ...

and the short Van Brunt Street and Erie Basin Railroad remained independent; the former was acquired in 1913 or 1914.1914 Moody's Manual: Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company

Expansion

BRT opened its first short subway segment, consisting only of an underground terminal at the foot of the

Williamsburg Bridge The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge across the East River in New York City, connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. Originally known as the East River Bridge, the Williamsburg Brid ...

at Delancey and

Essex Street Essex Street is a north–south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, which goes north to 14th Street. South of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street, ...

s in Manhattan on June 16, 1908. This line was extended under Delancey Street and Centre Street to a new five-platform complex at

Chambers Street Chambers Street may refer to: Streets * Chambers Street, Edinburgh, Scotland * Chambers Street (Manhattan), New York City, U.S. * Chamber Street, once known as Chambers Street, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England New York City Subway station ...

beneath the

Manhattan Municipal Building The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building) is a 40-story, building at 1 Centre Street (Manhattan), Centre Street, east of Chambers Street (Manhattan), Chambe ...

at the foot of the

on August 4, 1913. In addition to BRT trains,

Long Island Railroad The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. The railroad currently operates a public commuter rail ...

(LIRR) commuter trains also used the new Chambers Street station from its opening until 1917. The elevated railroads were operated by a new corporation, the

New York Consolidated Railroad Starting in 1899, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; 1896–1923) and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT; 1923–1940) operated rapid transit lines in New York City — at first only elevated railways and later also subways. Un ...

. In 1913, the BRT, through another subsidiary, the New York Municipal Railway, signed the

Dual Contracts The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the New York City, City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the ...

with the

government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...

, to construct and operate new subways and other rapid transit lines to be built or improved under these contracts. Almost all subsequent BRT lines were built as part of the contracts. The BRT opened its first Brooklyn subway under Fourth Avenue on June 22, 1915, running over the

Manhattan Bridge The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. Designed by Leon Moisseiff, the bridge has a tota ...

to a junction with the aforementioned Nassau Street Line at Canal Street. The BRT opened the first segment of its Manhattan main line subway, the Broadway Line, as far as 14th Street–Union Square on September 4, 1917. The Broadway Line was completed in 1920. The BRT's only crosstown Manhattan line, the Canarsie Line, opened in 1924. During the beginning of the BRT's existence, the LIRR was a competitor of the BRT for passengers in Brooklyn and Queens. Despite competing with nearby lines, the BRT and its predecessors also hosted LIRR passenger trains via track sharing agreements and interchanged freight with them. LIRR Passenger service to the BRT's Brooklyn Bridge terminal began after an agreement in 1895, utilizing BRT elevated lines. LIRR passenger service to downtown Manhattan via the BRT subway and Williamsburg Bridge began with the opening of the Chambers Street Station. Both LIRR and BRT motormen were represented by the same union. Today, BRT successor MTA New York City Transit still receives freight deliveries from LIRR freight successor the New York & Atlantic Railroad in Sunset Park and at Linden Yard.

Demise and legacy

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the attendant massive

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

associated with the war put New York transit operators in a tough position, since their contracts with the City required a five-cent fare be charged, while inflation made the real value of the fare less than three cents in constant currency value. On November 1, 1918, the Malbone Street wreck, the second worst rapid transit train wreck to occur in the United States, occurred on the BRT's Franklin Avenue/Brighton Beach line, killing at least 93 people. This further destabilized the financially struggling company, and the BRT filed bankruptcy on December 31, 1918. In 1923 the BRT was restructured and released from bankruptcy as the

(BMT). Some of the former elevated system of the BRT, dating to 1885, remains in use today. The largest section is the part of today's

BMT Jamaica Line The BMT Jamaica Line, formerly known as the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line, is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn and Queens. It runs from the Williamsburg Bridge southeast over Broadway to East ...

running above Fulton Street from the Alabama Avenue station to a small section turning north after the

Crescent Street Crescent Street (officially in ) is a southbound street in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Running perpendicular to Saint Catherine Street, Crescent Street descends from Sherbrooke Street south to René Lévesque Boulevard. Crescent Street i ...

station. Most of the other surviving structures were either built new or rehabilitated between 1915 and 1922 as part of the

. One piece of structure – the elevated portion of the

Franklin Avenue Shuttle The Franklin Avenue Shuttle is a New York City Subway shuttle service operating in Brooklyn. The shuttle service uses the BMT Franklin Avenue Line exclusively and operates 24 hours a day. The north terminus is Franklin Avenue, with a transfe ...

, built in 1896 and 1905 – was extensively rebuilt in 1999. Several BRT-era equipment have been preserved. This includes nine BU cars and five AB Standard cars, all which were also operated by the BMT upon the company's creation in 1923.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company 1896 establishments in New York City 1923 disestablishments in New York (state) American companies disestablished in 1923 American companies established in 1896 Defunct New York (state) railroads Predecessors of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation Railway companies disestablished in 1923 Railway companies established in 1896 Streetcar lines in Brooklyn Streetcar lines in Queens, New York

Consolidation

Expansion

Demise and legacy

See also

References