BMT West End Line
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The West End Line, now a subway line in Brooklyn, New York City, is a branch line from the Broadway (Manhattan)-Fourth Avenue (Brooklyn) subway, serving the communities of Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. It is served full time by the D, and rush hours by the M, which provides direct access to the financial district.
The elevated line, originally mapped as the New Utrecht Avenue Line (though the common name prevailed after construction), replaced the surface West End Line.
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[edit] History
Under the Dual Contracts of 1913, an elevated line was built over New Utrecht Avenue, 86th Street and Stillwell Avenue, fully opening to Coney Island on July 21, 1917. The original surface right-of-way was retained for use by trolley cars to provide local service and protect the company's franchise. Over the years, the West End line has been featured in movies and television shows. The famous chase scene from "The French Connection" (1971) was filmed under the West End line in Brooklyn, and the opening scene of "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) features Tony Manero (John Travolta) walking down 86th Street, with the West End elevated line above. Additionally, the opening credits of the television show "Welcome Back, Kotter" (1975) also featured the West End line.
[edit] Service patterns
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The West End Line has had an express (on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line) service - labeled 3 in 1924 - since it opened in 1916, passing over the Manhattan Bridge and onto the BMT Broadway Line express tracks. In the late 1950s, midday trains were switched to the local Fourth Avenue tracks and through the Montague Street Tunnel, and late night and Sunday service became a shuttle between Coney Island and 36th Street. The express and local services were assigned the designations T and TT in the early 1960s. With the opening of the Chrystie Street Connection in late 1967, the B was extended to Coney Island, absorbing the T and TT (both express on Fourth Avenue). The TT late night and Sunday shuttle survived until 1968, when the B became full-time; it ran local on Fourth Avenue at late nights but express otherwise. Late night operation was cut back to the shuttle - now B - in the mid-1980s, and in 2001, during the reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge subway tracks, the portion of the B in Brooklyn became the W, running as a shuttle not only to 36th Street at nights but also to Atlantic Avenue–Pacific Street on weekends. But in 2002 the West End Line became the only line to serve Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue during its reconstruction, and the W was extended full-time into Manhattan, using the local Fourth Avenue tracks and tunnel at late nights and on weekends. Finally, in 2004, the Manhattan Bridge reconstruction was completed, and the W was replaced with an extended D, running over the bridge at all hours and express on Fourth Avenue except late nights.
The other service pattern was the "West End Short Line", a rush-hour local (on Fourth Avenue) service between the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan and 62nd Street or Bay Parkway. It became part of the TT in the early 1960s and was discontinued in 1967. However, in 1987 the short line service was essentially recreated when the rush-hour M extension was moved from the BMT Brighton Line to the West End Line, and it has extended to Bay Parkway during rush hours since then. (At times, the M has extended to Ninth Avenue middays.)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Opening of the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad, New York Times June 9, 1864 page 2
- Railroad History Database
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| 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 Planned: IND Worth Street Line |
| Connections | Chrystie St • 60th St |
| Future | 2nd Av |
