South Brooklyn Railway

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Former South Brooklyn Railway seen from the New York City Subway

The South Brooklyn Railway (AAR reporting marks SBK) is a railroad in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It continues to operate today as a subsidiary of MTA New York City Transit. Its original main line ran parallel to 38th Street from the Upper New York Bay to McDonald Avenue, and south on McDonald Avenue to the Coney Island Yards, mostly underneath the BMT Culver Line of the New York City Subway.

The line still exists in parts. The section between the BMT West End Line's 9th ave station and its interchange yard at 2nd ave is still open. The section under the Culver El is all paved over.^{[citation needed]}

1 History
2 South Brooklyn Today
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

The South Brooklyn Railroad and Terminal Company was incorporated September 30, 1887 to build from the end of the Brooklyn, Bath and West End Railroad (West End Line) at 38th Street and 9th Avenue northwest to the foot of 38th Street, and was leased to the BB&WE, allowing BB&WE trains to run to the 39th Street Ferry.^[1] The Prospect Park and South Brooklyn Railroad connected the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad (Culver Line) to the South Brooklyn Railroad in 1890.^{[citation needed]} The company was reorganized as the South Brooklyn Railroad on January 13, 1900.^{[citation needed]} The South Brooklyn Railway was leased to the Brooklyn Heights Railroad on July 1, 1903, but on February 28, 1907 it began operating independently, and leased the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad, which included the Prospect Park and South Brooklyn Railroad, giving it a line to Coney Island.^{[citation needed]}

The South Brooklyn Railway, along with the other non-rapid transit properties of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, was transferred to the New York City Board of Transportation on June 1, 1940;^[2] operations were transferred to the New York City Transit Authority on June 15, 1953.^[3]

[edit] South Brooklyn Today

The South Brooklyn's current job is to connect the subway system with the outside world. It forms a vital link as it is one of only two track connections between the Subway and the rest of the American rail network. During the 1999 reconstruction of the subway tracks on the Willamsburg Bridge, this connection allowed cars from the J,L and M, which were isolated during that period to travel to Coney Island Yard for major work. From the other connection (at the Linden iron shops) via the Long Island Rail Road's Bay Ridge Branch to The Brooklyn Army Terminal. From there, the New York Cross Harbor Railroad brough the cars up to the interchange yard at 2nd ave, where the SBK took them to Coney Island Yard via the West End Line.

The SKB has two distinct locomotives, N1 and N2, a pair of GE 47T Diesels. They can also be seen on the main subway doing work jobs when not needed for the SBK.