The Fulton Street Line, also called the Fulton Street Elevated or Kings County Line, was an elevated rail line mostly in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It ran above Fulton Street from

Fulton Ferry, Brooklyn Fulton Ferry is a small area adjacent to Dumbo in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is named for the Fulton Ferry, a prominent ferry line that crossed the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and is also the name of t ...

Downtown Brooklyn Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and ...

east to

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough lin ...

, and then south on Van Sinderen Avenue (southbound) and Snediker Avenue (northbound), east on Pitkin Avenue, north on Euclid Avenue, and east on Liberty Avenue to

Ozone Park, Queens Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts Wor ...

. The portion in Brooklyn has been torn down, but most of the line in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

has been connected to the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

and is now part of the

IND Fulton Street Line The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, running from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Roc ...

(a portion of the A and C), an underground line that replaced the elevated line in Brooklyn. The structure was the main line of the

Kings County Elevated Railway 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, ...

, first opened in 1888.

History

The

opened the line, from dual western terminals at Fulton Ferry and

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid 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 ...

( Sands Street) east to Nostrand Avenue, on April 24, 1888. Construction on this line started in the fall of 1885, when ground was broken at the corner of Fulton Street and Red Hook Lane. It was extended east to Albany Avenue on May 30, 1888; Albany Avenue was an eastbound-only station, and the westbound station just beyond at Sumner Avenue had yet to be completed, so it temporarily served both directions. The line was further extended to Ralph Avenue on September 20, 1888. The Fulton Elevated Railroad was incorporated on July 6, 1888 to build a disconnected line from Greenpoint south through Williamsburg to Kent and Myrtle Avenues, and to extend the Kings County Elevated east beyond Rockaway Avenue to the city line. The former was not built, but construction soon began on the latter. The first piece, over Fulton Street and Williams Place, opened on July 4, 1889, connecting with the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

's Manhattan Crossing station at the new terminal at Atlantic Avenue. It was extended further, over Snediker Avenue and Pitkin Avenue, to Van Siclen Avenue on November 18, 1889; due to a shortage of wood for a storage yard, a temporary shuttle was operated between Pennsylvania Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue until mid-December. Construction above Pitkin Avenue progressed to Linwood Street on February 22, 1892 and Montauk Avenue on March 21, 1892. The line was completed to Grant Avenue at City Line on July 16, 1894, with the opening of a structure above Pitkin Avenue, Euclid Avenue, and Liberty Avenue. The Kings County Elevated leased the

Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad The BMT Brighton Line, also known as the Brighton Beach Line, is a rapid transit line in the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train, but is joined ...

on February 5, 1896. A two-block elevated connection between Franklin Avenue station and the Brighton Beach Line's Bedford station, including a new station at Dean Street, opened on August 15, 1896, and the Kings County Elevated began operating trains between the Brooklyn Bridge (Sands Street) and

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach i ...

. The final extension, from Grant Avenue east to Lefferts Avenue, was built under 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 City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Ra ...

and opened on September 25, 1915. In 1917 the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce started fighting for the removal of the Fulton Street El. The Dual Contracts also triple-tracked the line as part of the Dual Contracts starting in 1913. The new third track went into operation on December 27, 1915, stretching between Manhattan Junction and Nostrand Avenue. Some trains ran express in the peak direction. This also led to the reconstruction, replacement, and elimination of some stations. The Public Service Commission received a petition on December 9, 1916 from a large number of civic and business organizations to restrict the third tracking to a point in the vicinity of Cumberland Avenue. In 1929, the

Independent Subway System The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...

(IND) began planning their own

Fulton Street subway The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, running from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Rocka ...

immediately below the Elevated. The underground line was opened between Jay Street to Rockaway Avenue on April 9, 1936, including a stub terminal at Court Street. Stations west of Rockaway Avenue were being made obsolete as many were being replaced by the subway stations. Trains last ran on the line west of Rockaway Avenue on May 31, 1940, and these stations were closed the following day. The total cost of demolition of the Fulton Street Elevated was $2 million. On June 1, 1940 a free transfer was provided to the Fulton Street subway at Rockaway Avenue and a new " Fulton–Lexington Avenue" service via the

Lexington Avenue Elevated The BMT Lexington Avenue Line (also called the Lexington Avenue elevated) was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporat ...

west of

was introduced.Broadway Junction Transportation Study (Part 1) (NYC.gov)
The remainder of the line west of Hudson Street (now 80th Street) was closed on April 26, 1956, and Fulton Street subway trains began using the line east of Hudson Street on April 29. The remaining segment of the Fulton Street Elevated east of 80th Street is now used by the .

Service patterns

The primary service pattern was a simple one-end-to-the-other operation, until May 31, 1940, when the 13 was cut back to Rockaway Avenue, and the

BMT 12 12 was the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation's designation for trains that used the BMT Lexington Avenue Line. This number was used on service listings on company maps, but was never displayed on train equipment, nor were trains referred to ...

took over operations from downtown Brooklyn to Lefferts Boulevard.

Station listing

Most Fulton Street trains left the line at Sands Street and ended at Park Row rather than Fulton Ferry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton Street Defunct New York City Subway lines Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation Railway lines opened in 1888 Railway lines closed in 1956