The Ralph Avenue station is a local

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on 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 ...

of 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 ...

. Located 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 ...

at the intersection of Ralph Avenue and Fulton Street, it is served by the C train at all times except nights, when the A train serves the station.

History

This underground station opened on April 9, 1936, and replaced the BMT Fulton Street El. The Ralph Avenue El station, which was formerly above the current subway station, closed on May 31, 1940.''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''
Last Train is Run on Fulton St. 'El'
June 1, 1940 The

New York City Board of Transportation The New York City Board of Transportation or the Board of Transportation of the City of New York (NYCBOT or BOT) was a city transit commission and operator in New York City, consisting of three members appointed by the mayor. It was created in ...

announced plans in November 1949 to spend $325,000 extending platforms at several IND stations, including Ralph Avenue, to accommodate 11-car, trains. The lengthened trains began running during rush hour on September 8, 1953, with eleven-car trains operating on weekdays. The project cost $400,000 and increased the total carrying capacity of rush-hour trains by 4,000 passengers. The operation of eleven-car trains ended in 1958 because of operational difficulties. The signal blocks, especially in Manhattan, were too short to accommodate the longer trains, and the motormen had a very small margin of error to properly align the train with the platform. It was found that operating ten-car trains allowed for two additional trains per hour to be scheduled.

Station layout

IND Fulton Ralph Avenue Northbound Platform Stair and Mosaic

The station has four tracks and two

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

s. The two express tracks are used by the A train during daytime hours. Both platforms are column-less and have a maroon trim-line with a deep maroon border and name tablets reading "RALPH AVE." in white

sans-serif In typography and lettering, a sans-serif, sans serif, gothic, or simply sans letterform is one that does not have extending features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. Sans-serif typefaces tend to have less stroke width variation than seri ...

lettering on a deep maroon background and maroon border. Underneath the trim line are small directional and station signs reading "RALPH" in white lettering on a black background. This station has a full length

mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian language, Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft ...

above the platforms and tracks. Only the western entrance is open to the public, and there are four staircases to each platform. The mezzanine columns are painted maroon (previously dark livid) except for those that have payphones on them, which are instead painted yellow.

Exits

The fare control area at the extreme west end has a bank of four

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...

s and one exit-only turnstile. There is a token booth and two street stairs, one to the southeast corner of Ralph Avenue and Fulton Street and the other to the northeast peninsula formed by Ralph Avenue, MacDougal Street, and Fulton Street. This station formerly had another entrance/exit to Howard Avenue and Fulton Street at the east ( railroad south) end. The street stairs on the northwest side of the intersection, though closed, remain intact, but the street stairs on the southwest side of the intersection were sealed. Both platforms have one staircase to the closed-off portion of the mezzanine.

References

External links

* * Station Reporter �
C Train
* The Subway Nut �
Ralph Avenue Pictures

Ralph Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Closed Howard Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platforms from Google Maps Street View
{{NYCS stations navbox by line, fulton=yes IND Fulton Street Line stations Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn New York City Subway stations in Brooklyn Railway stations in the United States opened in 1936 1936 establishments in New York City