BMT Myrtle Avenue Line

For the bus, formerly streetcar, line along Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, see Myrtle Avenue Line (surface). For the surface line in Queens, see Richmond Hill Line.

BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
The M train serves the entire BMT Myrtle Avenue Line at all times
Overview
Type	Rapid transit
System	New York City Subway
Termini	Metropolitan Avenue Central Avenue
Stations	7
Operation
Opened	1889–1915
Owner	City of New York
Operator(s)	New York City Transit Authority
Character	Street level (Metropolitan Avenue only) Elevated
Technical
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	600V DC third rail

The Myrtle Avenue Line, also called the Myrtle Avenue Elevated, is a fully elevated line of the New York City Subway as part of the BMT division. The line is the last surviving remnant of one of the original Brooklyn elevated railroads. The remnant line operates as a spur branch from the Jamaica Line to Bushwick, Ridgewood and Middle Village, terminating at its original Eastern terminal across the street from Lutheran Cemetery. Until 1969, the line continued west into Downtown Brooklyn and until 1944, over the Brooklyn Bridge to a terminal at Park Row in Manhattan.

Extent and service

	Time period	Section of line
M	All times	Entire line

The Myrtle Avenue Line is currently served by the M service. The line begins at Metropolitan Avenue in Middle Village, Queens. It heads southwest along a private right-of-way, eventually joining an elevated structure above Palmetto Street in Ridgewood and Myrtle Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Just before reaching Broadway (on which the BMT Jamaica Line operates), the line curves to the left and merges into the Jamaica Line tracks just east of Myrtle Avenue. The upper level of the station, which was called "Broadway", opened in 1889 and closed on October 4, 1969, still exists.

Background

BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
Middle Village – Metropolitan Avenue Fresh Pond Yard Fresh Pond Road Forest Avenue Seneca Avenue Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues  BMT Canarsie Line Knickerbocker Avenue Central Avenue uxhABZg2 BMT Jamaica Line uhABZ3+14; ulCONT1f uxhKRZ3+1ho; ulBHF Myrtle Avenue (formerly Broadway) BMT Jamaica Line Sumner Avenue Tompkins Avenue uxhKRZt IND Crosstown Line Nostrand Avenue Franklin Avenue Grand Avenue BMT Lexington Avenue Line Washington Avenue Vanderbilt Avenue Navy Street BMT Fifth Avenue Line uxhKRZt BMT Brighton Line uxhKRZt BMT Fourth Avenue Line Bridge–Jay Streets IND Fulton Street Line Adams Street BMT Fulton Street Line Sands Street Brooklyn Bridge over East River Park Row

The first section of the line ran over Myrtle Avenue from Johnson and Adams Streets to a junction with what was then known as the Main Line at Grand Avenue and was opened on April 10, 1888 by the Union Elevated Railroad. Trains continued along Grand Avenue and Lexington Avenue to Broadway, where the line joined the Broadway Elevated, and then along Broadway to East New York. On September 1, 1888, the line was extended westward along Adams Street and Sands Street, to a terminal at Washington Street for the Brooklyn Bridge. On April 27, 1889, the line was extended east along Myrtle Avenue to Broadway.

The west end of the line was extended north along Adams Street to an elevated station over Sands Street and High Street in 1896. The connection to the Brooklyn Bridge tracks opened on June 18, 1898, along a private right-of-way halfway between Concord Street and Cathedral Place. The first trains to use it came from the Fifth Avenue Elevated (using the Myrtle Avenue El west of Hudson Avenue).

The line was later extended east to Wyckoff Avenue (at the Brooklyn/Queens border). In 1906 the el was connected via a ramp to the Lutheran Cemetery Line, a former steam dummy line to Metropolitan Avenue that had opened on September 3, 1881. That section was elevated as part of the Dual Contracts on February 22, 1915.

On July 29, 1914, the connection to the Broadway (Brooklyn) Line was opened, allowing Myrtle Avenue Line trains to operate via the Williamsburg Bridge. This service became BMT 10 in 1924, and the original Myrtle Avenue Line service to Park Row became BMT 11, later referred to as M and MJ.

As part of the Dual Contracts rebuilding of the Myrtle Avenue El, a third track was installed north of Myrtle Avenue. This track started from a point south of Central Avenue through Myrtle – Wyckoff Avenues to a bumper just south of Seneca Avenue. The only switches were at the southern end so the center track could only be used for layups. It was never used in revenue service and removed by 1946.

On March 5, 1944, the line west of Bridge–Jay Streets was closed coincident with the end of elevated service over the Brooklyn Bridge. The rest of the line from Broadway to Jay Street closed on October 4, 1969 and demolished soon after, ending the MJ service. A free transfer to the B54 bus replaced the MJ.

Chaining information

• The entire line is chained BMT M. This has no relation to the fact that the M service operates on the line, though both letters may have been chosen because 'Myrtle' begins with 'M'.

• The tracks on the line are M1 towards Metropolitan Avenue and M2 towards Manhattan.

• Chaining zero is BMT Eastern, located at the intersection of the line of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Chambers Street station on the BMT Nassau Street Line by way of the now-dismantled original BMT Brooklyn Bridge Elevated Line and the original Myrtle Avenue Elevated through downtown Brooklyn.

• As originally surveyed, this line was measured in a railroad east direction from Park Row. Once the Board of Transportation took over the system, the direction was reversed so that railroad north on this line became towards Manhattan, and corresponds roughly to a westerly to southwesterly compass direction.

Station listing

Station service legend
	Stops all times
Time period details

Neighborhood (approximate)		Station	Services	Opened	Transfers and notes
Middle Village		Middle Village – Metropolitan Avenue	M	October 1, 1906	Service extended to pre-existing Lutheran Line station. Current station is ~100 feet west of the 1906 one.
Ridgewood	connecting track to Fresh Pond Yard
		Fresh Pond Road	M	February 22, 1915
		Forest Avenue	M	February 22, 1915
		Seneca Avenue	M	February 22, 1915
Bushwick		Myrtle–Wyckoff Avenues	M	July 21, 1889	BMT Canarsie Line (L ) Station rebuilt to 3 tracks July 29, 1914; center track subsequently removed.
		Knickerbocker Avenue	M	August 15, 1889	Station rebuilt to 3 tracks July 29, 1914; center track subsequently removed.
		Central Avenue	M	July 21, 1889	Station rebuilt to 3 tracks July 29, 1914; center track subsequently removed.
	merges into BMT Jamaica Line (M ) just east of Myrtle Avenue (connector added July 29, 1914)
Closed section
Bedford–Stuyvesant		Broadway		April 27, 1889	Station still in place; tracks removed; closed October 4, 1969
	Structure removed west of Reid Avenue
		Sumner Avenue		April 27, 1889	Closed October 4, 1969
		Tompkins Avenue		April 27, 1889	Closed October 4, 1969
		Nostrand Avenue		April 27, 1889	Closed October 4, 1969
		Franklin Avenue		April 27, 1889	Closed October 4, 1969
Clinton Hill		Grand Avenue		April 27, 1889	Closed January 21, 1953
		Washington Avenue		December 4, 1888	Closed October 4, 1969
		Vanderbilt Avenue		April 10, 1888	Closed October 4, 1969
Fort Greene		Navy Street		April 10, 1888	Closed October 4, 1969
Downtown Brooklyn		Bridge–Jay Streets		April 10, 1888	Earlier known as Bridge Street. Closed October 4, 1969
		Adams Street		April 10, 1888	Closed March 5, 1944
		Sands Street		September 1, 1888	Closed March 5, 1944
Brooklyn Bridge
Civic Center		Park Row		June 18, 1898	Closed March 5, 1944

Further reading

• "The New Road Opened", The New York Times, April 11, 1888, page 8
• "City and Suburban News", The New York Times, April 28, 1889, page 6
• "New of the Railroads", The New York Times, January 9, 1896, page 15
• "Park Row to Sheepshead Bay", The New York Times, June 19, 1898, page 5
• "1,200 on Last Trip on Myrtle Ave. El; Cars Are Stripped", The New York Times, October 4, 1969, page 23

External links

• NYCsubway.org - BMT Myrtle Branch
• "Myrtle Ave El, Oct. 1969, plus a few earlier shots"