Q Train

Edward R. Murrow HS, James Madison HS, Sheepshead Bay HS, Kingsborough CC, many others

Transportation

NYC Transit Authority

Brighton Beach, Kings Highway, Coney Island, Kensington, Park Slope, Atlantic Ave, DeKalb Ave, Manhattan Bridge, lower Manhattan, Union Square, MSG, Times Square, Central Park

I enjoy many different types of music. I have many subway musicians that play their songs on my train.

The Brighton Line began service on July 2, 1878 as the Brooklyn, Flatbush, and Coney Island Railroad, between Prospect Park and the Brighton Beach Hotel as a surface steam railroad. (The Brighton Beach Hotel was owned by the railway.) It was extended on August 19, 1878 at the north end to Atlantic Avenue and Franklin St. (now Franklin Avenue), where it connected with the LIRR mainline. The LIRR, however, owned the competing Manhattan Beach RR, and terminated the trackage right agreement in December, 1883. The BF&CI was then reorganized as the Brooklyn & Brighton Beach Railroad in 1887.

After losing its connection to the LIRR, the Brighton line began negotiations with the Kings County Elevated Company to route its trains downtown via the Fulton Street El. Through service began on the Fulton El in 1896. Around the same time, the Brighton Line was eletrified using trolley wire from Fulton St & Franklin St to Newkirk Avenue, and then to Brighton Beach in 1899. In 1900, the Kings County El took control of the Brighton Line. When the Fulton St El was electrified, a ramp to the Brighton Line at Fulton & Franklin was built, and through trains to Park Row, Manhattan, via the Brooklyn Bridge began on July 9th, 1900. By this time, the Brighton Line was more than just a small railroad serving seasonal customers; it became a bona-fide mass transit line carrying thousands of Brooklynites to their jobs in downtown Brooklyn and lower Manhattan.

By 1900, through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit company has gained control the Kings County Elevated (and the Brighton Line), along with almost every other railroad, elevated and streetcar line in Brooklyn, with the exception of some LIRR routes. In 1903, a short extension on the surface connected the Brighton Line with the Culver Terminal in Coney Island. Between 1905 and 1908, the BRT performed a major upgrade to the Brighton Line, building much of its present right of way. The line was elevated from the Fulton El connection at Fulton and Franklin, then ran in an open cut from north of Prospect Park to Newkirk Avenue, then ramped up to an embankment to Sheepshead Bay, where the line descended to the surface for the last section to Coney Island. Between Church Avenue and Sheepshead Bay, there were four tracks.

During the "Dual Contracts" period of subway construction, the surface-running section from Sheepshead Bay was elevated and increased to four tracks. The first section, between Sheepshead Bay and Ocean Parkway, opened on April 22, 1917. It was extended to West 8th Street on May 30, 1917, and to the new Stillwell Avenue terminal on May 29, 1919. At the other end of the line, the section between Church Avenue and Prospect Park was increased to 4 tracks, opening on September 26, 1919.

In 1918, the connection to the Manhattan Bridge via subway was not yet built, and the line between Fulton/Franklin and Prospect Park was not yet improved to Dual Contracts standards. Hence, the new steel Standards introduced on the Sea Beach line could not run along the Brighton Line, and service was comprised of the older wooden El cars. It was five of these wooden El cars that were involved in the Malbone Street wreck of November 1st, 1918, an accident that forced the BRT into bankruptcy.

On November 1, 1918, due to a wildcat strike of BRT motormen, service was being operated by tower operators and other supervisory personnel. One such substitute operator was Edward Luciano, who was operating an evening rush hour Brighton Line train from Park Row to Coney Island. He was an inexperienced operator, and unfamiliar with the Brighton Line as well. At the junction of the Fulton Street El and the Brighton line at Franklin Avenue, he did not notice that the signal was set for straight ahead, and sped across the junction on Fulton Street. Realizing the error, he then backed up to the junction, and took his proper turn. Trying to make up time, he sped down the incline at such speed that he missed his stop at the Consumer's Park station. Due to the construction of the new subway connection at Prospect Park, the tracks, before entering the Prospect Park station now ducked into a subway tunnel, and then took a sharp reverse curve into the station. The curve had a speed limit of 6 MPH. Witnesses claim the train was going at least 30 MPH as it entered the tunnel.

The front of lead car 726, an open platform El car, held the curve but the rear truck derailed. Second car, motorless trailer 80 and third car, motorless trailer 100, also derailed and smashed into each other, the rear of the lead car and the tunnel walls. Fourth car 725 and fifth car 1064, both motor cars, remained on the tracks. Car 80 had one of its sides and its roof torn away, and car 100 was completely destroyed to its floor, as the wooden cars banged against the tunnel walls and were reduced to splinters. In all, 97 people were killed (5 survivors of the crash died later for a total of 102), and hundreds were injured. Ebbets Field was turned into an emergency aid station. Motorman Luciano was able to walk away from the crash and was later found and arrested. Other BRT officials were also arrested and charged with manslaugher. In 1919, Luciano was acquitted and in 1920, the remaining BRT officials were also acquitted of the charge.

This was by far the worst disaster ever to occur on the New York subway system, and the second worst railroad wreck to occur in the United States. The BRT was soon bankrupt, and was ultimately reorganized, in 1923, as the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, the BMT. And Malbone Street, under which the wreck occurred and because of the fear this name brought to Brooklyn straphangers, was renamed to Empire Boulevard.

(Oddly enough, a second accident at the same scene was recorded on December 1st, 1974. A train of R-32s travelling at slow speed derailed and hit the tunnel wall at the same place of the Malbone Street wreck. There were no deaths or injuries.)

The last major addition was the opening of a new subway tunnel, August 1, 1920, under Flatbush Avenue connecting the Brighton Line at Prospect Park with the 4th Avenue Subway at DeKalb Avenue, thus providing the Brighton Line with a connection to the Manhattan Bridge and Montague Street tunnel lines and the Broadway (Manhattan) subway. When this connection was put in place, through service from Franklin Ave & Fulton Street was ended. Two services then traversed the Brighton Line - the #1 line between Astoria from Coney Island and the #7 line between Fulton/Franklin and Brighton Beach during the summer and Fulton/Franklin and Prospect Park at all other times. In 1955, Franklin/Brighton service was reduced from daily during the summer to "sunny summer weekends and holidays" only. In 1963, the summer specials were completely discontinued.

When the connection to the subway was made in 1920, Brighton Line trains ran either via the Montague St tunnel or the Manhattan Bridge to the BMT Broadway subway for 57th St - 7th Avenue or Queensborough Plaza. Later service was extended to Astoria.

Theater Service was provided on the Brighton Line until the late '50s. It ran as the 'via Bridge Local' night service. Until the late 50s, the Brighton Express ran Mon - Sat, AM rush through early evening (around 7pm). From about 7pm to around midnight, the 'via Bridge Local' or 'Theater Specials' ran local, via bridge, 57 St. to Coney Island. After midnight, the Brighton Locals ran via tunnel.

The early 1960s "Banker's Specials" ran local Coney Island to Kings Highway, then express to DeKalb, then via tunnel to Chambers St. (AM rush), deadheading back over the Manhattan Bridge. In the PM rush, they followed the reverse route, deadheading into Manhattan over the bridge. In those days the Brighton Express used triplex equipment, except for two 6-car sets of standards which were used rush hours for the "Bankers Specials" and mid-days for regular Brighton Express service (Brighton Beach to 57th St.)

There used to be a timed GT-signal north of Avenue "H"; it disappeared when that portion of the line was resignalled. It was originally put there because of a rear-ender just north of that spot in the '60s (can anyone confirm?) There was also an accident nearby 30 years before, in 1932, where an electric locomotive was hauling flat cars loaded with track ties on the north-bound express track. An employee on the train noticed some of the ties had shifted. Instead of stopping the train, he attempted to stabilize the ties himself, while the train descended the grade. Some ties fell off one of the flat cars while the train was passing through Newkirk Avenue station. Several passengers were knocked down, some seriously injured. Lenegd says that there are supposed to be a few "dings" in the steel columns at Newkirk as a result of this accident.

The R27 and R30 cars ushered in BMT letter markings when they debuted in 1960-61. Most of them were assigned to at least the Brighton line at first; some may have gone to the Sea Beach. At that time, Brighton express trains were designated with the letter Q; during the mid-60s they ran on weekdays only (much the same as today's Q). Brighton locals running via the Montague St. tunnel carried a QT marking and ran at all times. The QB ran when the Q wasn't running; it ran on weekends all day and during week nights via the Manhattan Bridge and made all local stops. Triplex units running on the Brighton line displayed the numeral "1" regardless of whether they ran local or express. The R-32s continued this letter trend. This letter code coexisted with the older number markings on the Southern Division until the Chrystie St connection opened up, where all number markings were officially dropped and letter markings were adopted on the BMT lines.

On November 26, 1967, the Chrystie Street connection between the Manhattan Bridge and the IND 6th Avenue subway opened, forcing some change on nearly every former BMT line. Brighton Line service consisting of "D" trains began operating from 205th St and B ainbridge Avenue in the Bronx, via Grand Concourse, Central Park West and new 6th Avenue express tracks over the north side of the Manhattan Bridge to Brighton Beach. QB trains ran during the rush hours from about 7am to 8am and then again from 5:30pm to 6:30pm via Brighton Local and the south side of the Manhattan Bridge to 57th St - 7th Avenue, starting in Coney Island. QJ trains also ran via the Brighton Local from Coney Island via the Montague Street tunnel abd Broadway Brooklyn El to 168th St in Jamaica, Queens.

Also debuting in 1967 was the NX super-express. It ran from Brighton Beach to Coney Island- Stillwell Avenue, then non-stop via the Sea Beach express tracks to the 4th Avenue subway at 59th Street. An incredible run for railfans, it was discontinued in 1968 due to lack of ridership.

In 1976, M trains replaced QJ trains between Coney Island and Metropolitan Avenue in Queens during weekdays. Whenever the M was not running, the D train picked up the slack and ran local over the Brighton Line.

In 1982, work on the north side of the Manhattan Bridge caused some unusual reroutings. D trains running from the Bronx switched to the local tracks at Broadway - Lafayette. From there the train ran non-stop to DeKalb Avenue as follows: using the connection to Essex Street. D trains stopped at Essex, where a spare motorman took over and the D train motorman walked to the opposite end of the train. The train would then proceed about 20 car lengths onto the Williamsburg Bridge and reverse direction back into Essex Street where the spare motorman would get off the train. D trains then ran via the Nassau St. Loop and Montague St. tunnel to DeKalb Avenue, where travel resumed up the Brighton Line. Other than the K and KK services which ran on this part of the Chrystie St. connection, this D train routing was the only other time since then that revenue service was seen on these tracks.

In the mid 1980s, split D services were utilized during this track work, ending with the opening of the 63rd St tunnel to Queens. D trains from Brighton Beach ran via the BMT Broadway Subway to 57th St and B trains ran via the Broadway subway to Astoria. D trains from the Bronx ran to 34th St - 6th Avenue, where connections could be made to D trains to Brighton. A shuttle ran between 57th St and 6th Avenue and Grand Street, Manhattan, to cover portions of the route not serviced by this split service.

In 1988, as part of the Archer Avenue & 21st - Queensbridge subway openings (and temporary Manhattan Bridge work), the M train was rerouted to the West End Line and the D became the Brighton Local at all times. The former D Brighton Express was replaced by the Q train, which ran express between Brighton Beach and 21st - Queensbridge during weekdays.

In 1994 and 1995, the Brighton Line saw extensive rehabilitation. Welded rail was laid on both the local and express tracks. A new signal system started working in 1996. Station canopies were likewise rebuilt. (New station lighting was installed during the 1980s).

While some veteran observers had expected the Brighton Express (Q train) to be extended to the Queens Boulevard line's 71-Continental Av Station once the 63rd Street Connector project was completed, the MTA did not do so. However, the restoration of four-track Manhattan Bridge service in the summer of 2004 promises to bring significant changes to this as well as other lines.

Until the mid-20s, a parallel service to the old Sheepshead Bay race track and Manhattan Beach was provided by the LIRR and branched off from the (today) South Brooklyn freight line that crosses under the Brighton Line between Avenues H & I. The racetrack covered an area which extended approximately from Ave. X to Ave. Z, from Ocean Ave. to a few blocks east of Nostrand Ave. Evidence of the railroad line can be seen in various places:

The "unusually long" bridge abutments on the east side of many of the avenue crossings along the Brighton Line embankment. Some of the houses built along East 16th Street use these abutments to support backyard porches! An abandoned tunnel or flying junction at Avenue X which was part of the R.O.W.of the BRT - Sheepshead Bay Race Track At Gravesend Neck Road & East 16 Street, there are blocked up "stairways to nowhere". At one time, they led to the Neck Road station of the LIRR Manhattan Beach line The widely-spaced stairways would seem to indicate side platforms.

History originally by Robert B. Weinstein, posted to rec.railroad 7-May-1994, edited by David Pirmann, and embellished by Mark S. Feinman.

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More history here: http://www.nycsubway.org/bmt/brighton/

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First name: Q train
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