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| Re: Question About BMT 5th Avenue El (1161640) | |||
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Re: Question About BMT 5th Avenue El |
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Posted by Elkeeper on Tue Jun 12 20:06:32 2012, in response to Re: Question About BMT 5th Avenue El, posted by jan k. lorenzen on Tue Jun 12 18:27:38 2012. Not too many people are aware of why the BRT electrified, but never energized, the Hudson Ave tracks north of Myrtle Ave. This was because, in the late 1890's the BRT's president, Fredrick Uhlmann had proposed building their own rail bridge from Hudson Ave over the East River, to an area near Madison St in Manhattan. If built, it would have diverted some rail traffic off of the heavily used Brooklyn Bridge. In anticipation of this, the Hudson Ave tracks were third railed, but never energized, due to the electrical demands of the Brooklyn Bridge. Manhattan traction interests persuaded the City to reject this proposal, which it did. The next blow to the BRT was when the City demanded money for every el train going over the new Williamsburg Bridge, which opened in 1903. The BRT refused, so, the WillyB operated without el trains until 1908, after the issue was resolved. |
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