BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's a 1950's-era photo of the large sign above the Manhattan entrance kiosk, directing passengers to the Bridge Railways cars and "Q" route buses.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?136144

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

{"Q 101-Steinway St."]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A timeless sight never again to be duplicated; a QB Ry streetcar in the shadow of a passing train of BMT "Standards" (it is clear that a fan trip is taking place; note the photographers standing on the bridge decking alongside the trolley tracks; insurance liabilities would never permit this today).......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?136093

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Bridge Ry."]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

"Parting is such sweet sorrow" (4/57).........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1738

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Last Run-Goodbye"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's a spectacular photo taken from street level at the complex Queensboro Plaza station; up above, we see three trains of 'Q" cars, and, down below, a QB Ry car (ex-New Bedford) wearing its new paint scheme.

In the background, an Old Look bus can also just be glimpsed.

You can almost hear the screeching wheels and growling motors of the old El cars in this truly nostalgic photo.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?75913

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Queensboro Plaza"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Taken mid-bridge, this view shows one of the older refurbished streetcars on the QB Ry.; note the new safety light installed below the headlight.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?136146

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Welfare Island-Queens Plaza"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

"LAST RUN" (4/6/57).......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?136089

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?136085

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

{"Welfare Island-Queens Plaza"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In happier days, here is QB Ry. car #611, yet to be repainted, under the elevated complex at Queensborough Plaza; on the right, note the FACCo "Queen Mary" double-decker......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46230

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["QB Ry 611"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Crossing the QB.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46188

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?46187

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["QB Ry."]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

The QB Ry's ex-Bedford cars had the distinction of being (outside of the B&QT's PCC's) the only truly "streamlined" streetcars to operate in New York City.

The B&QT's PCCs were, like Baltimore's, all prewar models; neither city ever operated postwar PCCs.

However, Baltimore's PCC's ran for seven years after the last Brooklyn cars made their final runs in 1956; the BTC's last two streetcar lines (the #8 and the #15) were converted to buses (Baltimore's first Fishbowls) in October of 1963.

It is, in a sense, a bit ironic, when you think about it, that Brooklyn received new St. Louis trolleybuses after the War, but no new streetcars.

Of course, it was clear that the BoT (and, later, the NYCTA) wanted to rid Brooklyn of its last remaining streetcar routes (remember, also, all streetcar service over the Brooklyn Bridge ended in 1950, six years after the BMT elevated trains stopped crossing the span to the Park Row terminal in Manhattan)........

"NYO"

{"B&QT"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

After the BMT El trains stopped running over the Brooklyn Bridge in 1944, the streetcars were shifted over to the former El tracks, so that the lanes previously occupied by the trolleys could be converted into an additional vehicle lane in either direction......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?140681

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

{"B&QT 1021"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

One thing that always puzzled me about the removal of B&QT streetcars from the Brooklyn Bridge in 1950, was that there was no replacement over the span, which, back in the days when both El trains and streetcars crossed it, made it the bridge that carried more rail traffic than any other span in the world.

The El trains, also, were cut back to a new terminal after they stopped running over the BB in 1944.

Of course, former El riders COULD take the subways into Brooklyn from the City Hall-area, but, for streetcar riders, there was no alternative "over-the-bridge" option, unless, they too, switched over to the subways, perhaps transferring to a streetcar, el, or bus on the Brooklyn side.......

"NYO"

{"68 Park Row"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

After the massive BMT Park Row El terminal was demolished in 1944, the multiple streetcar loops were exposed to the elements.

This photo, taken after the El terminal was torn down, shows several PCC's (and a single-ended 6000-series car) awaiting their next runs back over the Bridge and into Brooklyn.

In the right background, an old deck-roof car can be seen; this car was then OOS, and being used as a waiting room for streetcar passengers.

An electric cable connected the car to overhead power lines, to provide heating and lighting.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?140682

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

{"68 Coney Island"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here are two interesting (and contrasting) views........

The first photo shows the BMT's elevated train storage yard, used to store Brooklyn Bridge (Sands St.) trains between the rush hours (this storage yard was demolished sometime after the El trains ceased operations over the Brooklyn Bridge in 1944)

The second photo, taken in 1951, shows quite a bit of debris and rubble from demolition work; also, note the sign at left reading "BROOKLYN BRIDGE CLOSED".

Three single-ended 6000 series cars are also seen in this photo........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?113232

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?118251

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Fulton"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Though B&QT streetcars served Coney Island into the 1950's, interior photos of the elevated Stillwell Avenue trolley terminal are fairly rare; this circa-1931 photo shows a deck roof Nortons Point car awaiting its next outbound run.

Note the vintage advertisements on the left......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117540

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["Nortons Point"]

[traildriver]

I remember when they still used part of the Stillwell Avenue Terminal for the replacement buses to Norton's Point. I don't remember if they offered a free transfer to them, like they did to the buses at Canarsie...