Brooklyn Historic Railway Association
Encyclopedia
Red Hook, Brooklyn
Red Hook is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 6. It is also the location where the transatlantic liner, the , docks in New York City.- History :...
, Brooklyn, New York, on the historic Beard Street Piers (circa 1870). BHRA had a fleet of 16 trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
s (15 PCC trolleys
PCC streetcar
The PCC streetcar design was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II was licensed for use elsewhere in the world...
and a leased 1897 trolley car from Oslo, Norway). Restoration of Brooklyn's trolley routes was hampered due to the New York City Department of Transportation
New York City Department of Transportation
The New York City Department of Transportation is responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure...
(DOT) withdrawing its support from the project. Construction was stopped on a 7-block extension to the line due to the removal and scrapping of rails, ties, and other items of railroad equipment by the DOT, which were stored on land that was slated for the "Fairway" supermarket project.
The BHRA's origin began with the rediscovery of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel by Bob Diamond in 1980. BHRA was formed in 1982 to restore the historic tunnel. The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel (constructed in 1844) is the world's oldest subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
tunnel. BHRA successfully filed and received designation for the tunnel on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
As of June 30, 2003, BHRA was ordered to remove and fill in all trolley tracks on public streets by the DOT. The DOT revoked consent for the project to proceed or exist on city streets. Shortly thereafter, BHRA completely ceased operation. Most of the PCC trolleys were removed from Brooklyn. Only the trolleys that are on the Beard Street Pier itself remain. Plans call for moving the remaining four trolleys to the Atlantic Avenue tunnel, as soon as it becomes practical.
The BHRA organized tours of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel were suspended for a time, but were resumed in 2007.http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/brooklyn/2007/07/26/2007-07-26_tunnel_vision_push.html BHRA is planning more Atlantic Avenue tunnel tours throughout 2008.