While the MTA oversees the city’s modern subway system and its 28 lines, a lucky few transit buffs got a stark reminder last week of an earlier era in the subway’s history.
The MTA offered rail fanatics a trip on historic Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation’s (BMT) trains on June 15 to honor the 100th anniversary of the company’s creation — giving them a taste of the trains of yesteryear.
New York City Transit President Richard Davey and New York Transit Museum Director Concetta Bencivenga joined train history buffs for a ride along a BMT standard train from Kings Highway in Sheepshead Bay to 18th Avenue in Kensington on June 15.
“The Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corps led the way for the modern subway system with state-of-the-art train cars and routes that we still ride along today,” Davey said in a statement. “Experiencing this piece of history with nostalgia train rides is a great reminder that the subway has been the lifeblood of New York City for generations.”
In 1923, the famed BMT took control of another transit company, Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT), after that company went bankrupt. In its place, the BMT built and controlled the elevated Brooklyn lines — some of which still exist today including the Culver, West End, Broadway and parts of Fulton and Myrtle lines.
The company also introduced new subway cars whose mid-century technology extends to modern-day subway cars.
“There’s no better way for the New York Transit Museum to celebrate the BMT’s Centennial than by returning an iconic BMT Standard train to the rails,” Bencivenga said.
The BMT stayed in the transit game with the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) and Independent Subway System ( IND) until 1940, when both the BMT and IRT were sold to New York City — paving the way for the transit system we know today.
“Although the BMT only existed for 17 years before the systems were unified in 1940, the company made a huge impact,” said Bencivenga. “Whether the BMT triplex, the first articulated subway car in North America, or the focus on new and better passenger and operator experiences, these milestones and technological advancements left a lasting legacy.”
The New York Transit Museum keeps some of these vintage trains on display year-round. Visitors can stop into the museum housed in a historic IND subway station at 99 Schermerhorn St. to explore the dated trains, buses and turnstiles.
