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For photos see
www.nycsubway.org
This route operates between Jamaica-179th
Street and Stillwell Ave-Coney Island, 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. It operates express
in Queens, between 21st-Queensbridge
and 71st-Continental Avenues, and
local in Manhattan and Brooklyn. During AM
and PM rush hours, alternate trains begin/end
their trips at Gravesend/Kings Highway in
Brooklyn, while other early AM trips begin at
Avenue X. North refers to Jamaica, Queens
while south refers to Coney Island.
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179 STREET
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179th Street
(179th Street and
Hillside Ave)
opened 12/10/1950:
This is a very large
terminal station, and is the newest station on
the Queens Blvd line. The station has 4
tracks on 2 island platforms, beyond it at the
eastern end lies 8 relay tracks, 4 on the upper
level and 4 on the lower level. F trains
use either track on the northbound platform,
discharge and fumigate the train, then use one
of the 8 relay tracks to turn the train and come
in on either track on the southbound
platform. The relay track configuration gives
some theoretical evidence that the line was
planned to be extended to Little Neck Parkway
and Hillside Ave. Some unnamed sources can
confirm a partial tunnel was actually excavated
beyond the 185th Street wall, and sidewalk
gratings are present further up Hillside Ave.
A total of 13 street stairs are laid out over 3
blocks on Hillside Ave, and there are at least 5
stairs to each platform. Full time booth
is at east end of station between 179th and
180th Streets, with 8 street stairs. The
station is slated be ADA accessible; an elevator
is under construction at the Southeast corner of
Hillside Ave and 179th Place. Part time booth is
at 178th Street and has 5 street stairs. A
full length mezzanine connects both fare control
areas. Artwork is untitled and features
two life-sized construction workers simulating
that they are holding up the mezzanine’s
ceiling.
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169 STREET
|
169th
Street
(169th
Street and Hillside Ave)
Opened
4/24/1937: Local stop, 4
tracks on 2 side platforms, full length
mezzanine and 2 fare control areas, each having
4 street stairs. Full time side at 169th
Street, Part times side at 168th Street, in
the 1990's the booth operations were switched.
At one time before Archer Ave opened in 1988 and
when the E train also
ran to 179th Street as a local, while the F was
the Hillside express, it was considered to be
the most congested station along the entire
Queens Blvd line. Numerous bus lines
either started outside the station entrances or
at the nearby 165th Street bus terminal.
There still exists crowd bars attached to each
of the 7 Jamaica-bound staircases at platform
level in order to "feed" the customers into the
staircase, instead of crowding around it, which
can create a dangerous condition if the bars
were not installed. Manhattan-bound
side has 5 stairs to platform level. A "DO
NOT RUN" sign from decades ago is still visible
at the Full time side, by the eastern end.
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PARSONS
BOULEVARD
|
Parsons
Boulevard
(Parsons Blvd and Hillside Ave) opened
4/24/1937:
Express stop, 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.
Only the F local uses the local tracks, the
express tracks are use only for reroutes and an
occasional reverse-peak E
train in the afternoon. Full length
mezzanine with Full time side at Parsons Blvd,
has 3 street stairs, one closed street stair at
Northeast corner. Part time side at 153rd
Street also has 3 street stairs, Ghost Booth and
24/7 HEET access. The booth was
removed in 2003. The mezzanine allows full
length passage both inside and outside fare
control.
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SUTPHIN BOULEVARD
|
Sutphin
Boulevard
(Sutphin Blvd and Ave Hillside)
Opened 4/24/1937: The film
"Coming To America" where the woman whom Eddie
Murphy (played by Prince Akeem) chases into the
subway, is not the express stop as noted in the
picture, when she says goodbye to him.
(All interior scenes were filmed at Hoyt
Schermerhorn station). It is actually a local
stop, with 4 tracks and 2 side platforms, full
length mezzanine inside fare control only.
Full time side is a Sutphin Blvd and has 3
street stairs. Part time side at 144th
Street has ghost booth (closed in 2003) and 2
street stairs. 5 stairs to each platform,
a sixth stair is at Jamaica bound side and is
HXT (exit only) to Sutphin Blvd side.
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BRIARWOOD
VAN WYCK BOULEVARD
|
Briarwood Van Wyck Boulevard
(Van
Wyck Expressway South service road, south of
Queens Blvd and 84th Road)
Opened 4/27/1934:
Local stop, 4 tracks, 2 side platforms.
The station's name tablets show the original
name of Van Wyck Blvd (a street), before the Van
Wyck Expressway was built in the 1950's, and
remains unchanged. Station has NYPD
Transit Bureau District office at mezzanine
level on the west side, the 1990's relocation of
this district office forced the closure and
removal of two stairs to each platform.
There is no crossover allowed at this station,
unless you have any of the 4 Unlimited Ride card
types, you must swipe the Unlimited card in
order to access the opposite platform, the booth
and fare controls are in the center of this
mezzanine. There are 3 street stairs, two
of them through a passageway to Queens Blvd, the
other outside the Southbound Van Wyck Expressway
service road, about 800 feet south of Queens
Blvd. The layout of this mezzanine does
suggest a full length mezzanine inside fare
control was possible; this would have to have a
ghost booth. Most likely the ghost booth
would be at the Van Wyck Expressway side, while
the Full time booth was at Queens Blvd side. The
word "Wyck" rhymes with "Bike"
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UNION TURNPIKE
KEW GARDENS
|
Union Turnpike Kew Gardens
(Queens Blvd at Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens Road)
opened 12/13/1936 Express stop, with 4 tracks on
2 island platforms. We are now sharing
space with the E Line
from here to Roosevelt Ave. We run express
at all times. Station has 2 mezzanines and
was built around the same time the Interborough
Parkway was constructed in the late 1930’s, now
called the Jackie Robinson Parkway. An
interesting aspect of the station is the unique
set of castle-like doors on both mezzanines;
each one allows anyone to walk alongside the
parkway for a brief minute before exiting
through the standard subway staircases. (Don’t
worry, there are wired fences to separate the
cars from the pedestrians.). However, the
castle door exit at the Part time side is closed
for unknown reasons. Each mezzanine has 3
street stairs and 3 stairs to each platform, for
a total of 6 exits and 6 sets of stairs to each
platform. Full time side is at east end,
near Kew Gardens Road, it serves the Q10 bus to
JFK Airport, as well as 3 other bus routes,
while Part time side is at 78th Road,
and is open daily from 6 AM to Midnight.
It was impossible to construct a full length
mezzanine because the parkway splits in half.
Tile band is medium yellow with black borders.
Full words UNION TURNPIKE are spelled out on the
walls. A tower is visible on the
Manhattan-bound platform, active only on
weekdays.
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75 AVENUE
|
75th Avenue Puritan
Avenue
(75th Avenue
and Queens Blvd) Opened 12/13/1936: Local
stop, 4 tracks, and 2 side platforms. Full
length mezzanine, no crossover allowed.
Booth sits at center of mezzanine, giving
further evidence that there were 2 booths when
the station first opened, one booth for each
end. HEETs allow access to Manhattan-bound
platform, without having to walk down to the
middle of the mezzanine in order to enter fare
control. There a total of 3 street stairs,
and 4 stairs to each platform, one stair to each
platform is closed. Tile band is light
shade of green. The station name on the
map, and the station tablet both read 75th Ave,
but until several years ago, the "Puritan Ave"
was on the signs on platform columns. This was
the original street name, before a massive
conversion of Queens street names to numbered
streets, took place in the early 20th century.
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71
AVENUE CONTINENTAL AVENUE
FOREST
HILLS
|
71st
Avenue Continental Avenue Forest Hills
(Queens
Blvd @ 71st Ave/108th
Street) Opened 12/13/1936: Express stop, 4
tracks on 2 island platforms, and is the
terminus of R, former
V, and
M trains There
are 3 fare control areas along full width
mezzanine. 2 of the 3 fare control areas
are near each other along wraparound passageway
outside of fare control. The Full time booth is
near the east end and is closest to 71st
Ave/Queens Blvd staircase on south side. A
Part time booth in the same area is in the
middle and is closest to 108th street
71st Avenue. It is open during
AM rush hours, other times; a couple of HEETs
can be used. The other Part time booth at
the far west end is at 70th
Road/Queens Blvd and has only one street stair.
There are 7 street stairs to each platform.
On the platform, the platform wall has green
tile band with black border. Facing the
express tracks are the vintage 1936 white signs
with black lettering " Contin-ental Ave
Forest Hills" .A renovated and expanded tower is
at the far eastern end of the Jamaica-bound
platform, another mini-tower also sits on the
center of the Manhattan-bound platform but it is
seldom used. Before we enter this station,
there are a set of tracks rising from the lower
level, one for each direction. These
tracks are used for local trains relaying back
downtown, as well as yard moves to the massive
Jamaica Yard facility nearby. They come up
and merge with both local and express tracks in
“Y” track configuration.
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ROOSEVELT AVENUE
|
Roosevelt Avenue Jackson Heights
is
discussed on the Complexes
Page
After
we bypass 36th Street we diverge
right and break away from the Queens Boulevard
Line. We say goodbye to the
E, R
M and former
V train, but the
M train will rejoin us
later in Manhattan. This newest section of
the IND is called the 63rd Street
Connector and opened on 12/16/2001, the opening
was briefly delayed due to 9/11. After 35 years
of planning to construction and $650 million
later, the 63rd Street "Stubway" or "
tunnel to nowhere" actually is put to valuable
use.
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21 STREET
QUEENSBRIDGE
qU
|
21st Street
Queensbridge
(21st
Street at 41st Avenue) Opened
10/29/1989:
Originally a terminal stop for
B/Q and late night F trains from 1989 to
December 2001, it gain notorious fame as the
"tunnel to nowhere". 2 tracks on 2 side
platforms, the station is fully ADA accessible.
It serves the residents of Queensbridge houses,
the city's largest housing project development,
Silvercup Studios, and other industrial
companies nearby. The only mezzanine is
towards the east end of station, 2 street stairs
at N/E corner of 21st Street and 41st Ave.
Elevator and up/down escalator are at N/W
corner of the same intersection. A
tower remains on west end of Manhattan-bound
platform and can be used if necessary.
Double crossover switches remain to the west of
the station, indicating it's presence as a
terminal station. The platform edge does
not have the current yellow tactile strip with
bumps like most stations being renovated at this
time.
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ROOSEVELT ISLAND
|
Roosevelt Island
(On Roosevelt Island, Main
Street and about 500 feet north of the Tramway
terminal) Opened
10/29/1989:
One of the deepest stations in the entire NYCT
system, it takes 157 steps from the
stationhouse at street level to either platform.
It has a nice WMATA
(Washington D.C. Metro Subway) feel of a high
arched ceiling. The station walls are
curved with beams at both platforms, the only
NYCT station in the entire system to have this
look. There are 4 levels from
mezzanine to platform level, a total of 10
escalators, 2 large staircases, and 2 smaller
staircases 1 to each platform. The balcony
level above the platform, affords a nice view of
the station and tunnel mouth facing the Queens
end, as well as trains entering and leaving this
station. Station is fully ADA accessible,
1 elevator to each platform is located at
opposite end of stairs/escalators to the
stationhouse level. This gives the
clearest indication on how deep you are below
the surface. politically It is a pert of
Manhattan.
As we travel from
Roosevelt Island to our next stop, Lexington
Ave, we see bellmouths again at the 2nd Ave
turnouts. There will be planned
connections to and from the 2nd Avenue subway
line that will permit Q Broadway line trains
from the West side of Manhattan to travel north
on the 2nd Ave line, once Phase I of the SAS
line is completed to 96th Street. In
addition, a non-revenue tunnel connection from
the southern portion of the 2nd Ave line to/from
the Queens bound direction on this line will
also be built
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LEXINGTON
AVENUE/ 63 STREET
|
Lexington Avenue 63rd
Street
(Lexington
Avenue and 63rd Street)
Opened 10/29/1989:
This is a
bi-level station, with Downtown/Brooklyn bound
trains using the upper level, while Queens bound
trains use the lower level. The station's
walls are facing north, it could've have been
island platforms instead. Behind this
wall, lies an unfinished station on each level
and track leads than end at wall. The
walls can be removed and we would have 4 tracks
on 2 island platforms instead of the current 2
tracks and 2 side platforms. Wall tiles
are red, similar to the red color in the
Bowling Green Station, and the brick red at 49th
Street/BMT Broadway line station. Station
has a total of 10 escalators, 6 staircases and 2
elevators, full ADA access. 2 additional
staircases from upper to lower level are at
opposite end of platform, and behind elevator.
There is 1 set of escalators and 2 street
stairs with separate fare controls to escalators and
the ADA elevator .
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57
STREET 6 AVENUE
|
57th Street 6th
Avenue
(57th Street
and Ave of the Americas) Opened
7/1/1968:
From 1968 to 1989,
this was a terminal stop for
B trains and
rush hour K local trains (the KK was
discontinued in 1976 for lack of patronage), and
features one of the last surviving telephone
booths inside one of the 3 fare control areas at
mezzanine level. The door on the telephone
booth is broken and is unlikely to ever see any
repair. A plaque dedicating Ret. Col. John
T. O'Neill, who served as NYCTA Chief Engineer,
until his death in 1978, sits next to the booth
on the west wall. Except for the removal
of the 1960's exit slam gates at fare controls;
much of the station design remains unchanged
from the initial 1968 opening. 6 stairs to
island platform (2 tracks), and 8 street stairs
spread out on both sides of Avenue of the
Americas from 56th to 57th Streets. Even
the "Next Train" indicator lights are still
hanging from the platform's ceiling. The
tower and crew area still exists, though it is
abandoned after the 1989 63rd Street extension
to 21st Street, Queensbridge, but was revived
again in the late 1990's when Q express trains
terminated once again at 57th Street due to long
term construction work that necessitated a
shuttle train from Queensbridge to 57th St/7th
Ave on the Broadway line. Once all
construction work was completed on the 63rd
Street connector to Queens Blvd in 2001, the
tower was abandoned, permanently. Station
walls are plain white with 1960's "57th St"
names on the wall.
We
leave 57/6 and are sandwiched in between 2
tunnels. The M
line is to the left of us, while the
B and
D line are to the right
of us. We diverge to the left and merge
with the M line for
the first time. We also have the option of
diverging to the right for the
B and
D lines, but that would
take place during nightly/weekend G.O.s or an
unplanned reroute. After both tracks split away,
the right side first then our left side,
there is a short track that ends in bumper
block.
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47-50
STREET ROCKEFELLER CENTER
|
47th-
50th Street Rockefeller Center
(Ave of
the Americas, between West 47th and
West 50th Streets) Opened
12/15/1940: Very large station, it is an
express stop along the prestigious Avenue of the
Americas, with 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.
Ordinarily, we would be arriving on the local
track. Because of the tricky “T” shaped
line configuration involving the
E, F,
M, former
V, and
B/D
lines traveling in different directions,
southbound express and local trains come in on
opposite sides, the B Train
and D express trains
use the local track, while F and
V trains use the
express track. Station has numerous
passageways and exits, a total count of at least
14 entrances from street level alone, were
taken. This does not include several
passageways through Rockefeller Center, all
outside fare control. Full time booth is
at north end of full-length mezzanine, at West
49th Street, with 1 passageway
through Rockefeller Center on the East side, and
another set of passageways through various
Concourse levels of office buildings along the
west side of Avenue of the Americas. A
passageway to one northern Part time staircase
leads to Radio City Music Hall/West 50th
Street and is open late during evening
performances. Another passageway along
west side of 49th Street was recently
extended to connect with the BMT 49th
St station on the N,
R and former
W lines (no free
transfer). Middle fare control at West 48th
Street has ghost booth and all-day HEET access.
South fare control at West 47th St
has Part time booth and more staircases.
Eagle eye movie fans who saw the 1976 thriller
“Marathon Man”, will note the old KK rush hour
subway route on a street entrance of the east
side of Ave of the Americas and West 47th
Street, before the routes’ demise. Each
platform has 7 stairs to mezzanine, the north
end of the North bound platform has an active
tower, and is depressed about 10 feet below the
Southbound platform. This is to prepare
the lines to be branched out towards the Bronx
and Queens. Color band is red, with dark
brown borders, “47” and “50” alternate each
other below the tile band
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42 STREET
BRYANT PARK
|
42nd Street Bryant
Park
is
discussed on the
complexes page
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34
STREET
HERALD
SQUARE
HERALD SQUARE-
|
|
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34th Street Herald Square
is discussed on the
complexes page
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23
STREET
-
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|
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23rd
Street
(23rd Street and 6th
Avenue)
Opened 12/15/1940:
Local stop, 2 tracks along 2 separate side
platforms. Because the Hudson and
Manhattan tunnels (now
PATH) were
constructed over 40 years prior to the IND, the
local platforms do not allow any crossover or
cross under, nor was any mezzanine ever
constructed at this station (there is a
mezzanine at 14th Street station, though.)
The F and M
use the 2 outside tracks while inside the walls,
the PATH trains
use the 2 inner tracks. The
B and
D express
tracks are way below the
PATH tracks,
and were constructed using the "deep-bore"
tunneling method in the mid 1960's. Each
mezzanine has 4 street stairs and a direct
indoor entrance to the 23rd Street
PATH
station. 2 of the 4 entrances on each
side appear to be part of the original 1911
PATH entrances.
Tile band is lime green. The tile band on
the track walls appears to be obscured by
support beams directly underneath 23rd Street.
Your webmaster has had detailed
discussions with track personnel from NYCT and
PATH in regards to track elevation. The common
answer was a three level arrangement. NYCT on
the top, PATH in the middle, and NYCT
express on the bottom level.
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14
STREET
|
14th
Street
is discussed on the
complexes page
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WEST 4
STREET
WASHINGTON SQUARE
SQUARE
|
West 4th
Street-Washington Square
opened on 9/10/1932 (Ave of the Americas between
West 3rd St and Waverly Place) Upper
level opened 9/10/1932, Lower level opened
12/15/1940. has four tracks on the upper level,
serving A,( see A
Lefferts and A
Rockaway)
C and
E trains, a
lower Mezzanine and then a lower level serving
B,
D,
F ,
M and former
V trains. The
lower Mezzanine is full width and ramps length
and also holds numerous offices for NYCT. The
north end of the upper level has exits to the
street. The south end of the upper level ramps
up to a crossover and a booth. Full ADA is via
the south end.. A tower is at the south end of
the southbound lower level platform. The North
exit leads to West Eighth Street and the south
to west Third Street. The exit to west Fourth
Street has been removed. The station has a
secondary name of Washington Square and is
located under Sixth Avenue
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BROADWAY
LAFAYETTE
|
Broadway Lafayette
(West Houston Street between Broadway and
Lafayette Ave) Opened 10/1/1936
it is approx 3 levels deep.
The relatively high ceiling at the same end
indicates a ramp was also planned. This station
features only 1 Full time fare control area at
Broadway and West Houston, with 2 street stairs.
Before the renovation, the fare control was
situated in the middle, between the 2 Broadway
entrances and the Lafayette Ave entrance.
The Lafayette Ave entrance on the south side is
currently 24/7 HEET access. A new entrance
and booth on the North side of Lafayette Ave and
Houston was constructed during the renovation,
the booth fell victim to the 2003 ax, as is now
listed a ghost booth and part-time HEET access.
There is an intermediate level between the
mezzanine/IRT level and platform level, it
contains artwork on the columns. “Signal”
by Mel Chin (1998) uses various materials to
create a lighted appearance at the bottom of the
column. There are 3 stairs from each
platform to intermediate level and an additional
2 stairs from intermediate to mezzanine level.
At the far western end (due north in accordance
to lines traveled) is another set of stairs (1
for each side) that lead directly up to fare
control, 3 levels and a steep walk up. For
a discussion of the new complex click
here
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2
AVENUE
|
2nd
Avenue Lower East Side
(East Houston Street between 2nd
Ave/Chrystie Street and 1st
Avenue/Allen Street)
Opened 10/7/1933:
It has 4 tracks, 2 island platforms and 2
mezzanines. Full timer side is at 1st
Avenue/Allen Street, while part time side is at
2nd Avenel/Chrystie Street. When the
station first opened, it had a full length
mezzanine, both inside and outside fare control.
Clear evidence of this mezzanine points to the
following: 1. partially obscured
directional sign "2nd Ave" at the 1st Avenue
end. 2. Three closed staircases from the
closed mezzanine, to each platform. Walk
from one end of the platform to another and you
will see a break in the ceiling's pattern from
time to time, and 3. The mezzanine area is
covered on both sides by various station and RTO
facilities, along with the gates that would have
separated the inside and outside fare control
areas. This would have been a transfer
point to the IND's second system along 2nd
Avenue, there is a small closed staircase found
at the P/T side that confirms this. The
MTA is currently building the full length 2nd
Ave line within 20 years, and a free transfer at
the proposed Houston Street station, to this
station is being considered. The 2
"express" tracks end in a false wall, further
evidence suggests that the 2 middle tracks
were being planned to be routed into Brooklyn's
South 4th Street line as part of the IND second
system, none of which ever got past the planning
stage. Tile band is purple
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DELANCEY
STREET / ESSEX STREET
|
Delancey Street/ Essex
Street
is
discussed on the
complexes page
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EAST
BROADWAY
|
East
Broadway
(East Broadway between Rutgers/Canal streets and
Madison Street) opened
10/7/1933:
From 1933 until 1936, this was a terminal stop
for E trains from Queens; an abandoned tower at
the north end of this island platform confirms
this. The station is 2 tracks, with 2
mezzanines, and a mix of 4 open staircases, 3
closed staircases and one escalator. The
Full time side is at Madison Street and has 1
street stair, while the Part time side at
Canal/Rutgers Streets had 3 street stairs.
A passageway outside fare control connects these
2 booth areas, another exit staircase in the
middle of the passageway is sealed, and led to
Henry Street. Inside fare control, there
also was a full length mezzanine; the area is
currently used as space for NYC Stations.
Artwork: "Displacing Details" (1991) by
Noel Copeland, with assistance by students from
the Henry Street settlement, near this station.
Some of the staircases inside fare control at
the Part time side lead to an intermediate level
and show more evidence of a full length
mezzanine. The ramp that descends downward
from the Full time side would have led to
the same intermediate level, had a station
facility in between, and was never constructed.
We
now travel into Brooklyn at this point.
The tunnel between East Broadway and York Street
is called the Rutgers tube. It travels in
an "S" like curve.
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YORK
STREET
|
York
Street
(York Street and Jay Street)
opened 4/9/1936:
2 tracks on 1
island platform. The lone exit is at the
north end and has 1 street stair and 1 stair to
platform level. The tiles on the walls
suggest that the station was redone in the
1940's, nothing much is known from 1936 to the
end of World War II, except that this station
was used as an extension for the nearby Brooklyn
Navy Yard, in storing supplies and materials for
the American soldiers in wartime combat.
There is a sealed exit on the south end, it most
likely led to Navy Street, underneath the
Manhattan Bridge, and the date of abandonment is
unknown. The tiles are a purple band with
off-white brick tiles in a tunnel mouth.
The style is similar to the portion of the A
line from Liberty to Euclid Avenues.
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JAY
STREET
METRO
TECH
|
Jay
Street Metro Tech
(on Jay Street at
Willoughby Street. Multiple entrances all the
way from Fulton Mall to Myrtle Avenue on Jay
Street) opened 2/1/1933 and has four tracks and
two island platforms. As currently configured
there is a mezzanine most of the length of the
platforms and a passageway to Fulton Street
outside the paid area. There are also HEETs to
allow access to Fulton Street.. Based on tile
evidence this station has many ghost booths and
sealed exits. There are also entrances to
the NYCT building at both ends, the north
leading directly into the building and is
guarded by Transit Property Protection Agents.
This end also has an intermediate level outside
the subway entrance there was also a paper
transfer to the elevated Myrtle Avenue el which ran on
Myrtle Avenue and met the
brown M train at Broadway Myrtle and is now demolished. The A
train leaves us. (See
A Lefferts and
A Rockaway).
A new complex has been built to connect this
station to Lawrence Street on the
R train.
Click here for a discussion
of the complex.
After
leaving Jay Street, we come across to Bergen
interlocking. We diverge right at first
and then elevate slightly to merge with the
G line before
entering Bergen Street. The tracks that
head straight are express from this point on to
south of Church Ave. Since 1990, these
tracks had not seen any regularly scheduled
service.
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BERGEN
STREET
|
Bergen Street
(Bergen Street and Smith Street)
opened 10/7/1933:
Local stop, 2
tracks, 2 side platforms, all fare controls are
at platform level, no crossover allowed.
Station was renovated in the early 1990's by
NYCT's in-house forces and has a different shed
of green from the original IND tile band at this
station. The darker green is the main
band, while the top and bottom borders, normally
either black or a darker shade, are light green.
It used to be an express stop, where F service
in the 1970's was divided into 2 services during
rush hours. F trains to/from Kings Highway
would run local and use the upper level, while F
trains to/from Coney Island, would use the now
abandoned lower level. GG trains (changed
to G line
after the elimination of doubled lettered routes
in 1986.) would always use the upper level
because the track connection to the Crosstown
line was only available there, no access from
the lower level. Standing on either
platform, look down at the opposite platform
from where you are positioned at, you can see
vents below the floor and the lighted remains of
Bergen Street, there was no IND tile
present. Each side has 2 fare control areas,
Northbound side has Full time booth at
Bergen Street at north end and has 2 street
stairs, the Southbound side has part time day
booth and 2 street stairs. When the booth
is closed, there is nightly HEET access
available. Part time fare control
areas are at south end at Warren Street.
Each side has ghost booth and 1 street stair,
the first station of numerous ghost booths you
will encounter along the joint IND/BMT Culver
portion of the F line in Brooklyn (we will refer
this section to the Culver line), all the way
down to West 8th Street. If the
lower level remained open, there would have been
3 staircases from each platform from upper to
lower level, one each next to both fare controls
and the 3rd staircase in between the other 2.
This center staircase has steel doors that
"cover" the staircase behind it. Some of the
tiles are a mixture of green dots of varying
colors; artwork is unknown and is a departure
from the normally white only tiles that dot most
IND stations. There was an active tower on
the north side of the Manhattan-bound platform;
extensive damage was suffered in the tower in
the early 1990's, which caused major disruptions
to F and G
service. Within less than a month, NYCT
restored tower operations and installed a
new
interlocking board.
The tower has now been closed again, and the
interlocking is controlled from Jay Street
Master Tower.
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CARROLL
STREET
|
Carroll Street
(Carroll Street at Smith Street) opened
10/7/1933: Local stop, now all 4
tracks are on the same level, 2 side platforms.
Mezzanine and crossover is allowed at Full time
side with 2 exits to 2nd/3rd Streets, one a
double wide staircase to Smith street, the other
a passageway to East side of 2nd Street and
Smith Street, it is closed late nights. The
setup for this mezzanine is similar to Nassau
Street on the G line.
But Carroll Street affords an amazing view of
North bound trains descending into the tunnel
from the south, in nice weather people are known
to stand outside the main entrance and wait for
their train here. When an F or G train
leaves Smith-9th Street from the highest
elevation point, it starts it's descent into the
tunnel and Carroll street, giving customers more
than enough time to descend into the mezzanine
and board their train there. Directly
across the street, at the tunnel's mouth and
parts of the elevation along the wall facing
Smith Street, is an MTA authorized artwork
Opposite end of this station are platform level
fare controls with exits to President Street,
North bound side had a part time booth and has 2
street stairs. The South bound side has 1
street stair and remains of the old style change
booth and door left intact. Like Bergen
Street, the tile band is green.
We
leave Carroll Street and become elevated, only
briefly because we have to cross to Gowanus
Canal. Because the canal is extremely
deep, it would be impossible to build a tunnel
so deep that would run underneath the canal at a
steep grade from Carroll Street, about less than
1/2 mile away. The view is breathtaking.
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SMITH / 9
STREETS
|
Smith
/9th Street
(Smith Street at Ninth Street) Opened
10/07/1933:
Local stop, 4
tracks, 2 side platforms, it is the highest
point of the entire NYC Transit system at 88
feet above street level. To illustrate the
steep uphill climb, if one person were to use
the staircases from the only full time booth area at
sidewalk level to either platform and all of the
escalators were inoperable (ouch!), he/she would
have to do the following:
49
steps
to the first intermediate level
53
steps
to the crossunder level, where the
passageway splits up into 2 separate
staircases, one to each platform, and...
35
steps more,
just to reach either platform. That's
a total of 137 steps
you just climbed up; congratulations! now
do Roosevelt Island with a step total
of 157.
Fortunately, there are 2 sets of escalators that
will take you as far up as to the crossunder
level. This station is slated for
renovation. The S/B platform side affords the
ultimate view of the NY skyline to the north,
and the nearby Gowanus Expressway to the south
with the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge in the
distance. The platform canopies on both
sides need some TLC. Renovation
is underway as of this date.
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4
AVENUE 9 STREET
|
4th
Avenue/ 9th Street
(4th
Ave between 9th and 10th
Streets)
is discussed on
the Complexes
page
Back
to the tunneled portion of the F line we go.
Although since we descend at first from a high
elevation to underground again, the next
underground stop, 7th Ave, is actually
higher
than the
elevated 4th Ave stop. This is due to the
topology of the streets in the namesake
neighborhood, Park Slope. If you were
walking up 9th Street in an easterly direction
(towards Prospect Park), you will be faced with
a very long uphill that encompasses 3 blocks and
nearly 1 mile
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7
AVENUE
|
7th
Avenue
(7th Avenue at 9th
Street)
Opened
10/7/1933
Express stop, 4 tracks, 2
island platforms, full length mezzanine with
clear evidence that there were booths at both
ends of the station. Today the booth is
situated in the middle of the mezzanine, however
there are HEETs available at both ends,
customers can use them without having to walk to
the middle area to enter fare control, and
crossover is allowed at any staircase.
There are 4 street stairs at the 7th Ave end,
and 3 street stairs at the 8th Ave end, the 8th
Ave end also has an intermediate level at the
first staircase, otherwise a descending hill.
Near inside far control at the mezzanine center,
8th Ave side, is a large scale painting of
Prospect Park's The Raven.
After
leaving 7th Ave, the express tracks take a short
cut . We will meet up with
them at Church Ave.
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15
STREET
PROSPECT
PARK
|
15th
Street Prospect Park
(about 100 feet east of Prospect Park West from
Prospect Park Southwest to Windsor Place)
Opened 10/7/1933:
Located in the heart of Windsor Terrace, this
local stop has 2 tracks on 1 island platform
along a curve. The mezzanine is full
length and has a minimum of 2 ghost booths, one
for the 2 exits to Prospect Park West and
another near the 16th Street staircase.
Because of the way the tunnel was built, the
station is not located underneath a street.
Instead the station and tunnel was constructed
about 100 feet east of Prospect Park West.
Therefore some portions of the tunnel are
directly underneath Prospect Park, and others
between PP West and John P. Devaney Blvd.
If you enter Prospect Park through the parking
lot, you will see subway grilles inside near the
lot's edge. There are 5 street stairs.From north to south, the
exits are located as follows: At Bartel
Prichard Square between Prospect Park West and
15th Street (closed at night), both sides on
Prospect Park West near the square, 1 exit on
16th Street and another on Windsor Place.
The current booth is located closer to the
Windsor Place side. The full length
passageway allows out of system walking from one
end to another, the area inside fare control
does not. The tile band is now
orange-yellow.
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FT
HAMILTON PARKWAY
construction of
|
Ft.
Hamilton Parkway
(Greenwood Ave at Prospect Ave, also Fort
Hamilton Parkway at foot of Prospect Expressway)
Opened 7/10/1933: Local
stop, 2 tracks and 2 side platforms. Full
time side is at north side, by Greenwood and
Prospect Avenues and has 2 street stairs and
block long passageway to Reeve Place for 1
additional street stair. The stairway at
the Northeast corner of Greenwood and Prospect
has a closed staircase that would have taken you
to what appears to be an abandoned fare control
area on platform level, Manhattan-bound side.
This area is gated shut and about 1/2 of the
space is taken by station facilities with
additional tiles. The south end is to Fort
Hamilton Parkway and has 24/7 HEET access and
ghost booth. The only exit out to Fort
Hamilton Parkway is a ramp (no staircase) that
runs alongside the Prospect Expressway, up and
down a small hill. This exit replaced the
original 1933 staircase exit because of
construction of Robert
Moses' Prospect Expressway, requiring relocation
of the exit .
From the mezzanine area, you can see the
variation in tile colors and styles that leave
its mark of a "new" entrance in 1962, when the
expressway also opened; this can be seen as you
are facing the ramp.
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CHURCH
AVENUE
|
Church Avenue
(Church Avenue and McDonald Ave)
Opened 7/10/1933: From it's
initial opening, until the Culver connection
opened in 1954, it was the terminal stop for D
trains here (From 1933 to 1940, the E ran to
Church Ave, until the IND Sixth Ave line in
Manhattan opened. Currently an express
stop, with 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.
tile band is Maroon and has full length
crossover mezzanine. The Full time side at
the south end leads to Church Ave and has 4
street stairs; the 2 southernmost stairs are
through a passageway similar to Greenpoint Ave
and Bedford-Nostrand Ave stations on the IND
G line. The
Part time side at Albemarle Road has ghost booth
and 2 street stairs. An active tower is at the
south end of the Coney Island-bond platform,
while yard leads are visible south of this
station.
After leaving Church Ave,
we ride on the IND/BMT Culver connection that
was installed in 1954 and permitted BMT Culver
trains, direct service to the IND 6th Ave line
and to the Concourse line in the Bronx.
The D line was extended to Coney Island via.
culver and operated this way until the Chrystie
connection opened on 11/27/1967. Since
then, F trains have been the dominant force of
the Culver line, although some recent weekend
G.O.s in mid to late 2004 have seen the G
extended to Coney Island, replacing the F
because of signal and track work at Bergen
interlocking. We become elevated to Coney
Island.
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DITMAS
AVENUE
|
Ditmas Avenue
(Ditmas Ave and McDonald Ave) Opened
3/16/1919:
Local stop, 3
tracks on 2 side platforms, although a 4th track
is behind the corrugated fencing on the
Southbound platform, and was originally an
island platform. This was the first stop
on the old Culver line before the 1954 line
realignment, it ran along 37-38th Streets, and
to the West End Line at the lower level of 9th
Avenue where it would run along the
current ROW to the 4th Ave BMT line. The
Board of Transportation (the precursor to New
York City Transit Authority) decided to build
connections from BMT to IND lines in the early
1950's (the 60th St connector to the IND Queens
Plaza, today’s R line and the connection from
Euclid Ave/IND to the surviving portion of the
BMT Fulton Street elevated to Lefferts Blvd, are
other examples. See A
Lefferts and A Rockaway) and in 1954, through
service was instituted between Church Ave and
Ditmas Ave. After the 1954 opening, the
Culver line was reduced to a tiny single track
shuttle. For more information on the
Culver line, please see the
Culver Shuttle
Page. Walking along sidewalk level,
along the west side of McDonald Ave, you can see
the remains of the 4th track behind the station
wall, and more remains show the 2 track turnoff
just before you enter Ditmas Ave. Some
portions of the abandoned track are in dire need
of TLC, shoring up is needed. South of
Ditmas Ave, you can see the girders showing the
4th tack merged with the S/B local track.
The Culver
Shuttle was abandoned in May, 1975, since most of the trips had empty cars in
service. Full time mezzanine is on south
side at Ditmas Ave, while north side near
Cortelyou Road has ghost booth and HEET access.
There is an abandoned tower on the
Manhattan-bound platform level side near the
full time staircase.
Along
the Culver line, from Ditmas Ave to south of
Avenue X, was a street level rail/trolley line. The line (#50-McDonald
Ave) was abandoned in the 1950’s; however the
tracks remained in place on the roadway
underneath the el. until the late 1980's.
Only a recent reconstruction of the roadway
along McDonald Ave,
unearthed these track which have now are
history and another
transit history passed into yesteryear.
The remains of the Culver line predate to the
1870's.
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18
AVENUE
|
18th
Avenue
(18th Avenue at McDonald Ave) opened
3/16/1919:
Express stop,
3 tracks, and 2 island platforms. Full
time side is at 18th Ave, while Part time side
is at Lawrence Ave. Each mezzanine has 2
street stairs and 1 stair to each platform, the
Lawrence Ave side now has ghost booth.
Although all the interlocking switches are north
of this station, there is a removed switch on
the south side of 18th Ave, as indicated by the girders.
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AVENUE I
|
Avenue I
(Avenue
I and McDonald Ave)
opened
3/16/1919: Local stop 3 tracks,
2 side platforms, Full time side is at north end
by Avenue I and has 2 street stairs. Part
time side at south side is exit only on
Southbound side, while the Northbound side is HEET
access on during the day. The access areas
on the Part time sides are outside and are
around a sealed mezzanine. This mezzanine
obviously had a ghost booth, the mezzanine area
is now used as a station facility
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BAY
PARKWAY 22 AVENUE
|
Bay
Parkway (22nd Avenue)
(Bay
Parkway, at McDonald Ave) opened
3/16/1919:
Local stop, 3
tracks, and 2 side platforms. There is
no evidence of a second
mezzanine at this station, since it is in the heart of
a cemetery. There are 3 street stairs and
2 stairs to each platform.
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AVENUE N
|
Avenue N
(Avenue
N and McDonald Ave)
opened 3/16/1919:
Local stop, 3
tracks, and 2 side platforms. Full time
side on south end by Avenue N has 2 street
stairs and 1 stair to each platform. Part
time side at Avenue M has working mezzanine and
ghost booth (booth was removed in 2003), so
there is 24/7 HEET access. There is an
unknown facility at platform level at the south
end of the Manhattan-bound platform; it is for
NYCT use only.
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AVENUE P
|
Avenue P
(Avenue P and McDonald Ave) opened
3/16/1919:
Local stop, 3
tracks and 2 side platforms. Only mezzanine is
F/T at Avenue P/65th Street and has 2 street
stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.
There is a station facility constructed inside
the mezzanine on the Manhattan-bound side, giving evidence
of a removed third staircase on the southeast corner of
McDonald Ave and Avenue P. There are 2
staircases to each platform.
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KINGS
HIGHWAY
|
Kings
Highway
(Kings Highway and McDonald Ave)
opened 3/16/1919:
Express stop, it
is also a terminal stop for some F trains during
rush hours, and has 3 tracks and 2 island
platforms. Full time side is at Kings
Highway at the south side and has 2 street
stairs, 1 stair to each platform. Part
time side is at Avenue S and has ghost booth,
24/7 HEET access and clear evidence of old style
change booth, with a door imprint on a wall
facing fare control. RTO tower
and crew facilities are to the south, while at the
north end, there is evidence of a 4th track, it
is located between the Manhattan-bound local
track and middle track. The girders
correlate the connection from 3/16/1919 to
5/10/1919, that Kings Highway was used as a
temporary terminal before it was extended to
Avenue X, then to Stillwell Ave a year later
(1919). One switch at the Kings
Highway North interlocking, appears to be
removed
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AVENUE U
|
Avenue U
(Avenue U and McDonald Ave) opened
5/10/1919:
Local stop, 3
tracks, 2 side platforms, Full time side is at
Avenue U has 2 street stairs and 1 stair to each
platform. Part time side at Gravesend Neck
Road is split up in similar fashion to the Part
time areas at Avenue I. The Southbound
side is exit only, while the Northbound side is
HEET access during most of the day on the
outside portion. The mezzanine is sealed
and used only by NYCT station department or abandoned.
There was a ghost booth on this side.
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AVENUE X
|
Avenue X
(Avenue X/86th Street and Shell Road)
Opened 5/10/1919:
This is the
last 3 track, side platform stop. The Full time
mezzanine is to the South at 86th Street/Avenue
X and has 2 street stairs and 1 stair to each
platform. The platform
stair is narrower then when the
station first opened. The width is more
than 2 feet shorter than normal at the top half
of each staircase. The Southbound side
also has a new exit only staircase at platform
level that was used primarily to direct
customers to the F shuttle bus stop, when
Stillwell Ave was closed from 9/2002 to
5/23/2004, and this station was the full time
temporary terminal during this time. Alongside
the Southbound side is the massive Coney Island
maintenance shop and yard, with two yard leads south of this station. There
is little evidence of an abandoned and
removed second mezzanine.
After
leaving Avenue X and passing through the
yard leads, we are reduced to 2 tracks to
Stillwell. A stunning array of trains
stored in the yard can be seen to the right,
including museum trains outside the Coney Island
shop.
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NEPTUNE
AVENUE
|
Neptune Avenue
(AKA Neptune Ave/Van Sicklen, about 200 feet
north of Neptune Avenue near Shell Road) opened
5/1/1920:
2 tracks on 1
island platform and 1 mezzanine. The
station was renovated in-house during the Stillwell
closure. The mezzanine has 2 street stairs, both of which
require a short walk to reach Neptune Ave as the
first street. There are 2 staircases to
the platform, the look of the staircases with
doors and glass on top, is retained after the
renovation to give the station its identity.
Artwork uses the
same glass materials as the artwork at the
shuttle platform and passageway at
Franklin
Ave/BMT. The original name of this station
was Van Sicklen Avenue. The name of the street to the south
was changed to Neptune Avenue .
According to the MTA Web
Site "... Michael
Krondl. Looking Up, 2004.Faceted glass in
platform windscreens. Michael Krondl describes
Looking Up as "a series of
photographically-derived images" that creates a
movie for the subway rider as he or she leaves
the leafy residential neighborhoods and reaches
Coney Island, seen of in the distance. Krondl
selected his images for their properties and how
they reflect and refract light. His sources
include the nearby foliage and the sky, which is
a big part of the experience of riding the
elevated train in Brooklyn, and Coney Island's
famous Cyclone roller coaster. "The transition
from image to image mimics a camera panning from
the nearby trees to the sky above and finally to
the Cyclone in the distance. For the F train
passenger the experience is almost cinematic.
The foliage, the clouds, and the roller coaster
all play with transparency; light-colored sky
outlines the trestlework on the Cyclone, peeks
out between the leaves, and envelops the bright
white clouds."
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WEST 8
STREET
|
West
8th Street
(West 8th St, north of Surf Avenue)
Opened on both levels 5/30/1919
Culver connection to lower level opened 5/1/1920.
This station
has 2 platform levels and a mezzanine below
and has been renovated by NYCT's in-house forces
and will look among the most visually pleasing
in the entire subway system. Each level has 2
tracks and 2 side platforms; the lower level is
for Culver F trains while the
Q train uses
the upper level. Full time mezzanine is at
West 8th Street with an outdoor ramp that goes
over Surf Avenue and onto Coney Island's
Rigelman Boardwalk. The NY Aquarium is
directly across the street from the station
entrance and has a staircase down to the
Aquarium's parking lot in front. There is
another staircase below the boardwalk ramp to
Surf Ave and a second staircase opposite the
ramp's side within the mezzanine. Near the
Surf Ave staircase and pedestrian bridge to the
NY Aquarium and Boardwalk, is a sealed ramp to
inside the F train level at the Manhattan-bound
side only. This area appears to be closed
some time ago, also raising the possibility that
a ghost booth may have existed here. The
closed area is preserved. The second
staircase inside the opposite end of the
mezzanine, leads down to West 8th Street. The
Part time side at West 6th Street has now a
ghost booth closed in 2003 and has 24/7 HEET
access . There are escalators
from the Part time mezzanine directly to our
upper level. The staircases from both
levels to mezzanine are totally redesigned and
have more open air space than before the
renovation.
According to the
MTA Web Site
"...Vito Acconci (Acconci Studio).Wavewall,
2005.Steel, ceramic tile, granite, fiberglass.
The inspiration for the station's design was
local sites - the historic Coney Island
boardwalk and Cyclone roller coaster, the
aquarium next to the station, and area beaches.
The station is on the approximate site of a
former roller coaster ride. The architect, Jim
McConnell of Daniel Frankfurt, wanted to
transform the exterior station walls in a unique
way. Working with the architects, artist Vito
Acconci developed an architectural treatment for
the station façade that is full of life. As in
successful collaborations, there is no clear
delineation between the architecture and the
art. Before rehabilitation, the windscreens
blocked ocean views; the new windscreens open up
the platform view of the Atlantic Ocean. In the
artist's words, "The normally horizontal and
vertical steel windscreen tubes and panels have
been transformed into a more sinuous form that
evokes the notion of a wave, or that of motion
as in the Cyclone or the subway itself." The
result is a striking and unique subway station
that fits into its special surroundings.
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STILLWELL
AVENUE
CONEY
ISLAND
|
Stillwell Avenue Coney
Island
is discussed
on the
complexes page
|
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