Everything about the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company totally explained
The
Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) was a
public transit holding company formed in 1896 to acquire and consolidate lines in
Brooklyn and
Queens,
New York City,
United States.
History
The BRT was incorporated
January 18,
1896, and took over the
bankrupt Long Island Traction Company in early February. Thus it started out by owning the
Brooklyn Heights Railroad, lessee of the
Brooklyn City Rail Road, and the
Brooklyn, Queens County and Suburban Railroad. The BHRR leased the BQC&S on
July 1,
1898.
By 1900, it had acquired virtually all of the
rapid transit and
streetcar operations in its target area:
Only the
Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad and the short
Van Brunt Street and Erie Basin Railroad remained independent; the former was acquired in 1913 or 1914.
Though the BRT was the public face of the consolidated companies, it left it to the acquired companies or newly formed companies to carry out the actual operation of the system, to provide power and services for the system, and even to design and acquire rolling stock. Until 1907, the only operating company was the Brooklyn Heights Railroad.
The elevated railroads were operated by a new corporation, the
New York Consolidated Railroad. In
1913, the BRT, through another subsidiary, the
New York Municipal Railway, signed the
Dual Contracts with the
City of New York, to construct and operate new subways and other rapid transit lines to be built or improved under these contracts.
World War I and the attendant massive
inflation associated with the war put New York transit operators in a difficult position, since their contracts with the City required a five-cent fare be charged, while inflation made the real value of the fare less than three cents in constant currency value. On
November 1,
1918, the BRT suffered the
Malbone Street Accident, the second worst rapid transit train wreck to occur in the United States, killing at least 93 people.
Though the claims from the wreck didn't, in themselves, force the company into bankruptcy, they further destabilized the financially struggling company, and the BRT became insolvent in
1919.
During its short history, the BRT rose to become a prominent corporation and industry leader in the railroad field, winning the prestigious single-letter symbol
B on the
New York Stock Exchange.
In
1923 the BRT was restructured and released from bankruptcy as the
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company'.
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