Third Avenue Railway System and Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation photos, bulk: 1935 - 1965

File — Box: 2

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Two albums. Album 1: of 154 photos (plus 14 duplicate photos) of the Brooklyn - Manhattan Transit (BMT) Corporation, Third Avenue Railroad, and Third Avenue Railway System (TARS) transit lines. Locales include the Brooklyn Bridge, Coney Island, Dittmars Ave Station, Hinsdale Street Station, Harlem, Midtown, and Park Row Station. Album 2: 135 photos of Third Avenue Railway System, circa 1930s.

Dates

Majority of material found within 1935 - 1965

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to examine materials must be made in advance. Please e-mail QC.archives@qc.cuny.edu for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Biographical / Historical

The Brooklyn - Manhattan Transit (BMT) Corporation was incorporated in 1923 as a successor to the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) Company. BMT managed all of the latter's rapid transit lines across Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan and streetcars until 1940, when their remaining holdings were sold to the City of New York. Most of the BRT/BMT system was overhauled in 1913 in an agreement between BRT, the Interborough Rapid Transit, and the city. See 1939 route map here. The BMT cars were known for being roomier, quieter, and having more seating than their competitors. The BMT lines were incorporated in 1940 into a city-wide system that includes many current subway and elevated tracks in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. For more information, see Metro Wiki article and a chapter from They Moved the Millions by Ed Davis, Sr., accessible here.

The Third Avenue Railroad Company changed its name to Third Avenue Railway Company in 1910. The Third Avenue Railway System (TARS) operated primarily trolleys throughout Manhattan, the Bronx, and Westchester County, with connections into Brooklyn and Queens. A full map of the route is available here. Starting in the 1920s, TARS slowly began shifting toward busses, eventually ending all trolley service and changing their name to Third Avenue Transit Company in 1942. The company's holdings were purchased by New York City Omnibus Corporation in 1956, where they remained until the Transit Operating Authority took over their lines following a worker's strike in 1962. For more information on TARS, see Metro Wiki article and a list of TARS lines here.