Old Timer Reminiscences The Culver Line

[Jamaica Line]

Thought this was interesting enough to share. Here's a glimpse of his story:

 

I grew up on East 7th St. & Kings Highway, about half way between the Brighton & Culver Lines. My Mom preferred the Brighton because it had an express and was a more direct route to Manhattan. I, on the other hand, preferred the Culver because it was just more "interesting." When I was in the 6th grade in 1946, I was allowed to travel to downtown Brooklyn myself to the Brooklyn Music School on St. Felix Street so, of course, I took the Culver whenever I could.

 

The Kings Highway Culver station was interesting in itself. When you ascended the stairs into the mezzanine, there were no coin turnstiles as there were at the Brighton station. In the center of the mezzanine was a large wooden change booth in which sat a clerk, usually an older woman I think. There was a turnstile on both sides of this booth although only the eastern side was manned except in rush hours. You passed your coin into the clerk and she would release the turnstile for you to pass through into the fare paid area. In the middle of this space was a pot bellied stove. I used to like it in the winter.

 

When you walked up to the platform, you were at the very front. The platforms had not yet been lengthened for the coming IND service and they were the standard BMT 8 car platforms. Culver local service always consisted of 3 car trains so that you had to wait towards the center of the platform. Toward the center of each platform there was a shelter structure to protect you from the elements. This too was appreciated in winter as the Culver had a long headway.

 

Read the full story here.

 

This site offers a collection of old timers' memories during 1945-'67. (Mostly memories of the subway.)

[Sam]

I don't usually think of myself as an "old-timer," but at 51 I'm getting there pretty quickly. That article reminds me of my childhood riding the Q cars on the Myrtle Avenue elevated. I remember that my parents paid the fare to the conductor instead of the token booth. At Broadway Myrtle, there was an enclosure on the upper platform with heaters while we waited for the train. Of course, I didn't really like the Q cars nor the R9s all that much since there were "modern" R30s and R32s on the 70(M) and 70(J) lines. But once the Myrtle Ave. line was discontinued, the Q cars were precious but gone forever!

 

I didn't ride the Culver line until high school and by then I was riding the 70(F) with R1-9s, R40s, R42s, and R44s. The Culver express was indeed a wonderful ride from Kings Highway through Bergen. The scenery and the variety on this line was indeed interesting.

 

Thanks for sharing; I'm going to read the other tales as well!

[Jamaica Line]

I don't usually think of myself as an "old-timer," but at 51 I'm getting there pretty quickly. That article reminds me of my childhood riding the Q cars on the Myrtle Avenue elevated. I remember that my parents paid the fare to the conductor instead of the token booth. At Broadway Myrtle, there was an enclosure on the upper platform with heaters while we waited for the train. Of course, I didn't really like the Q cars nor the R9s all that much since there were "modern" R30s and R32s on the 70(M) and 70(J) lines. But once the Myrtle Ave. line was discontinued, the Q cars were precious but gone forever!

 

I didn't ride the Culver line until high school and by then I was riding the 70(F) with R1-9s, R40s, R42s, and R44s. The Culver express was indeed a wonderful ride from Kings Highway through Bergen. The scenery and the variety on this line was indeed interesting.

 

Thanks for sharing; I'm going to read the other tales as well!

Interesting. Wish I'd experienced the full Culver exp and the subway's unique fleet of cars back then. Glad you enjoyed it. Good to see that his story brought back some wonderful memories for you as well.