50 Years of Chrystie Street

[Lance]

50 years ago, on this date, the Chrystie St Connection, one of the most important pieces of subway trackage, opened for service. As one of the few ideas from the ‘50s Board of Transportation expansion proposals to go beyond the drawing board, the connection was designed to facilitate through service between the Sixth Avenue line and the South Brooklyn BMT Brighton and West End lines, along with the BMT Jamaica line to the east. Prior to this connection, the only South Brooklyn line that the Sixth Ave line could connect with was the Culver line as part of the Culver Connection project from the early ‘50s, whereas all other Brooklyn – Manhattan service would run via the Broadway line or in the case of Jamaica, Lower Manhattan.

One of the other goals of the connection was to balance the services running across the Manhattan Bridge. As originally designed, the Manhattan Bridge tracks connected the South Brooklyn lines to the Broadway line on the north tracks and completed the loop that would run via Centre St (Nassau St) and the Montague St tunnels. While such a setup made sense when the Manhattan Bridge and the Broadway & Centre St lines were built in the early 1900s, as the city center shifted northward, the necessity of loop service via the bridge dwindled significantly to the point where it was just a few trains using the south tracks per day. Meanwhile, the north tracks would see an increase in usage with the Sea Beach, West End and Brighton express services running across the bridge. The loop connection was proving to be a waste of track and the Broadway line was reaching capacity, hence the decision to sever the connection to Centre St and link the bridge to the under-utilized 6th Avenue line.

As part of the Chrystie St Connection, several other expansion projects would be undertaken in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. To provide the capacity for Sixth Avenue – South Brooklyn service, express tracks would be installed between the previously dead-ending tracks at 34 St-Herald Sq and W 4 Street. Also, to allow more trains to run through the South Brooklyn lines, the DeKalb Ave Junction would be rebuilt to remove the flat junctions and speed up service running across both the Manhattan Bridge and the Montague Tunnels. Finally, the 57 Street station would be built to give the planned 6th Avenue – Jamaica service a needed northern terminal.

After numerous delays, the connection would open in stages, the first of which provided the link between South Brooklyn and 6th Avenue and would open on this date in 1967. The second half of the connection between the 6th Avenue line and the Williamsburg Bridge, along with the 57 Street station, would not open until July 1968.

Many services were rerouted and/or discontinued as part of the plan. The TA would issue maps and guides illustrating the new and updated services and while initial efforts would seem to indicate a general understanding of the route changes, the sheer number of altered services, various last-minute changes to the plan and a lack of planning regarding the station signage would create chaos in the first rush hour of the new services. While most riders understood that the D would run as the new Brighton express and the West End line would be serviced by the B, there were several other changes to deal with, some of which would prove to be confusing for both riders and motormen alike. On November 26th, the following services were altered or discontinued:

• 15 – Extended to Coney Island during normal hours as the QJ
• BB – Extended to Coney Island during rush hours as the B
  • Service would be truncated to W 4 Street during off-hours as there was no easy way to terminate the line anywhere else
• D – Routed from the Culver line to the Brighton as the normal hours express and off-hours local
• F – Extended from Broadway-Lafayette St to Coney Island via the Culver line
• Q/QT – All service would be discontinued
• QB – Service was reduced to a few rush-hour trips only (Initially, this service was to be eliminated entirely for Nassau St/6th Avenue service, but was retained due to rider complaints.)
• RR – Once again rerouted to Astoria

Additionally, several services were added, including the ones listed below:

• EE – Broadway Local between Continental Av and Whitehall St (normal hours only)
• NX – Broadway Express between 57 Street and Brighton Beach via Stillwell Av (rush hours in the peak direction)
• RJ – Nassau St Express between 168 St-Jamaica Av and 95 Street (rush hours only)

Initial problems aside, the Chrystie St Connection has proven its worth time and again as one of the critical pieces of infrastructure to be built for the subway. After an extended period of inactivity, both portions of the connection are presently in use and provide much needed service across both the Williamsburg and Manhattan Bridges and the serviced that use the connection are quite popular

[Lance]

Also on this date, a new map was unveiled for the first time for the first time in nearly a decade.

Map

Shifting away from the previous minimalist design created by George Salomon in ’58 as part of general push for better understanding of the routes and services, the TA would issue new maps that were more geographic while still keeping with the clean lines approach for the services. Prior to this map update, the lines would be color-coded to the line’s original owner (black for the IRT routes, red for the IND and green for the BMT). This older design would prove ineffective as the old nomenclature fell out of use following unification of the subway in the ‘40s. This update would finally illustrate each route in a different color for the first time ever in the history of the NYC subway system. However, as there was no rhyme or reason as to the line’s colors on these new maps, riders would be confused if they did not closely follow the services rather than the color of them. Despite many updates to the design over the following decade, including the infamous diagrammatic maps designed by Massimo Vignelli, it would not be until '79 when the trunk line color design would be adapted by the city subway.

[Eric B]

Wow; wasn't even thinking about the date!

[bobtehpanda]

The Salomon map, IMO, is uniquely New York. Vignelli may have been a design great, but nothing about the map, its Helvetica, or its diagram is specific to New York.

While Salomon is a bit more sloppy in execution, had we kept this map and just updated it for the modern colors, we would have a much more unique map than if we just went with the blandness of Helvetica.

[Lance]

@bobtehpanda I think the problem was that, much like with the Vignelli maps, the TA didn't fully embrace the entire concept, which led to a half-complete project. Had the Salomon concept been fully adapted with the proposed route designations and signage enhancements, the map might not have looked so unfinished. It also might have lasted longer than a decade.

As for modernizing the design, Robert Sklar took a stab at updating the map using the current color scheme. Here's his version based on the 2010 services, hosted on NYCSubway.org.

[Lance]

Today, we celebrate another major milestone in the history of the NYC subway system, this time the full realization of the Chrystie St Connection. On this date 50 years ago, the other half of the connection, the portion between 6th Avenue and the Williamburg Bridge, opened for service. This new connection would provide a link between the former IND lines and the formerly isolated Eastern Division of the old BMT system.

To fully understand the impact of the Chrystie St Connection, we must take a look at the operations of the subway prior to the connection. Despite unification of the previously separated IND, BMT and IRT systems back in 1940, the services on the former divisions still operated as independent services as there were no connections between the systems. (Queensboro Plaza had the only connection between the IRT and BMT due to the Dual Contracts projects in the 1910s.) It wouldn't be until the '50s where new connections were built to facilitate better integration of the services. The Culver connection ('54) would provide a link between the IND and former BMT Culver lines, allowing the D to run from Norwood in the Bronx to Coney Island. The other new BMT/IND link opened around this time was the 60th Street Connection, which brought Broadway service to the Queens Blvd line. Prior to this connection, the only local service on Queens Blvd was the GG, which did not run into Manhattan.

Even after these new linked were placed into service, the former IND and BMT services were still largely segregated to their pre-unification routes. Thus, the ambitious plan to connect the former BMT Brooklyn lines to the IND was thought up. Naturally, much as these things do, the plans evolved from the original idea. While the main cornerstone of the plan was to bring D train service to the Brighton line as that line needed more service than was feasible via Broadway, the plans beyond that were drastically changed from the concept. The plan as it was in 1961, would've largely retained the existing services of the time, only rerouting and combining services as needed. For the sake of reference, here is what the services looked like in 1961, prior to the connection.

1961 Map

Since contemporary maps of the era only showed the services as they related to the former pre-unification operators, the Vignelli design was determined to be a better choice for distinguishing individual services without the use of a companion guide.

And here is the map showing the planned Chrystie St services as they were in 1961:

1961 Proposal

The main changes were as follows:

• D to replace Q as Brighton express
• T and RR to swap northern terminals (partially realized in final plan)
• J (#15 on 1961 map) would be extended to 95 Street (presumably during peak periods only)
• BB would be extended to Bay Pkwy as the West End Local
• KK (#14 on 1961 map) would run to the new 57 Street terminal

A few assumptions were made on this map. Among them, that the RJ (service operating between 168 St-Jamaica and 95 Street) would only operate during rush hours, the BB would otherwise operate as it did between 1967 and 1989 with off-hours service terminating at 57 Street.

Other services were largely unaffected by the plan. Naturally, this would not remain so, especially as the project's completion was pushed back. The next major revision to the plan would come in 1965, when the opening was planned Sept. 1966 and March 1967 for the Manhattan and Williamsburg portions respectively. This is when the connection would start favoring Centre St/Jamaica over Broadway. As the connection would open in stages, services would be altered as the connections opened. For the first phase, the former QB/QT Brighton locals were to be replaced by what would become the QJ, running a similar route to its 1967 incarnation. The RR would be rerouted back to Astoria (one of the assumptions made on the 1961 proposal) and Queens Blvd local service would be replaced with the QB, running in the same fashion as the EE did from 1967 to 1976. Finally, a "super Q" route would be implemented, running as the NX did in those first few months of Chrystie St, between 57 Street and Brighton Beach via Coney Island.

The second phase of the project would see the KK running to 57 Street along with the MM from Metropolitan Av. The former M route to Chambers St would've been eliminated to facilitate this new service. Also, the former Broadway T and 6th Avenue BB would've been combined as the BT route during peak periods, running as the T to 57 Street via 6th Avenue all other times.

Here's the map of services based on full implementation of both phases:

1966 Proposal

Of course, that led to rider opposition, which further delayed the project as Transit officials would go on to modify the plans to better serve the riding public. The final results of which would be unveiled in Nov. 1967 when the first half of the connection opened, providing the link between 6th Avenue and the South Brooklyn lines.

Nov. 1967 Service

We see how the final service plans heavily favored the Jamaica lines with QJ service as the primary Brighton local and RJ as the part-time 4th Avenue local. To appease riders seeking Broadway service on Brighton, the QB service was implemented, running a handful of trains in the direction of traffic during peak periods. This was quite a change from the original proposal back in 1961. Also inaugurated at this time were the EE and NX services, the latter of which proved to be so unpopular, it was eliminated not even six months later.

That brings us to the final piece of the connection, the Williamsburg Bridge portion. Upon completion in July 1968, the off-hours JJ would be rechristened as the KK, running as intended from 168 St-Jamaica to 57 Street. Another major service change would occur at Brighton Beach where the Brighton locals and express would swap terminals for better operations in the area.

July 1968 Service

Over the years, connection would fall into disuse for various reasons. The connection to the Manhattan Bridge would be severed twice in the mid '80s and again in the early 2000s due to structural repairs on the bridge span. The Williamsburg Bridge connection would be largely abandoned after the elimination of the K service (altered version of the original KK service) in 1976 due to budget cuts and would remain so until another series of budget cuts and a bit of serendipity allowed for two previously dead-ending services to merge into one route between Middle Village and Forest Hills. While it was a small portion of a much larger expansion proposal, Chrystie St provided much needed connections between the former BMT and IND services that would otherwise be impossible.

Some information courtesy of Eric B and Joe Korman.

[Lance]

As part of the 2nd phase of the Chrystie St connection, the 57 Street station was opened on this date to provide a northern terminal for the new services from Brooklyn and Queens. Without this station, services would've been almost impossible to run without impacting through service. For a brief period, the B would terminate at W 4 Street, forcing the D to the local tracks during off-peak periods. As part of the opening ceremonies for the station, a 300-guest luncheon was held on the platform a few days prior to the official opening date. The 57 Street station would go on to act as the northern terminal for 6th Avenue services, including the JFK Express, until 1989 when the 63rd Street line opened, moving the terminal for those services to 21 St-Queensbridge. Following this, the station would return to full terminal status only once in 1998 when repairs were made to the 63rd Street line. Beyond the occasional reroute, 57 Street would act as a through station for all services running though since.

Coincidentally, or not so much so, starting next Monday (July 9th), the station will close for ESI-related renovations, bringing the design from its '60s modern style to the one reflected on other similar station rehabs.

[Eric B]

Wow; cool! Who did those maps, you?

A couple of things to point out, is that the second map, the 1961 proposal doesn't show the changes; it's in fact the same file as the first map showing 1961 without the changes.

In the 1966 plan, the JJ and QJ were separate, with the JJ as magenta, and the QJ as black/grey or dark brown.

[Lance]

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 1:39 PM, Eric B said:

Who did those maps, you?

Yep. I needed a clear, visually appealing design to illustrate the proposals, and the Vignelli maps lend themselves to that goal quite well. 

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 1:39 PM, Eric B said:

A couple of things to point out, is that the second map, the 1961 proposal doesn't show the changes; it's in fact the same file as the first map showing 1961 without the changes.

Thanks. That was a linking error that has since been corrected.

On ‎7‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 1:39 PM, Eric B said:

In the 1966 plan, the JJ and QJ were separate, with the JJ as magenta, and the QJ as black/grey or dark brown.

Since the QJ was to only run during rush hours, and similar to the off-hours services on the '61 proposals map, I assumed the JJ would run in lieu of the QJ between 168 Street and Broad St. The QJ is magenta, the color of the JJ, because I consider it the rush-hour extension of the latter. Call it artistic license if you will. I could've put the route in a dashed line like a couple of the services on the '67 map, but it seemed excessive to have two-thirds of the route in a two-color dashed line format.

Thanks for the feedback.

[MHV9218]

Man, these maps are beautiful. I love staring at them, and a worthy addition to this date in history.

Speaking of pretty, love the signature. Only it's Delancey!