Last Days of the Myrtle

I attended Pratt Institute 1967-1972, which is located in Brooklyn just one block from the Myrtle El, so I travelled it often. The stations didn't have turnstiles. You got onto the train and the conductor would walk through each car and collect your fare into a hand-held token contraption. It accepted subway tokens only. If you didn't have one, the conductor would sell you one for cash. After you deposited your token, he would retrieve it from that device and sell it again to the next customer. This cumbersome procedure took time. If the conductor didn't get to every new rider, the train had to be held until he did. This was no express. Also, the elevated structure was in poor condition and the lightweight trains they ran were short and used old wooden cars because they put less strain on the weak structure. Nevertheless, it was much more convenient than the nearby GG train which ran from nowhere to nowhere. But with the tracks falling apart and the cars near breakdown, it was no surprise that the TA shut it down. I rode it on the last day.

I remember the Myrtle Avenue El. And I rode it many times. The Myrtle Avenue El trains all had a distinctive “rhythm” as they rolled on the tracks.

This route today, as well as all others destroyed by NYC's carelessness, would be beyond capacity in ridership.

Thanks for sharing. I love examining the different third rail and shoe types on this last remaining un-converted (BMT) elevated. Rebuilding the el in 1969 was not an option as the rest of the system was in desperate need of attention. Ridership was relatively low and they were not about to procure a small fleet of lightweight cars just for one or two long shuttles (like 3rd Ave). The future of the city was in doubt and it only got worse all the way into the 1980s. Any hope of economic revitalization could not be imagined without first removing the el - as was the custom since the 1930s all the way to the 1977 closure of the outer Jamaica line. Now we see middle class housing with balconies facing the tracks along Roosevelt, Livonia and Jerome Avenues.

I rode a special farewell trip on that el. Still remember it. Someone said it was okay to remove items from the interior and I got some of the brass window opening latches. Love the photos in the snow.

I recall riding the Myrtle Ave line in '68-69. Even then those cars were real antiques. The canvas straps and the wood were the most obvious giveaways of their antiquity. I remember them rumbling when they accelerated, and they were very slow. They probably had trailer cars in the mix.

Victor will be missed. I met him 35 years ago up at Branford. His love of the NYC Subway was immense - and he was known as one of the "3 Subway Guys" along with Alan Z and Ed S. I had the pleasure of working alongside all of them.

I really think a lot of the elevated closures were so short sighted. Short term savings, long term losses. 😞 Thank you for sharing these wonderful images.

I am so jealous of people who got to ride the elevated lines. I wish they were around when I was a kid.

I like these types of stories. I am a lifelong resident of Bed Stuy and utilized the B54 bus and the Myrtle-Broadway station over the years. I took note of the remnants of the old El everytime I headed down that way and imagined how it was. I also imagined how convenient it might be if it existed today.

Those old wooden cars in the snow sure looked like they were on their last legs, struggling in that blizzard! But those photos show that as time went on they became more and more dilapidated. It's a pity they couldn't maintain and rehabilitate the line and extend it back into Manhattan; it would be a very heavily travelled line today. 😢

Fantastic images! Thank you!

Fantastic video. I used to ride the Myrtle El a lot when I was a kid.

at least the'res a station on the elevated that's still in use. it's called Myrtle Avenue station. the closed myrtle el part is just a closed-for-good platform

Thanks for making this video. My family is from Ridgewood and rode this line all the time and shared stories about it.

The photo at the 2:35 mark is of the old 1890s Park Ave line as truncated

I would have been completely astonished to have seen anything as antique as a converted Gate Car still running in 1969. Then again, had I lived in the neighborhood, perhaps I wouldn't. Not even the recently retired R42's look as pre-historical by today's standards, as did converted Q-type cars in 1969 when R32s, R36s and R40 slants were prevalent (and still very much clean).

Wow. That's awesome. Go be in time is fun.😊 Thankyou so much for your time today. 😊 Sandra Boston Massachusetts. 😊

I remember the gate cars,i was born on Mytle and Hall street in 1945. The station's were heated with coal and pot belly stoves?

I rode the gate cars on the Myrtle Avenue Elevated.