Tomorrow is the 56th Anniversary of the End of Trolleybus in Brooklyn: July 27, 1960

Tomorrow is the 56th Anniversary of the end of trolleybus service in Brooklyn.  The Brooklyn system was a mid size system, about 200 trolleys.  The line started small but the entire system was expanded around 1948-49.  The system lasted just about thirty years (July 23, 1930 to July 27, 1960).  Parts of this system ran into Queens.  Trolleybus boroughs were Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.  The Staten Island system existed in the 1920's.  An official from the Transit Authority told me very long ago (1970) that a system was visioned for Bronx and Queens and at some locations, wood holders for the trolleybus wires were found in parts of Bronx and Queens (non BMT system). Compared to the subway, buses, elevated lines and streetcars, the duration of trolleybus traction in NYC was not long.  The Staten Island system did not last long.
   In the 1990's there were plans for a 2nd Avenue trolleybus system in Manhattan and there were other proposals for a line on Church Avenue Brooklyn and Fordham Road in the Bronx.  Of course, nothing every came of these proposals except Select Bus Service on some of the mentioned routes above.

  When the plug was pulled on this system in 1960, the last regular revenue trolley type of service with electricity ended in New York State.  Years later, a light rail system was established in Buffalo New York with some street running.  With new technology that does not need overhead wires, it is unlikely that trolleybus would ever return to New York City.  A few years ago, I heard that Montreal Canada wanted to start a trolleybus system due to environmental concerns but nothing came of it.
  Below is a photo from the NYCsubway web site.  This is 1954 Cudahy picture.

System: B&QT Trolleybus
Photo by: Brian J. Cudahy
Date: 1954
Notes: Trolley coach No. 3108 on Bergen Street Route running along Court Street

Today, Fifty Five Years Ago, Trackless Trolley Service Ended in Brooklyn

The above trackless trolley map of Brooklyn was issued by the New York City Transit Authority probably since 1965.  I remember going to the TA in 1969 on Jay Street Brooklyn and getting a copy of the above map and it was copyrighted I believe as of 1965.  The above map comes from the net.  It is hard to believe that 55 years have passed since July 27, 1960 when most of the lines on the above map were replaced by diesel buses.  The Cortelyou Road line, the first experimental line in Brooklyn, started out on Avenue "C" in 1930 and expanded via 16th Avenue  to New Utrecht Avenue in 1932, died on October 31, 1956.   The St. Johns Place Line died in 1959.  The other lines died on July 27, 1960.  Most of the coaches were only twelve years old by that time (1948-1960).  The trolleybus system in Brooklyn was on the small side and consisted of about 200 coaches.  Very few people remember them.  In the past 40 years. various proposals for streetcar service in New York City came to light for lines on 42nd Street, Red Hook Brooklyn, Long Island City, Coney Island and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx.  Nothing comes of these proposals.  As far as trolley coaches are concerned, there was a plan to have what is now known as "Select Bus Service"using trolley coaches on Church Avenue Brooklyn, First and Second Avenues in Manhattan and the BX-12 route in the Bronx.  This plan also died.  There are no proposals for trackless trolley service anywhere in the New York City region.

  When trolley bus service ended on July 27, 1960, the last official revenue operation of a electric surface vehicle in New York City and New York State came to an end.  It is highly unlikely that light rail or trams, or electric trolleybus service will ever come to New York City in our lifetime.  Folks out there that live in tram and trolleybus served cities, enjoy them when you have them.  In the future, the use of wires will not be needed and then tracks will not be needed because of optical or other guidance systems.  It is the wires and sparks that make being a rapid transit fan fun. Once automated cars come into operation, you will no longer need subways, trams and trolleybus, as some people predict, because persons who cannot afford a car or cannot drive will be able to call an automated car that will take them anyplace, door to door.  Enjoy what you have now.