Another Close Look at the Error in the Elevation File

  The map below was produced QGIS and includes the contour type elevation file for New York City.  As shown in other posts, there appears to be a line at 90 degrees in the western part of Brooklyn.  The above map is a close up and I incorporated  the street grid and subway stops and lines.  Notice that the red "error" line crosses close to the 20th Avenue and 86 Street station of the "D" train ( West End Line) in Brooklyn.  Notice the group of contour lines to the right (east) of the red line.  I cannot explain it.   In the future, I will add the "add on" elevation feature to explore that area.

A street view in Google of the area reveals a relatively flat area.

 In the map above, produced by QGIS, I used the plug in tool to assign an elevation at any selected point.  Notice the cluster to the left of the red bar.  It is at Bay 25th Street and Benson Avenue.  Notice that the elevation changes from 8 feet to 15 feet on opposite sides of the intersection.  The contour lines appear to be incorrect.  On the right of the bar, there are many contour lines but the elevation does not change that much. Something is wrong here.

Let Us Give a Tanks

These two personal pictures come from the personal collection of ..... which are part of the Brooklyn Historical Society collection.  I am posting them here not because I like stealing but because these photographs are very rare.  I posted earlier that there were gas tanks near the Sea Beach Line in Bensonhurst near 8th Avenue.  Here is a 1950's picture of the Sea Beach "8th Avenue Station" showing the edge of a large gas tank.  The gas tank is of the stationary type and I do not know if it was as tall as it's brother in Coney Island.  Notice the Type D Triplexes at the station.

The photo below comes from the collection of John D. Morrell and the photograph was taken on 5/30/1958.  I do not know when the gas tank on the extreme right was taken down.  The gas tanks were are over Brooklyn, including some "baby" tanks in Sunset Park.  They are all gone now due to advances in storage technologies for natural gas.

  This photo also comes from the Brooklyn Historical Society and was taken in December 1958.  You are facing the Manhattan bound platform  at Smith-9th Street of the then "D" train that ran between Coney Island and 205th Street in the Bronx.  Notice the gas tanks above the station roof.  At that time, the platform had windows of frosted glass.  They became shabby after the years and the Transit Authority blocked them up.  In a recent renovation, the windows were restored without glass and they are very nice and offer beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline and downtown Brooklyn.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, the restored arch over Fourth Avenue and 9th Street was also restored but with frosted glass and we thus are missing a nice vista.

Video of the West End Trolley and Church Avenue Trolley Tunnel

   Since in my last posts the subject was the West End Trolley (1916-1947), I found this video showing the 25th Avenue Loop at Harway Avenue.  In 1946, the West End trolley was cut back to this loop instead of going to Coney Island.  The private right of way is also shown just to the east of New Utrecht Avenue between 81st Streets and 84th Street.  The B.M.T. West End Line is shown in the background.  Today, Sixth Avenue "D" trains run on this elevated\subway route.  Two PCC cars are shown and this must have been a promotion for the New York's World's Fair.  Some other interesting views are shown, including a trolley emerging from the trolley tunnel under Ocean Parkway.

https://www.google.com/url?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D1WvRSZSoktA&rct=j&sa=X&ei=En7mT8yZIIrJ0QHTqYHyCQ&ved=0CGMQuAIwAzgU&q=trolley+videos+brooklyn&usg=AFQjCNGJosiCQxkqXPBV2OUaCfNxyzrSjw

A Selection of Brooklyn Trolley Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T116yHKoUTs&feature=relmfu

The first video above is labeled "Church Avenue" but it really shows the B-68 Coney Island Avenue Trolley at Park Circle and along Prospect Park West and Southwest.  It may show also the B-69 McDonald Vanderbuilt line.  There is a great shot of Partel Prichard Square and the Sands Theatre.  Modern PCC and older equipment is shown.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdGKbTHpMcg&feature=relmfu

This is a great video showing the Church Avenue Line at  Argyle Road.  If you want to see action with Brooklyn's first trolley coach line, you will also see the Cortelyou Road trolley bus cross McDonald Avenue and you will see old and new equipment on the McDonald-Church trolley line.  The trolley coaches shown are from the prior generation of coaches used from the 1930s to 1948 which were replaced by St. Louis Car Company Trolley Coaches in 1948.  You  will also see the McDonald Avenue trolley just meet the Culver Line El structure at the Ditmas Avenue station and where the trolley trackage meets the PRW trackage of the South Brooklyn Railway.  You will catch a few nanosecond glipse of South Brooklyn Electric Locomotive action under the 13th Avenue Station at 37th Street and Church Avenue.  You will also visit the New Utrecht and 39th Street intersection and if you look closely, you will see the turnout for the West End trolley.  And last but not least, various equipment going into and leaving the Ocean Parkway Trolley Tunnel is presented.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=_qigy5CTZx4

This video covers the Coney Island area when Coney Island was Coney Island.  You will see Luna Park and other Amusement Parks when Coney Island was an international resort.  Today it is a meer shadow of itself.  You will see trolley action on Surf Avenue with Sea Gate cars and other action at Neptune Avenue.  You will catch a glipse of the upper tier of the elevated structure (Brighton Line) between West 8th Street and Stillwell Avenue subway stations.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un3o9SkUInY&feature=player_detailpage

Here is featured  little known streetcar lines, such a the West End Trolley and the Norton's Point Line running in their own private rights of way. The West End Trolley had its PRW near Bay 19 th Street and the Coney Island Norton's Point Line ran over an incline to the Stillwell Avenue subway station.  This is one of the few places were a streetcar in Brooklyn was on elevated structure.  Other places were at the approach to the Brooklyn Bridge and at the end of the 3rd Avenue El at 65th Street in Brooklyn.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQDbJha1jqc&feature=player_detailpage


Downtown Brooklyn is shown here on Jay Street.  Also is shown the public display of the then new PCC streetcar in Albee Square in 1936.  See the Fulton Street Elevated Line above.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WvRSZSoktA&feature=player_detailpage

Here you will see something very unusual.  The West End Trolley ran under the BMT West End Line for most of its route but it also ran on a private right of way.  Since it was not a busy line, it did not sport the best equipment.  Here, two PCC streetcars are shown on the Bay 19th Street PRW which is apparently part of a promotion for PCC service to the New York World's Fair in 1939.    I'm not sure about this, but BMT Lines wanted to charge passengers a extra nickle for the fare (a total of 10 cents) and Mayor LaGuardia who not have any part of this and the PCC service to the World's Fair lasted one day only.  I'm not sure about the starting point of this special World's Fair service, but it was probably not along the West End Trolley.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VO5uC1nbQ8&feature=player_detailpage


Shows the present day subway station at Essex Street off the Williamsburg Bridge and also shows the darkened former trolley terminal next to the Brooklyn bound subway track.