Downtown Brooklyn Trolley Map 1939-10/12/41

Source:  B.Linder, New York Division Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 8,  August, 1978, pp.5-7.

A quick look at the attached map reveals that the track network was getting smaller and less complicated.  According to B. Linder, this was the result of, in the late 1930's to 1941 to:

1. Arranging that all cars on one line should go only to one terminal.
2. By this time, one five lines crossed the Brooklyn Bridge; in 1930, ten lines crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.
3. By June 16, 1941, the removal of the Fulton Street Elevated line resulted in many reroutes.
4. These four lines were motorized:  Fulton Street (Aug. 10, 1941), Gates Avenue (Oct. 5, 1941), Putnam Avenue (September 29, 1941), Third Avenue (March 1, 1942.

Downtown Brooklyn Trolley Map - Track Changes made in 1930

Source:  B. Linder, New York Division Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 8,  August 1978, p. 4.

  The map shown above shows Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit started to make track changes in 1930 to reflect various changes including the construction of the IND subway in the area and the opening of various new subway routes in the prior twenty years, such as the Montague Street tunnel, BMT service over the Manhattan Bridge and the extention of the IRT subway to Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues and to New Lots Avenue.  All these extentions, and the opening of the IND subway in Brooklyn would eat away at passenger traffic on both streetcars and elevated lines crossing the Brooklyn Bridge.