Was this Taken at Avenue "N"?

ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/6f8a2cb0-a75d-0133-89e3-00505686d14e | title= (still image) View from the N Street station, (1954) }} |author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=February 3, 2017 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lennox, and Tilden Foundation}}</ref>

This photo was taken by Max Hubacher in 1954 and was obtained from the source above.  I do not believe that this is the view from the Avenue "N" station because you will see some interesting items.  Incidentally, you are seeing a southbound BMT Culver Line train composed of BMT Standard cars,  I think the B Types with roof vents.  The "S & M Plumbing & Heating Supplies" I believe is right at the private right of way of the Bay Ridge Division LIRR.  At that time, this branch operated with overhead high voltage wires and you can see the silver painted high tension wire support to the left of the train.  I believe part of that support may exist today and you can see it while looking out the west side of a southbound "F" train.  I believe that behind the train you can see the double platform 18th Avenue station.  The high wire support raised the high tension wires above the level of the Culver Line.  Notice the small yard to the left.  I believe that I may have seen a map years ago showing this.  This site today is occupied by "Amazing Savings" and other big stores near the Avenue "I" station.  The building dealing with plumbing supplies I believe still exists and has been refurnished.  The only electric transportation in this area is only the present day "F" train.  The LIRR pulled the plug on overhead power at this location many decades ago and the wires for the South Brooklyn Railroad and McDonald Avenue Trolley were gone by 1965. The tracks under the el lingered for a few more decades but were removed within the last twenty years because they were said to be hazard to motorists.
The map below comes from a great South Brooklyn RR site and shows the Parkville interchange.
ca. 1920 - ca. 1959 
R. Emery map
courtesy of S. Lynch
(modified by author and reoriented for north)
added 11 Dec 2009

Is that the freight house in the left bottom corner?

Thanks so much for the map below from the link below!
http://arrts-arrchives.com/sbrt.html

1924 Map of Sheepshead Bay Area: Showing Race Track Spur & Manhattan Beach Division

  In the map shown below, which is a

Rand-McNally 1924 Map of Brooklyn, which was taken from the David Rumsey Map Collection, you can see areas penciled in red: 1) Former BRT-LIRR Trackage to Sheepshead Bay Race Track and 2) Allignment of the LIRR Manhattan Beach Division Line to Manhattan Beach.  Also, you will see that parts of the Coney Island Creek that were still in existance in 1924.  The David Rumsey Map Collection is very extensive.

GRASS 6.4.1 Predicted Correctly the Location of LIRR Bay Ridge Division

  In the first frame, I used GRASS 6.4.1  and a New York City Elevation shape file.  I then used the terrain analysis feature and use the DY derivative procedure.  The shadow of the LIRR Bay Ridge Divisio cut was visible. This is because raster elevation files are aerial photographs.  The LIRR Bay Ridge Division Cut is very narrow in some places.  In the second frame, I added a Rail Road shape file which shows open air rail road rights of way.  The Bay Ridge Divsion trackage as shown in the map using the RR shape file is correctly aligned by the DY land terrain analysis procedure.  This may be helpful for looking for forgotten rights of way.  By the way, the Culver Viaduct does not show up in the DY frame, I was wrong.

DY GRASS 6.4.1 land terrain analysis.  Subway shape file added after analysis.  LIRR cut is visible.

Below, same frame but RR shape file added.  The RR shape file shows outside railroads in yellow. Includes outside rapid transit trackage.

McDonald Avenue PCC and South Bklyn RR Diesel # 8 at Avenue "I'

Picture Source:  Undated.  Frank Pfuhler Collection from Dave's Rail Pix: http://www.davesrailpix.com/nyc/htm/bqt806.htm

In this undated photo, a McDonald Avenue PCC car is headed north while South Brooklyn RR Locomotive # 8 switches tracks.  An observation of the area makes me believe that this is under the Avenue "I" station of the IND Culver Line prior to abandonment around 1956.  Presently, "Shop Rite" is on the left.  From my previous track diagram, there is no other crossover between tracks on McDonald Avenue except at Avenue "I".  Though not shown in the picture, a couple hundred feet north in the picture is a overpass over the LIRR Bay Ridge Division which at that time had two tracks and had high voltage type of overhead.  Surprisingly, tracks remained intact on McDonald Avenue many decades after 1956.  In the early 1980's, the overpass over the LIRR tracks was reconstructed but without trolley tracks.  Around the 1990's,  the trolley tracks were covered with asphalt and within the last 10 years, the trolley tracks were completely pulled out of the pavement from Cortelyou Road to around the Avenue X shops by the New York City's Department of Transportation probably because of complaints from motorist that the tracks were slippery in wet weather.  In my humble opinion, McDonald Avenue would have been good candidate for a historic streetcar line because the tracks were there, the electric power source was a few feet above on the el, and the trolley wires did not need poles for support.  Could you have imagined the action movie shots of chases on McDonald Avenue dodging trolley cars under the el?  The fees that New York City could have received  from these movie shotscould have paid many of the expenses connected with this hypothetical trolley line.  Today, there are no tracks on McDonald Avenue, the LIRR Bay Ridge Division at this point has one track that is diesel operated, and the interchange track between SBRR and the LIRR at Avenue I (south of this shot) in back of  "Shop Rite" is gone.

Area west of Sheepshead Bay Race Track Today

Avenue Y overpass today.  Notice the narrow plot of land between the BMT Brighton Line Subway tracks and East 16 th Street.  Notice only one bridge for four tracks over avenue Y.  The former right of way is now occupied by houses built on a narrow plot of land.  East 16 th Street appears in person to be narrower than other streets.  The red star is a marker at 1700 Avenue Y.  The area around avenue Y and Ocean Avenue is completely built up.  There is a slight shadow at Avenue X and the BMT right of way perhaps where the race track spur exited the main line.
It is interesting to note that the leads to the race track exited the BMT main line tracks and not the LIRR tracks on the eastern side of the embankment.  The terminal at the spur had BMT and LIRR Manhattan Beach Branch Tracks.

Manhattan Beach RR Had its' Own Overpass over Avenues

Double bridge circled in red over Avenue Y which is in accordance with the original source map.
According to the source map, the Sheepshead Bay Race Track Spur terminal was a multi track terminal in which the BMT tracks were seperated from the LIRR tracks by a fence.  The BMT tracks were on the right hand side of the terminal and the LIRR tracks on the left.  The source map said that the BMT tracks were electrified.  This probably means third rail.  The LIRR tracks were not and were probably steam operated.  It must have been an interesting to view the terminal with BMT standard electric equipment along side with steam equipment.  It is possible that BMT electric service was operated to the race track with older wooden electric elevated equipment.  I never saw an old BMT standard roll sign from the period of 1916- 1924 with a reading "Sheepshead Bay Race Track".

Aerial View of Sheepshead Bay Race Track Area 1924

This aerial photograph taken in 1924 shows the shadow of the right of way of the Sheepshead Bay Race Track Spur.  In the lower left of the frame, the BMT Brighton Line trackage is shown crossing Avenue Y.  It is possible that the BMT trackage was seperated from the MBRR by a small gap.   The private right of way was broader than today beause the right of way had two tracks for the Manhattan Beach Railroad which was steam driven.  According to the map, all streets were not paved as shown on the B. Linder map.  You can clearly see the curves of the right of way.    By 1951, the area was built up already.  The white line towards the right of the photo is Ocean Avenue and the red star is at 1700 Avenue Y, the location where the private right of way touches the location of Avenue X.  To the extreme right of the frame what appears to be a circular road perhaps the race track itself.  The race track is boarded by Ocean Avenue and perhaps you can see the shadow of the road leading from the Ocean Avenue train platforms.

Source Map: Sheepshead Bay Race Track Spur

Source map from a Manhattan Beach Railroad web site.  The Manhattan Beach Railroad was a branch of the LIRR and if the branch was part of the LIRR and not Brooklyn Rapid Transit, the spur was not probably equipped with trolley wire.