Little-known fact about the Brooklyn Bridge.....

Today, with this graceful span often gridlocked with traffic, only dedicated transportation (and New York City) historians are aware of the fact, that, at one time, the Brooklyn Bridge carried more rail traffic than any other bridge in the world.

When the bridge first opened in 1883, wooden railroad coaches, hauled by cables, shuttled back and forth across the bridge.

By the 1890's, the cable train tracks were connected to Brooklyn's rapidly-expanding elevated train network, allowing the electric trains of several busy lines to cross the East River via the bridge, and terminate at Park Row, near City Hall.

By the 1890's, electric streetcars were also crossing the span; during rush hours, streetcars were often jammed bumper-to-bumper along the bridge's roadways, and elevated trains noisily clattered back and forth on 45-second headways.

In 1944, the elevated trains were discontinued across the bridge, now cut back to the Brooklyn side (none of these lines exist today)

In 1950, the last streetcars ran over the bridge (the very last Brooklyn streetcars ran in 1956); today, there is no public transportation over the bridge at all (the nearby Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, however, still carry subway trains on their lower levels)

No trace whatsoever remains of the complex elevated train and streetcar infrastructure over the bridge; modern-day folks are often astounded to learn that this bridge was once such a hubub of frenzied rail activity.......

 

I have walked across that bridge.

 

Me too.