area, including the 17th and 18th Streets Crosstown Line,
8th Street Crosstown Line, and
West Belt Line The
Central Crosstown Railroad was chartered March 28, 1873, and opened within a few years. The original line began at the
Christopher Street Ferry and ran north on
West Street (west of the
Central Park, North and East River trackage), northeast on
11th Street, north on
7th Avenue (along
Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad trackage), east on
14th Street to
Union Square, north on
Broadway (also
Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad trackage), east on
17th Street (eastbound) and
18th Street (westbound), north on
1st Avenue (
Central Park, North and East River Railroad trackage), and east on
23rd Street. Another line opened later, continuing west on 14th Street, including
Bleecker Street and Fulton Ferry Railroad trackage west of
9th Avenue. The company leased the
Christopher and Tenth Street Railroad, which also ran east from the Christopher Street Ferry, on May 28, 1890, and the Central Crosstown was acquired by the
Metropolitan Street Railway in May 1897, though not leased until February 8, 1904. By 1907, the line to the Christopher Street Ferry was gone, and the
14th Street-Williamsburg Bridge Line used the 14th Street trackage west of
Union Square. Instead, 17th and 18th Streets cars continued south from Union Square on
University Place on a remnant of the original
Broadway Line, ending at
8th Street. Service was terminated in 1913. ==References==