The
Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad was incorporated on January 30, 1899, and acquired the property of the
bankrupt Brooklyn Elevated Railroad on February 17. The BRT gained control a month later, on March 25, and leased the elevated company to the
Brooklyn Heights Railroad, until then solely a
street railway company, on April 1. The other elevated company in Brooklyn, the
Kings County Elevated Railway, was sold under
foreclosure to the BRT on July 6, 1899, and reorganized on August 1 as the Kings County Elevated Railroad. The first step in simplifying the corporate structure was made in 1900, when the Sea View Railroad (
Brighton Beach Line) was merged into the Kings County Elevated (on May 9) and the Kings County Elevated was then merged into the Brooklyn Union Elevated (on May 24). The lease to the Brooklyn Heights was canceled effective March 1, 1907, after which the Brooklyn Union Elevated operated itself. At the same time, the lease of the ground-level
Canarsie Railroad, which was run as part of the elevated system, was transferred to the Brooklyn Union Elevated. The
Sea Beach Railway (Sea Beach Line) and
South Brooklyn Railway (
Culver Line), which had been operated by the Brooklyn Heights as part of its elevated system, were released for independent operation. Thus, as of March 1907, the following lines were operated with elevated trains: ;Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad •
Brighton Beach Line,
Park Row,
Lower Manhattan to
Coney Island • via
Long Island Rail Road Manhattan Beach Division to
Manhattan Beach •
Broadway Line,
Broadway Ferry,
Williamsburg to
Cypress Hills • via incline and
Long Island Rail Road Atlantic Avenue Division to
Jamaica, Queens; also via
Rockaway Beach Division to
Rockaway Park, Queens •
Canarsie Line, Broadway Ferry, Williamsburg to
Canarsie Landing •
Fifth Avenue Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to
Bay Ridge •
Fulton Street Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to
City Line •
Lexington Avenue Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to Cypress Hills •
Myrtle Avenue Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to
Ridgewood, Queens ;
Nassau Electric Railroad •
West End Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to Coney Island (operated by the Brooklyn Union Elevated north of
36th Street); the Nassau Electric also operated 86th Street Line trolleys on the West End Line south of
Bath Beach ;
Sea Beach Railway •
Sea Beach Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to Coney Island (operated by the Brooklyn Union Elevated north of 36th Street, and by the Sea Beach over Nassau Electric
trackage rights on the West End Line between 36th Street and
Bath Junction); the Sea Beach also operated trolleys west of Bath Junction ;
South Brooklyn Railway •
Culver Line, Park Row, Lower Manhattan to Coney Island (operated by the Brooklyn Union Elevated north of 36th Street); many trolleys were also operated over the line The Sea Beach Railway was soon leased by the Brooklyn Union Elevated, but the other two lines — the Culver and the West End — continued to be operated separately. On November 30, 1912, the Brooklyn Union Elevated Railroad, Canarsie Railroad, and Sea Beach Railway merged to form the
New York Consolidated Railroad. The
New York Municipal Railway was incorporated on September 27, 1912, in order to lease the BRT lines built by the city under Contract 4 of the
Dual Contracts. This lease was made for 49 years from January 1, 1917. Under the terms of the contract, the two systems were to be operated as one, and the city had the right of recapture, under which it could take back the lines it owned for city operation after ten years. Contract 4 elevated lines were completed above the West End tracks in 1917 and the Culver tracks in 1920, ending elevated operations on the surface. Despite being leased to the New York Municipal Railway, all the new lines were operated by the elevated company - the New York Consolidated Railroad. The following construction was done under Contract 4: •
Broadway Subway,
Lower Manhattan to
Long Island City, Queens •
Canal Street Subway, Lower Manhattan •
Centre Street Loop Subway, Lower Manhattan •
Gravesend Avenue Elevated,
Coney Island, Brooklyn to
Sunset Park, Brooklyn •
Eastern District Subway,
Midtown Manhattan to
East New York, Brooklyn •
Fourth Avenue Subway,
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to
Downtown Brooklyn •
New Utrecht Avenue Elevated, Coney Island, Brooklyn to Sunset Park, Brooklyn •
Trackage rights over the
Astoria Elevated and
Corona Elevated in
Queens, leased to the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company The following construction was done at the New York Municipal Railway's own expense: •
Brighton Beach Elevated reconstruction, Coney Island •
Flatbush Avenue Subway,
Prospect Park, Brooklyn to Downtown Brooklyn •
Jamaica Avenue Elevated,
Cypress Hills, Brooklyn to
Jamaica, Queens •
Liberty Avenue Elevated,
City Line, Brooklyn to
Ozone Park, Queens •
Lutheran Cemetery Elevated,
Ridgewood, Queens to
Middle Village, Queens •
Sea Beach Line reconstruction (depressed), Coney Island to
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn •
Stillwell Avenue Terminal at Coney Island • Express (third) track on the
Broadway Elevated,
Fulton Street Elevated, and
Myrtle Avenue Elevated ==BMT (1923–1940)==