New-York tribune., 1899-01-15
CONSOLIDATION CHANGES.
BEwILDERING SUCCESSION OF STREET
RAILWAY COMPANIES SINCE 1898.

\ PORTION OF THE VALUE or THE
FRANCHISES GIVEN AWAY By
THE PEOPLE or BRoKLYN.
The consolidation OF the Nassau and Rapid
Transit railroad systems is only one OF many
changes in the street railroad system OF brook-
lyn which have kept Brooklynites bewildered
for half a century. Scarcely have the people
become used to one method OF conveyance or
one name OF a railroad before they have to ac-
quire a taste for a new method Of conveyance
and to charge ,her minds with rewly named
companies
The members of the Society Of Old Brook
lynites look back to the period before the war,
when the omnibus began to give way tefore the
primitive horsecars Of the Brooklyn City com
many. the Grand Street ana Newtown, the Coney
Island and brooklyn and the Brooklyn City ana
Newtown lines Then came new lines ana cars
and combinations of companies at snort inter-
vals Finally came the trolley In the carry
rineties and now the city borough Is on 'he
eve Of a combination Of all the surface ana ele-
waited lines Of the city into one sI stem.
1T, is decided to make the Nassau company
the lessee of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit 'om-
pany the enlarged company Will be the chid
Of many ancestors. The Transit Company "as
organized in 1896 out of the ruins or the LONE
Island Traction Company. The latter II may pe
remembered, was organized In 1875 for 'he Pur-
pose of watering the stock of the brooklyn ''s
company but as the law prevented the Brook
lyn City from being controlled by foreign cor
noration. the little half-mile Brooklyn Heights
road was used as bumper. The pygmy Heights
leased the giant Brooklyn C'S' anu '''e i'"e
Island bought the Heights.
The Brooklyn City organized in 1898 anu
is one Of the oldest lines in the borough. The
following are the lines which were from time 70
time absorbed by the Brooklyn CITY. ana the
dates of their organization: Bushwick ioop'
BROOKLYN Crosstown OS72) which in turn had
been made up Of union of an older Nassau
railroad. and of the Greenpoint and Williams
burg line: the Calvary Cemetery Greenpoih'
and Brooklyn dSS4); the New Williamsburg
! and Flatbush QS13), successor Of the company
of the same name without the word New
/ NSSc): the Greenpoint and Lorimer-st. tooi)
and the Grand Street and Newtown lo"o)'
/ Soon after the Long Island Traction Company
now the Brooklyn Rapid Transit bought the
Heights and the lease of the Brooklyn city IL
absorbed the Brooklyn, Queens County ana
Suburban. which was the result Of the union or
three Eastern District companies. In lo9f. Inc
first OF the three, the Broadway uSos). had ao-
sorbed the Yates Avenue and tlatDush 'lool)'
the Ralph Avenue branch QSS1), ana the Oy-
nress Hills extension 1Ss3). The second was
the broadway Ferry and Metropolitan Avenue
1S92) which succeeded the Brooklyn. Bushwick
/ and Queens QSsO which succeeded the North
/ Second Street and Middle Village uo'W
! which succeeded the Grand Street Ferry
/ and Middle Village 1S69). which succeeded the
| METROPOLITAN Railroad 1S64. The last OF the
| three was the Jamaica and Brooklyn loSo)
| which had previously absorbed the Jamaica
Woodhaven and Brooklyn (successor TO East
| New-York and Jamaica). the Jamaica ana
! Brooklyn Plank Road. and the Long Island
! Electric The BROOKLYN Rapid Transit Com
pany in 1897 added to It's holdings by buying
| the Sea Beach Railroad and the little sea view
Railroad. which runs between East and west
Brighton. -, l.,
The Nassau Electric. which was organized In
! 1893 has nearly tangled a pedigree as the
Brooklyn Rapid Transit, though II does not
! spread so widely. 1t succeeded the BROOKLYN
! TRACTION and the Kings County Traction In the
! ownership Of Deacon" Richardson's Atlantic
! Avenue Railroad The Atlantic was organized
in 1872, and later absorbed the South BROOKLYN
/ Central which succeeded the South Brooklyn
| and Park OSG9) in 1871: the Prospect Park ana
! Coney Island 1S14 which came from the PARK
! Avenue Railroad and the Greenwood and Coney
! Island railroads; the Brooklyn. Bath Beach and
! West End, which was organized In lou-' anu
| operated until 1879 as the Gunther road The
| Nassau company also absorbed the Kings
! County Electric the Coney Island, Fort Hamil,
ton and Brooklyn and the Coney Island and
! Gravesend roads
AS the Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad
has absorbed the DeKalb-ave. system, all the
surface roads OF Brooklyn will be in the hands
of the Flower syndicate when the Coney Island
and Brooklyn is bought except a little ROAD
which is called the Van Brunt Street and Erie
Basin organized in 1s61 and said to be one of
the best-payng properties in the city. 1t Is
owned by Michael j. Coffey and others.
Much Of this ownership Of roads within roads
and this combination Of interests has been
brought about through the desire Of fnanciers 10
expand the system Of capital stock and bonds in
| order that it might fairly represent In hgures
the fabulous value of the franchises. nearly all
Of which were given outright by the people OF
! Brooklyn to corporations.
The capital stocks OF the railroad systems now
| controlled by the Flower-Brady syndicate fol-
low:
Brooklyn Queens County and Suburban S2 g0N0
/ Brooklyn
/ Heights
! g paach
Brooklyn Rapid Transit zOvV""V
Total S4" S''''
There was a meeting yesterday Of the direc-