Quick Facts about the BRT
- BRT is an initialism for Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company.
Years of Note:
- Formed in 1896 to acquire, unify, and improve the separate rail properties- mostly elevated and surface rails- in Brooklyn.
- Signed the Dual Contracts in 1913, which divided subway operations between the IRT and BRT, and aimed to both improve and build new lines. The contracts allowed for the creation of a separate underground system in Brooklyn to be operated by the BRT.
- Filed for bankruptcy in 1918.
- Reconstituted in 1923 as Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT).
Image Source: Brooklyn Rapid Transit car, prepared for winter service. NYPL Digital Collections. Image ID 809809
A Selection of BRT Maps at NYPL
- Handy map of Brooklyn showing lines of Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. 1897
- Map Div. 19-19
Creator: Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company- Available digitally via NYPL Digital Collections: Click here to access
- Map of the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y., and vicinity showing the street railway system controlled by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Co. [1903]
- Map Div.14-1309
- Creator: Street Railway Journal
- Available digitally via NYPL Digital Collections: Click here to access
- Map s[how]ing rapid transit routes of the Brooklyn rapid transit system with proposed extensions in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Richmond. [1911]
- Map Div. 15-481
- Creator: Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company
- Note: Shows existing and proposed subway and elevated lines.
- Rand, McNally's & Co.'s map of dual subway system. 1914
- Map Div. 14-1314
- Creator: Rand, McNally and Company
- Note: Shows proposed and exisiting subway lines operated by Interborough and Brooklyn Rapid Transit, as well as proposed and existing elevated lines.
Image Source: Handy map of Brooklyn showing lines of Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. 1897. NYPL Digital Collections Image ID 4068523
How to Search the Catalog for BRT Maps
Online Research Catalog
When using the Online Research Catalog:
- In the Advanced Search function, checkmark "Cartographic" under Format.
- If you are interested in finding maps created by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company,we recommend the following searches into the Author field:
- Not all maps that include BRT routes were created by the rapid transit company itself. Commercial, government, and other rapid transit companies would also showcase these local transit lines on their maps. As such, to include these maps in your search results, we recommend the following searches in the Keyword field:
-
Please note that you can have narrow your search to more specific results by combining the above search terms with any of the terms listed in the "Terms to Search in the Online Research Catalog" portion of this guide's Using Our Catalogs page.
Dictionary Catalog
- For holdings of other items that are not in the Online Research Catalog, please search in the printed Dictionary Catalog of the Map Division (available online via HathiTrust), by
Additional Recommended Books and Documents at NYPL
To find supplementary books and documents related to the BRT, please conduct the searches listed on this page's "Catalog Tips" with "Cartographic" NOT checkmarked in either our Online Research Catalog or Digital Collections Portal. See below for a list of recommended materials:
- [Scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, reports, etc., concerning the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and its subsidiaries, dated 1891-1901].
- HE4491.B7A32
- Courtesy of Princeton University Library
- Annual Report.
- TPY (Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. Annual report)
- Library has reports from 1899-1918
- Report on the rapid transit system of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, Brooklyn, New York. [1919]
- TPY (Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. Report on the rapid transit system)
- [Report] to the stockholders. Jan. 31, 1919.
- TPY (Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. [Report] to the stockholders)
- Note: In this report the directors announce the appointment of a receiver for the company, and give financial report for the six months ending Dec. 31, 1918. For other reports issued during the reorganization period, see its Report, published in 1919 by Stone & Webster, and its Reorganization of Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. Report of receiver on properties and their earning power, published in 1923.
- The BMT : a technical and operational history / by Alfred E. Fazio.
- IRH 14-3289
- Chapters 1-5 cover BRT-related history