Early History (1883-1913)
For the first decade-and-a-half of its existence, it was used exclusively by trains of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge Railway, a cable-hauled line that spanned the length of the bridge between Park Row and another terminal at the Brooklyn end of the bridge.
On June 18, 1898, elevated trains of predecessor companies of the BMT began using the station during off-peak hours, while the cable-hauled shuttle continued to run at rush hours. On January 27, 1908 the shuttle was eliminated and elevated trains began running to Park Row at all times.
At its height, Park Row terminal had four platforms on four tracks in the main part of the terminal, and another three platforms on two tracks beyond (west of) the main train shed. This resulted in very complex scheduling and track shifting, so that most trains discharged their passengers at dedicated exit platforms and then were transferred to tracks on other platforms for loading of outgoing passengers. From the turn of the 20th century until 1913, the following lines were hosted at least part-time at Park Row:
Read more about this topic: Park Row (BMT Station)
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