Editing Queensboro Bridge (section)

=== Rail service ===

==== Rapid transit ====
The bridge, built with two elevated railway tracks on its upper level,<ref name="n138184072" /> had space for two more tracks.<ref name="SA p. 101" /> A connection from the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]]'s Second Avenue Elevated to the bridge was first proposed in 1910;<ref>{{cite news |date=December 8, 1910 |title=Approves 'L' Extensions: Public Service Commission Favors the Interborough Layouts |work=New-York Tribune |page=6 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572381564}} |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=December 8, 1910 |title=Grants Elevated Extensions |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-new-york-times-grants-elevated-exten/138183856/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |pages=3}}</ref> early plans called for a line extending to [[Malba, Queens|Malba]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 14, 1910 |title=Queens Elevated Road; Plans Prepared for Route from Queensboro Bridge to Flushing. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/08/14/archives/queens-elevated-road-plans-prepared-for-route-from-queensboro.html |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US}}</ref> The elevated tracks were approved in 1913,<ref name="n138185084" /> and the connection opened in 1917, allowing Second Avenue trains to access the [[BMT Astoria Line|Astoria]] and [[IRT Flushing Line|Flushing]] lines.<ref name="n138184072" /> The tracks carried elevated trains until service was discontinued in 1942.<ref name="p1266856712" /><ref>{{cite web |date=August 1999 |title=Manhattan East Side Transit Alternatives (MESA): Major Investment Study/Draft Environmental Impact Statement, August 1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SiM3AQAAMAAJ&q=63rd+street |access-date=July 11, 2016 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], [[United States Department of Transportation]], [[Federal Transit Administration]] |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=June 14, 1942 |title=Pioneer Elevated Rattles Its Last |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-oklahoman-2nd-ave-el-june-14/73745480/ |access-date=January 15, 2024 |work=The Daily Oklahoman |pages=45}}</ref>

There were also plans to run a [[New York City Subway]] line across the bridge in September 1909;<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1909 |title=Plan New Subway |pages=14 |work=The Chat |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-chat-plan-new-subway/136013844/ |access-date=November 30, 2023 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=September 14, 1909 |title=New Subway Planned to Help Queens |pages=1 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-new-subway-plan/136013911/ |access-date=November 30, 2023}}</ref> in a report submitted to the New York City Board of Estimate in June 1911, the [[Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company]] was to extend its [[BMT Broadway Line|Broadway Line]] onto the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 13, 1911 |title=Subway Report Divides New Franchises Between B.R.T. Co. And the Interborough; Triborough to Be Built If They Reject It |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-subway-report/125540832/ 2] |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-subway-report-divid/125540744/ |access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 23, 1914 |title=Lines in Manhattan Progressing Rapidly |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-lines-in-manhattan/124743448/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515160740/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-lines-in-manhattan/124743448/ |archive-date=May 15, 2023 |access-date=May 15, 2023 |work=The Brooklyn Citizen |page=14}}</ref> By December 1914, the Board of Estimate had abandoned the proposal, which would have required $2.6 million in modifications to the bridge<ref name="The Evening World 1914">{{Cite news |date=December 23, 1914 |title=Favor Tunnel Under East River Rather Than Bridge Subway |pages=3 |work=The Evening World |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-favor-tunnel-under-eas/125570181/ |access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref> and would have caused serious congestion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 23, 1915 |title=Queens Tunnel Act Now Before Mayor |pages=15 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-queens-tunnel-a/125571715/ |access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref> Instead, the board proposed the double-tracked 60th Street Tunnel under the East River, which would allow the city to save $500,000.<ref name="The Evening World 1914" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 17, 1915 |title=M'Call Opposes a 59th St Tunnel; Tells Estimate Board Subway Cars Should Cross the Queensboro Bridge |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/17/archives/mcall-opposes-a-59th-st-tunnel-tells-estimate-board-subway-cars.html |access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref> The New York Public Service Commission approved the tunnel in July 1915.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 29, 1915 |title=Adopts Tunnel To Queens.; Service Board Approves Change in New Subway Route. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/07/29/archives/adopts-tunnel-to-queens-service-board-approves-change-in-new-subway.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504023037/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/07/29/archives/adopts-tunnel-to-queens-service-board-approves-change-in-new-subway.html |archive-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=July 28, 1915 |title=P. S. Board Approves Tunnel to Queens |pages=3 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-p-s-board-app/125571941/ |access-date=May 30, 2023}}</ref>

In 1990, the MTA proposed an [[airport rail link]] running via the bridge to JFK and LaGuardia airports.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levy |first=Clifford J. |date=February 1, 1995 |title=Port Authority May Scale Back Airport Rail Line |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/01/nyregion/port-authority-may-scale-back-airport-rail-line.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901210405/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/01/nyregion/port-authority-may-scale-back-airport-rail-line.html |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |access-date=September 1, 2017 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US}}</ref> This plan was scaled down in 1995, becoming the [[AirTrain JFK]], which serves a small part of Queens.<ref>{{cite NY2000|page=68}}</ref>

==== Streetcars ====
The bridge had [[streetcar]] tracks occupying the northern and southern lower roadways.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boardman |first=Robert C. |date=March 10, 1950 |title=Manhattan's Last Trolley Line Still a Nickel and Keeping Busy |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=21 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1326823304}}}}</ref> On the Manhattan side, there were two ramps from each of the outer lower-level roadways to a set of platforms under Second Avenue. On the Queens side, the tracks split into multiple branches.<ref name="The New York Times 1998 d767">{{cite web |last=Schneider |first=Daniel B. |date=March 1, 1998 |title=F.y.i. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/01/nyregion/fyi-771465.html |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Six streetcar companies had applied for franchises to use the bridge by late 1908, before its official opening.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 12, 1908 |title=Ask to Cross Bridge |pages=14 |work=New-York Tribune |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-ask-to-cross-bridge/135956019/ |access-date=November 29, 2023}}</ref> The first trolleys traveled on the bridge in September 1909,<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1909 |title=First Car Over Queensboro Bridge; Spur Built and Line Placed in Operation Four Hours After Franchise Is Granted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/09/18/archives/first-car-over-queensboro-bridge-spur-built-and-line-placed-in.html |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=September 18, 1909 |title=Trolleys Run To-night on Queens' Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-trolleys-run-to/138179251/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=1}}</ref> and passenger service began the next month.<ref name="n138181867">{{Cite news |date=October 4, 1909 |title=Queens Trolley Lines Use Queensboro Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-queens-trolley-lines-use-que/138181867/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=1 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=October 5, 1909 |title=Across Queensboro Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-across-queensbo/138181935/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=4}}</ref> In the bridge's first decade, the tracks were used by the [[Queens Surface Corporation|New York and Queens County Railway]],<ref>{{cite web |date=September 18, 1909 |title=First Car Over Queensboro Bridge; Spur Built and Line Placed in Operation Four Hours After Franchise Is Granted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/09/18/archives/first-car-over-queensboro-bridge-spur-built-and-line-placed-in.html |access-date=November 30, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Manhattan and Queens Traction Company]], [[Steinway Lines]],<ref name="Roberts 2020 c119">{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=John A. |date=October 1, 2020 |title=The Queensboro Bridge Railway: Last Trolley Standing |url=https://junipercivic.com/juniper-berry/article/the-queensboro-bridge-railway-last-trolley-standing |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=The Juniper Park Civic Association}}</ref> and Third Avenue Bridge Company.<ref>{{cite web |date=May 30, 1909 |title=Bridge Line Incorporated; New Company to Run Over the Queensboro Bridge. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/05/30/archives/bridge-line-incorporated-new-company-to-run-over-the-queensboro.html |access-date=November 30, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> When the [[Third Avenue Railway]] started using the bridge in 1913, it built power infrastructure under the roadway, as its streetcars received power from underground.<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009">{{cite journal |title=Queensborough Bridge Centennial |journal=New York Division Bulletin |date=March 2009 |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=1, 5 |url=http://issuu.com/erausa/docs/2009-03-bulletin |access-date=January 1, 2016 |publisher=Electric Railroaders Association}}</ref> The South Shore Traction Company also applied for permission to use the bridge but was denied.<ref>{{cite web |title=South Shore Co.'s Franchise Killed; Public Service Commission Refuses What It Calls a Fifty-Year Monopoly |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=June 9, 1909 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/06/09/archives/south-shore-cos-franchise-killed-public-service-commission-refuses.html |access-date=November 30, 2023 |postscript=none}}; {{cite news |date=June 9, 1909 |title=On Queensboro Bridge: Holds Up Car Franchise P. S. C. Thinks South Shore Contract Unfair to the City |page=14 |work=New-York Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|572198675}}}}</ref>

A streetcar stop was constructed at the middle of the bridge in 1919 to serve the [[Queensboro Bridge#Elevator to Roosevelt Island|elevator to Roosevelt Island]].<ref name="n138203161" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 3, 1918 |title=Trolley Station on Bridge |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-trolley-station-on-bridge/138203543/ |access-date=January 7, 2024 |work=Times Union |pages=6}}</ref> The tracks connecting the Third Avenue Railway with the Queensboro Bridge were removed in 1922, after the company stopped using the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 17, 1922 |title=Whalen Rips Up Third Av. Tracks; Cuts Queensboro Bridge Connection With Queens County and Steinway Lines |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/09/17/archives/whalen-rips-up-third-av-tracks-cuts-queensboro-bridge-connection.html |access-date=January 7, 2024 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |language=en-US |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=September 17, 1922 |title=Queens Busses Defy Court Writ; Whalen Rips Rival Tracks |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-queens-busses-d/138242880/ |access-date=January 7, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=5}}</ref> Although almost all streetcar service had been withdrawn by 1939,<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" /> the Queensboro Bridge Local route ran across the bridge until April 7, 1957;<ref name=":0" /> it was the last trolley route in New York state.<ref name="p1325116113">{{cite news |date=July 24, 1960 |title=P. S. C. Sounds a Requiem: Ends Trolley Car Rules |work=New York Herald Tribune |page=3 |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325116113}}}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Streetcar lines on the bridge
|-
! Line name !! Borough primarily served !! Start year !! End year
|-
| Queensboro Bridge Local || Queens || 1909<ref name="n138181867" /> || 1957<ref name="p1325116113" />
|-
| Astoria Line || Queens || 1910<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" /><ref name="n10380716">{{Cite news |date=February 3, 1910 |title=New Transportation Link Unites Queens and Manhattan by Unbroken Chain |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-new-transportat/10380716/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=13 |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |title=75,000 Cross Queens Bridge; First Day of Through Service Brings Rush – Jackson Avenue Desolate. |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=February 6, 1910 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1910/02/06/archives/75000-cross-queens-bridge-first-day-of-through-service-brings-rush.html |access-date=January 6, 2024}}</ref> || 1939<ref name="columbia.edu l357">{{cite web |title=Abandoned Stations : Queensborough Bridge Railway Terminal |website=columbia.edu |url=https://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/qborobr.html |access-date=January 6, 2024}}</ref>
|-
| Steinway Line || Queens || 1910<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" /><ref name="n10380716" /> || 1939<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" />
|-
| College Point Line || Queens || 1910<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" /><ref name="n10380716" /> || 1925<ref name="columbia.edu l357" />
|-
| Corona Line || Queens || 1910<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" /><ref name="n10380716" /> || 1922<ref name="columbia.edu l357" />
|-
| Queens Boulevard Line || Queens || 1913<ref>{{cite web |title=New Queens Trolley Road; One Section of New Line to Jamaica Opened. |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=February 2, 1913 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/02/archives/new-queens-trolley-road-one-section-of-new-line-to-jamaica-opened.html |access-date=January 6, 2024 |postscript=none}}; {{Cite news |date=January 29, 1913 |title=Cars to Winfield Start Trips Today on Jamaica Route |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle-cars-to-winfiel/138180870/ |access-date=January 6, 2024 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |pages=10}}</ref> || 1937<ref>{{cite web |first=Seyfried |last=Vincent F. |author-link=Vincent F. Seyfried |title=New York and Queens County Railway and the Steinway Lines, 1867–1939. |url=https://archive.org/stream/newyorkqueenscou00seyf/newyorkqueenscou00seyf_djvu.txt |website=[[Internet Archive|archive.org]] |publisher=[[Vincent F. Seyfried]] |access-date=December 20, 2015 |date=1950}}</ref>
|-
| 42nd Street Crosstown Line || Manhattan || 1912<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" /> || 1919<ref name="NYERA-QnsboroBridgeTrolley-2009" />
|}

On the Manhattan end of the Queensboro Bridge were originally five trolley kiosks, which contained stairs leading to a trolley terminal underground. Lindenthal and Hornbostel designed the structures, which had terracotta-paneled facades, cast-iron columns, and a copper roof with cast-iron [[Fascia (architecture)|fascias]]. There were arched, glazed-tile ceilings inside each of the kiosks.<ref name="The New York Times 1998 d767" /> The kiosks also had [[Greek key (art)|Greek key]] motifs; shields with garlands; and ornamental [[Bracket (architecture)|brackets]].<ref name="The New York Times 2003 d367">{{cite web |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=July 11, 2003 |title=Bell Tolls for Reminder of Trolleys Past; City Seeks to Dismantle the Last Kiosk Standing in Manhattan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/11/nyregion/bell-tolls-for-reminder-trolleys-past-city-seeks-dismantle-last-kiosk-standing.html |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The locations of three kiosks are unknown.<ref name="The New York Times 2003 d367" /> Another kiosk was sent to the [[Brooklyn Children's Museum]] in 1974,<ref name="The New York Times 2001 w416" /> then was relocated to Roosevelt Island and renovated into a visitor center.<ref>{{cite web |last=Zimmer |first=Amy |date=February 23, 2011 |title=Playground Gates, Green Roof Get UES Preservation Awards |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110223/upper-east-side/playground-gates-green-roof-get-ues-preservation-awards/ |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=DNAinfo New York |archive-date=October 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022014710/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20110223/upper-east-side/playground-gates-green-roof-get-ues-preservation-awards/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Roosevelt Island kiosk, which reopened in July 2007,<ref>{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=C. J. |title=An Island Joins the Mainstream |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=September 2, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/realestate/02livi.html |access-date=November 18, 2023}}</ref> measures {{convert|210|ft2}} across and weighs {{convert|86000|lb|ST LT t}}.<ref name="Zimmer 2012 s486" /> Yet another kiosk remains in place in Manhattan but is used as storage space.<ref name="The New York Times 1998 d767" /> The remaining kiosk in Manhattan was planned to be removed in 2002<ref name="The New York Times 2003 d367" /> but was instead restored.<ref name="p279974075" />