Goodbye, My Coney Island Railroad!

The Prospect Park & Coney Island Railroad connected Brooklyn, NY with Coney Island, beginning in 1875. In that time, Brooklyn was independent from New York City, until it became a borough in 1898.

The line began at Greenwood Cemetery on its north end, using track on present-day McDonald Ave. From the cemetery, riders could transfer to horse drawn streetcars to connect to Downtown Brooklyn.

Prospect Park & Coney Island Train

On its south end, it ran the extent of Coney Island, ending at the north beach, until Surf Ave was extended in 1883, cutting about 500' off the line, the abandoned portion of which is viewable on our map of abandoned and out-of-service railroad lines.

For a short time between 1895-1899 it was owned by the Long Island Railroad, who often scheduled trains to/from downtown Brooklyn from Coney Island. In 1899, the line switched from steam power to electricity.

While most of the elevated right of way exists as today's Culver Line, run by the MTA, the north end that connected to Greenwood Cemetery, as well as the track west of the Stillwell Ave Station on Coney Island have been abandoned.

Thanks as always for reading!

Location: Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, USA

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