Atlantic Avenue is one of the most unusual subway stations. It used to be a massive elevated super station where the Canarise Lines and Fulton Street Lines crossed exchanged tracks, and shared the station. The station opened with 6 tracks and 3 island platforms. The Fulton Street el was closed in 1956. The station until 2003 kept five tracks and three platforms (two were in use, the others used as layup tracks), but with the addition of CBTC on the L Train, Manhattan-bound trains were rerouted onto track that was originally used by Fulton Street Elevated/Lefferts Blvd-bound trains and now share a bit of a narrow island platform with Canarise-bound trains.
There is still quite a bit of the steel elevated remains of the former superstition, as well as signs on the portion of the former Manhattan-bound platform that wasn't demolished, with the view across the current Manhattan-bound platform of an abaonded platform last regularly used in 1956. The mezzanine level below the tracks is equally large and cavernous and high exit gates serve as the most useful way to exit the station here two staircases lead down to a central intermediate landing and two more staircases down to the middle of the Service Road of Atlantic Avenue.
This landing also has an entrance to the station house. This station house is relatively large and located between the two now closed and abandoned platforms. Doors lead into the indoor station house area that is still in an impractical place from when it had to serve three platforms. There doors are doors at the west end to the open platform as well as chained off doors to the closed Manhattan-bound paltform. A second exit has its own two doors from the eastern end of the station house down and around the former landing to the Manhattan-bound platform that is now being used by the MTA for storage and has a closed high exit turnstile. This leads to a standard canopied elevated station street stair down to the SE corner of Snediker Avenue that used to have an elevated above it used by Manhattan-bound L trains until it was closed and then demolished in 2003. The East New York LIRR station is directly across the street, one of Atlantic Avenue's service roads from the subway stop.
Photo 1-20: January 1, 2005; 21-29: May 29, 2007; 30-32: June 25, 2008; 33-39: November 3, 2012
The evening light on a R143 L train stopped at Atlantic Avenue.
A R143 L train begins to leave Atlantic Avenue in the evening light.
A view to a platform for the Fulton Street elevated in the middle of the station at Atlantic Avenue that has been abandoned since the 1950s. The abandoned Manhattan-bound side platform still with its platform signs intact is visible off in the distance.
The station canopy that has scene better days is about to begin covering the platform at Atlantic Avenue.
A platform sign at Atlantic Avenue.
A view of a junk yard underneath the elevated structure at Atlantic Avenue.
The High Exit Gates on the large mezzanine area below the platform at Atlantic Avenue, notice how far away the station house area with the turnstiles is. This is because it is situated still between the current platform and the one Manhattan-bound trains used until ~2001.
A narrow staircase up to the platform at Atlantic Avenue with HEXTs visible .
Another view of the dilapidated mezzanine area at Atlantic Avenue with peeling paint from the ceiling.
Looking across at two abandoned platforms, neither of witch still have there tracks intact, the one in the foreground was abandoned in the 1950s with the Fulton Street elevated and the one in the background, still with Atlantic Avenue station signs on it was formerly used by Manhattan-bound L trains until ~2000.
The elevated structure of the J/Z Broadway (Brooklyn Line), actually curving to run over Fulton Street and the Alabama Avenue station are visible from the Atlantic Avenue Canarsie Line station.
A side view of R42s on a J train approaching Broadway Junction, viewed over all the steel from the abandoned portions of the elevated at Atlantic Avenue.
R143 #8261 and the back of a L train stopped at Atlantic Avenue.
A Manhattan-bound R143 L train leaves Atlantic Avenue.
A Manhattan-bound R143 L train continues to leave Atlantic Avenue going off into the distance.
R42 #4608 makes it's way through East Brooklyn on a J train viewed from Atlantic Avenue.
A Canarsie-bound L train approaches Atlantic Avenue, with the Broadway Junction station viewed off in the distance, the stations are quite close together.
A R143 L train continues to approach Atlantic Avenue bound for Canarsie Avenue.
A Manhattan-bound R143 L train leaves Atlantic Avenue.
Last Updated: September 6, 2022
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