UNPUNCHED - EXCELLENT CONDITION - BMT TRANSIT ARCHIVE

Extremely rare uncirculated Special Transfer specimen featuring a perfect milestone serial number and a staggering density of historic Brooklyn transit landmarks, issued on December 1, 1937.

This is a premier, museum-quality specimen from the B. & Q. T. Corp. (Brooklyn and Queens Transit Corporation), issued during a pivotal era of the system's private operation. This Special Transfer (B) for the Utica-Reid Line serves as an essential historical document, capturing the sophisticated inter-connectivity between the streetcar and bus networks of North and Central Brooklyn.

Condition and Provenance

This item is part of a substantial, high-grade transit collection recently added to our store, featuring decades of curated New York City history. This ticket remains in museum-quality condition, with remarkably vivid coral-toned paper, sharp black typography, and deep-red date and serial number stamping. The ticket is crisp and clean, showing the high level of preservation typical of this archival collection.

Collector Highlights

Serial Number: This is ticket #04000, a premier milestone round number specimen issued for the historic Utica-Reid Line.

Ultimate Geographic Keyword Powerhouse: This specific ticket is a treasure for neighborhood and line collectors, explicitly mentioning several legendary Brooklyn transit lines and landmarks: Bridge Plaza, St. John's Place, Bergen Street, DeKalb Avenue, DeKalb-Coney Island (only when in operation), Flushing Ave., Wilson Ave., Park Row, and the Pitkin Ave.-Brownsville (B. 14) omnibus route.

Complex Transit Integration: The ticket documents an extraordinary level of inter-connectivity. It was issued only on trips from Bridge Plaza to passengers boarding at or north of St. John's Place who paid a cash fare or presented a Continuing Trip Ticket plus a two-cent charge. It provided for a final ride on multiple major arteries, capturing the precise commuter patterns linking the Williamsburg Bridge area to the heart of the borough.

Uncirculated Specimen: This ticket is unpunched and has never been separated from a conductor's pad, preserving its clean, factory-straight edges and the original Notch Perforation C-6-37 branding from the Globe Ticket Company.

Historical Context

The Utica-Reid Line was a central pillar of Brooklyn's transit infrastructure, serving as a primary link between the industrial north and the residential hubs of Central Brooklyn. Issued in 1937, this Special Transfer represents the peak of the B. & Q. T. Corp. network's complexity, just three years before the historic 1940 city takeover. It serves as a primary source document for the era when streetcars and early bus feeders provided the essential links between the busy terminal at Bridge Plaza and the serene reaches of South Brooklyn.

Please visit our store to see the rest of this newly listed collection, featuring many more rare, low-numbered and milestone tickets from this historic era!