Kent Ave. Yard
Brooklyn, NY

The Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal (BEDT) railway was a small railroad that operated off-network switching in Wiliiamsburg and the Navy Yard. The BEDT depended on carfloat operations that connected these Brooklyn industrial areas with terminals in New Jersey. The BEDT used steam power in the form of Porter and Alco 0-6-0T engines and continued to do so until the mid-1960s--decades after most other American railroads switched to diesel power. After a decrease in riverfront industry and the formation of Conrail in 1976, the BEDT closed the Kent Ave. Yard (pictured below) and joined with the New York Dock Railway (NYD). In 1983, the NYD/BEDT became the New York Cross Harbor Railroad (NYCH). The only carfloat operation in New York City are new between Bush Terminal in Brooklyn and Greenville, NJ.

Following old track maps found online and in Jay Bendersky's book, I found in 2002 what remained of the BEDT Kent Ave. Yard. It was mostly a vacant lot with weeds. Near the riverfront, a rusting float bridge apparently built in 1939 slips slowly into the East River while an adjacent pier suffers from decay and the spray of brackish water. A few scraps of rail and several light posts remained as the only evidence of railroad activity here. As industry left Williamsburg, the buildings were gutted and are now being transformed into a trendy spot for former Manhattanites to live and work. Sidewalk cafes and boutiques lend no testament to the industrial power that occupied the same space just a few decades ago.