Bob Diamond, who explored and later instituted tours in the long-defunct Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, attempted to reinstitute a trolley line from Red Hook to downtown Brooklyn along Columbia Street in the late 1990s. He acquired several trolley cars from around the country and laid a square block of track along Conover and Reed Streets, long before Red Hook’s late-2000s renaissance. The city pulled its funding and Diamond’s trolley dream foundered. Since then, the trolley cars have sat and rusted behind a warehouse that became a Fairway supermarket in 2006.
BROOKLYN TROLLEY
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In 2009, Bob Diamond took us on a tour in the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel. It was a strange feeling descending down a hole into a cave-like atmosphere to find a long tunnel with inscriptions of a date from the early 1900’s. He had us walk the entire length of the tunnel till we hit a barrier on the opposite end. It was a treat to be down there and a shame that they pulled the plug on his project. Not only was it an experience, but it was also educational.
Actually Diamond sued the city and they have once again allowed him to do tours in the Atlantic tunnel. His trolley idea, though, is still moribund.
Bob Diamond is a crook. The money he collects for his tour seemingly go into his pocket these days.
Now if he takes the collected money and restores something with it…..that would be great
Are the old trolleys behind the Fairway in Red Hook or somewhere else?
I love the shuttered windows on the building in the back. What building is that?