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Far Rockaway Branch

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This article is about the Long Island Rail Road line. For the section of the route which was incorporated into the New York City Subway in the 1950s, see IND Rockaway Line.
Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch train 2820 departing Cedarhurst Station.
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerLong Island Rail Road
LocaleQueens and Nassau County, New York, US
Termini
  • Valley Stream
  • Far Rockaway
Stations11
Service
TypeCommuter rail
SystemLong Island Rail Road
Services
  Far Rockaway Branch
Operator(s)Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Ridership4,904,415 (annual ridership, 2023)[1]
History
Opened1869 (as part of South Side Railroad of Long Island)
Technical
Number of tracks2
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
ElectrificationThird rail, 750 V DC
Route map
Map
Legend
Atlantic
Main Line
to Penn Station & Long Island City
9.3 mi
15 km
 Jamaica
"E" train​​"J" train​"Z" train
Main Line
12.2 mi
19.6 km
 Locust Manor
13.1 mi
21.1 km
 Laurelton
Montauk Branch
via St. Albans
Springfield Junction
Cedarhurst Cut-off
14.0 mi
22.5 km
 Rosedale
Queens
Nassau
16.1 mi
25.9 km
 Valley Stream
16.2 mi
0.0 mi
Babylon Long Beach
West Hempstead via Atlantic
0.8 mi
1.3 km
 Gibson
1.7 mi
2.7 km
 Hewlett
2.3 mi
3.7 km
 Woodmere
3.2 mi
5.1 km
 Cedarhurst
Cedarhurst Cut-off
4.0 mi
6.4 km
 Lawrence
4.4 mi
7.1 km
 Inwood
Nassau
Queens
5.0 mi
8 km
 Far Rockaway
"A" train (at Mott Ave.)
Rockaway Beach Branch
Wavecrest
Edgemere
Frank Avenue
Arverne–Straiton Avenue
Arverne
"A" train​Rockaway Park Shuttle Rockaway Line
Holland
Playland
Seaside
Rockaway Park
Distances shown from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch
This diagram:

The Far Rockaway Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. From Valley Stream, the line heads south and southwest through southwestern Nassau County, ending at Far Rockaway in Queens, thus reentering New York City. LIRR maps and schedules indicate that the Far Rockaway Branch service continues west along the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica.[3][4] This two-track branch provides all day service in both directions to Grand Central Madison and Penn Station, both in Midtown Manhattan.

History

[edit]
The Far Rockaway Branch initially extended west to Rockaway Park. In 1887, a connection was built to the Rockaway Beach Branch at Hammels, and the older Far Rockaway Branch was abandoned west of Hammels.[5]
LIRR train at the existing terminus in Far Rockaway.

Opening

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The South Side Railroad (SSRLI) built the branch in 1869 under a subsidiary called the Far Rockaway Branch Railroad. While constructing it in summer 1869, the company installed about 700 feet (200 m) of tracks across William B. McManus's farmland near Lawrence. However, the transaction had not been completed, and McManus and some friends tore up the track the next night; after a legal battle, the company paid McManus.[6]: 30  The same year, the South Side established a subsidiary named the Hempstead and Rockaway Railroad (H&R) designed to connect the line to the up-and-coming Southern Hempstead Branch. The H&R was dissolved in 1871.

Expansion

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Due to the success of the branch, the South Side built the 200-foot (60 m) South Side Pavilion, a restaurant on the beach at what is today Beach 30th Street. With an additional subsidiary known as the Rockaway Railway (1871-1872; Not to be confused with the Rockaway Village Railroad), the line was extended west to the Seaside House (Beach 103rd Street) in 1872 and Neptune House (Beach 116th Street) in 1875.[6]: 30–32  The Far Rockaway Branch, along with the rest of the South Side Railroad, was acquired by the Long Island Rail Road in 1876.

Two stations on the branch were built as Arverne, both of which were built by Remington Vernam. The first of which was in 1888 at Gaston Avenue (Beach 67th Street). It had a large tower, was shaped like a Victorian hotel and had a connection to the Ocean Electric Railway, as did much of the Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway branches. Due to a quarrel between the LIRR and Vernam, another Arverne Station was built at Straiton Avenue in 1892. From then on, the original Arverne station was known as Arverne-Gaston Avenue to distinguish it from the Arverne-Straiton Avenue.[7]

In 1908, the line between Cedarhurst and Far Rockaway was triple-tracked.[8]: 19  During the early 1940s, the right-of-way was relocated from a ground-level routing to a concrete trestle. The ROW crossed Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway and returned to ground level, passing over Nameoke Street, continuing to Gibson Station and ascending back on a trestle to Valley Stream.

End of Jamaica Bay service

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Until 1950 trains from Penn Station could leave the Main Line at Whitepot Junction (40°43′31″N 73°51′39″W / 40.7254°N 73.8608°W / 40.7254; -73.8608) and head south past the Atlantic Branch connection at Woodhaven Junction (40°41′14″N 73°50′36″W / 40.6871°N 73.8433°W / 40.6871; -73.8433) to the Hammels Wye at 40°35′29″N 73°48′32″W / 40.5913°N 73.8088°W / 40.5913; -73.8088, turning right there to Rockaway Park or left to Valley Stream and Jamaica and maybe on to Penn Station. Frequent fires and maintenance problems, notably a May 23, 1950 fire between Broad Channel and The Raunt, led the LIRR to abandon the Queens portion of the route on October 3, 1955, which was acquired by the city to become the IND Rockaway Line, with service provided by the A train.[9] Most Queens stations along the former Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches reopened as subway stations on June 28, 1956,[10] the exception being Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue station, which was split between the NYCTA and LIRR on January 16, 1958.[11]

Recent changes

[edit]

Between the late 1960s and 1990s, various stations along the Far Rockaway Branch were given high-level platforms in order to accommodate modern M1, M3, and M7 railcars.

The Far Rockaway Branch has the distinction of containing the oldest surviving railroad station on Long Island, and the only existing building constructed by an LIRR predecessor, specifically Hewlett. In 2003, the LIRR closed that station replacing it with a new one diagonally across the railroad crossing on Franklin Avenue; however, the original SSRLI Depot has remained intact.

Stations

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West of Locust Manor, most trips go on to terminate at Grand Central or Penn Station, while some late night trains terminate at Jamaica.[4] Stations past Far Rockaway were abandoned in 1955, though many of them were reopened as subway stations on the IND Rockaway Line in 1956. The location of the former Atlantic Park station is uncertain.

Zone[12] Location Station Miles (km)
from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch[2] 		Date
opened 		Date
closed 		Connections and notes
3 Locust Manor, Queens Locust Manor 12.2 (19.6) 1869 New York City Bus: Q3, Q85, QM21
Springfield Gardens, Queens Higbie Avenue 1908 1960
Laurelton, Queens Laurelton 13.1 (21.1) 1907[13] New York City Bus: Q77, Q85
Rosedale, Queens Rosedale Disabled access 14.0 (22.5) 1870[14] New York City Bus: Q5, Q85, X63
4 Valley Stream Valley Stream Disabled access 16.1 (25.9) 1869[14] Long Island Rail Road: Long Beach, West Hempstead branches
Nassau Inter-County Express: n1, Elmont Flexi
Zone Location Station Miles (km)
from Valley Junction[2] 		Date
opened 		Date
closed 		Connections and notes
4 Valley Stream Gibson Disabled access 0.8 (1.3) 1928 Nassau Inter-County Express: n1
Hewlett Hewlett Disabled access 1.7 (2.7) 1869[14] Nassau Inter-County Express: n1, n31, n32
Originally named Cedar Grove, then Hewletts
Woodmere Woodmere Disabled access 2.3 (3.7) 1869[14] Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
Cedarhurst Cedarhurst Disabled access 3.2 (5.1) 1869 Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
Lawrence Lawrence Disabled access 4.0 (6.4) 1869[14] Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
Inwood Inwood Disabled access 4.4 (7.1) 1905 Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
Originally named Westville
Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway (Nameoke Street) Disabled access 5.0 (8.0) 1958[9] New York City Subway: A (at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue)
Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32, n33
MTA Bus: Q22, Q113, Q114, QM17
  Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue 1869[14] 1958[9] Now Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue subway station
Wavecrest 1928 1955 Now Beach 25th Street subway station
Atlantic Park 1875 No remains left
Edgemere, Queens Edgemere 1895 1955 Now Beach 36th Street subway station
Frank Avenue 1922 1955 Now Beach 44th Street subway station
Arverne, Queens Arverne–Straiton Avenue 1892 1955 Now Beach 60th Street subway station
Arverne–Gaston Avenue 1888 1955 Originally named Arverne, now Beach 67th Street subway station
Rockaway Beach, Queens Hammels 1880 1941 Replaced the Eldert's Grove station (1872-1887)
Holland 1880 1955 Now Beach 90th Street subway station
Playland 1903 1955 Now Beach 98th Street subway station
Seaside 1880 1955 Now Beach 105th Street subway station
Rockaway Park, Queens Rockaway Park 1882 1955 Originally named Rockaway Beach, now Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street subway station

References

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  1. ^ "2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT". mta.info. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. VII. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  3. ^ MTA LIRR - LIRR Map
  4. ^ a b LIRR Far Rockaway Branch Timetable
  5. ^ "The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History Volume #5(New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad; New York & Rockaway Beach railway; New York & Long Beach Railroad; New York & Rockaway railroad; Brooklyn rapid transit operation to Rockaway; Over L.I.R.R.)", by Vincent F. Seyfried
  6. ^ a b Ron Ziel and George H. Foster, Steel Rails to the Sunrise, 1965
  7. ^ LIRR Station History Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "The Long Island Railroad Twenty-Seventh Annual Report For The Year Ending December 31st, 1908". Report of ..., Trustee[S] of the Property of the Debtor, for the Year Ended ...1949-1953. Long Island Railroad Company. 1909.
  9. ^ a b c "Fifty Years of Subway Service to the Rockaways". New York Division Bulletin. 49 (6). New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. June 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2016 – via Issuu.
  10. ^ Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "New Subway Unit Ready: Far Rockaway IND Terminal Will Be Opened Today" (PDF). The New York Times. January 16, 1958. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  12. ^ "New Fares — Effective April 21, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ a b c d e f Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961
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