User:Kew Gardens 613/sandbox 2
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NYC Subway History Post-Unification  |
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User:Epicgenius/sandbox/Metropolitan Transportation Authority
User:Epicgenius/sandbox/article-draft1 — Manhattan Bridge subway closure
User:Kew Gardens 613/Subways70s80s
User:Kew Gardens 613/NYSTC Annual Reports
User:Tdorante10/sandbox3 – Includes draft bus articles
User:ItzWindowsME/sandbox – Q29 draft
Queens Bus Routes and lines – A list of bus article projects
User:Epicgenius/sandbox/1 – Interesting track map drafts
User:Epicgenius/sandbox/3 – Includes draft bus articles
User:Epicgenius/sandbox/5 – Includes a draft split of Technology of the New York City Subway that I have been wanting to work on
This sandbox is for LIRR-related things. The goal is to transfer this material to the mainspace. Other users should feel free to add information that is fit, improve, and add references to the work that is here.
Grade crossing elimination
[edit]The Rosedale Elimination project would elevate the line on an earth embankment and eliminate three grade crossings at Brookville Boulevard, Cross Island Boulevard, and Hook Creek Boulevard. Rosedale station had its facilities replaced with an island platform with stairs leading down to Cross Island Parkway at its western end, and a pedestrian subway leading to the southern side of the rail line at the station's eastern end. During construction, temporary station facilities would be provided, and temporary shoe-fly tracks would be constructed on the south side of the rail line.[1]
In 1940, as part of the Old Southern Division elimination project, nine grade-crossings would be eliminated, and the line would be elevated on an earth embankment, partially supported by retaining walls. Bridges would be constructed at 224th Street, Springfield Boulevard, 140th Avenue, Farmers Boulevard, Baisley Boulevard, 120th Avenue, Foch Boulevard, New York Boulevard, Linden Boulevard, 111th Avenue, and 109th Avenue.
A pedestrian overhead bridge at 111th Street was removed. A pedestrian underpass would be constructed under the rail line at 108th Avenue to connect either side of that street, and an existing pedestrian underpass at 109th Avenue would be preserved. The four stations on the line (Cedar Manor, Locust Manor, Higbie Avenue, and Laurelton) would have their facilities removed and replaced. Cedar Manor would be rebuilt with an island platform with stairways leading down to New York Boulevard and Linden Boulevard. Locust Manor, Higbie Avenue, and Laurelton would receive new island platforms. At the request of the Board of Estimate, the project was revised to include a bridge over North Conduit Avenue, and the Rosedale Elimination project wa revised to include an additional span for the rail line over Laurelton Parkway.
1960s and 1970s
[edit]On January 27, 1972, the LIRR announced that it had received approval for a 16 2/3 percent fare increase. The Federal Price Commission said the increase was justified, despite being above the 2.5 percent guideline for fare increases as the LIRR was still losing money, and the increase was needed to offset $52 million in the LIRR's deficit. The LIRR initially sought out a 20 percent fare hike. As part of the fare hike, the popular 10-trip ticket would be eliminated. The increased fares would take effect on January 29.[2] The initially proposed 20 percent fare increase would have been implemented through a new system with 14 fare zones, the elimination of ten-trip discount tickets, the elimination of discount tickets for firefighters, police, ladies's days and holiday and weekend excursions. In addition, commuter tickets were restricted to weekdays, allowing only one trip a day in each direction, and were made non-transferrable. Fares for weekly tickets would be increased by 25 percent. The fare increase percentage was in line with the plan of Governor Nelson Rockefeller when he asked the State Legislature to double tolls on Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority facilities.[3] Monthly fares to Penn would rise from $46.95 to $56.40 at Hicksville, from $50 to $60 at Huntington, from $59 to $68.40 at Port Jefferson, from $47.45 to $56.40 at Long Beach, from $46.35 to $54 at Freeport, from $45 to $52.50 at Hempstead, from $52.05 to $64.20 at Bay Shore, and from $44.05 to $52.20 at Port Washington.[4]
In March 1972, the MTA announced plans to develop a gas-turbine train for $14,800,000. A prototype train was expected to be in service for testing in 1973. The train would switch to the gas-turbine engines once they entered unelectrified territory.
On June 17, 1972, the LIRR announced that it would implement completely new timetables as of June 26. As part of the changes, there would be an increase in the number of trains, which would be made possible by reducing the lengths of trains. The only line to receive cuts in service was the Hempstead Branch, which would have 12 off-peak daily runs eliminated as it was very underused. Trains during the off-peak would run hourly instead of every half hour. The LIRR had sought to make these changes earlier, but was only able to do so following the approval of the railroad's contract with its 600 members in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers on June 3, which eased work rules for more flexible work assignments in exchange for a maximum pay increase of 27.7 percent to make the changes possible.[5]
With the electric multiple units, about two dozen changes a day at Jamaica for Penn Station riders were eliminated, with additional trains skipping Jamaica. Arrival times at Penn Station, Hunterspoint Avenue, and Flatbush Avenue were revised to be closer to common working hours. In addition, running times were shortened in some cases, many rush hour diesel trains were replaced by electric ones, and all older smaller electric trains were eliminated. Service for most non-electrified stations east of Babylon, Hicksville, and Huntington was improved through the use of push-pull trains during off-peak hours, which eliminated the need to move the engine to the opposite side of the train. The schedule also implemented clockface scheduling and consistent off-peak service on all branches. The new schedules made better use of the 770 M1 train cars on the electrified lines, with almost all rush hour service making use of these cars. Since the West Hempstead Branch still had low-level platforms, it was served by older trains. This schedule change was the first major change since the MTA takeover in 1966. Minor changes had been made to the schedule in 1968 to account for the new and faster M1 cars.[5]
There would be fewer changes at Jamaica on the Port Jefferson Branch and more through service form Huntington-an increase from three trains to six to Manhattan during the morning rush hour. There would also be an increase to six electric trains and five diesel trains during the evening rush hour from seven diesels and three electrics. During weekends and middays, trains would run hourly to Huntington, and bi-hourly from Huntington to Port Jefferson. Hourly service would be provided on the Oyster Bay Branch during middays and every 2 hours on weekends. Trains would run hourly on the Long Beach Branch non-rush hours and on the Far Rockaway Branch middays. Service on the Port Washington Branch would run every 30 minutes during rush hour, and every 60 minutes on weekends. Midday service to Babylon would run half hourly, with service every 2 hours from there to Patchogue. Weekend service to Babylon would be hourly, and service to Patchogue would be bi-hourly. There would be an additional round trip to serve Montauk-leaving Penn at 11:40 p.m. for Montauk, with the return trip leaving Montauk at 5:50 a.m. At Westbury, eight diesels and three electrics in the morning rush would be replaced by 1 diesel and 10 electrics; 11 electrics in the evening rush hour would replace 3 electrics and 6 diesels. At Hicksville, 10 electrics and 3 diesels would replace 4 electrics and 9 diesels in the morning rush, and 12 electrics and 3 diesels would replace 10 diesels and 4 electrics in the evening rush. Service to Ronkonkoma would run bi-hourly during nn-rush hours and weekends, with service added to make it hourly, if needed. Several new trains were added to improve connections from Penn to Hicksville and Ronkonkoma. As part of the changes, the lightly-used Bellaire, Landia, and South Farmingdale stations would close. The changes were made possible by the construction of high-level platforms, which reduced dwell times, the 770 new M1s, the new labor contract, renovated train terminals, and the construction of additional substations, which allowed the M1s to operate at higher speeds.[5]
Miscellaneous
[edit]Proposed station between Hicksville and Syosset
RONK electrification-"The railroad has no plans to electrify other branches, Mr. McIver said, until the L.I.R.R. completes the reconstruction of its Jamaica station complex sometime in the 1990's."
"On the South Shore, two Penn Station-bound trains will leave Valley Stream and Freeport, Baldwin and Rockville Centre in the morning rush. Hicksville will be served by two additional morning trains while off-peak service will increase 40 percent. New morning peak service has also been added at Westbury, Carle Place, Mineola, Merillon Avenue and New Hyde Park."
- According to the L.I.R.R.'s proposal, the cost benefits per passenger of electrifying to Ronkonkoma are substantially higher than the costs of electrifying on the other branches. For every additional weekday passenger the L.I.R.R. would gain by electrifying, the railroad would have to invest $6,780 on the Patchogue line and $5,290 on the Port Jefferson line but only $3,680 on the Ronkonkoma line.
L.I.R.R. Caught in Tug-of-War Over Space in Penn Station
L.I.R.R. EYES A 'TROLLEY' LINE FOR OYSTER BAY
L.I.R.R. SEEKING TO REPLACE TRESTLES
HAROLD reconstruction
Double-decker[6]
L.I.R.R. ELECTRIFICATION: NEW DELAYS, NEW PLANS
- The railroad is also considering sweeping changes on the Oyster Bay branch. These could include closing one or more stations, switching to a light rail transit system that would terminate in Mineola, and operation of the branch by an agency other than the L.I.R.R., possibly by a private company.
- Instead of extending electrification eastward on the Port Jefferson branch, which would cost an estimated $320 million, new proposals call for developing special engines that would cost an estimated $3 million each and be in operation by 1989.
- A study of the branch released this year by the Manhattan consulting firm of Seelye, Stevenson, Value & Knecht/Temple Barker & Sloane, recommended that a $75 million light rail system be put into operation on the Oyster Bay branch. The system would use modern trolleylike cars that would provide faster and more frequent service. It would cut travel time from Oyster Bay to Mineola from 44 minutes to 27 minutes, according to the study.
- No improvement in service, however, is likely to attract more riders to the branch. An extensive market research study over the last year showed that little or no increase in peak ridership would result from any of several proposed changes, according to railroad officials.
- The consultant's suggestions include developing new schedules to increase service on the most heavily traveled portion of the branch, between Glen Cove and Mineola. Travel time would be further reduced by skipping stops and consolidating or closing one or more of the 11 stations.
- The proposed light rail train, however, raises a number of questions for the railroad, as well as for commuters. These include whether there would be a need to create a new transfer facility between the Oyster Bay branch and the Main Line at Mineola, and how to make it all fit with plans to raise the Main Line tracks in Mineola.
- There are also questions about who would own and operate an Oyster Bay light rail line. The consultant's study suggests that the light rail system might be operated by Nassau County or the Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority or a private operator. But such decisions are a long way down the line, railroad officials said, including such matters as who would pay for the line and who would set fares.
L.I.R.R. Remodels 18 Stops for Disabled
L.I.R.R. PRIORITIES ARE CRITICIZED BY BACKERS OF ELECTRIFICATION
PULLING THE PLUG ON ELECTRIFICATION
- For riders who have long endured the L.I.R.R.'s erratic track record, all this may sound too good to be true. But many commuters grudgingly concede that, while serious problems still exist, there are fewer hardships and better service. Last week, the L.I.R.R. began funneling more rush-hour trains into New York City, using ''modified reverse signaling'' to switch some city-bound diesels onto tracks that for years had been capable of accommodating only Island-bound trains. Officials say this should reduce the infamous queues of trains between the congested Jamaica Station and Manhattan, improving commuters' chances of arriving at work on time. That, the line's sharpest critics agree, is crucial.
- By manipulating schedules - adding a train here, changing a stop there - Mr. Wilson says that the railroad was able to ''manufacture seats out of thin air.'' On the Port Washington branch, for example, one small schedule change provided 800 additional rush-hour seats. If the new improvements continue, more may soon be needed.
- Switching signals after receiving hundreds of complaints, the Long Island Rail Road said yesterday that it was postponing and reconsidering a systemwide timetable change it had billed as "the most extensive undertaken in the last 20 years."
- The new schedule was supposed to take effect on Monday.
- "Some changes created difficulties for some of our customers," an understatement from the railroad said yesterday.
- The new timetable was supposed to meet three goals, said a spokeswoman for the railroad, Susan McGowan. One was to introduce what are called clock-face schedules during off-peak periods. "At a particular station, the train would leave at the same number of minutes past the hour, in most cases, every hour," Ms. McGowan explained.
- To allow for track work on the Babylon line, the new schedule would also have reduced from three to two the number of trains running each hour during off-peak periods, Ms. McGowan said, leaving one local and one "semi-express train" that would skip certain stations.
- And the new timetable sought to ease overcrowding on the Huntington and Ronkonkoma lines during the morning and evening peak periods -- times when the Babylon line was underused. "Since we were already at capacity going into the East River tunnels," Ms. McGowan said, "we were going to consolidate nine trains into seven on the Babylon line, allowing us to add a train each on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington branches."
Wading River Extension
[edit]When the construction of the Port Jefferson Branch was completed in 1868, it was thought that the line would not be extended further east as there were no important villages past Port Jefferson. Aside from a proposal to extend it to meet up with the Main Line in Riverhead, there were no serious proposals to extend the line further east. Surveyors defined a route from Port Jefferson to Riverhead in October 1883, but nothing resulted from it. In May 1892, surveyors made out a possible right-of-way.In order to fund the project, Austin Corbin proposed the consolidation of the new North Shore Branch with the old Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad. The merger would allow for the issuance of a $1,500,000 mortgage on the entire road, and it would therefore allow for the funding of both the extension and a portion of debt that remained from the old Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad. On September 23, 1892, the railroads were officially consolidated as the Long Island Railroad Company, North Shore Branch. Benjamin Norton became president of the new railroad and the route was officially adopted on May 20, 1893, running parallel to North Country Road. In the summer of 1893, New York State passed a law requiring all new railroads be double-tracked, but Corbin, using his political influence, was able to get a bill passed through the State Legislature that would exempt the Wading River Extension. Originally, construction was to be completed by June 1, 1894. There was speculation that Wading River would be a temporary terminal and that the road would be built through to Riverhead by the following year. The first rail was laid on July 24, 1894 and the last rail on March 6, 1895.[7]
Construction of the right-of-way was completed in May 1895, and the first passenger train ran on June 22, with the first regularly scheduled passenger train running on June 27, 1895. The Wading River extension was a major accomplishment for the Long Island Rail Road, and the communities along the line thrived with summer business and railroad service increased both on and off season. In the second year of railroad operations, vacationers utilized the line to look at the beauty of the sea shore and the bold wooded bluffs along the line. During the first few days of July 1896, the heaviest travel days at the time, the rail business was booming. Due to an increase of traffic on the line, service was increased on the branch to two trains a day during the winter months in 1897. In February 1906, LIRR president Peters approved the construction of the extension of the North Shore Branch to Riverhead, with work first being scheduled to commence in the next few months. By August, the work was delayed to the following year. The extension never came to fruition.
In the middle of the 1910s, Monday through Saturday service was limited to two trains per day in both directions. Two of these trains contained parlor cars, which was a service premium on the road. Saturday service included an additional eastbound parlor car train. Sunday service was a total of three trains in both directions. However, in the summer of 1914, the company failed to profit in transient summer business, which represented a large part of its revenue.
With the growing popularity of automobiles in the 1920s, suburban residents chose to use their own personal vehicles instead of waiting for one of the few daily trains along the Wading River Branch. Slowly, the quality of service diminished and the New York State Public Service Commission authorized an investigation of the delays on the entire Wading River Branch. A public hearing was held on November 22, 1922, and further investigation
Although the LIRR blamed a recent railroad strike and coal strike, a public hearing was held on November 22, 1922. Further investigation throughout the decade led the commission to order the company to make certain changes and improvements in its service to Nassau and Suffolk. These related to regulations, practices, equipment, facilities, and service. In the wake of scrutiny and declining ridership, the LIRR was forced to abandon its experimental farm at Wading River. The project, undertaken in 1906, was opened by the company’s short-lived Agricultural Department to prove that land was capable of producing high-quality, valuable agricultural products. By 1930, both the Wading River and Medford locations were sold.
By the end of the 1920s, the loss of customers led to service changes on the Wading River Extension and resulted in multiple attempts to abandon the line. In October 1927, steam-hauled trains were replaced with a one-car combination engine and coach. This car was supposed to connect with regular steam service at Port Jefferson, and it operated one roundtrip daily. During the summer of 1928, service was two daily trains, eastbound and westbound, and three to four trains on Sundays. The first attempt to discontinue the extension was in 1932. Citing revenue loss, the LIRR posted signs at all stations suggesting that it intended to abandon the branch on June 1, 1933. Residents of the neighboring communities turned to the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) in order to prevent the abandonment of the line, and the LIRR was forced to continue service when it failed to get the backing of the Public Service Commission.
In 1933, the LIRR tried to rid itself of the branch again, this time turning to the Interstate Commerce Commission. One examiner of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ruled in favor of abandonment. The commission, in a report published on February 9, 1934, cited an annual saving of $21,000 if service was discontinued, and it pointed out that the area that the line served was seasonal, with a population of 10,000 in the summer as opposed to 1,500 in the winter. As a result, in the winter of 1934, winter service was discontinued, meaning that service on the branch would only operate between May and October. Steam service replaced the combination engine and coach car in the summer of 1933, saving the LIRR $500 a year since the combination vehicle had problems. On April 25, 1934, the ICC denied the petition for abandonment because of the construction of an orphan asylum. The summer-only service would last six seasons, and by 1937, there were two eastbound trains daily and one westbound. On Sundays, there was one train in both directions. Another application was sent to the ICC in 1938, and it grant the LIRR permission to abandon the Wading River Extension on September 27, 1938. The last timetable to display revenue service was the timetable effective September 18, 1938. Revenue service on the branch ended on Sunday, October 8, 1938, and the branch was officially out of service March 29, 1939.[8]
The Wading River terminal had a wye, located north of the tracks to turn engines around. It also had a wooden, two-stall engine house south of the tracks along with coaling and watering facilities.
The LIRR’s main track ended on the west side of Wading River-Manor Road, with the depot building on the north side of the tracks. However, a siding used to service a coal supplier branched south off the main and extended further east across Wading River-Manor Road a distance. So . . . . while the LIRR’s end-of-track was technically on the west side of Wading River-Manor Road, it really extended further, via the siding.
As business got really slow, the railroad stopped running actual trains out to Wading River, but ran a shuttle service between Port Jefferson and Wading River utilizing a self-propelled gas car, nicknamed a “doodlebug.” This car ran on gasoline and carried passengers as well as baggage and could operate with only a motorman and a conductor. Quite a bit of savings from a steam locomotive and tender using lots of coal and water had having a full crew of engineer, fireman, conductor, trainman and brakeman.
In January 1938, the end-of-track was cut back one mile west with a low-level platform constructed for use as the new station.
The right-of-way was acquired by Long Island Lighting Company to run their power lines. The right-of-way is now used by LIPA, the successor to LILCO. The stone overpass at Woodville Road in Shoreham is the last of the right-of-way structures that is still intact. The wooden trestle over the tracks at Miller’s Place was dismantled in 1939. The stone overpass at Rocky Point was demolished around the same time and the reddish-brown stones were shipped up the road and used as a retaining wall at Cedar Beach. The depot building at Rocky Point is still standing, having been moved slightly south of the original right-of-way and onto private property and has been incorporated into the structures on their grounds.
References
[edit]- ^ New York (State) (1922). "Annual report": v.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Dashing Dans Going to Ride At 16.6% More". New York Daily News. January 28, 1972. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ O'Neill, Maureen (January 6, 1972). "LIRR Seeks Zones, Fewer Discount Rates". Newsday. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ Hertzberg, Dan (January 6, 1972). "'You Pay... to Get To Work'". Newsday. p. 3, 26.
- ^ a b c Cook, Christopher M.; Crook, Howard (June 18, 1972). "LIRR Revamps Its Schedules; Adds Trains on Most Branches". Newsday. p. 3, 31. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ Schmitt, Eric (September 21, 1988). "L.I.R.R. May Add Double-Decker Coaches". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
- ^ "The Forgotten Spur: The Chronicle of the Long Island Rail Road Wading River Extension and the Adjoining Communities". Derek Stadler. March 11, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ^ "Wading River Branch". www.lirrhistory.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
Flushing Railroad
[edit]The first non-LIRR line on Long Island was the Flushing Railroad, incorporated in 1852, which opened on June 26, 1854 from Long Island City to Flushing, before the LIRR opened its line to Long Island City.[1]This line ran from Hunter's Point east to Haberman, and then it went north following what is close to what are now Maurice and Garfield Avenues, and then to Winfield and Flushing along the current Port Washington Branch ROW. The line was 7.47 miles long with a second track 0.4 miles long.
When the Flushing Railroad was being discussed in about 1850, a wave of enthusiasm spread through the North Shore villages from Flushing eastward to Huntington. The Long Island Rail Road was built through the center of the island, ignoring the old and populous villages on the north and south shore. When the Flushing Railroad project came up, these villages on the North Shore saw a chance for a railroad connection. Once the construction of the railroad became a certainty in 1852, villages to the east, particularly Huntington, showed strong interest in the project, holding rallies of townspeople and suggesting the idea in newspapers. The directors of the Flushing Railroad were willing to extend the line eastward past the Flushing terminal. On August 30, 1853, a corps of engineers and surveyors started a survey at Kissena Boulevard in Flushing and passing south of Alley Pond. At the end of the preliminary survey, twenty-two miles had been covered with three or four possible lines laid out. However, by the end of 1853, the Flushing Railroad did not have the means to extend farther east. A map from 1854 shows that the railroad has planned to go all the way to Huntington, going through Roslyn, Oyster Bay and Cold Spring, on the north shore of Long Island.[2][3] Another attempt, this time in Manhasset, to extend the line eastward took place in 1856 yielding nothing. In 1859, wealthy estate owners in Bayside, Great Neck, and Manhasset began to discuss the feasibility of extending the line to Glen Cove.
In 1857, it fell into the hands of a receiver, and it was sold under foreclosure the following year. The company was reorganized on March 22, 1859 as the New York and Flushing Railroad when Oliver Charlick took over the railroad,[4] which had fallen into a state of disrepair and whose quality of service had deteriorated. The railroad has observed the Sabbath and had no trains operating on Sunday, but this changed after the takeover by Charlick when service on Sunday was instituted on June 18, 1859, and the outrage of the local communities. The residents of Flushing convinced the LIRR to incorporate the Flushing and Woodside Railroad on February 24, 1864 to build a competing branch to Flushing – Bridge Street and to Whitestone.[5][6] The line was intended to use the LIRR tracks from Hunter's Point to Woodside, where it would branch off and then run parallel to Jackson Avenue to Flushing, providing a more direct route th an the New York and Flushing Railroad's. Work on the project begun in 1864, however, not much progress was made over the next three years because of legal problems in securing the right-of-way.[7] Despite service complaints, New York and Flushing established a subsidiary called the North Shore Railroad of Long Island in 1866 which extended the line from Flushing to Great Neck[8] Unfortunately, when the line was about half completed, the NY&F realized that they could not survive the competition, and sold their line (and their lease on the North Shore Railroad of Long Island.[9]) to the LIRR in the spring of 1867.[2] The LIRR benefitted by preventing the South Side Railroad from using the New York and Flushing access to the LIRR's Long Island City terminal, and by keeping the North Side Railroad from extending east to Huntington in competition with the LIRR.[10] The LIRR also stopped construction on the incomplete Flushing and Woodside as it felt that the Flushing and Woodside Railroad would end up being a direct competitor to the LIRR. Charlick's intention was to revitalize the NY&F and to run a profitable service to Flushing without any competition.[11][2][12]The New York & Flushing Railroad was operated as a branch, from Hunter's Point to Flushing.
Rather than just abandoning their road, however, in 1868, the directors and stockholders of the Flushing and Woodside Railroad elected a new president, Elizur B. Hinsdale, and, on April 3, 1868, reorganized the company as the Flushing and North Side Railroad.[6]
The charter of the new railroad authorized the building of a line from Hunter's Point through Flushing and on to Roslyn, with a line branching off at Flushing to College Point and Whitestone.
Once Charlick and the LIRR saw that the Woodside and Flushing line's route was not dead after all, and that the cost of rehabilitating the New York and Flushing would be extremely expensive, he decided to sell the NY&F, including its subsidiary the North Shore RR extension to Great Neck, to the new Flushing & North Side Railroad.
The sale was completed on August 11, 1868. The Flushing and North Side immediately took over the operation of the NY&F; however it was their intent to dispose of the portion from Hunter's Point to Winfield via Maspeth and quickly build a new line from Winfield to Hunter's Point through Woodside to Winfield which would run parallel to, and immediately north of, the LIRR ROW. Construction of the Whitestone line was also given a high priority. However, the completion of the Woodside and Flushing's original ROW was temporarily put on the back-burner - in fact this line would not finally open for service until April 27, 1874!
In April 1869 Conrad Poppenheusen became president of the NS&F and, under his leadership, both the Hunter's Point to Winfield and the Whitestone lines opened by that November.
A group of wealthy College Point and Whitestone citizens, feeling they had been tricked by the LIRR, convinced wealthy residents of College Point and Whitestone, including Conrad Poppenhusen, bought out the stock of the old Flushing and Woodside Railroad and set out to complete the line. The construction of the line was done under the name of the Flushing and North Side Railroad, which was incorporated in 1868.
This company had the right to build a line from Long Island City to Flushing and beyond to Roslyn, with a branch from Flushing to Whitestone.
The group gained control of the unfinished Flushing and Woodside Railroad, and opened its line to Flushing, paralleling the LIRR from Long Island City to Woodside, in 1868[13] and to College Point and Whitestone on November 27, 1869.[14][15] This new line attracted most of the traffic from the older New York and Flushing, and the LIRR wanted to get rid of its Flushing branch.
In 1869, the state legislature authorized the Flushing and North Side to buy the New York and Flushing east of the LIRR crossing at Winfield;[14] connections were built by the Flushing and North Side at Woodside/Winfield and Flushing to connect its lines. The Haberman to Winfield portion of the New York and Flushing line was abandoned and a new right-of-way through Woodside was built. The New York and Flushing continued to own the line west of Winfield, and the Hunter's Point to Haberman portion soon became the South Side Railroad's access to Long Island City.
The Flushing and Woodside was merged into the Flushing and North Side in 1871, and its line was abandoned in favor of the ex-New York and Flushing line.[16][17] The line was extended to Whitestone Landing in 1883 by the Whitestone and Westchester Railroad Company, having been consolidated with the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad in 1874, before it was built.[18]
References
[edit]http://www.thethirdrail.net/0103/reif10.html
http://www.dunton.org/archive/LongIslandRailroad.htm
http://www.lirrhistory.com/F%26NSRR.html
http://arrts-arrchives.com/fnsrr.html
http://digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org/vital/access/services/Download/aql:336/SOURCE1?view=true
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1854" (PDF). (79.1 KiB), March 2005 Edition
- ^ a b c "Flushing". www.lirrhistory.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "Reports of the Committee and Engineer on the Preliminary Survey of the North Side Railroad". lirrhistory.com. 1854. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1859" (PDF). (60.9 KiB), March 2005 Edition
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1864" (PDF). (109 KiB), June 2004 Edition
- ^ a b "FLUSHING & WOODSIDE R. R." www.arrts-arrchives.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "The Flushing and North Side RR". lirrhistory.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1866" (PDF). (89.2 KiB), June 2004 Edition
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1866" (PDF). (89.2 KiB), June 2004 Edition
- ^ PRR Chronology 1867 (June 2004 edition)
- ^ Ron Ziel and George H. Foster, Steel Rails to the Sunrise, ©1965
- ^ Peter Ross, A History of Long Island From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, History of the Long Island Railroad, 1903
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1868" (PDF). (93.8 KiB), June 2004 Edition
- ^ a b "PRR Chronology, 1869" (PDF). (114 KiB), June 2004 Edition
- ^ "NEW RAILROAD ENTERPRISE.; Opening of the New-York, Flushing and North Side Railroad to Whitestone--Excursion, Dinner Speeches Procession, &c". query.nytimes.com. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- ^ Peter Ross, A History of Long Island From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, History of the Long Island Railroad, 1903
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1871" (PDF). (72.9 KiB), January 2005 Edition
- ^ "LIRR History Part 1 - Page 10". www.thethirdrail.net. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
Bay Ridge Branch
[edit]
| Bay Ridge Branch | |
|---|---|
 In Boro Park | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Active |
| Owner | Long Island Rail Road |
| Locale | Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Termini |
|
| Stations | 8 |
| Service | |
| Type | Switching and Terminal |
| System | Long Island Rail Road |
| Operator(s) | New York New Jersey Rail |
| History | |
| Opened | 1876 |
| Technical | |
| Number of tracks | 1-2 |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in New York City. It is the longest freight-only line of the LIRR, connecting the Montauk Branch and CSX Transportation's Fremont Secondary (to the Hell Gate Bridge) at Glendale, Queens with the Upper New York Bay at Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Car float service provided by New York New Jersey Rail operates between Greenville Yard at Greenville, New Jersey and the 51st Street Yard at the Bay Ridge end of the line.[1]
Description of route
[edit]The right-of-way is between 66 and 145 feet wide.[2]
History
[edit]
The first part of the line was opened by the New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica Railroad in 1876, from Bay Ridge to the crossing of the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad near New Utrecht.[3] An extension from New Utrecht east and northeast to New Lots opened in 1877, and at the same time the New York and Manhattan Beach Railway opened the line from New Lots north to East New York.[4] An extension north from East New York to Cooper Avenue (and then northwest to Greenpoint, later the Evergreen Branch) opened in 1878,[5] and the Long Island City and Manhattan Beach Railroad (incorporated February 24, 1883, merged with the New York and Manhattan Beach and New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica into the New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach Railway August 27, 1885) built from Cooper Avenue north to the Montauk Branch at Glendale in 1883.[6]
Grade crossing eliminations
[edit]http://www.rapidtransit.net/gcbook/index.htm
https://research.library.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=nysh
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18229/18229-h/18229-h.htm
1878 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043895/
1903 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043863/
1904 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043591/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043627/
1905 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38650897/1905-mar-22-final-grade-crossing/
1907 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043698/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043773/
1909 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92043804/
1910 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92038848/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039088/new-york-tribune/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039115/
1917 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92041081/home-talk-the-item/#
Passenger service on the line ended in 1924.[7] The entire line was electrified, starting on July 8, 1927, for New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad freight trains coming off the New York Connecting Railroad (Hell Gate Bridge).[8]
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039514/
Electrified to comply with State law
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039544/
In 1955, 263,471 freight cars used the line, of which 5% were LIRR freight shipments, and 95% were Pennsylvania Railroad and New Haven Railroad shipments. The LIRR received nothing in freight revenues, but was paid $649,936 in fees for the rail line's use.[9]
On March 19, 1957, the City Fusion Party urged the conversion of the Bay Ridge Branch into an express subway line connecting Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens to Manhattan. Rail service on the line would continue to Fresh Pond Junction and then run to Penn Station. The line would have offered transfers to the BMT West End Line and BMT Sea Beach Line at 62nd Street/New Utrecht Avenue station, the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line at Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College station, and to the BMT Canarsie Line and BMT Jamaica Line at Broadway Junction station. With the completion of the Narrows Bridge, it could be extended to Staten Island. The five-stop trip was estimated to take 40 minutes. The construction of the line was expected to be affordable since no new facilities would need to be installed on the already existing electrified rail line.[10] Fusion Party chairman Jack Padawer said that the few freight trains that used the line could be shifted to run overnight.[11]
Plans to build over rail line 1963
Flatbush 1962 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039304/
Flatbush 1963 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039277/
1965 PRR
Electric operation ended on December 31, 1968.[citation needed]
On April 13, 1973, a trial run was made for an overland freight line to connect Brooklyn to the mainland.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89670209/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89669931/daily-news/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89670006/daily-news/
1974 clean up bay ridge line
1983 upgrades to line
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89669429/daily-news/
In February 1984, the New York State Department of Transportation said that the LIRR was negotiating to buy the Bay Ridge Branch from Conrail, which was eliminating branches it considered to be unprofitable or unnecessary. The LIRR believed that the line, which lost money for Conrail, could be profitable. $3 million to purchase the line and $4.2 million to rehabilitate the line, including raising bridges or lowering tracks, would come out of a $1.25 billion transportation bond issue passed by voters in November 1983. The Bay Ridge Branch carried 1,500 carloads of freight a year.[12]
In May 1984, the LIRR reached an agreement to purchase the Bay Ridge Branch from Conrail for $2.9 million. The money was provided by the New York State Department of Transportation using funds set aside in an infrastructure bond issue approved by voters in 1983. The line was scheduled to receive clearance improvements and be rehabilitated as part of the state's rail freight program. The LIRR was expected to assume the freight operation in July. The branch's purchase gave the LIRR a direct connection to the New York Cross Harbor Railroad's car float operation, allowing rail cars going from New Jersey to Long Island to but put on barges instead of using a longer route via land. The industries along the branch were expected to add 12,000 to 15,000 of carloads of freight to the LIRR's traffic.[13]
In May 1986, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority began soliciting expressions of interest from developers for projects to make use of the rail line's development rights.[2]
1994 report CBT
https://www.irum.org/199406_CBT_BQ_RailLink_report.pdf
1996 3rd Regional Plan
2005-2006 improvements
http://02d8d4f.netsolhost.com/track/freight/newyork-and-atlantic-bay-ridge
2007 ridership modeling 76,000 nYers, including 32,000 diverting from other modes of transit
https://web.archive.org/web/20070702034520/http://frumin.net/ation/2007/06/le_triboro_rx.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20070705094057/http://transit.frumin.net/trx/Demand_Model#Route_Choice
https://web.archive.org/web/20090512155739/http://transit.frumin.net/trx/TriboroRX
https://web.archive.org/web/20090511042311/http://transit.frumin.net/trx/Data_Sources
https://web.archive.org/web/20090511042103/http://transit.frumin.net/trx/Alignment
2008 capacity
https://capntransit.blogspot.com/2008/06/tribororx-is-capacity-there.html
2008 fencing
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92039230/
2008 Elliot Sander
https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/mta-director-calls-for-ambitious-expansion/
2012 Scott Stringer
2013, 2015-2034 TYNA
https://new.mta.info/document/11976
2013 BRT
https://gothamist.com/news/how-about-a-subway-linking-brooklyn-queens-the-bronx-without-manhattan
2014 crossboro
https://www.design.upenn.edu/city-regional-planning/graduate/work/cross-rail-report
2014 air rights sale
http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/pdf/peg/14PEGQ4.pdf
2017 Overbuild RFP
https://bklyner.com/mta-releases-rfp-residential-development-61st-street-freight-rail-tracks/
2019 bill
https://citylimits.org/2019/06/19/call-to-study-new-transit-line-linking-bronx-queens-and-brooklyn/
2019 freight
https://thebridgebk.com/will-brooklyns-freight-trains-get-rolling-again/
2019 study
https://www.brooklynpaper.com/mta-eyeing-billion-dollar-passenger-train-through-southern-brooklyn/
2020 start of study
https://gothamist.com/news/mta-considering-new-train-line-connecting-bay-ridge-astoria
https://new.mta.info/mta-construction-development-president-janno-lieber-participates-real
2021
Federal money
2022 plan State of the State Hochul, 40 minutes end to end Interborough Express, begin environmental review
Stations
[edit]The following passenger stations once existed on the line:[14]
| Station | Date opened |
Date closed |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Ridge | 1893 | May 14, 1924 | Connection to 65th Street Yard |
| Third Avenue | June 2, 1883 | May 14, 1924 | |
| Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad Crossing | June 2, 1883 | 1894 | Crossing with the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad |
| Parkville | June 2, 1883 | 1884 | Connection to the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad[15] |
| Manhattan Beach Junction | 1884 | 1915 | Former junction with the Manhattan Beach Branch |
| Kings County Central Junction | June 29, 1878 | late 1878 | |
| Vanderveer Park | 1878 | May 14, 1924 | Originally Flatlands |
| Kouwenhoven | July 18, 1877 | May 14, 1924 | |
| Rugby | 1888 | May 14, 1924 | Originally Ford's Corners |
| New Lots Road | July 18, 1877 | 1897 | |
| East New York | July 18, 1877 | May 14, 1924 | Junction with Atlantic Branch Originally Manhattan Crossing |
| Bushwick Avenue | July 18, 1877 | 1897 | Originally Central Avenue |
| Cooper Avenue Junction | May 16, 1878 | May 1882 | Junction with Evergreen Branch |
| Cypress Avenue | 1888 | May 14, 1924 | Originally Dummy Crossing, then Ridgewood |
| Myrtle Avenue | May 16, 1878 | 1924 | |
| Bushwick Junction | June 2, 1883 | 1894 | Junction with Lower Montauk Branch Originally Fresh Pond Continues as New York Connecting Railroad |
Proposals
[edit]
A proposed Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel from New Jersey to Brooklyn would use the Bay Ridge Branch to reach the rest of Long Island, with the line upgraded to double-stack clearances.
Another proposal would have the New York City Subway use the tracks to link Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx via the Hell Gate Bridge.[16] In 1996 the Regional Plan Association conducted a study to determine the feasibility of the rail link.[17] Based on Paris's RER commuter rail system, the Triboro RX proposal would create a loop around the city. It was first proposed by the Regional Plan Association in 1996. The proposed line, discussion of which was revived in 2012, would connect to all non-shuttle subway services.[18] Obstacles for the proposal include the proposed Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel, the lack of electrification on the line, and the single-tracking in some parts of the line. Additionally, there is debate on where the line's northern terminus would be: some, including MoveNY[19] plan it to end at Hunts Point,[16] while others suggest it end at Yankee Stadium.[18]
http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/eny.html
http://www.oldnyc.com/crossbrooklyn/contents/crossbklyn.html
http://www.oldnyc.com/bayridge/contents/bayridge.html
http://www.trainsarefun.com/nycrr/nycrr2001.htm
http://www.trainsarefun.com/nycrr/nycrr.htm
http://www.trainsarefun.com/nycrr/nycrr2.htm
http://www.trainsarefun.com/nycrr/nycrr3.htm
http://rapidtransit.net/net/gcbook/index.htm
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ http://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/us-ports-set-receive-millions-improve-freight-fluidity_20160706.html
- ^ a b "Brooklyn Development Opportunities Requests for Expressions of Interest". New York Daily News. May 4, 1986. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1876" (PDF). (116 KiB), April 2005 Edition
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1877" (PDF). (156 KiB), April 2005 Edition
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1878" (PDF). (126 KiB), June 2006 Edition
- ^ Interstate Commerce Commission, Valuation Report, New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach Archived June 26, 2002, at archive.today
- ^ "INVENTORY OF DECKING OPPORTUNITIES OVER TRANSPORTATION PROPERTIES Final Report: 6.2: TRANSIT AND RAILROAD OPEN CUTS: BROOKLYN" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ^ "PRR Chronology, 1927" (PDF). (100 KiB), July 2004 Edition
- ^ "Local RR Line Nets Peanuts". Bay Ridge Home Reporter. April 2, 1957. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "LIRR Branch Urged as Fast Subway Line". New York Daily News. March 20, 1957. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Ask Link Ridge R.R. To Subway System". Brooklyn Record. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "LIRR Seeks to Buy Line". Newsday. February 15, 1984. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ "LIRR Paying $2.9 Million For Conrail Freight Line". Newsday. May 6, 1984. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
- ^ "Bay Ridge line". lirrhistory.com.
- ^ Manhattan Beach Division Timetable; June 1884 (TrainsAreFun)
- ^ a b "How About A Subway Linking Brooklyn, Queens & The Bronx WITHOUT Manhattan?". Gothamist. August 22, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ Third Regional Plan Summary Archived July 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "The surprising return of the three-borough 'X line' subway - Capital New York". capitalnewyork.com.
- ^ MoveNY home page
External links
[edit]
- A visual tour of the line
- Additional images and commentary
- History of the proposals for conversion to mass transit
- Study and proposal for integration within NYC subway system
- Proposal for cross harbor freight tunnel
| Main routes |   | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branch services | |||||
| Freight operations |
| ||||
| Defunct branches | |||||
| Acquired railroads | |||||
| Other | |||||
Category:Rail infrastructure in New York (state) Category:Rail freight transportation in New York City Category:Long Island Rail Road branches Category:Transportation in Brooklyn Category:Transportation in Queens, New York Category:Standard gauge railways in the United States Category:Railway lines opened in 1876