Far Rockaway Branch

Last updated

Far Rockaway Branch
LIRR Train 2820 leaves Cedarhurst.jpg
Far Rockaway Branch train 2820 departing Cedarhurst Station.
Overview
StatusOperational
Owner Long Island Rail Road
Locale Queens and Nassau County, New York, US
Termini
  • Valley Stream
  • Far Rockaway
Stations11
Service
Type Commuter rail
System Long Island Rail Road
Services
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 gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification Third rail,  750 V DC
Route map
Far Rockaway Branch
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9.3 mi
15 km
Jamaica
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12.2 mi
19.6 km
Locust Manor
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13.1 mi
21.1 km
Laurelton
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14.0 mi
22.5 km
Rosedale
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16.1 mi
25.9 km
Valley Stream
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16.2 mi
0.0 mi
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0.8 mi
1.3 km
Gibson
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1.7 mi
2.7 km
Hewlett
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2.3 mi
3.7 km
Woodmere
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3.2 mi
5.1 km
Cedarhurst
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4.0 mi
6.4 km
Lawrence
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4.4 mi
7.1 km
Inwood
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5.0 mi
8 km
Far Rockaway
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Distances shown from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch

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[ clarification needed ] New York City. LIRR maps and schedules indicate that the Far Rockaway Branch service continues west along the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica, [2] [3] from where it can reach either Grand Central Madison or Penn Station, both in Midtown Manhattan.

Contents

History

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. Rockaway Branches.jpg
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.
LIRR train at the existing terminus in Far Rockaway. LIRR M7 7508 Far Rockaway.jpg
LIRR train at the existing terminus in Far Rockaway.

Opening

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. [5] :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

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. [5] :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. [6]

In 1908, the line between Cedarhurst and Far Rockaway was triple-tracked. [7] :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

Until 1950 trains from Penn Station could leave the Main Line at Whitepot Junction ( 40°43′31″N73°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″N73°50′36″W / 40.6871°N 73.8433°W / 40.6871; -73.8433 ) to the Hammels Wye at 40°35′29″N73°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.[ clarification needed ] 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. [8] Most Queens stations along the former Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches reopened as subway stations on June 28, 1956, [9] the exception being Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue station, which was split between the NYCTA and LIRR on January 16, 1958. [10]

Recent changes

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

West of Locust Manor, most trips go on to terminate at Grand Central or Penn Station, while some late night trains terminate at Jamaica. [3] 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 [11] LocationStation Miles (km)
from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch [12]
Date
opened
Date
closed
Connections and notes
3 Locust Manor, Queens Locust Manor 12.2 (19.6)1869 New York City Bus: Q3 , Q85 , Q89 , QM21
Springfield Gardens, Queens Higbie Avenue 19081960
Laurelton, Queens Laurelton 13.1 (21.1)1907 [13] New York City Bus: Q77 , Q85 , Q89
Rosedale, Queens Rosedale Wheelchair symbol.svg 14.0 (22.5)1870 [14] New York City Bus: Q5 , Q85 , Q86 , Q89 , QM63
4 Valley Stream Valley Stream Wheelchair symbol.svg 16.1 (25.9)1869 [14] Long Island Rail Road: Long Beach, West Hempstead branches
Nassau Inter-County Express: n1, Elmont Flexi
ZoneLocationStation Miles (km)
from Valley Junction [12]
Date
opened
Date
closed
Connections and notes
4 Valley Stream Gibson Wheelchair symbol.svg 0.8 (1.3)1928Nassau Inter-County Express: n1
Hewlett Hewlett Wheelchair symbol.svg 1.7 (2.7)1869 [14] Nassau Inter-County Express: n1 , n31 , n32
Originally named Cedar Grove, then Hewletts
Woodmere Woodmere Wheelchair symbol.svg 2.3 (3.7)1869 [14] Nassau Inter-County Express: n31 , n31x , n32
Cedarhurst Cedarhurst Wheelchair symbol.svg 3.2 (5.1)1869Nassau Inter-County Express: n31 , n31x , n32
Lawrence Lawrence Wheelchair symbol.svg 4.0 (6.4)1869 [14] Nassau Inter-County Express: n31 , n31x , n32
Inwood Inwood Wheelchair symbol.svg 4.4 (7.1)1905Nassau Inter-County Express: n31 , n31x , n32
Originally named Westville
Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway (Nameoke Street) Wheelchair symbol.svg 5.0 (8.0)1958 [8] 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 [8] Now Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue subway station
Wavecrest 19281955Now Beach 25th Street subway station
Atlantic Park 1875No remains left
Edgemere, Queens Edgemere 18951955Now Beach 36th Street subway station
Frank Avenue 19221955Now Beach 44th Street subway station
Arverne, Queens Arverne–Straiton Avenue 18921955Now Beach 60th Street subway station
Arverne–Gaston Avenue 18881955Originally named Arverne, now Beach 67th Street subway station
Rockaway Beach, Queens Hammels 18801941Replaced the Eldert's Grove station (1872-1887)
Holland 18801955Now Beach 90th Street subway station
Playland 19031955Now Beach 98th Street subway station
Seaside 18801955Now Beach 105th Street subway station
Rockaway Park, Queens Rockaway Park 18821955Originally named Rockaway Beach, now Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street subway station

References

  1. "2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT". mta.info. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  2. MTA LIRR - LIRR Map
  3. 1 2 LIRR Far Rockaway Branch Timetable
  4. "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
  5. 1 2 Ron Ziel and George H. Foster, Steel Rails to the Sunrise, 1965
  6. LIRR Station History Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "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.
  8. 1 2 3 "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.
  9. Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today" (PDF). The New York Times . Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  10. "New Subway Unit Ready: Far Rockaway IND Terminal Will Be Opened Today" (PDF). The New York Times . January 16, 1958. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  11. "New Fares — Effective April 21, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority . Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  12. 1 2
  13. Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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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