Rockaway (carriage)

Last updated
A Rockaway carriage at a museum in Illinois Rockaway carriage1.jpg
A Rockaway carriage at a museum in Illinois

Rockaway is a term applied to two types of carriage: a light, low, United States four-wheel carriage with a fixed top and open sides that may be covered by waterproof curtains, and a heavy carriage enclosed at sides and rear, with a door on each side. The name may be derived from the town of Rockaway, New Jersey, where carriages were originally made. [1] It is featured in Melville's short story "Bartleby" as the narrator's mode of transport while avoiding the landlords and tenants looking for help in kicking Bartleby out.

Carriage Generally horse-drawn means of transport

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters (palanquins) and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use, though some are also used to transport goods. A public passenger vehicle would not usually be called a carriage – terms for such include stagecoach, charabanc and omnibus. It may be light, smart and fast or heavy, large and comfortable or luxurious. Carriages normally have suspension using leaf springs, elliptical springs or leather strapping. Working vehicles such as the (four-wheeled) wagon and (two-wheeled) cart share important parts of the history of the carriage, as does too the fast (two-wheeled) chariot.

Rockaway, New Jersey Borough in New Jersey, United States

Rockaway is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 6,438, reflecting a decline of 35 (-0.5%) from the 6,473 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 230 (+3.7%) from the 6,243 counted in the 1990 Census.

But the Long Island Museum of Art, American History and Carriages, located in Stony Brook, New York, has a different explanation of the name. According to the Museum, the carriage was designed and built in Jamaica, Queens—a major hub for New York City residents traveling to Long Island for recreation—and was called the Rockaway because it was used to shuttle passengers between Jamaica and the Atlantic Ocean beaches of Long Island's Rockaway Peninsula.

Stony Brook, New York Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States

Stony Brook is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Begun in the colonial era as an agricultural enclave, the hamlet experienced growth first as a resort town and then to its current state as one of Long Island's major tourist towns and centers of education. Despite being referred to as a village by residents and tourists alike, Stony Brook has never been legally incorporated by the state. The population was 13,740 at the 2010 census.

Jamaica, Queens Neighborhood of Queens in New York City

Jamaica is a middle-class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 12, which also includes Hollis, St. Albans, Springfield Gardens, Baisley Pond Park, Rochdale Village, and South Jamaica. The NYPD's 103rd, 113th & 105th Precincts patrol Jamaica.

New York City Largest city in the United States

The City of New York, often called New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2017 population of 8,622,698 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 20,320,876 people in its 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 23,876,155 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

Related Research Articles

Long Island Rail Road commuter rail service in Long Island, New York

The Long Island Rail Road, often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average weekday ridership of 354,800 passengers in 2016, it is the busiest commuter railroad in North America. It is also one of the world's few commuter systems that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round. It is publicly owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which refers to it as MTA Long Island Rail Road.

Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge bridge in New York

The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge in New York City is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard from Broad Channel in Jamaica Bay to the Rockaway Peninsula, and is located in Queens.

Atlantic Branch

The Atlantic Branch is an electrified rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It is the only LIRR line that runs in the borough of Brooklyn.

Atlantic Terminal

Atlantic Terminal is the westernmost stop on the Long Island Rail Road's (LIRR) Atlantic Branch, located at Flatbush Avenue and Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It is the primary terminal for the Far Rockaway, Hempstead, and West Hempstead Branches. The terminal is located in the City Terminal Zone, the LIRR's Zone 1, and thus part of the CityTicket program.

Broad Channel (IND Rockaway Line) New York City Subway station in Queens, New York

Broad Channel is a station on the IND Rockaway Line of the New York City Subway, located in the neighborhood of the same name at Noel and West Roads in the borough of Queens. It is served by the A train and the Rockaway Park Shuttle at all times, the latter of which originates/terminates here.

Far Rockaway 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 New York City. LIRR maps and schedules indicate that the Far Rockaway Branch service continues west along the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica. This two-track branch provides all day service in both directions to the Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, with limited weekday peak service to/from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. During peak hours, express service may bypass Jamaica station.

Far Rockaway station (LIRR) railway station

Far Rockaway is the terminus of the Long Island Rail Road's Far Rockaway Branch in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The station is located at Nameoke Street and Redfern Avenue, and is 23.0 miles (37 km) from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, and mean travel time is 56 minutes, although most off-peak trains terminate at Atlantic Terminal, thus requiring a transfer for service to Penn Station.

Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue (IND Rockaway Line) New York City Subway station in Queens, New York

Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue is the eastern terminal station on the New York City Subway's IND Rockaway Line. Originally a Long Island Rail Road station, it is currently the easternmost station on the New York City Subway. It is served by the A train at all times.

Montauk Branch

The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. However, in LIRR maps and schedules for public use the term Montauk Branch refers to the line east of Babylon; the line west of there is covered by Babylon Branch schedules to Jamaica.

Island Park station station of the Long Island Rail Road

Island Park is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Long Beach Branch serving the residents of Island Park, Barnum Island, and Harbor Isle. It is the penultimate station on the branch. The station can platform a 12-car train and is fully wheelchair accessible with ramps from street level. Parking facilities are also available. Southwest of the station the train crosses over Reynolds Channel.

The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, operating in Queens. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways. The A train serves the line on the Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue branch and north of Hammels Wye. The Rockaway Park Shuttle runs between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street. Five rush hour A trains provide service between Rockaway Park and Manhattan in the peak direction.

The South Side Railroad of Long Island was a railroad company in the U.S. state of New York. Chartered in 1860 and first opened in 1867 as a competitor to the Long Island Rail Road, it was reorganized in 1874 as the Southern Railroad of Long Island and leased in 1876 to the LIRR. After a reorganization as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879 it was merged in 1889.

Cedarhurst Cut-off

The Cedarhurst Cut-off was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The line split from the LIRR's Main Line at Rockaway Junction and ran south via Springfield Gardens and Cedarhurst and on to Far Rockaway. The part north of the crossing of the old Southern Railroad of Long Island at Springfield Junction is now part of the Montauk Branch, while the rest has been abandoned in favor of the ex-Southern Far Rockaway Branch.

Vincent F. Seyfried (1918-2012) was an American historian of Long Island. His work between 1950 and 2010 includes eleven books on trolley systems in Queens and Long Island, twelve books on areas of Queens, a seven-volume set on the Long Island Rail Road, and a history of the founding of Garden City, where he was Village Historian from 1987 to 2006. He provided many entries on Queens history for The Encyclopedia of New York City (1995).

The Raunt was a former Long Island Rail Road station on the Rockaway Beach Branch. It had no address and no station house, because it was meant strictly as a dropping-off point for fishermen using a small island in Jamaica Bay. The station was located 1300 feet west of signal station "ER", and near the WU Tower. It was named for the channel on the south side of the island where it stood.

Higbie Avenue was a railroad station along the Atlantic Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, in Queens, New York City. The station was located on 140th Avenue and Edgewood Avenue in the Springfield section of Queens, New York City between Locust Manor and Laurelton Stations.

Hammels was a Long Island Rail Road station on the Rockaway Beach Branch in Hammels, Queens. It was located at what is today Beach 84th Street at the west leg of the Hammels Wye.

Jamaica–Far Rockaway line

The Q111, Q113, and Q114 bus routes constitute a public transit line between the Jamaica and Far Rockaway neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States, running primarily along Guy R. Brewer Boulevard. The Q113 and Q114 provide limited-stop service between Jamaica and Far Rockaway, connecting two major bus-subway hubs, and crossing into Nassau County. The Q111 provides local service exclusively within Queens, with the exception of select rush-hour trips to or from Cedarhurst in Nassau County. Some of the last bus routes to be privately operated in the city, they are currently operated by the MTA Bus Company brand of MTA Regional Bus Operations. The Q113 and Q114 are one of the few public transit options between the Rockaway peninsula and "mainland" New York City.

References

  1. "Rockaway". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 27 August 2013.