Stations
The entire line was abandoned in 1876.
| White Line (LIRR) | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Status | Abandoned |
| Locale | Western Queens County, New York |
| Termini |
|
| Stations | 8 |
| Service | |
| Type | Passenger and Freight |
| Operator(s) | Long Island Rail Road |
| History | |
| Opened | November 10, 1873 |
| Closed | April 17, 1876 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The White Line was a short-lived branch of the Long Island Rail Road in western Queens County, New York. Officially known as the Newtown and Flushing Railroad, the line was chartered in 1871, but was only in service from 1873 to 1876.
In the first two decades of its existence, the Long Island Rail Road enjoyed a monopoly of rail service on Long Island. This came to an end in the early-1850s when competition came in the form of the Flushing Railroad, which ran along the north shore of Queens County, New York. In 1859, the FRR became the New York and Flushing Railroad, but as they attempted to expand into eastern Queens (now Nassau County, New York) and service declined, the LIRR decided to buy out the NY&F in 1867, and to build an additional Woodside Branch. The Woodside Branch, which was chartered under the subsidiary Flushing and Woodside Railroad was never finished, and northern Queens residence felt betrayed by the purchase of the NY&F. Therefore they convinced wealthy residents to buy the former railroads from the LIRR and chartered the Flushing and North Side Railroad as its replacement. Still seeking to compete with the F&NS for customers on the north shore of Queens, the LIRR chartered a subsidiary called the Newtown and Flushing Railroad on March 8, 1871. [1] Due to the bright white passenger cars used on the line, it was nicknamed the White Line. [2]
The service began at the original Hunter's Point station, today's Long Island City station and ran along the main line through Woodside Station. Southeast of Winfield Junction it split off between the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road) and what is today the Port Washington Branch. Running on a separate right-of-way south of the Port Washington Branch and north of the Main Line, it had its own Newtown Station, then the line curved northeast where it had a station for Corona called Corona Park station, then passed through the southern end of Great Neck Junction, where the Central Railroad of Long Island branched off to head towards Garden City, Bethpage and Babylon. Finally, the line ended along the south side of the Flushing and North Side main line at Flushing station. After the Flushing and North Side and the Central Railroad of Long Island were consolidated into the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad in 1874, which itself was later merged into the LIRR in 1876, the LIRR no longer saw any need for the White Line and it was abandoned. Horsecars replaced the trains until 1880, and the depots were destroyed either before or after being moved to other lines.
Few traces remain of the White Line today. One vestige of the line's existence is the alignment of Justice Avenue in Elmhurst, which roughly follows the White Line's path. [3] [4]
The entire line was abandoned in 1876.
The Woodside station is a station on the Main Line and Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), located in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens in New York City. It is the first station passed by eastward trains from Penn Station and Grand Central Madison, and it is the only station in Queens shared by the Port Washington Branch and other LIRR branches. East of Woodside the two-track Port Washington Branch turns eastward, while the four-track Main Line continues southeast to Jamaica station.
The Port Washington Branch is an electrified two-track rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction station, just east of the Woodside station in the New York City borough of Queens, and runs roughly parallel to Northern Boulevard past Mets-Willets Point, Flushing, Murray Hill, Broadway, Auburndale, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, and then crosses into Nassau County for stops in Great Neck, Manhasset, and Plandome before terminating at Port Washington.
Bayside is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch in the Bayside neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The station is located at 213th Street and 41st Avenue, off Bell Boulevard and just north of Northern Boulevard, and is 12.6 miles (20.3 km) from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. The station is part of CityTicket.
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.
The Whitestone Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road, running north and east along the left bank of the Flushing River from the Port Washington Branch near the modern Willets Point/Flushing sections of Queens, New York. It crossed the river on one of the three bridges that were later torn down for the Van Wyck Expressway, then ran north along Flushing Bay and east along the East River to Whitestone.
The Long Island Rail Road is a railroad owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the U.S. state of New York. It is the oldest United States railroad still operating under its original name and charter. It consolidated several other companies in the late 19th century. The Pennsylvania Railroad owned the Long Island Rail Road for the majority of the 20th century and sold it to the State in 1966.
Garden City is one of five stations of the Long Island Rail Road that serves the village of Garden City, New York. It is on the Hempstead Branch and is at Seventh Street between Hilton and Cathedral Avenues, directly across the street from the Garden City Hotel. It is one of the few Long Island Rail Road stations with two station houses.
The Bethpage Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), running from the present-day split between the Ronkonkoma Branch and Central Branch north about 1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) to present-day Old Bethpage, New York.
The Creedmoor Branch was the name of a short branch that the Long Island Rail Road gave to the right of way of tracks between its Floral Park station and Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York. The branch existed from 1879 to 1966 finally being torn up and demapped in the early 1970s.
The Bushwick Branch, also called the Bushwick Lead Track, is a freight railroad branch in New York City. It runs from Bushwick in Brooklyn to Fresh Pond Junction in Glendale, Queens, where it connects with the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is owned by the LIRR but operated under lease by the New York and Atlantic Railway, which took over LIRR freight operations in May 1997.
Winfield Junction is a junction between the Main Line and Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in the Woodside section of Queens, New York City. Between 1854 and 1929, a station of the same name stood on this site.
Penny Bridge was a station along the Long Island Rail Road's Lower Montauk Branch that runs from Long Island City to Jamaica, Queens, in the state of New York. During its existence, the station served local industry as well as the Calvary Cemetery. Before the Kosciuszko Bridge was built, it also served businesses on the Brooklyn side of Newtown Creek prior to the closure and removal of the bridge.
The Elmhurst station was a station of the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It was located on Broadway between Cornish and Whitney Avenues in the Elmhurst section of Queens, New York City. In 2014, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) had proposed to rebuild the station. As of 2023, only a preliminary design study is funded, with construction being considered for a future MTA capital program.
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.
The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Long Island in 1874 to form the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, and was finally acquired by the Long Island Rail Road in 1876. Today the main line is known as the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road.
Grand Street was a railroad station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It stood on Grand Street in the Elmhurst section of Queens, New York City, west of the present Grand Avenue – Newtown subway station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line. Though it was only operational for 12 years, it served both the Main Line and the Rockaway Beach Branch which broke away from the main line in Rego Park.
The Ocean Electric Railway was a street car line that operated on The Rockaways. It ran parallel to parts of the Rockaway Beach Branch and Far Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. The headquarters of the OER were at the Far Rockaway Long Island Rail Road station which was then located across Mott Avenue from the existing Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue subway station. The Office of Superintendent - Trolleys at that location managed all the LIRR's owned trolley operations.
Maspeth station was a stop along the original New York & Flushing Railroad that opened on January 15, 1855. Maspeth station was located at Covert Avenue, now 58th Street, at Joy Street, now 54th Drive. So far as is known, there was no depot building. This station was discontinued very early on, probably in 1858. The segment between what was to become the former Laurel Hill station and Winfield station, was abandoned for passenger service in 1875, including the location of the Maspeth station, and completely abandoned in 1880. Part of the right-of-way ran through what is today the Mount Zion Jewish Cemetery in Maspeth. 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.
Cedar Manor, originally named Power Place was a railroad station along the Atlantic Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, in Queens, New York City.
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