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
Ridership4,095,562 (annual ridership, 2022)
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
Queens
5.0 mi
8 km
Mott
)
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
Lower Montauk Branch
This diagram:

The Far Rockaway Branch is an

Penn Station, both in Midtown Manhattan
.

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.[4]
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)

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

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

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

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] Location Station
Lower Montauk Branch[1]
 Date
opened 		Date
closed 		Connections and notes
3 Locust Manor, Queens Locust Manor 12.2 (19.6) 1869
QM21
Springfield Gardens, Queens Higbie Avenue 1908 1960
Laurelton, Queens Laurelton 13.1 (21.1) 1907[12] New York City Bus:
Q85
Rosedale, Queens Rosedale 14.0 (22.5) 1870[13] New York City Bus:
X63
4 Valley Stream Valley Stream Disabled access 16.1 (25.9) 1869[13]
n1
, Elmont Flexi
Zone Location Station
Miles (km)
from Valley Junction[1]
 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[13] Nassau Inter-County Express:
n32

Originally named Cedar Grove, then Hewletts
Woodmere Woodmere Disabled access 2.3 (3.7) 1869[13] Nassau Inter-County Express:
n32
Cedarhurst Cedarhurst Disabled access 3.2 (5.1) 1869 Nassau Inter-County Express:
n32
Lawrence Lawrence Disabled access 4.0 (6.4) 1869[13] Nassau Inter-County Express:
n32
Inwood Inwood Disabled access 4.4 (7.1) 1905 Nassau Inter-County Express:
n32

Originally named Westville
Far Rockaway, Queens Far Rockaway (Nameoke Street) Disabled access 5.0 (8.0) 1958[8] New York City Subway:
QM17
  Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue 1869[13] 1958[8] 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

  1. ^ a b c Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. VII. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  2. ^ MTA LIRR - LIRR Map
  3. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ 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.
  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. ^ Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ 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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