Montauk Branch

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox rail line 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 line runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City to Montauk.

In LIRR maps and schedules for public use, the term Montauk Branch is used only for the train service stopping at stations at Babylon and eastwards, some of which actually use the Main Line and Central Branch to and from Jamaica during peak hours.[1] Service along the physical Montauk Branch between Jamaica and Babylon is covered by the separate Babylon Branch service. The line west of Jamaica is currently unused for passenger service.[2]

Route description

Lower Montauk

File:Richmond Hill LIRR Lower Montauk branch in 2019.jpg
Lower Montauk Branch (defunct Richmond Hill station) in 2019

The westernmost portion of the Montauk Branch in Queens, known as the "Lower Montauk," runs between the Long Island City and Jamaica stations, mostly at street level with grade crossings. East of the Long Island City station, the abandoned Montauk Cutoff merges with the branch, after both cross Dutch Kills. The Lower Montauk Branch had nine stations, four of which were closed by 1940. The remaining five stations (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were closed on March 13, 1998,[3] due to low ridership and incompatibility with then-new C3 bi-level coach cars that can only use high platforms (only Richmond Hill had an actual platform; the other four stations' platforms were just pavement strips beside the tracks). After these stations closed, the LIRR continued to use the Lower Montauk to operate non-stop trains between Jamaica and Long Island City rather than divert them to the Main Line; there were only two such trains at the time of the 1998 station closures, one westbound in the morning, and one eastbound in the evening. These two trains were re-routed north to Hunterspoint Avenue in 2012, effectively ceasing passenger train service on the Lower Montauk. Soon after, full control of the Lower Montauk was transferred to the New York and Atlantic Railway for freight operations.[4][5]

The New York City Department of Transportation has periodically floated proposals to repurpose the Lower Montauk Branch for rapid transit operations. In 1984, the Department studied an option to connect the branch to the New York City Subway through a proposed connection to the IND 63rd Street Line in Long Island City.[6] This proposal was unpopular in the communities surrounding the branch.[7] In 2017, the Department studied a plan to operate light rail service on the Lower Montauk Branch.[8]

After Penn Station opened in 1910, the Lower Montauk became primarily a freight route, and when the present Jamaica station opened in 1913, the two Lower Montauk tracks continued past the south side of the station, south of Hall tower and the south Union Hall Street platform and on to Holban Yard. Those two tracks now carry trains to/from the Hillside Facility that has replaced Holban Yard; they can also carry nonstop Main Line trains past Jamaica station.

Babylon Branch service

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The portion between Jamaica and Babylon stations has been electrified since 1925, and electric trains to Babylon are often identified as a separate service, the Babylon Branch. It is grade-separated on embankments or elevated structures.

East from Jamaica the Montauk Branch runs between the Main Line tracks (with two usually westward Main Line tracks north of it and two eastward tracks south of it) until just west of Hillside Facility. At Template:Coord the Montauk Branch rises to cross above the other tracks and turns southeast.

At Template:Coord it swings parallel to the Atlantic Branch between its Laurelton and Rosedale stations. The Montauk Branch east of Jamaica is 0.7 mile longer than the Atlantic. The West Hempstead Branch diverges from the Montauk Branch just east of Valley Stream station, and an interlocking in the vicinity of that station allows movement to the Atlantic Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, and Long Beach Branch.

East of Babylon

From Babylon east to Montauk, diesel-electric or dual-mode electric/diesel-electric locomotives haul trains of passenger coaches. Some of the diesel trains on the Montauk Branch service begin or end their runs at Babylon station, connecting with electric trains there. Other Montauk diesel trains operate into New York City via the diesel-only Central Branch, joining the Main Line east of Bethpage station. Only a few actually run via the Montauk Branch west of Babylon, under normal conditions on the Main Line.

The Montauk Branch is double-tracked from just east of Long Island City (where there is a short segment of single track) all the way through Babylon, becoming single track at Y Interlocking east of the Sayville station. The terminal stations in diesel territory, east of Babylon, are Patchogue, Speonk, Southampton, and Montauk; South Fork Commuter Connection shuttles may short-turn at Hampton Bays and Amagansett.

The Montauk Line has heavy ridership and frequent service as far as Patchogue station and commuter service as far as Speonk station. In the summer, with travelers going out to The Hamptons, Fire Island and other beaches, additional service is operated to the far eastern terminal at Montauk, such as the Cannonball, a Friday afternoon train departing from Penn Station (originally Hunterspoint Avenue) and running non-stop to Westhampton station in Westhampton.

The Montauk Branch was home to the last tower in North America that regularly used "hooping" train operations: PD Tower, in Patchogue. "Hooping" is the transfer of instructions to the engineer and conductor by attaching the folded orders to the "hoop", a rod several feet long with a loop at the end that is passed from the ground to a moving train by catching the loop on one's arm. The last train to get hooped at PD was train 2730 on May 6, 2006.[9]

History

Currently, the Montauk Branch intersects with the Bushwick Branch, Bay Ridge Branch, West Hempstead Branch, and Central Branch, as well as the Main Line at Long Island City and Jamaica and the Atlantic Branch at Jamaica and Valley Stream; the Far Rockaway Branch and Long Beach Branch are connected via the Atlantic Branch at Valley Stream. In the past, junctions existed with the Rockaway Beach Branch (a quarter mile east of Woodhaven Boulevard), Southern Hempstead Branch (Valley Stream to Hempstead), Manorville Branch (Eastport to Manorville on the Main Line), and Sag Harbor Branch (Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor). In early times, the Scoot ran frequently between Greenport on the North Fork, "around the horn" on the Manorville Branch, and east to Sag Harbor. In their day, both of those villages were very busy, bustling ports.

Formation and early days: 1860s to 1925

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The South Side Railroad of Long Island built the line from Bushwick, Brooklyn to Patchogue in the 1860s, and completed the new line to Long Island City in 1870.[10] With the reorganization of the South Side as the Southern Railroad of Long Island in 1874 and its lease by the LIRR in 1876, this line became the Southern Railroad Division,[11] Southern Railroad of Long Island Division, or simply Southern Division.[12] Effective Sunday, June 25, 1876, all Southern Division passenger trains were rerouted to use the LIRR main line from Berlin Junction (west of Jamaica) to Rockaway Junction, and the LIRR's Rockaway Branch to Springfield Junction, where it crossed the Southern. This change resulted in the closure of the Southern's Berlin, Beaver Street (Jamaica), Locust Avenue, and Springfield stations.[13] The old line between Jamaica and Springfield, which became freight-only, was renamed the Old Southern Road.[14] The Southern was reorganized as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879,[15] and on March 14, 1880, the name was changed from the Southern Division to the Montauk Division.[16] Thus the old South Side Railroad, except between Jamaica and Springfield Junction, was now the Montauk Division.

The LIRR opened the Sag Harbor Branch, including the present Montauk Branch from Eastport to Bridgehampton, on June 8, 1870.[17] On July 27, 1881, after the South Side became part of the LIRR, its line – then the Montauk Division – was extended east to the Sag Harbor Branch at Eastport.[18] The Sag Harbor Branch east of Eastport became part of the Montauk Division,[19] and the old line from Manor (Manorville) to Eastport became the Manor Branch.[20] An extension to Montauk, splitting off the old Sag Harbor Branch at Bridgehampton, opened to Amagansett on June 1, 1895[21] and to Montauk by September,[22] and the line between Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor reverted to the old Sag Harbor Branch name.[23]

Babylon electrification: 1925 to present

Electrification of the Montauk Division from Jamaica to Babylon was completed on May 20, 1925,[24] and normal operation began the next day.[25] The Central Extension between Bethpage and Babylon was reopened for freight trains that had run via the Montauk Division.[15]

The Montauk station was initially near the center of a sleepy fishing village at the north end of Fort Pond (where Austin Corbin built a pier in his unsuccessful effort to have trans-Atlantic ships dock there.) The Great Hurricane of 1938 devastated the terminus area and tore up sections of the roadbed. The population center then moved two miles (3 km) to the south, away from the station.

In 1953, amid bankruptcy, the LIRR sought to abandon the Montauk branch east of Patchogue and operate bus service in its place. It cited low, predominantly non-commuter ridership and proximity to the Main Line, and potential savings of $450,000 per year, equal to $Template:Inflation today.[26] The Town of East Hampton protested this proposed closure, highlighting the potential for increased vehicular traffic due to lack of alternative means of travel,[26] and the line ultimately remained open.

1998 saw the closure of three lightly used stations: Center Moriches, Quogue, and Southampton College.[3] Bellport was also due to be closed at the same time, but was kept open and upgraded following community opposition.[27] Southampton College was temporarily reinstated for the 2004 and 2018 U.S. Open tournaments at the nearby Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, along with a steel walkway over Montauk Highway. At the conclusion of the tournament, the walkway was dismantled and the temporary platform was removed.

On April 16, 2019, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele announced that funding to design improvements on the Montauk Branch would likely be included in the 2019–2020 state budget. The funding would be used by the LIRR to design three passing sidings to be installed on the line in single-track territory between Speonk and Montauk. The installation of passing sidings would allow for increased service on the South Fork Commuter Connection. MTA President and CEO Pat Foye said that improvements to the Montauk Branch were identified in the LIRR's request for the MTA's Twenty-Year Needs Assessment.[28]

Stations

West Hempstead Branch trains split off at VALLEY interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. Babylon Branch trains terminate at Babylon, while Montauk Branch trains continue beyond. Many non-electric Montauk Branch trains that run express between Jamaica and Babylon run via the Main Line and Central Branch, with limited service to Template:Lirrs and Template:Lirrs stations.[1]

Zone[29] Location Services Station Miles (km) from
LIC via
Lower Montauk[30] 		Opened Closed Connections and notes
WH BB MT
1 Long Island City, Queens ●Template:Dagger Template:Lirrs Disabled access
(rush hours only) 		– 1854 Long Island Rail Road: Oyster Bay and Port Jefferson branches
NYC Subway: Template:NYCS time 2​ (at Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue)
MTA Bus: Template:NYC bus link
NYC Ferry East River Ferry
Template:Dagger Served by five peak round trip trains, one of which is Montauk train[1]
Template:Lirrs 1854 1998[3]
Template:Lirrs 1890Script error: No such module "Unsubst". 1900Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Maspeth, Queens Template:Lirrs 1892 1998[3]
Template:Lirrs 1895 Template:Circa
Template:Lirrs 1869 1998[3] Originally named Bushwick Junction
Glendale, Queens Template:Lirrs 1869 1998[3]
Template:Stn 1883 1924
Richmond Hill, Queens Template:Lirrs 1868 1998[3] Originally named Clarenceville
Template:Lirrs Template:Circa 1913 Part of the Morris Park Facility
Template:Lirrs 1869
1876 		1876
1939 		Originally named Van Wyck Avenue, then Berlin
3 Jamaica, Queens ● ● ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1836 Long Island Rail Road: Atlantic, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma branches
New York City Subway: Template:NYCS time 2​Template:NYCS br​Template:NYCS time 2Template:NYCS br​Template:NYCS time 2 (at Template:Stl)
New York City Bus: Template:NYC bus link
MTA Bus: Template:NYC bus link
Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
AirTrain JFK: Jamaica Station Route
Template:Lirrs Template:Circa 1976 Originally named New York Avenue
Template:Lirrs 1890[31] 1899
Template:Lirrs 1890[31] 1966
St. Albans, Queens ● Template:Lirrs Template:Convert 1898[32] New York City Bus: Template:NYC bus link
Originally named Locust Avenue[33]
Springfield Gardens, Queens Template:Lirrs 1870s 1979 Originally named Springfield
4 Valley Stream Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1869 Platform on Atlantic Branch tracks, though switches allow trains on the Montauk Branch to stop as needed.
Nassau Inter-County Express: n1, Elmont Flexi
Lynbrook ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867[15] Long Island Rail Road: Long Beach Branch
Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's
7 Rockville Centre ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link, Mercy Medical Shuttle
Baldwin ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Baldwinsville,[34] then Baldwins
Freeport ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
Merrick ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867
Bellmore ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1869
Wantagh ● Template:Lirrs Template:Convert 1867 Originally named Ridgewood
Seaford ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1899 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
Massapequa ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
Originally named South Oyster Bay
Massapequa Park ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1933 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
East Massapequa Template:Lirrs 1880 1881
9 Amityville ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1868 Nassau Inter-County Express: Template:LI bus link
Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Copiague ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1902
Template:Lirrs 1875 1876
Lindenhurst ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Wellwood, then Breslau
Babylon ● ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1867[15] Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Seaside[15]
Terminus of electrification
10 Bay Shore ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1868 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Penataquit, then Bayshore
Islip
Template:Lirrs 1868 1869
● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1868
East Islip
Template:Lirrs 1870 1897
● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1897 Originally named Youngsport
Oakdale ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1868 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Sayville ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1868 Sayville Ferry Service to Fire Island
Bayport Template:Lirrs 1869 1980
Blue Point Template:Lirrs 1870
1900 		1882
1980
Patchogue ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1869 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Patchogue Village Bus
Davis Park Ferry to Fire Island
East Patchogue Template:Lirrs 1890[35] 1928
Hagerman Template:Lirrs 1890 1929
12 North Bellport ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1882 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Accobomac, then Brewster Place[35]
Brookhaven Template:Lirrs 1884 1958
Shirley ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1960 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Mastic Template:Lirrs 1882 1960 Originally named Forge
Center Moriches Template:Lirrs 1881 1998 Originally named Moriches
East Moriches Template:Lirrs 1897 1958
Eastport Template:Lirrs 1870 1958 Originally named Moriches
Speonk ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1870
14 Westhampton ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1870
Quogue Template:Lirrs 1875 1998
East Quogue Template:Lirrs 1871 Template:Circa Originally named Atlanticville[36]
Hampton Bays ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1871 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link
Originally named Good Ground
Template:Lirrs 1935 1953
Template:Lirrs 1907 1921
Shinnecock Hills Template:Lirrs 1887 1932
Template:Lirrs 1907
1976
1986 		1939
1998
1986 		Originally named Golf Grounds, then Southampton Campus
Temporarily reopened for the 1986 U.S. Open, 2004, and 2018 U.S. Opens
Southampton ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1871 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link, on-demand
Water Mill Template:Lirrs 1875 Template:Circa[35] Originally named Watermill
Bridgehampton ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1870
Wainscott Template:Lirrs 1898 1938
East Hampton ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1895 Suffolk County Transit: Template:LI bus link, on-demand
Originally named Easthampton
Amagansett ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1895 Suffolk County Transit: on-demand
Napeague Template:Lirrs 1895 1927
Template:Lirrs 1924 1928
Template:Lirrs Template:Circa 1928
Montauk ● Template:Lirrs Disabled access Template:Convert 1895 Suffolk County Transit: on-demand

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Attached KML Template:Commons category-inline

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  1. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Block Operator Chris Soundy hooping some of the last orders from "PD" tower to the engineer of eastbound DE-30ac #420 (Photo: by Pat Masterson May 4, 2006
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (57.0 KiB)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., January 2005 Edition
  11. ↑ Long Island Railroad Company, Long Island and where to Go, 1877
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ a b c d e Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"., June 2004 Edition
  26. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ett-20120514
  31. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Template:Webarchive
  33. ↑ Template:Usurped
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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