Montauk Branch

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The Montauk Branch is a rail line and service 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)^{[citation needed]} from Long Island City, Queens on the west to Montauk on the east. However, the Montauk Branch service is shown on LIRR maps and schedules only east of Babylon; the line west of there is the Babylon Branch, West Hempstead Branch, and City Terminal Zone. ^[1][2]

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 2.1 Formation and early days: 1860s to 1925 2.2 Babylon electrification: 1925 to present 3 Stations 3.1 Full list, including all former stations 4 References

[edit] Route description

The westernmost portion of the Montauk Branch in Queens, known as the "Old Montauk" or "Lower Montauk", runs from Long Island City to a connection with the Atlantic Branch west of Jamaica, mostly at street level with grade crossings. This portion of the line sees only two regular passenger trains on weekdays only, which make no stops on the Old Montauk itself. Five intermediate stations in Queens (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were abandoned in 1998 as unprofitable when all platforms on the railroad were raised to floor-level loading for the new double-decker trains.

The portion from Jamaica to Babylon has been electrified since 1925, and is the busiest single commuter railroad branch in the U.S.^{[citation needed]} From Babylon east to Montauk, diesel-electric or hybrid electric/diesel-electric locomotives haul trains of passenger coaches.

The Montauk Line has heavy ridership and frequent service as far as Patchogue and commuter service as far as Speonk. 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 Hunterspoint Avenue and running non-stop between Jamaica and Westhampton. The Montauk Branch, along with the parallel Atlantic Branch, spawns three subsidiary branches: the West Hempstead Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, and Long Beach Branch.

The electrified portion of the Montauk Branch ends at Babylon; the electric service to Babylon is often identified as a separate service, the "Babylon Branch". Some of the Montauk's diesel trains begin or end their runs at Babylon station, connecting with electric trains there. Other Montauk diesel trains operate into New York City, to Jamaica, Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City, or New York Penn Station. The terminal stations in diesel territory, east of Babylon, are Patchogue, Speonk, and Montauk. The Montauk Branch is double-tracked from Long Island City all the way through Babylon, becoming single line at the former site of Bayport station. Most Montauk Branch diesel trains operate west to NYC via the Montauk Branch, though a handful of trains operate via the diesel-only Central Branch, joining the Main Line east of Bethpage.

The Montauk is home to the only tower in North America that uses "hooping" train operations, located at Patchogue. "Hooping" is the transfer of instructions to both 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. Plans are underway to suspend hooping by mid-May 2006.^[3]

The Montauk Branch enjoys frequent service and has heavy ridership because it serves the suburban communities on Nassau County's and westernmost Suffolk County's south shore. It is grade-separated on embankments or elevated structures from Lynbrook Station to Babylon Station.

[edit] 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 (across Jamaica Bay to the Rockaways), 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.

[edit] Formation and early days: 1860s to 1925

See also: South Side Railroad of Long Island

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. 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,^[4], Southern Railroad of Long Island Division, or simply Southern Division.^[5] 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.^[6] The old line between Jamaica and Springfield, which became freight-only, was renamed the Old Southern Road.^{[citation needed]} The Southern was reorganized as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879,^[7] and on March 14, 1880, the name was changed from the Southern Division to the Montauk Division.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] The Sag Harbor Branch east of Eastport became part of the Montauk Division,^[11] and the old line from Manor (Manorville) to Eastport became the Manor Branch.^[12] An extension to Montauk, splitting off the old Sag Harbor Branch at Bridgehampton, opened to Amagansett on June 1, 1895^[13] and to Montauk by September,^[14] and the line between Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor reverted to the old Sag Harbor Branch name.^[15]

[edit] Babylon electrification: 1925 to present

None of the Montauk Branch was electrified in the first round of electrification, in which the entire Atlantic Division, the Main Line to Queens Village, and many branches were upgraded.^{[citation needed]} Electrification of the Montauk Division from Jamaica to Babylon was completed on May 20, 1925,^[16] and normal operation began the next day.^[17] The Central Extension between Bethpage and Babylon was reopened for freight trains that had run via the Montauk Division.^[18]

The Southampton College stop was demolished in 1998, along with other lightly-used stations. In 2004, the stop was temporarily reinstated, complete with a steel walkway over Sunrise Highway to the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, during the U.S. Open (golf) tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament it was dismantled.

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 to the south, away from the station.

[edit] Stations

West Hempstead Branch trains split off after St. Albans. Babylon Branch trains terminate at Babylon, while Montauk Branch trains continue beyond.

Jamaica is 10.8 miles (17.4 km) from Penn Station.

Station/ location	Miles (kilometers) from Jamaica[19]	Notes
Long Island City Long Island City	10[citation needed]
Jamaica Jamaica	0.0 (0.0)	Transfer to all but Port Washington Branch trains
St. Albans Linden Boulevard and Montauk Street, Saint Albans	2.8 (4.5)
Lynbrook Sunrise Highway and Peninsula Boulevard, Lynbrook	8.7 (14.0)	Transfer to Long Beach Branch trains
Rockville Centre North Village Avenue and Front Street, Rockville Centre	10.3 (16.6)
Baldwin Sunrise Highway and Grand Avenue, Baldwin	12.2 (19.6)
Freeport between Henry Street and Benson Place, Freeport	13.7 (22.0)
Merrick Sunrise Highway, between Hewlett Avenue and Merrick Avenue, Merrick	15.1 (24.3)
Bellmore Sunrise Highway and Bedford Avenue, Bellmore	16.6 (26.7)
Wantagh Wantagh Avenue and Railroad Avenue, Wantagh	17.0 (27.4)
Seaford Sunrise Highway and Jackson Avenue, Seaford	18.7 (30.1)
Massapequa Sunrise Highway east of Broadway (New York State Route 107), Massapequa	19.7 (31.7)
Massapequa Park Sunrise Highway and Park Boulevard, Massapequa Park	20.0 (32.2)
Amityville John Street, between Sunrise Highway and New York State Route 27A, Amityville	22.2 (35.7)
Copiague Marconi Boulevard and Great Neck Road, Copiague	23.4 (37.7)
Lindenhurst Wellwood Avenue and East Hoffman Avenue, Lindenhurst	24.7 (39.8)
Babylon Railroad Avenue just west of Deer Park Avenue, Babylon	27.6 (44.4)	Some Montauk Branch trains operate via the Central Branch, which diverges west of this station.
Bay Shore Park Avenue and Oak Street, Bay Shore	31.7 (51.0)	Ferries to Fire Island
Islip Islip Avenue (Route 111), between Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway, Islip	34.1 (54.9)
Great River Connetquot Avenue and Hawthorne Avenue, Great River	36.2 (58.3)
Oakdale Montauk Highway and Oakdale-Bohemia Road, Oakdale	38.4 (61.8)
Sayville Lakeland Avenue and Depot Street, Sayville	40.8 (65.7)	Ferries to Fire Island
Patchogue Division Street and Ocean Avenue, Patchogue	44.9 (72.3)	Ferries to Fire Island
Bellport Station Road and Montauk Highway, Bellport	48.8 (78.5)
Mastic-Shirley William Floyd Parkway and Northern Boulevard, Shirley	53.3 (85.8)
Speonk Phillips Avenue and Depot Road, Speonk	62.6 (100.7)
Westhampton Station Road and Depot Road, Westhampton	65.3 (105.1)
Hampton Bays Springville Road and Good Ground Road, Hampton Bays	72.2 (116.2)
Southampton North Main Street, between Prospect Street and Willow Street, Southampton	80.3 (129.2)
Bridgehampton Maple Lane and Butter Lane, Bridgehampton	85.0 (136.8)
East Hampton Newtown Lane and Race Lane, East Hampton	91.9 (147.9)
Amagansett Main Street and Abrams Landing Road, Amagansett	95.3 (153.4)
Montauk Edgemere Street and Fort Pond Road, Montauk	106.8 (171.9)

[edit] Full list, including all former stations

Miles from Jamaica	Name	Opened	Closed
	Long Island City earlier Hunter's Point	June 26, 1854	present
	Penny Bridge	June 26, 1854	March 16, 1998
	Laurel Hill	1890s	ca. 1900
	Haberman	September 1910	March 16, 1998
	Maspeth	February 1895	1924 or 1925
5.73[20]	Fresh Pond earlier Bushwick Junction	June 1869	March 16, 1998
	Ridgewood	June 2, 1883	1924
4.50[20]	Glendale	June 1869	March 16, 1998
2.64[20]	Richmond Hill earlier Clarenceville	July 1868	March 16, 1998
1.06[20]	Dunton originally Van Wyck Avenue, then Berlin	June 1869	June 1876 November 1939
0.00	Jamaica	1836	present
	Union Hall Street earlier New York Avenue	ca. 1890	1976
	Canal Street	June 24, 1890[21]	1899
0.97[20]	Hillside earlier Rockaway Junction	June 24, 1890[22]	ca. 1930?
	St. Albans	July 1, 1898	present
3.65[20]	Springfield Gardens earlier Springfield	1870s
5.05[20]	Rosedale earlier Foster's Meadow	May 1870	present (Atlantic Branch only)
6.95[20]	Valley Stream	June 1869	present (Atlantic Branch only)
8.52[20]	Lynbrook originally Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's	October 28, 1867	present
9.81[20]	Rockville Centre	October 28, 1867	present
11.83[20]	Baldwin originally Baldwinsville, then Baldwins	October 28, 1867	present
13.18[20]	Freeport	October 28, 1867	present
14.90[20]	Merrick	October 28, 1867	present
16.17[20]	Bellmore	May 1870	present
17.20[20]	Wantagh earlier Ridgewood	October 28, 1867	present
	Seaford	May 26, 1899	present
19.00[20]	Massapequa earlier South Oyster Bay	October 28, 1867	present
	Massapequa Park	December 3, 1933	present
	Unqua	1880	1881
21.89[20]	Amityville	October 28, 1867	present
	Copiague	1902	present
	Belmont Junction	January 1875	late 1876
24.45[20]	Lindenhurst originally Wellwood, then Breslau	September 1, 1868	present
27.19[20]	Babylon earlier Seaside	October 28, 1867	present
31.30[20]	Bay Shore originally Penataquit, then Bayshore	May 20, 1868	present
	Islip Centre	December 1, 1868	June 1869
33.73[20]	Islip	September 5, 1868	present
	Club House	May 1870	1897
	Great River	1897	present
38.03[20]	Oakdale	December 1868	present
40.46[20]	Sayville	December 1868	present
42.37[20]	Bayport	December 1868	1980
	Blue Point	May 1870 June 1900	June 1, 1882 1980
44.54[20]	Patchogue	April 1869	present
	East Patchogue
	Hagerman	October 1890	1928 or 1929
48.38[20]	Bellport	1882	present
50.21[20]	Brookhaven	1884	October 6, 1958
	Mastic-Shirley	July 15, 1960	present
54.30[20]	Mastic earlier Forge	1882	July 15, 1960
56.94[20]	Center Moriches earlier Moriches	1881	March 16, 1998
58.37[20]	East Moriches	1897	October 6, 1958
60.54[20]	Eastport earlier Moriches	March 1870	October 6, 1958
62.07[20]	Speonk	February 1870	present
64.93[20]	Westhampton	1870	present
67.67[20]	Quogue	June 1875	March 16, 1998
72.69[20]	Hampton Bays earlier Good Ground	February 1871	present
	Canoe Place	1935	1953
	Suffolk Downs	1907	1921
76.00[20]	Shinnecock Hills	1887	September 1932
	Southampton Campus earlier Golf Grounds	April 1907 May 24, 1976	1939 March 16, 1998
79.85[20]	Southampton	February 1871	present
82.52[20]	Watermill earlier Water Mill	1875	1940s
85.11[20]	Bridgehampton	June 1870	present
87.61[20]	Wainscott	1898	ca. 1936
91.55[20]	East Hampton earlier Easthampton	1895	present
94.71[20]	Amagansett	1895	present
	Napeague Beach	1895	December 5, 1927
	Promised Land	1924	December 31, 1928
106.34[20]	Montauk	1895	present

[edit] References

1. ^ MTA LIRR - LIRR Map
2. ^ LIRR Montauk Branch Timetable
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Long Island Railroad Company, Long Island and where to Go, 1877
5. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Long Island, August 22, 1877, page 1
6. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Railroad Changes, June 27, 1876, page 2
7. ^ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961
8. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Railroad Reorganization, March 15, 1880, page 10
9. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Railroad Dedication, June 6, 1870, page 2
10. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Another Link, July 22, 1881, page 4
11. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Golden Days, August 1, 1881, page 4
12. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, A Forest Fire, June 13, 1896, page 4
13. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Latest Long Island News, June 1, 1895, page 7
14. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Fall Time Table, September 7, 1895, page 7
15. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, New Block Signals, March 8, 1896, page 7
16. ^ Arrt's Arrchives: Babylon Electrification
17. ^ PRR Chronology, PRR Chronology, 1925PDF (101 KiB), June 2004 Edition
18. ^ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad, ©1963
19. ^ Station pages linked from LIRR Map
20. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq} Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Long Island Railroad's Summer Schedule, May 30, 1897, page 8
21. ^
22. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Rapid Transit Extension, June 24, 1890, page 1

v • d • e Long Island Rail Road
Routes	Main Line • Atlantic • Montauk • (Central)
Branch services	Babylon • Belmont Park • City Terminal Zone • Far Rockaway • Hempstead • Long Beach • Montauk • Oyster Bay • Port Jefferson • Port Washington • Ronkonkoma • West Hempstead
Former and freight lines	Atlantic Avenue rapid transit • Bay Ridge • Bethpage • Bushwick • Central Extension • Creedmoor • Evergreen • Manhattan Beach • Manorville • Rockaway Beach • Sag Harbor • West Brighton Beach • Whitestone
Other	East Side Access • Fleet • Former lines • History • Stations