| Atlantic Branch | |
|---|---|
| Info | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| System | Long Island Rail Road |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | Western Long Island, New York, USA |
| Stations | 8 passenger, 1 employee-only |
| Services | Atlantic Branch (City Terminal Zone) Long Beach Branch |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1836 (west of Jamaica) 1867 (east of Jamaica) |
| Owner | Long Island Rail Road |
| Operator(s) | Metropolitan Transportation Authority |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 81⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Electrification | Third rail |
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 runs from Downtown Brooklyn to Valley Stream. The two-track line is partly underground and partly elevated.
The section between Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue is underground. From there, the line remains elevated above Atlantic Avenue in the road's median to Ralph Avenue, where it descends underground once again.
At East New York, the line rises onto street level, and descends once more to Jamaica. Between East New York and Jamaica, there are remains of a closed station at Woodhaven Junction.
In Jamaica, the line heads to the street level, and passes through the Morris Park Facility, which includes an employee station and engine shops for the diesel engines that provide service deeper into the Island.
It heads southeast from Jamaica, ending at Valley Interlocking in Valley Stream.
The Flatbush Avenue station is undergoing a $93 million renovation and will be renamed Atlantic Avenue Terminal.[1]
Contents |
History
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Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station.
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The current Atlantic Branch is the successor to two separate lines: the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad (opened 1836) along Atlantic Avenue from Flatbush Avenue to Jamaica, and the South Side Railroad of Long Island (opened 1867) from Jamaica to Valley Stream.
Flatbush Avenue to Jamaica
The Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad opened the line from South Ferry to what is now 151st Street in Jamaica on April 18, 1836.
Initially, the line turned halfway between Classon and Franklin Avenues, running halfway between Herkimer Street and Schuyler Street (now Atlantic Avenue) along the line of the present Herkimer Place. It turned slightly to the southeast near Howard Avenue, crossing the centerline of Schuyler Street about one-third of the way between Hopkinson Avenue (Thomas Boyland Street) and Paca Avenue (Rockaway Avenue). It crossed into the town of New Lots just beyond Stone Avenue (Mother Gaston Boulevard).[2]
Jamaica to Valley Stream
The portion east of Jamaica was opened by the South Side Railroad of Long Island on October 28, 1867, as part of its initial line from Jamaica to Babylon. With the consolidation of the South Side into the Long Island Rail Road system in 1876, all 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 South Side. This change took effect Sunday, June 25, 1876, and resulted in the closure of the South Side's Berlin, Beaver Street (Jamaica), Locust Avenue, and Springfield stations.[3][4] This formed the current configuration, where the Montauk Branch follows this route, mostly ex-South Side, and the Atlantic Branch (then the Old Southern Road) uses the old South Side to Springfield Junction.
The line was soon reopened due to a lawsuit, but closed again by Austin Corbin as of January 6, 1881.[5]
Effective May 17, 1906, when an electrified third track opened alongside the Montauk Division from Springfield Junction to Valley Stream, the Old Southern Road and this new track became part of the Atlantic Division.[6]
Future service to Manhattan and JFK
The MTA is studying the use of the LIRR Atlantic Branch as part of the
Station listing
Only former stations that existed after the ca. 1905 improvement and electrification are listed in this table.
Full list, including all former stations
| Miles from Flatbush | Name | Location | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Ferry | ||||
| Henry Street | ||||
| Clinton Street | ||||
| 0.0[7] | Flatbush Avenue | July 2, 1877 | present | |
| Vanderbilt Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | |||
| Washington Avenue | by late 1878[9] | |||
| Grand Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | by late 1878[9] | ||
| 1.22[10] | Bedford also called Franklin Avenue |
east of Franklin Avenue | by mid-1842[11] | |
| 1.57[10] | Nostrand Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | present | |
| Brooklyn Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | |||
| Kingston Avenue | ||||
| Albany Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | |||
| 2.27[10] | Troy Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] by mid-1890[12] |
by late 1878[9] |
|
| Schenectady Avenue | by late 1878[9] | |||
| 2.56[10] | Utica Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] by mid-1890[12] |
by late 1878[9] |
|
| Rochester Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | |||
| Ralph Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | |||
| Saratoga Avenue | ||||
| Hopkinson Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | by late 1878[9] | ||
| Rockaway Avenue | by late 1878[9] | |||
| Stone Avenue | August 13, 1877[8] | by late 1878[9] | ||
| 3.97[10] | East New York earlier Manhattan Beach Railroad Crossing |
by late 1878[9] | present | |
| 4.10[10] | Howard House earlier East New York |
Alabama Avenue | by early 1843[13] | |
| Pennsylvania Avenue | ||||
| Wyckoff Avenue | Wyona Street | by late 1878[14] | ||
| Bradford Avenue | mid-1899[10][15] | |||
| Van Siclen Avenue | by late 1878[16] | |||
| 4.8[7] or 4.9[17] | Warwick Street | August 29, 1905 | November 1, 1939 | |
| 5.02[10] | Linwood Street earlier Van Wicklens |
by late 1878[9] | ||
| 5.32[10] | Norwood Avenue | by mid-1890[12] | ||
| Cypress Avenue | Crescent Street | by mid-1853[18] | ||
| Cypress Hills | west of Autumn Avenue | by early 1849[19] | ||
| 5.8[7] | Autumn Avenue earlier Railroad Avenue |
April 28, 1905 | November 1, 1939[20] | |
| Adamsville | west of Eldert Lane | by late 1874[21] | ||
| City Line | ||||
| Unionville | west of 80th Street | |||
| 6.3[7] | Union Course | east of 80th Street | by late 1842[22] | |
| 6.69[10] | Woodhaven earlier Woodville |
east of 87th Street | by mid-1848[23] | |
| Trotting Course Lane | 94th Street | |||
| 7.19[10] | Woodhaven Junction | west of 100th Street | by mid-1890[12] | 1977 |
| Chester Park | 104th Street | |||
| 7.79[10] | Clarenceville | 111th Street | by late 1874[21] | November 1, 1939[24] |
| Lefferts Avenue | west of 119th Street | |||
| 8.07[10] | Morris Park | west of 120th Street | by mid-1890[12] | November 1, 1939[25] |
| Morris Grove | west of 124th Street | |||
| Boland's Landing | 126th Street | 1889 | ||
| Berlin | west of 130th Street | |||
| Berlin Junction | ?? | |||
| 8.86[10] | Dunton originally Van Wyck Avenue, then Berlin |
Van Wyck Avenue | June 1869 | November 1, 1939 |
| 9.6[7] | Beaver Street also called Jamaica--Beaver Street |
east of Jamaica Station | October 28, 1867 | 1913 |
| South Street | South Road | November 15, 1917 | June 1922 | |
| 10.8[7] | Cedar Manor earlier Power Place |
1906 | 1959 | |
| 11.7[7] | Locust Manor earlier Locust Avenue |
June 1869 | Present | |
| 12.6[7] | Higbie Avenue earlier Springfield |
140th Avenue? | 1908 | 1960 |
| Springfield | Springfield Boulevard | October 28, 1867 | 1906 | |
| 13.1[7] | Laurelton earlier Central Avenue |
224th Street | April 1907 | Present |
| 13.8[7] | Rosedale earlier Foster's Meadow |
Present | ||
| 15.7[7] | Valley Stream | June 1869 | Present |
See also
Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project - Proposal to use the LIRR Atlantic Branch in a new direct JFK connection to Lower Manhattan
References
- ^ Governor Tours Atlantic Avenue Terminal Improvement Project: $200 Million Project Underway at Terminal Complex in Brooklyn, press release dated July 11, 2002
- ^ Joseph Hutchins Colton, Map of the city of Brooklyn, 1849, NYPL Digital Image ID: 434722
- ^ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961
- ^ "Railroad Changes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. June 27, 1876. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1876/06/27&Page=2&skin=BE.
- ^ "Without Railroad Accommodation". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. February 22, 1881. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1881/02/22&Page=4&skin=BE.
- ^ Employee timetable, May 17, 1906
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Employee timetable, May 17, 1906
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Steam Motors". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. August 12, 1877. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1877/08/12&Page=4&skin=BE.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Employee timetable, November 4, 1878
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Employee timetable, June 28, 1899
- ^ "Long Island Railroad". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. May 13, 1842. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1842/05/13&Page=2&skin=BE.
- ^ a b c d e Employee timetable, June 24, 1890
- ^ "Long Island Railroad Co". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 3. March 4, 1843. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1843/03/04&Page=3&skin=BE.
- ^ "Instructive". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. November 22, 1878. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1878/11/22&Page=4&skin=BE.
- ^ Employee timetable, September 17, 1899
- ^ "Shocking". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. November 14, 1878. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1878/11/14&Page=4&skin=BE.
- ^ Employee timetable, September 20, 1905
- ^ "Travel". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. June 16, 1853. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1853/06/16&Page=4&skin=BE.
- ^ "The New Cemetery of the Cypress Hills". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. April 9, 1849. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1849/04/09&Page=2&skin=BE.
- ^ Long Island Railroad Station History
- ^ a b Timetable, November 8, 1874
- ^ "Races, Union Course--Long Island Railroad". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 3. October 3, 1842. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1842/10/03&Page=3&skin=BE.
- ^ Timetable, May 1, 1848
- ^ Long Island Railroad Station History
- ^ Long Island Railroad Station History
External links
- 1884 and 1900 Maps of the Atlantic Branch and Vicinity (Arrt's Arrchives)
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