Port Washington Branch

Port Washington Branch
Port Washington Branch train enters the Flushing station.
Info
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Queens and Nassau County, New York, USA
Stations	12
Services	Port Washington Branch
Operation
Opened	1854 (as Flushing Railroad)
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail
Route map Main Line (west) 4.9 Woodside Main Line (east) Elmhurst closed 1985 Corona closed 1963 West Flushing 8.6 Mets–Willets Point Whitestone Branch abandoned 1932 Zone 1/Zone 3 9.5 Flushing Main Street 10.3 Murray Hill 11.1 Broadway 11.7 Auburndale 12.6 Bayside 13.9 Douglaston 14.5 Little Neck Queens/Nassau County border Zone 3/Zone 4 15.7 Great Neck Manhasset Viaduct 17.2 Manhasset 18.3 Plandome 19.9 Port Washington Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania 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 Winfield Junction, just east of the Woodside station, and runs roughly parallel to Northern Boulevard past Citi Field, Flushing, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, and then crosses into Nassau County for stops in Great Neck, Manhasset, and Plandome before terminating at Port Washington.^[1][2]

The branch has the distinction of being the only LIRR service whose trains do not serve Jamaica, as it branches off the Main Line several miles west of that station.

Route description

Port Washington Station from the corner of Main Street and Haven Avenue in Port Washington, New York.

The line has two tracks from Woodside to Great Neck, and one track from east of Great Neck past Manhasset and Plandome stations to Port Washington. This often causes massive delays during two-way rush hour operations. A second track cannot be added through Manhasset and Plandome due to the proximity of businesses to the narrow right-of-way in Plandome. Also, the trestle between Great Neck and Manhasset also runs only one track.^[3]

To eliminate as many delays as possible on the heavily-used line, most peak-hour east-bound trains (weekday afternoons/evenings) are either local from Penn Station to Great Neck (making all stops in between the two) or express from Penn Station to Port Washington (making stops only at Great Neck, Manhasset, Plandome, and Port Washington, although some trains make their first stop at Bayside). Going west, a mix of local and express peak-hour trains (weekday mornings) are offered.

Extra service is offered during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and for New York Mets home games, both of which are held in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. These trains stop at a special Mets–Willets Point station between Woodside and Flushing Main Street.

The route originally terminated in Great Neck until the building of a train trestle over the marshes at the southern end of Manhasset Bay. According to Manhasset's website, "in 1897, a contract was given to the Carnegie Steel Company and a subsidiary, the King Iron Company, undertook the job of constructing the bridge." The trestle bridge cost about $60,000, and the first train to cross it was on June 23, 1898.

The bridge stands 181 feet (55 m) tall and runs 678 feet (207 m) across the bay, offering a spectacular view of the Manhasset Bay. According to the Manhasset Website, scenes from the silent film serial "The Perils of Pauline" were shot on the trestle.

Winfield Junction

History

The Port Washington Branch was originally built by the Flushing Railroad, in 1854 from Hunters Point in Long Island City to Flushing, before the LIRR opened its line to Long Island City. It was first non-LIRR line on Long Island. The company was reorganized in 1859 as the New York and Flushing Railroad, and established a subsidiary known as the North Shore Railroad to extend the line from Flushing to Great Neck in 1866. Originally intending to run further east to Roslyn, Oyster Bay, and even Huntington, the NY&F's plans were thwarted by the LIRR who reached those destination first, as well as poor service and competition with the 1868-established Flushing and North Side Railroad. In 1869, the New York State Legislature authorized the Flushing and North Side to buy the New York and Flushing east of the LIRR crossing at Winfield Station, while the segment between Hunters Point and Winfield was acquired by the South Side Railroad of Long Island until it was abandoned for passenger service east of the vicinity of what became Haberman Station in 1875.

By 1874, all branches of the Flushing and North Side Railroad, including the Main Line to Great Neck were incorporated into the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, which included the Central Railroad of Long Island. Two years later, it would become part of the Long Island Rail Road. Despite a failed attempt to extend the line from Great Neck to Roslyn in 1882, wealthy Port Washington residents persuaded the LIRR to bring the terminus to their hometown in 1895. This required the construction of the Manhasset Viaduct over Manhasset Bay, which was completed on June 23, 1898.

Station listing

Station/ location	Station link	Miles (kilometers) to Penn Station	Connections/notes	History
Pennsylvania Station 34th Street and Seventh Avenue, Midtown Manhattan	[1]	0 (0)	Subway: 1 2 3 (Manhattan to The Bronx and Brooklyn) (7th Avenue) and A C E (Manhattan to Brooklyn and Queens) (8th Avenue) Bus (New York City Bus): M4, M10, M16, M20, M34, Q32
Woodside 61st Street and Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside	[2]	5.1 (8.2)	Subway: (7 <7>) Bus (New York City Bus): Q32 (MTA Bus): Q18, Q53	Opened November 15, 1869 on north side of tracks west of 58th Street; closed 1914 and demolished 1916 (replaced with current structure during grade crossing elimination)
Winfield Woodside				Opened July 1854 on southeast corner of 50th Avenue and 69th Street; moved to the junction in August 1876 to also serve the Main Line; closed 1929
Elmhurst Elmhurst				Opened 1855 as Newtown; name changed to Elmhurst June 1897; closed 1985
Corona Corona				Closed 1964
West Flushing Corona				Opened September 1854 on north side of line and east side of 108th Street; later abandoned and name assigned to later Corona station
Mets–Willets Point (seasonal service) Flushing Meadows Park, south of Roosevelt Avenue	[3]	8.6 (13.8)	Subway: (7 <7>) Bus (New York City Bus): Q48	The New Citi Field baseball stadium opened for a game between the St. John's Red Storm and Georgetown Hoyas on March 29, 2009, as Shea Stadium has been demolished
Flushing Main Street Main Street and 41st Avenue, Flushing	[4]	9.5 (15.3)	Subway: (7 <7>) Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q17, Q20, Q25, Q26, Q28, Q34, Q44, Q48, Q58 Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N21	Service began June 26, 1854
Murray Hill 150th Street and 41st Avenue, Flushing	[5]	10.3 (16.6)	Bus (New York City Bus): Q15
Broadway 162nd Street and Northern Boulevard, Flushing	[6]	11.1 (17.9)	Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q13, Q28	Service began October 27, 1866, as Flushing - Broadway station. Elevated between 1912 and 1913.
Auburndale 192nd Street and Station Road, Auburndale	[7]	11.7 (18.8)	Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q13, Q28, Q76
Bayside 213th Street and 41st Avenue, Bayside	[8]	12.6 (20.3)	Bus (New York City Bus): Q13, Q31
Douglaston 235th Street and 41st Avenue, Douglaston	[9]	13.9 (22.4)		Originally Little Neck Station between 1866 and June 1870.
Little Neck Little Neck Parkway and 39th Road, Little Neck	[10]	14.5 (23.3)	Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q79 Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N21
Great Neck Middle Neck Road and Station Plaza at Great Neck Road, Great Neck	[11]	15.7 (25.3)	Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N21, N25, N57, N58	Service began on October 27, 1866, and served as the terminus of the line until 1898.
Manhasset Viaduct.
Manhasset Plandome Road and Maple Place, Manhasset	[12]	17.2 (27.7)		Built in 1899 a year after the construction of the Manhasset Viaduct.
Plandome Off Stonytown Road and Rockwood Road, Plandome	[13]	18.3 (29.5)		Built in 1909, the last station to be built on the Port Washington Branch.
Port Washington Main Street, between Haven Avenue and South Bayles Avenue, Port Washington	[14]	19.9 (32.0)	Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N23

References

• The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad

1. ^ MTA LIRR - LIRR Map
2. ^ LIRR Port Washington Branch Timetable
3. ^ Image of single track across Manhasset Viaduct

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Port Washington Branch

• MTA Long Island Rail Road
• Port Washington Branch Stations (Bob Andersen's Unofficial LIRR History Website)
• NYCSubway.org: Port Washington Branch
• Forgotten New York:
  • Pride in Port (The Jekyll & Hyde Branch of the Long Island Railroad: Part One)
  • Pride in Port (The Jekyll & Hyde Branch of the Long Island Railroad: Part Two)

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