On another thread, the LIRR came up. Knowing nothing about it, I had to do some checking. It appears to be mostly just a super busy commuter railroad, that was owned by PRR for a long time. Is there much more to the story?
Lots of information here:
I lived in New York City from 1964 to 1972. During the summer months, at least, the Long Island Railroad ran a train from NYC to Montauk. It carried at least one and perhaps several parlor cars. At the time I was newly married, and we could not afford to travel by parlor car, but heaps of wealthy New Yorkers did. Many of them were headed to various spots in the Hampton’s. Montauk is considered to be in the east Hampton’s. It is approximately 100+ miles from Pennsylvania Station to Montauk, which comes as a surprise to many people who are not familiar with Long Island.
The LIRR is a most different sort of railroad than any I know of in this country. First, it has for most of its live derived most of its income from passengers rather than freight. Several great books about it starting with Ron Ziel’s Steel Rails to the Sunrise and quite a few others since. Bringing LI produce, seafood, and fowl, to Brooklyn and Long Island City markets was a major early factor in its being. They actually put farmer’s wagons on flat cars and hauled them into the city in the 1840’s or 50’s thus being the first piggyback or intermodal service. Overnight boats from Boston landed at Greenport so passengers could take the train to NYC via ferry boats at Long Island CIty. Suburban sprawl, not just growth, overcame this railroad’s service area quicker and thicker than other locations. The PRR’s Mainline exeucutives had summer getaways on the Eastern Tip, thus the purchasing the LIRR and making it part of the Pennsylvania Station project… New England, Philadelphia, and New York City all can be found on Long Island along with Dutch windmills and Native American enclaves and Scot inspired fields of hole for golfers. Jews and Catholics moved out of the city to live there, aircraft manufacturers and electronic firms, publishers of books, and now wineries and nursaeries permeate the island. The island is about 30 miles wide at its widest and the trip from NYP to Montauk station is 112 miles. Trains leave from Penn Station to got to Jamaica or come from Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn then fan out to Hempstead, West Hempsted, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, Greenport, Far Rockaway, Long Beach, Babylon, Patchogue, Speonk and Montauk. Anothe line runs from Penn Sta to Port Washington. Ancient freight and passenger structures abound altered by PRR’s invfluence, and unused in contemporary railroading. The railroad no longer provides freight service but does rent out the tracks ot the NY and Atlantic for it. Stan
From reading the Wikipedia link above, it sounds as if the railroad has never made a dime in it’s existence. Why would the PRR have held onto it so long, if it was a money loser?
Private cars from Paoli to Montauk for the brass and those they wanted to entertain and impress. Actually it did help PRR in many ways…it became an albatrosse to them eventually, and then they stopped paying attention, especially by those from The Mainline. Still, Sunnyside was a major treasure for PRR passenger service which it probably would not have gotten invloved in, at least not so easily, if they did not control the LIRR. PRR and LIRR history books will reveal all…along with several histories of Pennsylvannia Station.
Excerpt from A History of Long Island from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time by Peter Ross (1902)
HISTORY OF THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD.
The history of the Long Island Railroad presents features of considerable interest to those who have studied the growth and development of railroads in this country.
Its position is unique in this - that it does not form any part of the great trunk lines, nor does it feed one of them. It is exclusively a local road, serving a population on an island adjacent to the great city of New York. The Long Island Railroad of to-day is the development and outgrowth of many fiercely conflicting interests, and a study of them will explain many things that to the observer of to-day seem inexplicable.
The first railroad chartered on Long Island was the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad, This road started from the then village of Brooklyn, running to Jamaica, a distance of about ten miles. Its charter is dated 1832. The projectors of that railroad started at once to construct the same, and seem to have pushed its construction with commendable vigor. Short as it is, this road played an important part in the system of railroads on Long Island, some of the time dominating the Long Island Railroad, and finally at one time being reduced to the position of a mere spur or branch, and later on in its history becoming again a very important factor.
The Long Island Railroad proper was chartered in 1834, by a special act of the Legislature. At that early day there was no general railroad law, so-called. The Long Island Railroad Company is the only railroad corporation existing in the State of New York that has preserved its name and corporate franchises from its original charter intact. It is perhaps without a peer in the United States in length of life and preservation of name and charter. Its act of incorporation provided for a railroad to be built from a point in or near the village of Greenport, in the county of Suffolk, and extending from this
Wanswheel has done it again. As one can see, the LIRR is not an ordinary railroad, historicaly or operationally. It is hated and loved by its riders, ignored by most of the world, a vital part of the sociology of the Island and New York City. As I’ve said, I’ve taken fellow railfans with Ridewithmehenry and they are amazed at the variety, intracacies, and fascinating attraction of riding the LIRR. Last hand hooped train orders (train orders, not track warrents) were less than 10 years ago for eastbounds entering single track at Patchogue: T.O’s also go to eastbounds at Babylon and Divide (Hicksville) when needed today either by stationary hoop or conductor pick up before the run. If you are a railfan of anykind, if you visit and ride the LIRR you’ll understand that this is a very special railroad even today. Ron Ziel’s book picks up where the above leaves off.
’ Happy to "return-to-life " a bit of history. Excuse is the posting of three 19i70s-era photos:
From Henry Raudenbush:
All three of these pictures are at Mineola.
The one with #205 is from the WB station platform, looking East. Note the highway bridge from which the next pic was taken
The one with #214 is from the highway bridge, looking East. Lots to see here; from right (south) to left:
- Track curving right from here to Hempstead Crossing, continuing to west Hempstead. This had once had shuttle service with single-truck battery cars, but by this time was only used for local freight. Local freight was operated with DD-1 electric locos into the 1940’s. This track is now gone.
Alco C420.
Lots and lots of information on the (delightful and effective) C420s can be found at the appropriately named www.trainsarefun.com
Pay careful attention to the high-speed arrangements for the horns…
Thanks, and I have corrected an error: All three photos are at Mineola Station.
Wow! That’s not a website, that’s a curriculum for anyone who wants to major in the Lawn Gyland Railroad!
Thanks for the memories and photos. As a kid in the late 1950s I would ride my bike to Mineola station which was the most interesting railfan spot within riding distance.
All I remember about the LI, is that it was often a subject of jokes in Johnny Carson’s monologues.
I recall when the LIRR had freight service. There were 2 or 3 spur tracks in Amityville, one ended just west of County Line Road in a vacant wooded area that had what I think was a hobo jungle. There was a campfire spot there, anyway and lots of empty beer bottles. A friend saw a man and woman have a “good time” on top of a box car sitting there.
There was a track that went to the coal yard on the north side of the line on the westbound track. There were still coal deliveries when I was a kid. There also was R.E.A. at the station freight house and we went there occasionally to pick up packages. It all went away when the tracks were elevated in about 1969 or so.
Not for nothing did we call it the Long Island Wail Road.
Pretty sure there’s still freight service on Long Island, just not by LIRR. Forget the name of the railroad. I’m sure someone will chime in.
New York and Atlantic.
Thanks.