Far Rockaway Branch

This article is about the Long Island Rail Road line. For the section of the route which was incorporated into the New York City Subway in the 1950s, see IND Rockaway Line.

The Far Rockaway Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. From Valley Stream, the line heads south and southwest through southwestern Nassau County, ending at Far Rockaway in Queens, thus reentering New York City. LIRR maps and schedules indicate that the Far Rockaway Branch service continues west along the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica.^[2][3] This two-track branch provides all day service in both directions to Grand Central Madison and Penn Station, both in Midtown Manhattan.

Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch train 2820 departing Cedarhurst Station.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Locale	Queens and Nassau County, New York, US
Termini	Valley Stream Far Rockaway
Stations	11
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Services	Far Rockaway Branch
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Ridership	4,904,415 (annual ridership, 2023)[1]
History
Opened	1869 (as part of South Side Railroad of Long Island)
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC
Route map Show interactive map Legend Atlantic Main Line to Penn Station & Long Island City 9.3 mi 15 km Jamaica ​​​ Main Line 12.2 mi 19.6 km Locust Manor 13.1 mi 21.1 km Laurelton Montauk Branch via St. Albans Springfield Junction Cedarhurst Cut-off 14.0 mi 22.5 km Rosedale Queens Nassau 16.1 mi 25.9 km Valley Stream 16.2 mi 0.0 mi Babylon Long Beach West Hempstead via Atlantic 0.8 mi 1.3 km Gibson 1.7 mi 2.7 km Hewlett 2.3 mi 3.7 km Woodmere 3.2 mi 5.1 km Cedarhurst Cedarhurst Cut-off 4.0 mi 6.4 km Lawrence 4.4 mi 7.1 km Inwood Nassau Queens 5.0 mi 8 km Far Rockaway (at Mott Ave.) Rockaway Beach Branch Wavecrest Edgemere Frank Avenue Arverne–Straiton Avenue Arverne ​ Rockaway Line Holland Playland Seaside Rockaway Park Distances shown from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram map

History

The Far Rockaway Branch initially extended west to Rockaway Park. In 1887, a connection was built to the Rockaway Beach Branch at Hammels, and the older Far Rockaway Branch was abandoned west of Hammels.^[4]

LIRR train at the existing terminus in Far Rockaway.

Opening

The South Side Railroad (SSRLI) built the branch in 1869 under a subsidiary called the Far Rockaway Branch Railroad. While constructing it in summer 1869, the company installed about 700 feet (200 m) of tracks across William B. McManus's farmland near Lawrence. However, the transaction had not been completed, and McManus and some friends tore up the track the next night; after a legal battle, the company paid McManus.^[5]: 30 The same year, the South Side established a subsidiary named the Hempstead and Rockaway Railroad (H&R) designed to connect the line to the up-and-coming Southern Hempstead Branch. The H&R was dissolved in 1871.

Expansion

Due to the success of the branch, the South Side built the 200-foot (60 m) South Side Pavilion, a restaurant on the beach at what is today Beach 30th Street. With an additional subsidiary known as the Rockaway Railway (1871-1872; Not to be confused with the Rockaway Village Railroad), the line was extended west to the Seaside House (Beach 103rd Street) in 1872 and Neptune House (Beach 116th Street) in 1875.^{[5]: 30–32} The Far Rockaway Branch, along with the rest of the South Side Railroad, was acquired by the Long Island Rail Road in 1876.

Two stations on the branch were built as Arverne, both of which were built by Remington Vernam. The first of which was in 1888 at Gaston Avenue (Beach 67th Street). It had a large tower, was shaped like a Victorian hotel and had a connection to the Ocean Electric Railway, as did much of the Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway branches. Due to a quarrel between the LIRR and Vernam, another Arverne Station was built at Straiton Avenue in 1892. From then on, the original Arverne station was known as Arverne-Gaston Avenue to distinguish it from the Arverne-Straiton Avenue.^[6]

In 1908, the line between Cedarhurst and Far Rockaway was triple-tracked.^[7]: 19 During the early 1940s, the right-of-way was relocated from a ground-level routing to a concrete trestle. The ROW crossed Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway and returned to ground level, passing over Nameoke Street, continuing to Gibson Station and ascending back on a trestle to Valley Stream.

End of Jamaica Bay service

Until 1950 trains from Penn Station could leave the Main Line at Whitepot Junction (40.7254°N 73.8608°W / 40.7254; -73.8608) and head south past the Atlantic Branch connection at Woodhaven Junction (40.6871°N 73.8433°W / 40.6871; -73.8433) to the Hammels Wye at 40.5913°N 73.8088°W / 40.5913; -73.8088, turning right there to Rockaway Park or left to Valley Stream and Jamaica and maybe on to Penn Station. Frequent fires and maintenance problems, notably a May 23, 1950 fire between Broad Channel and The Raunt, led the LIRR to abandon the Queens portion of the route on October 3, 1955, which was acquired by the city to become the IND Rockaway Line, with service provided by the A train.^[8] Most Queens stations along the former Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches reopened as subway stations on June 28, 1956,^[9] the exception being Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue station, which was split between the NYCTA and LIRR on January 16, 1958.^[10]

Recent changes

Between the late 1960s and 1990s, various stations along the Far Rockaway Branch were given high-level platforms in order to accommodate modern M1, M3, and M7 railcars.

The Far Rockaway Branch has the distinction of containing the oldest surviving railroad station on Long Island, and the only existing building constructed by an LIRR predecessor, specifically Hewlett. In 2003, the LIRR closed that station replacing it with a new one diagonally across the railroad crossing on Franklin Avenue; however, the original SSRLI Depot has remained intact.

Stations

West of Locust Manor, most trips go on to terminate at Grand Central or Penn Station, while some late night trains terminate at Jamaica.^[3] Stations past Far Rockaway were abandoned in 1955, though many of them were reopened as subway stations on the IND Rockaway Line in 1956. The location of the former Atlantic Park station is uncertain.

Zone[11]	Location	Station	Miles (km) from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch[12]	Date opened	Date closed	Connections and notes
3	Locust Manor, Queens	Locust Manor	12.2 (19.6)	1869		New York City Bus: Q3, Q85, QM21
	Springfield Gardens, Queens	Higbie Avenue		1908	1960
	Laurelton, Queens	Laurelton	13.1 (21.1)	1907[13]		New York City Bus: Q77, Q85
	Rosedale, Queens	Rosedale	14.0 (22.5)	1870[14]		New York City Bus: Q5, Q85, X63
4	Valley Stream	Valley Stream	16.1 (25.9)	1869[14]		Long Island Rail Road: Long Beach, West Hempstead branches Nassau Inter-County Express: n1, Elmont Flexi
Zone	Location	Station	Miles (km) from Valley Junction[12]	Date opened	Date closed	Connections and notes
4	Valley Stream	Gibson	0.8 (1.3)	1928		Nassau Inter-County Express: n1
	Hewlett	Hewlett	1.7 (2.7)	1869[14]		Nassau Inter-County Express: n1, n31, n32 Originally named Cedar Grove, then Hewletts
	Woodmere	Woodmere	2.3 (3.7)	1869[14]		Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
	Cedarhurst	Cedarhurst	3.2 (5.1)	1869		Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
	Lawrence	Lawrence	4.0 (6.4)	1869[14]		Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32
	Inwood	Inwood	4.4 (7.1)	1905		Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32 Originally named Westville
	Far Rockaway, Queens	Far Rockaway (Nameoke Street)	5.0 (8.0)	1958[8]		New York City Subway: A (at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue) Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32, n33 MTA Bus: Q22, Q113, Q114, QM17
		Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue		1869[14]	1958[8]	Now Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue subway station
		Wavecrest		1928	1955	Now Beach 25th Street subway station
		Atlantic Park		1875		No remains left
	Edgemere, Queens	Edgemere		1895	1955	Now Beach 36th Street subway station
		Frank Avenue		1922	1955	Now Beach 44th Street subway station
	Arverne, Queens	Arverne–Straiton Avenue		1892	1955	Now Beach 60th Street subway station
		Arverne–Gaston Avenue		1888	1955	Originally named Arverne, now Beach 67th Street subway station
	Rockaway Beach, Queens	Hammels		1880	1941	Replaced the Eldert's Grove station (1872-1887)
		Holland		1880	1955	Now Beach 90th Street subway station
		Playland		1903	1955	Now Beach 98th Street subway station
		Seaside		1880	1955	Now Beach 105th Street subway station
	Rockaway Park, Queens	Rockaway Park		1882	1955	Originally named Rockaway Beach, now Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street subway station

References

• Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961

1. "2023 ANNUAL RIDERSHIP REPORT". mta.info. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
2. MTA LIRR - LIRR Map
3. LIRR Far Rockaway Branch Timetable
4. "The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History Volume #5(New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad; New York & Rockaway Beach railway; New York & Long Beach Railroad; New York & Rockaway railroad; Brooklyn rapid transit operation to Rockaway; Over L.I.R.R.)", by Vincent F. Seyfried
5. Ron Ziel and George H. Foster, Steel Rails to the Sunrise, 1965
6. LIRR Station History Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
7. "The Long Island Railroad Twenty-Seventh Annual Report For The Year Ending December 31st, 1908". Report of ..., Trustee[S] of the Property of the Debtor, for the Year Ended ...1949-1953. Long Island Railroad Company. 1909.
8. "Fifty Years of Subway Service to the Rockaways". New York Division Bulletin. 49 (6). New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. June 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2016 – via Issuu.
9. Freeman, Ira Henry (June 28, 1956). "Rockaway Trains to Operate Today" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
10. "New Subway Unit Ready: Far Rockaway IND Terminal Will Be Opened Today" (PDF). The New York Times. January 16, 1958. Retrieved June 29, 2015.
11. "New Fares — Effective April 21, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
13. Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
14. Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961

External links

Template:Attached KML/Far Rockaway Branch

KML is not from Wikidata

• MTA Long Island Rail Road
• Far Rockaway Branch Stations (Unofficial LIRR History Website)^[usurped]
• NYCSubway.org Far Rockaway Line
• Far Rockaway Line; December 11, 1905 (Arrt's Arrchives)
• Far Rockaway Branch (The LIRR Today)