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    Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975
    Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975
    Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975
    Ebook174 pages51 minutes

    Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975

    By David Keller and Steven Lynch

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    About this ebook

    Planned and chartered on April 24, 1834, the Long Island Rail Road commenced operations in 1836 to provide a route to Boston. Stretching 110 miles east of New York City, the Long Island Rail Road has been the backbone of population growth and suburban development for over a
    hundred years. Electrification was begun on the Long Island Rail Road in 1905. Whether it was commuter, freight, or special trains, third-rail operations played a major role in the Long Island Rail Road’s development as well as the people, places, and industries it served. This book offers
    an insider’s view of the Morris Park shops and photographs of the varied passenger operations found on the Long Island Rail Road.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateAug 10, 2005
    ISBN9781439632482
    Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975

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      Book preview

      Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road - David Keller

      Lynch

      INTRODUCTION

      In 2005, the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) celebrates its 100th anniversary of electrification as a means of moving both freight and passenger traffic on the nation’s largest and oldest commuter railroad. Over 700 trains daily, with ridership in excess of 250,000, make the trip into New York City’s Pennsylvania Station—made possible via the use of third-rail electrified service.

      As before, most of the photographs presented have never before been published, and great care has been taken to provide high-quality images with captions of historical background information to give the reader greater insight into the operations of the LIRR. To that end, we present the following.

      Chapter 1, Electrified Service, celebrates the rich heritage of electrification inherited from the LIRR’s parent, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), and the need to enter the long East River tunnels for access to New York City’s Penn Station with cost-effective, pollution-free operations.

      Chapter 2, Feeding the Firebox, illustrates the diversity of both passenger and freight operations behind steam until its demise in October 1955.

      Chapter 3, Our Diesel Heritage, covers the introduction of major cost-effective diesels starting in the late 1940s, as the LIRR began to dieselize its aging steam fleet, completing the task by 1955.

      Chapter 4, The Freight Business, focuses on the railroad’s freight-hauling and switcher operations, illustrating the other Long Island Rail Road. Timeless photographs of LIRR cabooses, freight trains, switching operations, and other facets of good old-time LIRR freight performance are presented.

      Chapter 5, Passenger Service, provides a view of the varied equipment leased and purchased for both everyday commuter use and special occasion operations. MUs, Ping-Pongs, double-deckers, and parlor cars all have a place in LIRR history.

      Chapter 6, The Morris Park Shops, takes the reader behind the scenes into the maintenance of a large fleet of locomotives and passenger cars and gives a tour of the service facilities required of a Class 1 railroad.

      Chapter 7, Depots and Towers along the Right-of-Way, examines a part of daily operations that makes the railroad function, usually unnoticed by the general public, but playing a critical role in the safe daily movement of people and goods over the line.

      The authors’ intent is that this collection stand alone or be viewed as a continuation of the first book. We hope this volume will enrich the reader’s understanding and appreciation of a major force that has shaped Long Island’s past historical growth and affected the lives of so many, even to this day.

      This official LIRR system map was taken from the back of public timetable LI-1, effective September 20, 1936; however, the Rand McNally and Company map has a date of January 1934. It shows the Wading River extension, as well as the Sag Harbor branch, both in use during this time frame, though it inaccurately shows the Manhattan Beach branch, abandoned in 1924. Curiously, the map had indeed been recently updated, as the Whitestone branch, abandoned in 1932, is not shown. (David Keller Archive.)

      Taken from the roof of the Oyster Bay freight house, this view looks across the top of the boiler of leased Pennsylvania Railroad Atlantic class E3sd (4-4-2) locomotive No. 4176 on a winter’s day in early 1941. This closeup shows the steam dome, with the whistle mounted behind. The pull-chain leads from the whistle to the cab for the engineer’s use. Visible just below this chain is the ash-pit track. Also seen is the brass bell in its mounting, then the sand dome, the smokestack, the generator, and the headlight. To the left of the headlight is one of the two classification lights that would soon be removed from all Pennsylvania locomotives by PRR edict. Beyond the steaming smokestack, spewing smoke that is covering the passenger cars in the right background, a wooden N52A class caboose lays up on the rear of a freight in the yard. (Photograph by T. Sommer.)

      One

      ELECTRIFIED SERVICE

      Celebrating 100 years (1905–2005) of electrification, the Long Island Rail Road owes much of its success and viability to its parent, the Pennsylvania Railroad. The PRR sought a terminus on Manhattan Island and undertook a massive project in 1903 to meet this need: a four-track main line set of tunnels under the Hudson River; the massive Pennsylvania Station; the four-track tunnels under the East River leading into the world’s largest coach storage yard at Sunnyside, Long Island City; and the Hell Gate Bridge yielding access to New England. To accomplish this end, the PRR bought controlling stock in the LIRR and commenced building in 1905.

      That year saw intense changes on the LIRR. On July 26, the first electric service was established between Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, and Rockaway Park. On August 29, electric service opened from Flatbush Avenue to Jamaica. On October 2, electric service opened to Belmont Park Race Track. Electric service to Queens Village started on November 1. Three days later, the Flatbush Avenue station concluded steam service, and the new depot began operations on November 5. On December 11, electrification spread from Jamaica to Valley Stream.

      Pennsylvania Station was completed in June 1910, and on September 8, the first LIRR commuter trains entered the East River tunnels; the Long Island connection to Manhattan was inaugurated. From that point forth, the continued expansion and viability of Long Island’s suburban communities was assured.

      MP41 cars Nos. 1100 and 1101 perform Mitchell Field shuttle service on the east leg of the wye at Country Life Press, Garden City, in this view looking northeast around 1938. The Central branch extension is visible at the left. These were the first MU (multiple unit) style cars in LIRR service. Built by American

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