Long Beach Branch

External video
	LIRR Time Lapse: Penn Station to Long Beach, MTA's LIRR; May 20, 2010; 2-minute YouTube video clip
	LIRR Time Lapse: Long Beach to Penn Station, MTA's LIRR; May 20, 2010; 2-minute YouTube video clip

Long Beach Branch
	Long Beach Branch train #853 departs Lynbrook, en route; to New York Penn Station.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Nassau County, New York, USA
Termini	Valley Stream; Long Beach
Stations	5
Services	Long Beach Branch
Operation
Opened	1880 (as New York and Long Beach Railroad)
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750 V (DC) Third rail
Route map
	Atlantic Branch
	to Atlantic Terminal
	Main Line
	to Penn Station & Long Island City
	AirTrain JFK
	to JFK Airport
	10.8 mi
	17.4 km
	Montauk Branch
	via St. Albans
	Zone 3
	Zone 4
	15.7 mi
	25.3 km
	Far Rockaway Branch
	to Far Rockaway
	West Hempstead Branch
	to West Hempstead
	19.5 mi
	31.4 km
	Babylon Branch
	via Montauk to Babylon
	Zone 4
	Zone 7
	20.4 mi
	32.8 km
	20.9 mi
	33.6 km
	21.4 mi
	34.4 km
	23.6 mi
	38 km
	24.9 mi
	40.1 km
	Distances shown from Pennsylvania Station.

The Long Beach 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, at Valley Stream station, where the Atlantic Branch tracks from the west are redesignated Long Beach Branch and the Far Rockaway Branch curves south. East from there the Long Beach Branch parallels the Montauk Branch to Lynbrook, where it turns south toward Long Beach.^[1]^[2]

History

The Long Beach Train Station

The Long Beach Branch began as the New York and Long Beach Railroad Company (NY&LB) Company from Lynbrook to Long Beach in 1880. The original southern terminus was along the Atlantic Ocean. The LIRR leased the NY&LB in 1880 and operated it until 1904 when it merged with the LIRR. Five years later, Long Beach station was moved from the ocean front to Reynolds Channel, where it remains today.

A five-mile (8 km) extension to Point Lookout, New York owned by the Long Beach Marine Railway Company existed between 1881 and 1895. When the LIRR bought the line in 1886, they continued to operate passenger trains along the line until 1890.^[3]

The branch was extended westward from Lynbrook to Valley Stream in 1910 as part of its integration into the Atlantic Branch. The line was double-tracked from Valley Stream to Lynbrook in late 1910, then from East Rockaway to Wreck Lead ("WL") on January 15, 1927. Electrification of the main tracks from Valley Stream to Long Beach was finished in September 1910. Electrification came to freight sidings between 1928 and 1930. Color light signals were installed in January 1927; they were later replaced by PRR-style position light signals.

Hurricane Sandy service disruptions

Hurricane Sandy struck Long Island on October 29–30, 2012, and the Long Beach Branch was the most seriously affected of all the LIRR lines. Third rail power was lost, as three of the four substations on the line were knocked out. The line between Island Park and Long Beach was strewn with debris, and switch motors at Long Beach station, along with other signal and communications components on the line, were rendered inoperative due to immersion in salt water. Partial service was restored on November 14, when a diesel-operated shuttle between Lynbrook and Long Beach began operating on a modified weekday schedule, with shuttle buses being utilized on weekends and Thanksgiving in place of train service. Full electric service, initially not expected to return until January 2013,^[4] was restored much earlier than anticipated, on November 25, 2012.^[5]

Service

On weekdays, many Long Beach Branch trains serve Penn Station, with limited service to/from Atlantic Terminal, and run express between Valley Stream and Jamaica. On weekends and on some trains during weekday peak periods, trains also stop at Locust Manor, Laurelton and Rosedale on the Atlantic Branch. On weekends all trains serve Penn except for some post-midnight trains to/from Atlantic Terminal and one to Jamaica.^[2]

Stations

Zone	Station	Miles (km) from NYP^[6]	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes
3	For continuing service to Jamaica and points west, see Atlantic Branch
4	Lynbrook	19.5 (31.4)	1867^[7]		LIRR: Babylon Branch NICE Bus: n4, n25, n31, n32 Originally Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's
7	Centre Avenue	20.4 (32.8)	1898		Originally South Lynbrook
	East Rockaway	20.9 (33.6)	1880
	Atlantic Avenue		1898	1951
	Oceanside	21.4 (34.4)	1897
	Barnum Island Channel Bridge
	Jekyl Island		1901	1922	Originally named Barnum Island, then Island Park
	Island Park	23.6 (38.0)	1898		NICE Bus: n15 Originally The Dykes
	Reynolds Channel Bridge
	Wreck Lead		1888	1927
	Queenswater		1898	1936	Originally Inner Beach, then Queenswater
	Club House		1898	1909
	Long Beach	24.9 (40.0)	1880		NICE Bus: n15, n33 Long Beach Bus: Point Lookout, East Loop, West End Route, Shoppers Special

References

↑ "MTA LIRR - LIRR Map". mta.info.
1 2 LIRR Long Beach Branch Timetable
↑ "LIRR Branch Notes". trainsarefun.com.
↑ "LIRR Restores Limited Weekday Train Service on Long Beach Branch". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
↑ "LIRR Restores Weekend & Weekday Electric Train Service on Long Beach Branch starting Nov. 25". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
↑ Station pages linked from LIRR Stations Archived September 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961

External links

Route map:

Media related to Long Beach Branch (category) at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "MTA LIRR - LIRR Map". mta.info.

[:0-2] 1 2 LIRR Long Beach Branch Timetable

[3] "LIRR Branch Notes". trainsarefun.com.

[4] "LIRR Restores Limited Weekday Train Service on Long Beach Branch". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 15, 2012.

[5] "LIRR Restores Weekend & Weekday Electric Train Service on Long Beach Branch starting Nov. 25". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 25, 2012.

[6] Station pages linked from LIRR Stations Archived September 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.

[Seyfried-7] Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961