Montauk Branch

Montauk Branch
	The Cannonball runs express through Bay Shore to the Hamptons along the Montauk Branch.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail, freight rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Long Island, New York, USA
Termini	Long Island City; Montauk
Stations	33
Services	West Hempstead Branch Babylon Branch Montauk Branch
Operation
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority (passenger); New York and Atlantic Railway (freight)
Technical
Number of tracks	2 (from Long Island City to Sayville); 1 (east of Sayville)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map
	1.9 mi
	3.1 km
	Main Line
	via Woodside
Lower Montauk Branch
Penny Bridge	closed 1998
	Atlantic Branch
	to Atlantic Terminal – Brooklyn
	Main Line
	via Woodside
	Zone 1
	Zone 3
	AirTrain JFK
	to JFK Airport
	10.8 mi
	17.4 km
	Atlantic Branch
	via Laurelton
	Main Line
	to Babylon via Central Branch
West Hempstead Branch
	13.6 mi
	21.9 km
	Atlantic Branch
	via Laurelton
Babylon Branch
	Zone 3
	Zone 4
	Far Rockaway Branch
	to Far Rockaway
	West Hempstead Branch
	to West Hempstead
	19.5 mi
	31.4 km
	Long Beach Branch
	to Long Beach
	Zone 4
	Zone 7
	20.9 mi
	33.6 km
	22.9 mi
	36.9 km
	24.1 mi
	38.8 km
	25.9 mi
	41.7 km
	27.2 mi
	43.8 km
	28.2 mi
	45.4 km
	29.4 mi
	47.3 km
	30.3 mi
	48.8 km
	31.0 mi
	49.9 km
	Zone 7
	Zone 9
	32.9 mi
	52.9 km
	34.0 mi
	54.7 km
	35.5 mi
	57.1 km
	Central Branch
	to Jamaica via Main Line
	20.3 mi
	32.7 km
	26.6 mi
	42.8 km

Logo of the Cannonball express train

The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. However, in LIRR maps and schedules for public use the term Montauk Branch refers to the line east of Babylon; the line west of there is covered by Babylon Branch schedules to Jamaica.^[1]^[2]

Route description

The westernmost portion of the Montauk Branch in Queens, known as the "Lower Montauk", runs from Long Island City to Jamaica, mostly at street level with grade crossings. This portion had nine stations, four of which were closed by 1940. The remaining five stations (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were closed on March 13, 1998,^[3] due to low ridership and incompatibility with then-new C3 bi-level coach cars that can only use high platforms (only Richmond Hill had an actual platform, the other four stations' platforms were just pavement strips beside the tracks). After these stations closed, the LIRR continued to use the Lower Montauk to operate two express trains between Jamaica and Long Island City. These two trains were re-routed north to Hunterspoint Avenue in 2012, effectively ceasing passenger train service on the Lower Montauk. Soon after, full control of the Lower Montauk was transferred to the New York and Atlantic Railway for freight operations.^[4] In 2017 the New York City Department of Transportation studied a plan to open light rail service on the Lower Montauk Branch.^[5]

After Penn Station opened in 1910 the Lower Montauk became the freight route, and when the present Jamaica station opened in 1913 the two Lower Montauk tracks continued past the south side of the station, south of Hall tower and the south Union Hall Street platform and on to Holban Yard. Those two tracks now carry trains to/from the Hillside Facility that has replaced Holban Yard; they can also carry nonstop Main Line trains past Jamaica station. East from Jamaica the Montauk Branch runs between the Main Line tracks (with two usually westward Main Line tracks north of it and two eastward tracks south of it) until it rises to cross above the other tracks at 40°42′21″N 73°47′04″W / 40.70585°N 73.7845°W / 40.70585; -73.7845 and turns southeast to swing parallel to the Atlantic Branch at 40°40′01″N 73°44′49″W / 40.667°N 73.747°W / 40.667; -73.747. The Montauk Branch east of Jamaica is 0.7 mile longer than the Atlantic.

The portion from Jamaica to Babylon has been electrified since 1925. It is grade-separated on embankments or elevated structures. From Babylon east to Montauk, diesel-electric or dual-mode electric/diesel-electric locomotives haul trains of passenger coaches.

The Montauk Line has heavy ridership and frequent service as far as Patchogue and commuter service as far as Speonk. In the summer, with travelers going out to The Hamptons, Fire Island and other beaches, additional service is operated to the far eastern terminal at Montauk, such as the Cannonball, a Friday afternoon train departing from Penn Station (originally Hunterspoint Avenue) and running non-stop to Westhampton. The Montauk Branch, along with the parallel Atlantic Branch, spawns three subsidiary branches: the West Hempstead Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, and Long Beach Branch.

The electrified portion of the Montauk Branch ends at Babylon; the electric service to Babylon is often identified as a separate service, the Babylon Branch. Some of the Montauk's diesel trains begin or end their runs at Babylon station, connecting with electric trains there. Other Montauk diesel trains operate into New York City, to Jamaica, Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City, or New York Penn Station. The terminal stations in diesel territory, east of Babylon, are Patchogue, Speonk, and Montauk. The Montauk Branch is double-tracked from just east of Long Island City all the way through Babylon, becoming single track at Y Interlocking (located east of the Sayville Station) (a short section of track east of Long Island City is single tracked). Most Montauk Branch diesel trains operate west to NYC via the diesel-only Central Branch, joining the Main Line east of Bethpage. Only a few actually run via the Montauk Branch west of Babylon, under normal conditions on the Main Line.

The Montauk was home to the last tower in North America that regularly used "hooping" train operations: PD Tower, in Patchogue. "Hooping" is the transfer of instructions to the engineer and conductor by attaching the folded orders to the "hoop", a rod several feet long with a loop at the end that is passed from the ground to a moving train by catching the loop on one's arm. The last train to get hooped at PD was train 2730 on May 6, 2006.^[6]

History

Currently, the Montauk Branch intersects with the Bushwick Branch, Bay Ridge Branch, West Hempstead Branch, and Central Branch, as well as the Main Line at Long Island City and Jamaica and the Atlantic Branch at Jamaica and Valley Stream; the Far Rockaway Branch and Long Beach Branch are connected via the Atlantic Branch at Valley Stream. In the past, junctions existed with the Rockaway Beach Branch (a quarter mile east of Woodhaven Boulevard), Southern Hempstead Branch (Valley Stream to Hempstead), Manorville Branch (Eastport to Manorville on the Main Line), and Sag Harbor Branch (Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor). In early times, the Scoot ran frequently between Greenport on the North Fork, "around the horn" on the Manorville Branch, and east to Sag Harbor. In their day, both of those villages were very busy, bustling ports.

Formation and early days: 1860s to 1925

The South Side Railroad of Long Island built the line from Bushwick, Brooklyn to Patchogue in the 1860s, and completed the new line to Long Island City in 1870.^[7] With the reorganization of the South Side as the Southern Railroad of Long Island in 1874 and its lease by the LIRR in 1876, this line became the Southern Railroad Division,^[8] Southern Railroad of Long Island Division, or simply Southern Division.^[9] Effective Sunday, June 25, 1876, all Southern Division passenger trains were rerouted to use the LIRR main line from Berlin Junction (west of Jamaica) to Rockaway Junction, and the LIRR's Rockaway Branch to Springfield Junction, where it crossed the Southern. This change resulted in the closure of the Southern's Berlin, Beaver Street (Jamaica), Locust Avenue, and Springfield stations.^[10] The old line between Jamaica and Springfield, which became freight-only, was renamed the Old Southern Road.^[11] The Southern was reorganized as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879,^[12] and on March 14, 1880, the name was changed from the Southern Division to the Montauk Division.^[13] Thus the old South Side Railroad, except between Jamaica and Springfield Junction, was now the Montauk Division.

The LIRR opened the Sag Harbor Branch, including the present Montauk Branch from Eastport to Bridgehampton, on June 8, 1870.^[14] On July 27, 1881, after the South Side became part of the LIRR, its line – then the Montauk Division – was extended east to the Sag Harbor Branch at Eastport.^[15] The Sag Harbor Branch east of Eastport became part of the Montauk Division,^[16] and the old line from Manor (Manorville) to Eastport became the Manor Branch.^[17] An extension to Montauk, splitting off the old Sag Harbor Branch at Bridgehampton, opened to Amagansett on June 1, 1895^[18] and to Montauk by September,^[19] and the line between Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor reverted to the old Sag Harbor Branch name.^[20]

Babylon electrification: 1925 to present

Electrification of the Montauk Division from Jamaica to Babylon was completed on May 20, 1925,^[21] and normal operation began the next day.^[22] The Central Extension between Bethpage and Babylon was reopened for freight trains that had run via the Montauk Division.^[12]

The Montauk station was initially near the center of a sleepy fishing village at the north end of Fort Pond (where Austin Corbin built a pier in his unsuccessful effort to have trans-Atlantic ships dock there.) The Great Hurricane of 1938 devastated the terminus area and tore up sections of the roadbed. The population center then moved two miles (3 km) to the south, away from the station.

1998 saw the closure of three lightly used stations: Center Moriches, Quogue, and Southampton College. Southampton College was temporarily reinstated in 2004, complete with a steel walkway over Route 27 to the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, during the U.S. Open tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, the walkway was dismantled and the station stop discontinued.

88th Street grade crossing over the Lower Montauk Branch; Woodhaven Boulevard overpass in background.
Lower Montauk passing over Grand Avenue
Track 8 at LIRR Jamaica Station, awaiting the arrival of a Montauk bound train.

Stations

West Hempstead Branch trains split off after St. Albans. Babylon Branch trains terminate at Babylon, while Montauk Branch trains continue beyond. Many non-electric Montauk Branch trains that run express between Jamaica and Babylon run via the Main Line and Central Branch.

Zone	Station	Miles (km) from NYP^[23]	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes
1	Long Island City	1.9 (3.1)	1854		NYC Subway: (at Vernon Boulevard – Jackson Avenue) MTA Bus: Q103 NY Waterway: East River Ferry
	Penny Bridge		1854	1998^[3]
	Laurel Hill		1890	1900
	Haberman		1892	1998^[3]
	Maspeth		1895	c. 1924
	Fresh Pond		1869	1998^[3]	Originally Bushwick Junction
	Glendale		1869	1998^[3]
	Ridgewood		1883	1924
	Richmond Hill		1868	1998^[3]	Originally Clarenceville
	Shops		c. 1900	1913	Part of the Morris Park Facility
	Atlantic Branch converges at Dunton Interlocking
	Dunton		1869 1876	1876 1939	Originally Van Wyck Avenue, then Berlin
	Main Line converges at Jay Interlocking
3	Jamaica	10.8 (17.4)	1836		LIRR; Atlantic, Babylon, Belmont Park, Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, and West Hempstead Branches NYC Subway: (at Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue – JFK Airport) NYCT Bus: Q20A, Q20B, Q24, Q30, Q31, Q43, Q44 SBS, Q54, Q56 MTA Bus: Q6, Q8, Q9, Q25, Q34, Q40, Q41, Q60, Q65 NICE Bus: n4 AirTrain JFK: Jamaica Station Route
	Atlantic Branch diverges at Hall Interlocking
	Union Hall Street		c. 1890	1976	Originally New York Avenue
	Canal Street		1890^[24]	1899
	Hillside		1890^[24]	1966
	Main Line diverges at Rockaway Junction
	St. Albans	13.6 (21.9)	1898^[25]		NYCT Bus: Q4 Originally named Locust Avenue^[26]
	Springfield Gardens		1870s	1979	Originally Springfield
	Atlantic Branch converges at Springfield Junction
	Rosedale	15.8 (25.4)	1870		Served by Atlantic Branch trains Originally Foster's Meadow
Queens / Nassau county line
4
	Valley Stream	17.9 (28.8)	1869^[12]		Served by Atlantic Branch trains
	Lynbrook	19.5 (31.4)	1867^[12]		LIRR: Long Beach Branch NICE Bus: n4, n25, n31, n32 Originally Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's
7	Rockville Centre	21.1 (34.0)	1867		NICE Bus: n15, n16, Mercy Medical Shuttle
	Baldwin	23.0 (37.0)	1867		NICE Bus: n35 Originally Baldwinsville,^[27] then Baldwins
	Freeport	24.5 (39.4)	1867		NICE Bus: n4, n19, n40, n41, n43, n88 (summer only)
	Merrick	25.9 (41.7)	1867
	Bellmore	27.4 (44.1)	1869
	Wantagh	27.8 (44.7)	1867		Originally Ridgewood
	Seaford	29.5 (47.5)	1899		NICE Bus: n54
	Massapequa	30.5 (49.1)	1867		NICE Bus: n54, n55, n80 Originally South Oyster Bay
	Massapequa Park	30.8 (49.6)	1933		NICE Bus: n54, n55, n80
	Unqua		1880	1881
Nassau / Suffolk county line
9	Amityville	33.1 (53.3)	1868		Suffolk County Transit: 1A, S1, S20, S33
	Copiague	34.2 (55.0)	1902		Suffolk County Transit: S20, S31
	Belmont Junction		1875	1876
	Lindenhurst	35.5 (57.1)	1867		Suffolk County Transit: S20 Originally Wellwood, then Breslau
	Central Branch converges
	Babylon	38.4 (61.8)	1867^[12]		LIRR: Montauk Branch Suffolk County Transit: S20, S23, S25, S27, S29, S40, S42, S47 (summer only) Originally Seaside^[12] Terminus of electrification
10	Bay Shore	42.5 (68.4)	1868		Suffolk County Transit: 2A, 2B, S40, S41, S42, S45 Fire Island Ferries to Fire Island (1 mile south) Originally Penataquit, then Bayshore
	Islip Centre		1868	1869
	Islip	44.9 (72.3)	1868		Suffolk County Transit: S42
	Club House		1870	1897
	Great River	47.0 (75.6)	1897		Suffolk County Transit: S40, 3C Originally Youngsport
	Oakdale	49.2 (79.2)	1868		Suffolk County Transit: S40
	Sayville	51.6 (83.0)	1868		Suffolk County Transit: S40, S57, S59 Sayville Ferry Service to Fire Island
	Bayport		1869	1980
	Blue Point		1870 1900	1882 1980
	Patchogue	55.7 (89.6)	1869		Suffolk County Transit: 7A, 7B, S40, S54, S61, S63, S66, S68 Patchogue Village Bus Davis Park Ferry to Fire Island
	East Patchogue		1890^[28]	1928
	Hagerman		1890	1929
12	Bellport	59.6 (95.9)	1882		Suffolk County Transit: 7B, S66, S68 Originally Accobomac then Brewster Place^[28]
	Brookhaven		1884	1958
	Mastic–Shirley	64.1 (103.2)	1960		Suffolk County Transit: S66, S68
	Mastic		1882	1960	Originally Forge
	Center Moriches		1881	1998	Originally Moriches
	East Moriches		1897	1958
	Former Manorville Branch converged
	Eastport		1870	1958	Originally Moriches
	Speonk	73.4 (118.1)	1870
14	Westhampton	76.1 (122.5)	1870
	Quogue		1875	1998
	East Quogue		1871	c.1883	Originally Atlanticville^[29]
	Hampton Bays	83.0 (133.6)	1871		Suffolk County Transit: S92 Originally Good Ground
	Canoe Place		1935	1953
	Suffolk Downs		1907	1921
	Shinnecock Hills		1887	1932
	Southampton College		1907 1976 1986	1939 1998 1986	Originally Golf Grounds, then Southampton Campus Temporarily reopened for the 1986 U.S. Open
	Southampton	91.1 (146.6)	1871		Suffolk County Transit: S92
	Water Mill		1875	c. 1968^[28]	Originally Watermill
	Bridgehampton	95.8 (154.2)	1870		Suffolk County Transit: 10B, S92
	Former Sag Harbor Branch diverged
	Wainscott		1898	1938
	East Hampton	103.0 (165.8)	1895		Suffolk County Transit: 10B, 10C, S92 Originally Easthampton
	Amagansett	106.0 (170.6)	1895		Suffolk County Transit: 10C
	Napeague Beach		1895	1927
	Fanny Bartlett		1924	1928
	Promised Land		c. 1900	1928
	Montauk	117.0 (188.3)	1895		Suffolk County Transit: 10C

References

↑ "MTA LIRR - LIRR Map". mta.info.
↑ LIRR Montauk Branch Timetable
1 2 3 4 5 6 Sengupta, Somini (March 15, 1998). "End of the Line for L.I.R.R.'s 10 Loneliest Stops". New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2007. After 122 years, Glendale saw its last train on Friday.
↑ "The LIRR Says Goodbye to Lower Montauk". thelirrtoday.com. (registration required)
↑ "Lower Montauk Branch Rail Study" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation.
↑ Block Operator Chris Soundy hooping some of the last orders from “PD” tower to the engineer of eastbound DE-30ac #420 (Photo: by Pat Masterson May 4, 2006
↑ "PRR Chronology, 1870" (PDF). (57.0 KiB), January 2005 Edition
↑ Long Island Railroad Company, Long Island and where to Go, 1877
↑ "Long Island". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. August 22, 1877. p. 1.
↑ "Railroad Changes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 27, 1876. p. 2.
↑ "oldsouthernroad". arrts-arrchives.com.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961
↑ "Railroad Reorganization". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. March 15, 1880. p. 10.
↑ "Railroad Dedication". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 6, 1870. p. 2.
↑ "Another Link". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. July 22, 1881. p. 4.
↑ "Golden Days". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. August 1, 1881. p. 4.
↑ "A Forest Fire". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 13, 1896. p. 4.
↑ "Latest Long Island News". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 1, 1895. p. 7.
↑ "The Fall Time Table". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. September 7, 1895. p. 7.
↑ "New Block Signals". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. March 8, 1896. p. 7.
↑ "LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD BABYLON ELECTRIFICATION". arrts-arrchives.com.
↑ "PRR Chronology, PRR Chronology, 1925" (PDF). , June 2004 Edition
↑ Station pages linked from LIRR Stations
1 2 "Rapid Transit Extension". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 24, 1890. p. 1.
↑ Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ 1898 Railroad Map of Queens and Kings County (Unofficial LIRR History Website)
↑ "SSRR BALDWIN". arrts-arrchives.com.
1 2 3 "Babylon/Montauk stations". lirrhistory.com.
↑ "early LIRR stations". lirrhistory.com.

External links

Route map:

Media related to Montauk Branch (Long Island Rail Road) at Wikimedia Commons

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

[2] LIRR Montauk Branch Timetable

[NYT_close-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sengupta, Somini (March 15, 1998). "End of the Line for L.I.R.R.'s 10 Loneliest Stops". New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2007. After 122 years, Glendale saw its last train on Friday.

[4] "The LIRR Says Goodbye to Lower Montauk". thelirrtoday.com. (registration required)

[5] "Lower Montauk Branch Rail Study" (PDF). New York City Department of Transportation.

[6] Block Operator Chris Soundy hooping some of the last orders from “PD” tower to the engineer of eastbound DE-30ac #420 (Photo: by Pat Masterson May 4, 2006

[PRRC_1870-7] "PRR Chronology, 1870" (PDF). (57.0 KiB), January 2005 Edition

[8] Long Island Railroad Company, Long Island and where to Go, 1877

[9] "Long Island". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. August 22, 1877. p. 1.

[10] "Railroad Changes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 27, 1876. p. 2.

[11] "oldsouthernroad". arrts-arrchives.com.

[Seyfried-12] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961

[13] "Railroad Reorganization". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. March 15, 1880. p. 10.

[14] "Railroad Dedication". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 6, 1870. p. 2.

[15] "Another Link". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. July 22, 1881. p. 4.

[16] "Golden Days". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. August 1, 1881. p. 4.

[17] "A Forest Fire". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 13, 1896. p. 4.

[18] "Latest Long Island News". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 1, 1895. p. 7.

[19] "The Fall Time Table". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. September 7, 1895. p. 7.

[20] "New Block Signals". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. March 8, 1896. p. 7.

[21] "LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD BABYLON ELECTRIFICATION". arrts-arrchives.com.

[22] "PRR Chronology, PRR Chronology, 1925" (PDF). , June 2004 Edition

[23] Station pages linked from LIRR Stations

[rtex-24] 1 2 "Rapid Transit Extension". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, NY. June 24, 1890. p. 1.

[25] Long Island Railroad Station History (TrainsAreFun.com) Archived January 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.

[26] 1898 Railroad Map of Queens and Kings County (Unofficial LIRR History Website)

[27] "SSRR BALDWIN". arrts-arrchives.com.

[lirrhistory.com-28] 1 2 3 "Babylon/Montauk stations". lirrhistory.com.

[29] "early LIRR stations". lirrhistory.com.