Central Branch (Long Island Rail Road)

The Central Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It was originally built in 1873 as part of the Babylon Extension of the Central Railroad of Long Island (CRRLI), which was owned by Alexander Turney Stewart. It now connects the Main Line (Ronkonkoma Branch service) at Beth Interlocking southeast of the Bethpage station with the Montauk Branch (Babylon Branch service) at Belmont Junction west of the Babylon station, allowing several Montauk Branch trains that begin or end east of Babylon to use the Main Line from Bethpage to Jamaica. The branch is colored as part of the Ronkonkoma Branch on LIRR maps, [ [http://mta.info/lirr/html/lirrmap.htm MTA LIRR - LIRR Map] ] but these trains are shown on Babylon and Montauk Branch timetables. [ [http://www.mta.info/lirr/html/ttn/b.htm LIRR Babylon Branch Timetable] ] [ [http://www.mta.info/lirr/html/ttn/m.htm LIRR Montauk Branch Timetable] ]

The last station that existed along this branch of track was South Farmingdale Station. [ [http://www.lirrhistory.com/abansta.html Abandoned Stations (LIRR Unofficial History Website)] ] A sheltered platform existed there as recently as 1974, when the station was discontinued. [ [http://trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrshelter/sofarmingdalespril1963MRmagarticle.jpgSouth Farmingdale Station Shelter (1963 Photo by Dave Keller)] ]

Possible previous use of the term

A line of tracks built by the CRRLI from Floral Park to Bethpage Junction may also previously have been called the Central Branch after it was taken over by the LIRR. Once the connection along this line to Bethpage Junction was broken, that branch also came to be referred to as the Central Extension. The westernmost part of this line is now part of the Hempstead Branch (LIRR). After that branch turns south, the remaining tracks to the east are now used only for freight traffic. Garden City-Mitchel Field Secondary is a remnant of the CRRLI from Garden City to Mitchel Field, and is presently used for trains leading to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Tracks east of Meadowbrook State Parkway were removed during World War II; part of the embankment east of Eisenhower Park can still be seen. A portion of this track was rebuilt after World War II to move materials for the construction of Levittown and then removed again. Stations along the abandoned section of the Central Extension included Clinton Road, Meadowbrook, Newbridge Road, Salisbury Plains [ [Ideal Atlas of Nassau County, New York (Geographica Map Company, Incorporated, 1957)] ] , Island Trees, and Central Park/Jerusalem (in present-day Plainedge). The Long Island Motor Parkway ran mostly parallel north of this line in the section east of Meadowbrook Parkway, and the land there is presently a right-of way for Long Island Power Authority lines.

References

External links

* [http://arrts-arrchives.com/cextrr.html Central Branch of the Long Island Rail Road(The Stewart Line)] (Arrt's Arrchives)