Bay Ridge Branch

The Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in the U.S. state of New York. It is the longest freight-only line of the LIRR, connecting the Montauk Branch and CSX Transportation's Fremont Secondary (to the Hell Gate Bridge) at Glendale with the Upper New York Bay at Bay Ridge, where the New York Cross Harbor Railroad operates rail-float barges to Conrail's Greenville Yard at Greenville, New Jersey. A Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel is proposed to replace this service.

History

The first part of the line was opened by the New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica Railroad in 1876, from Bay Ridge to the crossing of the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad near New Utrecht.PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1876%20April%2006.pdf PRR Chronology, 1876] |116 KiB , April 2005 Edition] An extension from New Utrecht east and northeast to New Lots opened in 1877, and at the same time the New York and Manhattan Beach Railway opened the line from New Lots north to East New York.PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1877%20Jun%2006.pdf PRR Chronology, 1877] |156 KiB , April 2005 Edition] An extension north from East New York to Cooper Avenue (and then northwest to Greenpoint, later the Evergreen Branch) opened in 1878,PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1878%20June%2006.pdf PRR Chronology, 1878] |126 KiB , June 2006 Edition] and the Long Island City and Manhattan Beach Railroad (incorporated February 24, 1883, merged with the New York and Manhattan Beach and New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica into the New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach Railway August 27, 1885) built from Cooper Avenue north to the Montauk Branch at Glendale in 1883. [Interstate Commerce Commission, [http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/rail/prr/Corphist/nyb_mb.html Valuation Report, New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach] ] The entire line was electrified, starting on July 8, 1927, for New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad freight trains coming off the New York Connecting Railroad (Hell Gate Bridge).PDFlink| [http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1927%20Jul%2004.wd.pdf PRR Chronology, 1927] |100 KiB , July 2004 Edition] Electric operation ended on December 31, 1968.Fact|date=February 2007

tations

The following passenger stations once existed on the line: [ [http://www.lirrhistory.com/Bayridge.html Long Island Rail Road History Website: The Bay Ridge Branch] ]
*Bay Ridge
*Third Avenue
*Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad Crossing
*Parkville
*Manhattan Beach Junction
*Kings County Central Junction
*Vanderveer Park, originally Flatlands
*Kouwenhoven
*Rugby, originally Ford's Corners
*New Lots Road
*East New York
*Bushwick Avenue, originally Central Avenue
*Cypress Avenue, originally Dummy Crossing, then Ridgewood
*Myrtle Avenue
*Bushwick Junction, originally Fresh Pond

Proposed transit link

In light of residential growth and industrial decline, the Bay Ridge Branch easement has been repeatedly included in proposals for a new crosstown subway line in Brooklyn. [ [http://www.rpa.org/pdf/rxnews.PDF Third Regional Plan] Triboro Express]

References

External links

* [http://oldnyc.com/bayridge/contents/bayridge.html A visual tour of the line]
* [http://oldnyc.com/crossbrooklyn/contents/crossbklyn.html Additional images and commentary]
* [http://secondavenuesagas.com/2008/03/06/inside-the-plans-for-the-circumferential-subway-route History of the proposals for conversion to mass transit]
* [http://transit.frumin.net/trx/TriboroRX Study and proposal for integration within NYC subway system]
* [http://www.crossharborstudy.com/addressing.htm Proposal for cross harbor freight tunnel]