Atlantic Branch

Atlantic Branch
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Western Long Island, New York, USA
Termini	Atlantic Terminal Valley Stream
Stations	8 passenger, 1 employee-only
Services	Atlantic Branch (City Terminal Zone)   Far Rockaway Branch   Long Beach Branch
Operation
Opened	1836 (west of Jamaica) 1867 (east of Jamaica)
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750V (DC) Third rail
Route map Legend 2.0 Atlantic Terminal 3.5 Nostrand Avenue Atlantic Avenue Viaduct 6.0 East New York Warwick Street closed 1939 Autumn Avenue closed 1939 Union Course closed 1939 Woodhaven closed 1939 Woodhaven Junction closed 1976 Clarenceville closed 1939 Morris Park closed 1939 Boland's Landing LIRR employees only Dunton closed 1939 Montauk Branch Morris Park Facility LIRR employees only Main Line AirTrain JFK Zone 1/Zone 3 11.3 Jamaica Main Line Montauk Branch South Street closed 1922 Cedar Manor closed 1959 14.2 Locust Manor Higbie Avenue closed 1960 15.1 Laurelton Montauk Branch 16.0 Rosedale Queens/Nassau County border Zone 3/Zone 4 17.7 Valley Stream Far Rockaway Branch Long Beach Branch Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station. This route map: view · talk · edit

The Atlantic Branch is an electrified rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. Partly underground and partly elevated, it runs from Atlantic Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn to Valley Stream, in Nassau County, where it becomes the two-track Long Beach Branch with the two-track Far Rockaway Branch splitting southward just east of the Valley Stream station.

The section between Atlantic Terminal and Nostrand Avenue is underground along Atlantic Avenue. From there the line is elevated above the median of Atlantic Avenue to Ralph Avenue where it returns underground.

At East New York the line rises to street level to cross above the north-south, freight only Bay Ridge Branch, then descends once more to Jamaica. Between East New York and Jamaica, the intact but closed station at Woodhaven Junction is visible.

In Jamaica the line rises to street level and passes the Morris Park Facility, which has a station for employees and shops for the diesel engines that power the longer runs to eastern Long Island.

It turns southeast immediately east of Jamaica, ducking beneath the eastward Main Line tracks. It curves parallel to the Montauk Branch after a few miles and continues next to it to Valley Interlocking in Valley Stream.

Atlantic Terminal saw completion in 2010 of $93 million in renovations, including a new entry pavilion.^[1]

History

The current Atlantic Branch is the successor to two separate lines: the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad (opened 1836) along Atlantic Avenue from Flatbush Avenue to Jamaica, and the South Side Railroad of Long Island (opened 1867) from Jamaica to Valley Stream.

Woodhaven Junction power substation

Atlantic Terminal to Jamaica

See also: Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad

The Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad opened the line from South Ferry to what is now 151st Street in Jamaica on April 18, 1836.

Initially, the line turned halfway between Classon and Franklin Avenues, running halfway between Herkimer Street and Schuyler Street (now Atlantic Avenue) along the line of the present Herkimer Place. It turned slightly to the southeast near Howard Avenue, crossing the centerline of Schuyler Street about one-third of the way between Hopkinson Avenue (Thomas Boyland Street) and Paca Avenue (Rockaway Avenue). It crossed into the town of New Lots just beyond Stone Avenue (Mother Gaston Boulevard).^[2]

The Atlantic Branch was one of the first lines in the LIRR system slated to be electrified. In anticipation of this the entire line to Jamaica was to be grade separated. Between 1903 and 1905 the line was depressed into a tunnel from Flatbush Avenue to Bedford Avenue, then placed on an elevated viaduct from Bedford Avenue to Ralph Avenue then depressed back into a tunnel until Manhattan Crossing located just west East New York station. At East New York the line returned to grade level then rose onto another elevated viaduct until Atkins Ave. The rest of the line from Atkins Ave to Morris Park located just west of Jamaica remained at grade level along Atlantic Avenue with numerous grade crossings with the anticipation of grade separating the line later on. Additionally a new terminal and yard was built at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. Electric service commenced in 1905 with the line consisting of two tracks between Flatbush Avenue and Woodhaven Junction and four tracks beyond that point to Jamaica.

During this time the LIRR ran two services along the line: the traditional commuter type services from points on eastern Long Island to Flatbush Avenue, along with what was known as the "local" rapid transit type service, providing frequent elevated/subway like service at lower fare between Flatbush Ave and Queens Village (although referred to as a rapid transit type service, standard LIRR commuter cars were used, and the service was operated by railroad rules, as opposed to rapid transit). At this time the line from Jamaica to East New York had many more stations along Atlantic Avenue spaced at closer intervals, much like an elevated/subway rapid transit line. The four tracks between Jamaica and Woodhaven Junction lent itself to this service with rapid transit trains using the outer two tracks while commuter trains used the inner two tracks.

For a while the LIRR operated joint service along the Atlantic Branch with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit company (BRT) consisting of two connections, one with the Fifth Ave El at Flatbush Avenue, and another with the Broadway and Lexington Avenue els with a connection built at Chestnut Street in Brooklyn. This allowed BRT trains to access the Rockaways and Manhattan Beach, while affording the LIRR a connection into Manhattan to the BRT terminal located at Park Row over the Brooklyn Bridge (this service predated the opening of the East River Tunnels to Penn Station). Nevertheless the Interstate Commerce Commission ended this service in 1916 when they classified different operating standards between rapid transit trains and regular heavy rail railroads which the LIRR was classified as.

By the late 1930's it became apparent that the rest of the line was going to have to be grade separated. Much of the surrounding areas along Atlantic Avenue in Ozone Park and Richmond Hill began their suburban development leading to more traffic along Atlantic Avenue which was plagued by the lines many grade crossings. The City of New York along with the LIRR thus allocated the funds to depress the rest of the line from Morris Park to East New York in a tunnel. Building of the tunnel commenced in 1939 (although plans to build the tunnel date back to 1893) with two of the lines four tracks being pulled out of service and the rapid transit service being discontinued.

In 1942 the tunnel was completed and opened with the two remaining at grade tracks pulled out of service. Additionally around this time Atlantic Avenue was raised over the East New York station via a viaduct thus separating the road and the railroad. The elevated trestle from East New York to Atkins Avenue was also demolished as it had been included in the new tunnel to Jamaica. Only one station was included in the new tunnel: Woodhaven Junction, where the Atlantic Branch crossed under the Rockaway Beach Branch. An interlocking and track connection was built just west of the Woodhaven Junction station to connect the two lines, but these closed after the abandonment of the Rockaway Beach Branch between 1955 and 1962.

Replacement of the Atlantic Avenue Viaduct at Nostrand Avenue in July 2011.

Jamaica to Valley Stream

See also: South Side Railroad of Long Island

The portion east of Jamaica was opened by the South Side Railroad of Long Island on October 28, 1867, as part of its initial line from Jamaica to Babylon. With the consolidation of the South Side into the Long Island Rail Road system in 1876, all 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 South Side. This change took effect Sunday, June 25, 1876, and resulted in the closure of the South Side's Berlin, Beaver Street (Jamaica), Locust Avenue, and Springfield stations.^[3][4] This formed the current configuration, where the Montauk Branch follows this route, mostly ex-South Side, and the Atlantic Branch (then the Old Southern Road) uses the old South Side to Springfield Junction.

The line was soon reopened due to a lawsuit, but closed again by Austin Corbin as of January 6, 1881.^[5]

Effective May 17, 1906, when an electrified third track opened alongside the Montauk Division from Springfield Junction to Valley Stream, the Old Southern Road and this new track became part of the Atlantic Division.^[6]

Station listing

Only former stations that existed after the ca. 1905 improvement and electrification are listed in this table.

Station	Connections/notes
Atlantic Terminal	Subway: 2 3 4 5 B D N Q R trains at Atlantic Avenue – Pacific Street Bus: B41, B45, B63, B65, B67
Nostrand Avenue	Subway: A C trains at Nostrand Avenue Bus: B25, B44, B65
East New York	Subway: L trains at Atlantic Avenue, A C J Z trains at Broadway Junction Bus: B12, B20, B25, B83, Q24, Q56
Woodhaven Junction	closed 1977
Boland's Landing	Employee only station
Jamaica	LIRR: Babylon Branch, Belmont Park Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, Hempstead Branch, Long Beach Branch, Montauk Branch, Oyster Bay Branch, Port Jefferson Branch, Ronkonkoma Branch and West Hempstead Branch trains Subway: E J Z trains at Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue – JFK Airport Bus: Q6, Q8, Q9, Q20A, Q20B, Q24, Q25, Q30, Q31, Q34, Q40, Q41, Q43, Q44, Q60, Q65 AirTrain JFK
Locust Manor	Bus: Q3 (to JFK Airport), Q85, QM21
Laurelton	Bus: Q77, Q85
Rosedale	Bus: Q5, Q85, X63
New York City / Long Island border
Valley Stream	Long Island Bus: N2
Trains continue south via the Far Rockaway Branch or east via the Long Beach, Babylon and Montauk Branches

Full list, including all former stations

Miles from Atlantic Terminal	Name	Location	Opened	Closed
	South Ferry
	Henry Street
	Clinton Street
0.0[7]	Atlantic Terminal earlier Flatbush Avenue		July 2, 1877	Present
	Vanderbilt Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]
	Washington Avenue		by late 1878[9]
	Grand Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]	by late 1878[9]
1.22[10]	Bedford also called Franklin Avenue	east of Franklin Avenue	by mid-1842[11]
1.57[10]	Nostrand Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]	Present
	Brooklyn Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]
	Kingston Avenue
	Albany Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]
2.27[10]	Troy Avenue		August 13, 1877[8] by mid-1890[12]	by late 1878[9]
	Schenectady Avenue		by late 1878[9]
2.56[10]	Utica Avenue		August 13, 1877[8] by mid-1890[12]	by late 1878[9]
	Rochester Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]
	Ralph Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]
	Saratoga Avenue
	Hopkinson Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]	by late 1878[9]
	Rockaway Avenue		by late 1878[9]
	Stone Avenue		August 13, 1877[8]	by late 1878[9]
3.97[10]	East New York earlier Manhattan Beach Railroad Crossing		by late 1878[9]	Present
4.10[10]	Howard House earlier East New York	Alabama Avenue	by early 1843[13]	1905
	Pennsylvania Avenue
	Wyckoff Avenue	Wyona Street	by late 1878[14]
	Bradford Avenue		mid-1899[10][15]
	Van Siclen Avenue		by late 1878[16]
4.8[7] or 4.9[17]	Warwick Street		August 29, 1905	November 1, 1939[18]
5.02[10]	Linwood Street earlier Van Wicklens		by late 1878[9]
5.32[10]	Norwood Avenue		by mid-1890[12]	November 5, 1915[19]
	Cypress Avenue	Crescent Street	by mid-1853[20]
	Cypress Hills	west of Autumn Avenue	by early 1849[21]
5.8[7]	Autumn Avenue earlier Railroad Avenue		April 28, 1905	November 1, 1939[19]
	Adamsville	west of Eldert Lane	June 1872[19][22]	November 1, 1876[19]
	City Line
	Unionville	west of 80th Street
6.3[7]	Union Course	east of 80th Street	by late 1842[23]	November 1, 1939[19]
6.69[10]	Woodhaven earlier Woodville	east of 87th Street	by mid-1848[24]	November 1, 1939[19]
	Trotting Course Lane	94th Street
7.19[10]	Woodhaven Junction	west of 100th Street	by mid-1890[12]	1977
	Chester Park	104th Street
7.79[10]	Clarenceville	111th Street	by late 1874[22]	November 1, 1939[19]
	Lefferts Avenue	west of 119th Street	by 1867	June 1870[19]
8.07[10]	Morris Park	west of 120th Street	by mid-1890[12]	November 1, 1939[19]
	Morris Grove	west of 124th Street	1878	1886
	Boland's Landing	126th Street	1889
	Berlin	west of 130th Street
	Berlin Junction	??
8.86[10]	Dunton originally Van Wyck Avenue, then Berlin	Van Wyck Avenue	June 1869	November 1, 1939
	Jamaica	Sutphin Boulevard	1876	Present
9.6[7]	Beaver Street also called Jamaica—Beaver Street	east of Jamaica Station	October 28, 1867	1913
	South Street	South Road	November 15, 1917	June 1922
10.8[7]	Cedar Manor earlier Power Place	near Linden Boulevard	1906	1959
11.7[7]	Locust Manor earlier Locust Avenue	Farmer's Boulevard & Bedell Street	June 1869	Present
12.6[7]	Higbie Avenue earlier Springfield	140th Avenue[25]	1908	1960
	Springfield	Springfield Boulevard	October 28, 1867	1906
13.1[7]	Laurelton earlier Central Avenue	224th Street	April 1907	Present
13.8[7]	Rosedale earlier Foster's Meadow	Francis Lewis Boulevard & Sunrise Highway		Present
15.7[7]	Valley Stream	Franklin Avenue & Sunrise Highway	June 1869	Present

See also

• Lower Manhattan-Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project - Proposal to use the LIRR Atlantic Branch in a new direct JFK connection to Lower Manhattan

References

1. ^ Governor Tours Atlantic Avenue Terminal Improvement Project: $200 Million Project Underway at Terminal Complex in Brooklyn, press release dated July 11, 2002
2. ^ Joseph Hutchins Colton, Map of the city of Brooklyn, 1849, NYPL Digital Image ID: 434722
3. ^ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961
4. ^ "Railroad Changes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. June 27, 1876. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1876/06/27&Page=2&skin=BE. 
5. ^ "Without Railroad Accommodation". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. February 22, 1881. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1881/02/22&Page=4&skin=BE. 
6. ^ Employee timetable, May 17, 1906
7. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Employee timetable, May 17, 1906
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} "Steam Motors". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. August 12, 1877. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1877/08/12&Page=4&skin=BE. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Employee timetable, November 4, 1878
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Employee timetable, June 28, 1899
11. ^ "Long Island Railroad". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. May 13, 1842. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1842/05/13&Page=2&skin=BE. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e} Employee timetable, June 24, 1890
13. ^ "Long Island Railroad Co". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 3. March 4, 1843. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1843/03/04&Page=3&skin=BE. 
14. ^ "Instructive". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. November 22, 1878. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1878/11/22&Page=4&skin=BE. 
15. ^ Employee timetable, September 17, 1899
16. ^ "Shocking". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. November 14, 1878. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1878/11/14&Page=4&skin=BE. 
17. ^ Employee timetable, September 20, 1905
18. ^ LIRR Notice for November 1, 1939
19. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Long Island Railroad Station History
20. ^ "Travel". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 4. June 16, 1853. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1853/06/16&Page=4&skin=BE. 
21. ^ "The New Cemetery of the Cypress Hills". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. April 9, 1849. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1849/04/09&Page=2&skin=BE. 
22. ^ ^{a b} Timetable, November 8, 1874
23. ^ "Races, Union Course--Long Island Railroad". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 3. October 3, 1842. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1842/10/03&Page=3&skin=BE. 
24. ^ Timetable, May 1, 1848
25. ^ Street Name Changes in Queens, New York (SteveMorse.org)

External links

• 1884 and 1900 Maps of the Atlantic Branch and Vicinity (Arrt's Arrchives)