Long Beach Branch
| Long Beach Branch | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 250px
Long Beach Branch train #853 departs Lynbrook, en route
to New York Penn Station. |
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Commuter rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | Long Island Rail Road | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | Nassau County, New York, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Jamaica Long Beach |
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| Stations | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
Contents
History
The Long Beach Branch began as the New York and Long Beach Railroad Company from Lynbrook to Long Beach in 1880. The original southern terminus was along the Atlantic Ocean. LIRR leased and operated the NY&LB RR from 1880 to 1904, at which time the NY&LB RR merged with the LIRR. Five years later, the 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.
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, n36
Originally Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's |
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| 7 | Centre Avenue |
20.4 (32.8) | 1898 | NICE Bus: n36
Originally South Lynbrook |
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| East Rockaway |
20.9 (33.6) | 1880 | NICE Bus: n36 |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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References
| External video | |
|---|---|
 LIRR Time Lapse: Penn Station to Long Beach, MTA's LIRR; May 20, 2010; 2-minute YouTube video clip |
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| LIRR Time Lapse: Long Beach to Penn Station, MTA's LIRR; May 20, 2010; 2-minute YouTube video clip |
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ LIRR Long Beach Branch Timetable
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Station pages linked from LIRR Stations
- ↑ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961
External links
Media related to Long Beach Branch (category) at Wikimedia Commons
- Long Beach Branch Stations (Unofficial LIRR History web site)
- NYCSubway.org: Long Beach Branch
- Original Long Beach Station & Branch (Arrt's Arrchives)
- Long Beach Following Hurricane Sandy (The LIRR Today)
- Long Beach Branch (The LIRR Today)
| Main routes |
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| Branch services | |||||
| Freight operations |
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| Defunct branches | |||||
| Acquired railroads | |||||
| Other | |||||
