Скачать или смотреть Forgotten Rail Line: Rockaway Beach Branch in south of Ozone Park, Queens, NY

The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park

40.7254°N 73.8608°W heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica Bay to Hammels in the Rockaways

40.5913°N 73.8088°W turning west there to a terminal at Rockaway Park. Along the way it connected with the Montauk Branch near Glendale, the Atlantic Branch near Woodhaven, and the Far Rockaway Branch at Hammels. After a 1950 fire the Jamaica Bay bridge was closed and the line south of Ozone Park sold to the city, which rehabilitated the portion south of Liberty Avenue and connected it to the New York City Subway system as the IND Rockaway Line. The portion north of the subway connection was closed in 1962, and three proposals exist for the reuse of the line.


Final Years

A fire on the trestle across Jamaica Bay between The Raunt and Broad Channel stations cut service on the middle section of the line on May 8, 1950.[23] The LIRR continued to operate over the line with two services: one to Rockaway Park west of Hammels via the Far Rockaway Branch through Nassau County, and the other to Hamilton Beach via the Main Line's connection to the Rockaway Branch through Whitepot Junction. The Jamaica Bay trestle meanwhile remained out of service.[23] The LIRR saw the Rockaway Beach Branch south of Ozone Park as a liability, and sought to either sell or abandon it. The city of New York, however, saw great potential in extending subway service over Jamaica Bay and purchased the line in 1955. After an extensive rebuild of all trestles and converting the line for transit operations, the city began operating it as the IND Rockaway Line on June 26, 1956 to great fanfare.[24]

The line's connection with the Atlantic Branch at Woodhaven Junction, consisting of an interlocking, tunnel portal and incline that rose to meet the elevated Rockaway Branch, was closed and removed in October 1955. This connection had primarily been used to allow trains from Brooklyn to reach Aqueduct Racetrack. The remains of the interlocking can still be seen in the Atlantic Avenue tunnel, while the incline is now used by Logan School Bus Company, who parks their bus fleet along the incline.

LIRR service of the remaining portion of the Rockaway Beach Branch between Rego Park and Ozone Park was greatly reduced and truncated to a single-track operations between the two endpoints starting in 1956. Patronage sharply declined over the next few years, with service consisting of a single train in each direction between New York Penn Station and Ozone Park. No connection with the IND Rockaway Line was made in Ozone Park, further hurting any potential ridership growth. The LIRR, realizing that the current truncated operation was served better and more frequently,[clarification needed] coupled with the fact that the line was the only LIRR line to not serve Long Island proper, quietly ceased service on June 8, 1962.

Source:
Rockaway Beach Branch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockawa...