The Staten Island Railway (SIR) opened in stages in 1860. It was necessary to have a direct connection between the new railroad trains and the infrequent ferries to and from Manhattan, but this turned out to be difficult during the beginning of operation. The ferries serving Vanderbilt's Landing were owned by George Law, who operated a competing ferry service called the New York and Staten Island Steam Ferry. Afterwards, Vanderbilt tried to operate a ferry service between Manhattan and Staten Island that would rival Law's ferry service. Vanderbilt started construction on his plan for a central dock on the island, but he abandoned the scheme after a storm destroyed the timber work.
Staten Island Railway era
Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry | Staten Island Railway era
No,  Staten Island Railway opened after the ferry service Yes. The Staten Island Railway (SIR) opened in stages in 1860, after the boat service. Yes, the Staten Island Railway (SIR).
how long is the staton island ferry ride
user
Approximately 25 minutes
assistant
where is this located?
user
The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island
assistant
when it started its service?
user
1810
assistant
who all can ride it?
user
Passengers from  New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island
assistant
and how much is its fare?
user
In 2012 fare was $4.86,  it rose to $5.87 in 2016, before dropping to $5.16 in 2017. In 2017, it  was $6.50, after accounting for the $2.75 per-passenger fare
assistant
you have mentioned about an island above; what is its geographical location?
user
It is a borough of New York City, the island is topographically and geologically a part of New Jersey, the  Island is separated from Long Island by the Narrows and from mainland New Jersey
assistant
so before the aforementioned transport service started in this island, was it a railway junction?
user
The railroad line was still intact from Cranford Junction to Arlington.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Decline: 1971–2000
The section of the SIRT's line between St. George and Clifton Junction was jointly operated with the SIRW.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Reorganization
Through a merger with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the B&O became part of the larger C&O system. The freight operation on the island was renamed the Staten Island Railroad Corporation in 1971, after it was separated from the island's passenger service. On April 1, 1976, the Federal Government created Conrail to take over the potentially profitable lines of multiple bankrupt carriers in the northeast United States; as a result the B&O and C&O became isolated from their properties in New Jersey and Staten Island. Most of their freight service, with the exception of one daily train to Cranford Junction, was truncated to Philadelphia.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Decline: 1971–2000
Freight and World War II traffic helped pay off some of the debt the SIRT had accumulated, briefly making it profitable. B&O freight trains operated to Staten Island and Jersey City. Around this time, B&O crews began running through without changing at different junctions. Regular B&O crews and Staten Island crews were separated, meaning the crews had to change before they could enter Staten Island. All traffic to and from Cranford Junction in New Jersey was handled by the SIRT crews. During the war, all east coast military hospital trains were handled by the SIRT—the trains came onto Staten Island through Cranford Junction, with some trains stopping at Arlington to transfer wounded soldiers to Halloran Hospital.
History of the Staten Island Railway | World War II
The B&O planned to use this tunnel to connect its freight from New Jersey to freight terminals in Brooklyn and Queens, including to a planned port at Jamaica Bay. The city started construction on the Narrows tunnel in 1924. Due to political pressure and the project's increasing cost, the freight tunnel portion of the plan was eliminated in 1925, and the entire project was halted in 1926. Only the shafts at either end were constructed. The SIRT ordered ninety electric motors and ten trailers (later converted to motors) from the Standard Steel Car Company to replace the old steam equipment.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Electrification: 1923–1925
This was the first permanent use of the type of signal on the B&O–it later became the railroad's standard. A modern signaling system was put into place in the Saint George Yards, allowing one dispatcher to do all the work. The Clifton Junction Shops were updated to maintain electric equipment rather than steam equipment, and a large portion of the yard was electrified. Grade crossing elimination began between Prince's Bay and Pleasant Plains. While electrification was being installed, the system's roadbed was rebuilt with 100-pound rail.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Electrification: 1923–1925
Their efforts were not successful. In September 1890, Wiman secured the rights for a tunnel between Brooklyn and Staten Island; these tunnel rights were acquired by the New Jersey and Staten Island Junction Railroad Company. In May 1900, the PRR and other railroads secured an informal agreement to use the North Shore Branch from the Arthur Kill Bridge and the tunnel rights for a tunnel to 39th Street in Brooklyn. This was intended to allow freight trains to travel directly between Boston and Washington.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Extension to New Jersey
After going through the valley, the line would curve toward Amboy Road before curving southward, passing Billop House, and ending near Biddle's Grove and the Amboy ferries. The second route would start at Vanderbilt's Landing and run through Clifton to New Dorp.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Initial efforts: 1836–1860
During the early 2000s, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced plans to reopen the Staten Island Railroad line in New Jersey. Since the Jersey Central became a New Jersey Transit line, a new junction would be built to the ex-Lehigh Valley Railroad line. Two rail tunnels from Brooklyn were planned—one to Staten Island and one to Greenville, New Jersey—and would allow freight to pass through New York on its way from New England to the South. In December 2004, a $72 million project to reactivate freight service on Staten Island and to repair the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge was announced by the NYCEDC and the Port Authority.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Reactivation: 2000–present
The New Jersey Railroad (NJRR; later part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, PRR) and Paterson and Hudson River Railroad (later part of the Erie Railroad) both built their lines to this point in 1834 and November 28, 1833, respectively. It took four more years for the NJRR to cut through Bergen Hill, or the lower New Jersey Palisades; prior to that, passengers and freight transferred to horse-drawn carriages over the hill. The junction was a simple one, with both lines merging towards the east, allowing both railroads to access the east side of the Palisades and the Hudson River. In 1861, due to congestion on the PRR cut, the Erie built the Long Dock Tunnel through Bergen Hill and Marion Junction became a minor transfer point.
Marion Junction (New Jersey) | History
The freight operation on the island was renamed the Staten Island Railroad Corporation in 1971. The B&O and C&O became isolated from their other properties in New Jersey and Staten Island, with the creation of Conrail on April 1, 1976, by merger of bankrupt lines in the northeast United States. As a result, their freight service was truncated to Philadelphia, however, for several years afterward, one B&O freight train a day ran to Cranford Junction, with B&O locomotives running through as well. By the year 1973, the Jersey Central's car float yard at Jersey Central was closed. Afterwards, the car float operation of the B&O was brought back to Staten Island at Saint George Yard.
North Shore Branch | Freight service
To avoid interfering with train service, a temporary track was constructed to the east of the original line and a new, crossing-free line was constructed upon the original right of way.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Final grade-crossing elimination: 1960–1964
On December 26, 1912, the City of New York granted the SIRT the right to construct a second track between Huguenot and Pleasant Plains, with completion expected in three years. The grant was for 25 years but this project was not completed until 1934. During fiscal year 1915, a second track was completed between Annadale and Pleasant Plains, and grade crossings elimination projects were undertaken at Amboy Road, Huguenot Park, and Pleasant Plains. In August 1917, the PSC adopted an order directing the SIRT and other railways to keep the gates at 33 grade crossings closed between midnight and 5 a.m.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Grade crossing elimination: 1912–1950
On November 7, 1960, an accident took place at the grade crossing at North Railroad Avenue and Bancroft Avenue, four blocks away from the New Dorp station. An eight-year-old girl was killed and 31 children were injured as a train struck a crowded school bus as it was about to exit the crossing. A grand jury had ordered the closure of this crossing and 12 others along this stretch of the line, after a train killed a high-school girl at a crossing eight blocks away in December 1959. The railroad had been given an extension of time so it could install gates.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Final grade-crossing elimination: 1960–1964
The bridge's drawspan was , the fixed spans were , and there were clear waterways of on either side of the draw, making the bridge wide. The bridge was above the low water mark. Construction of the draw needed 656 tons of iron, and 85 tons were needed for each of the approaches. Trains were planned to start running on the bridge by September 1, but because the approaches were not finished, this was delayed until January 1, 1890, when the first train from St. George to Cranford Junction crossed the bridge. Because the land for the approaches was low and swampy, of elevated structure was built; on Staten Island and in New Jersey.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Extension to New Jersey
This station replaced the station on the westbound track. As part of the construction of the new station, the operation of the switches where the line narrowed from two tracks to one began to be done from the station instead of being done manually. In addition, in 1910, a new freight house went into operation at Clifton, and new rails were installed as far south as Richmond Valley on the Perth Amboy Division. These new rails, which were heavier than the rails already in place on the southern section of the Perth Amboy Division, were expected to reduce the jarring of cars.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Improvements
Staten Island Borough President Joseph A. Palma, in 1936, proposed to extend Staten Island Rapid Transit to Manhattan (via New Jersey) across the Bayonne Bridge, which had been built to accommodate two train tracks. The Port of New York Authority endorsed the second plan in 1937, with a terminal at 51st Street in Manhattan near Rockefeller Center to serve the trains of Erie, West Shore, Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and trains from Staten Island. This original proposal would be brought back in 1950, by Edward Corsi, a Republican candidate for Mayor of New York City. On February 4, 1932, the headway on trains was decreased to 15 minutes from 20 minutes between 9:29 p.m.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Expansion
The Port Richmond–Tower Hill viaduct, the nation's largest grade-crossing-elimination project, was completed on February 25, 1937. The viaduct, more than a mile long, spanned eight grade crossings on the SIRT's North Shore Branch and was the final part of a $6 million grade-crossing-elimination project on the island which eliminated thirty-four crossings on its north and south shores.
Staten Island Railway | 20th century
B&O gained a majority stake in the line in 1885, and by 1890 new extensions to the line were in service. In 1890, the Arthur Kill Bridge opened, connecting the island to New Jersey. This route proved to be a major freight corridor. After a period of financial turmoil in the 1890s which saw both B&O and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad company enter bankruptcy, the railroad was restructured as the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway (SIRT), and was purchased by the B&O in 1899. In 1924, SIRT began electrification of its lines, to comply with the Kaufman Act, which had become law the previous year.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Introduction
The start of construction was delayed for nine months because it awaited approval of the Secretary of War, and another six months due to an injunction from the State of New Jersey. Construction had to continue through the brutal winter of 1888 because Congress had set a completion deadline of June 16, 1888; two years after signing the bill. The bridge was completed three days early on June 13, 1888. When it opened, the Arthur Kill Bridge was the largest drawbridge ever constructed; it cost $450,000 and was constructed without fatalities. The bridge consisted of five pieces of masonry, the center one being midstream with the draw resting on it.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Extension to New Jersey
The earliest portions of the Staten Island Railway were built in 1860 connecting the ferry landing at Tompkinsville with the village of Tottenville, New York. Looking to expand into the New York City area, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad purchased the line in 1885. The B&O financed the construction of new ferry terminals and slips at St. George, as well as a branch along the north shore of the island to connect to New Jersey via a bridge over the Arthur Kill. Known as the Staten Island Rapid Transit, the line provided freight and passenger service to the island, and the passenger service was electrified in 1925.
Delaware Otsego Corporation | Staten Island Railway
A subway tunnel called the Staten Island Tunnel started construction in 1923, but was abandoned two years later; the completed portion lies dormant beneath Owl's Head Park in Brooklyn. Today, express bus service is provided by NYC Transit throughout Staten Island to Lower Manhattan, Union Square, and Midtown Manhattan. A right of way exists along the north shore of Staten Island. This North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway was built, owned, and operated by the B&O, which used it for passenger service until 1953. It then became a B&O freight line until the 1980s, when service was stopped.
Staten Island | Trains
Grade crossings along the Tottenville line had to be removed by the B&O to finalize the deal. Grade crossings were supposed to have been eliminated in the 1930s but a lack of finances—partially resulting from the Great Depression and World War II—prevented it.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Transfer to MTA operation: 1968–1971
That connection was later removed on September 10, 1923.
Springfield Junction (Long Island Rail Road) | History
In mid-1886, the North Shore Branch opened its new terminal at Erastina. In 1889–1890, a station was built at the South Avenue grade crossing at Arlington as the tracks were extended to the Arthur Kill Bridge. At Arlington, trains were reversed for their trip back to St. George. Even a few years after its opening, most trains terminated at Erastina. A -long branch, then known as the Arrochar Branch, was opened to Arrochar on January 1, 1888, as a double-tracked line. The branch split off at Clifton Junction; it had two stops—Fort Wadsworth and Arrochar. In its first year, the branch carried heavy traffic, especially during the summer months.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening of the North Shore and South Beach Branches
During the early 2000s, plans to reopen the Staten Island Rapid Transit line in New Jersey were announced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). Since the Central Railroad of New Jersey became a New Jersey Transit line, a new junction would be built to the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. So all New England and southern freight could pass through the New York metropolitan area, two rail tunnels from Brooklyn (one to Staten Island and the other to Greenville, New Jersey) were planned. On December 15, 2004, a $72 million project to reactivate freight service on Staten Island and repair the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge was announced by the NYCEDC and the PANYNJ.
Staten Island Railway | Freight service
Under PRR control, the B&O was profitable again and became a stronger railroad. The PRR allowed the B&O's newly developed properties to remain intact. On October 13, 1902, the SIRT started a trial passenger service from Plainfield, New Jersey to St. George, running via the Jersey Central past Cranford Junction. The SIRT operated four trains every day, except for Sunday, with direct connections with the B&O's Royal Blue service between New York City and Washington, D.C. at Plainfield. These trains consisted of a locomotive and two passenger coaches. While this service was in operation the B&O sold tickets for its main line trains at the railroad's ferry terminals in Brooklyn, at South Ferry, and at St.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Improvements
On October 21, 1957, four years after North Shore sub-division passenger trains ended, a train from Washington, D.C.—the last SIRT special—carried Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip across the Arthur Kill Bridge en route to the Staten Island Ferry after a meeting with President Eisenhower. The special train movement was conducted in secrecy and the tracks along the route were cleared for this occasion. The train traveled over B&O, Reading Company, and Lehigh Valley lines to get to Staten Island Junction and the SIRT. The royal train, along with a press train, ended its run at a freight yard at Stapleton.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Freight operations: 1957–1971
The train took him to Stapleton, from where he boarded a ship to Europe. The SIRT made special arrangements for the trip, including a shined-up locomotive sporting polished rods, white tires, and an engine crew clad in white uniforms.
History of the Staten Island Railway | World War II
The Church Avenue connection would have utilized the lower level yard just south of the station, currently used to relay terminating trains. None of these plans were ever funded, due to the onset of the Great Depression and, subsequently, World War II.
Staten Island Tunnel | Completion proposals
The B&O was bankrupt by February 1896; in its attempt to reach the New York market, its western lines fell into disrepair. J.P. Morgan replaced the railroad's top management and refinanced it. The new terminal at St. George was completed in 1896 after work was contracted for the project in fiscal year 1893. The building was designed by the architects Carrere and Hastings, and was built with ironwork framing. At the time, it was the largest terminal in the United States to have ferry, rail, vehicular, pedestrian and trolley services. Trolley companies on Staten Island insisted on access to the new terminal, but were rebuffed by the B&O.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Reorganization
Direct connections for rail freight between Long Island and nearby areas of the United States have long been limited. At present, freight trains from the west and south destined for New York City (except for Staten Island, via the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge), Long Island and Connecticut must cross the Hudson River using the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge which is north of New York City at Selkirk, New York, making a detour known as the "Selkirk hurdle." Partly as a result, less than 3% by weight of the area's freight is said to move by rail. The former Pennsylvania Railroad planned a freight railroad tunnel between Brooklyn and Staten Island in 1893, but the project was never carried out.
Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel | History
The North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway that ran through the neighborhood connecting it to St. George was mainly a freight railroad. It was owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and was briefly, in 1925 and 1926, used as a passenger service link to the ferry launch at St. George. This was suspended as the boat ride was slower than the usual B&O trip to the CNJ Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. During World War II some trains were used to move troops. This branch was closed in 1953, leaving behind a dilapidated track and Port Richmond station along Richmond (now Port Richmond) Avenue.
Port Richmond, Staten Island | 20th century
The B&O made various proposals for a railroad between Staten Island and New Jersey. The accepted plan consisted of a section from the Arthur Kill to meet the Jersey Central at Cranford, through Roselle Park and Linden in Union County. In October 1888, the B&O created the subsidiary Baltimore & New York Railway (B&NY) to build the line, which was to be operated by the SIRTR. Construction started in 1889 and the line was finished later that year. After three years of effort by Wiman, Congress passed a law on June 16, 1886, authorizing the construction of a swing bridge over the Arthur Kill.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Extension to New Jersey
People would also use the railways to transport vegetables, potatoes, lumber, and other resources. The last train that came here was from Charlottetown in 1989, it was also when the railway stopped running.
Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island | Railway junction
Kennedy Boulevard in New Jersey, before connecting with the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (today's PATH train) at Exchange Place. The service would have provided access to Lower Manhattan via the H&M's Downtown Hudson Tubes to Hudson Terminal (now the site of the World Trade Center station). There were also plans to extend the line to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee.
Staten Island Tunnel | Boulevard Subway plan
Other rail transportation included the Manhattan Beach Railroad; the Sea Beach Railroad; the Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad; a route to Long Island City via the Long Island Rail Road; and the Norton's Point Line trolley to what is now Sea Gate. These railroads were not all connected to each other, resulting in a series of spur lines crossing the island. However, the Brighton, Culver, Sea Beach, and West End railroads were acquired by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) by the late 1890s, and the Dual Contracts, signed in 1913, allowed many more subway lines to be built within New York City, which had been incorporated fifteen years prior.
Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station | Origins
This attempt was successful due to the financial backing of William Vanderbilt. The line opened in 1860 and ran from Tottenville to Vanderbilt's Landing and connected with ferries to Perth Amboy, New Jersey and New York, respectively. After the Westfield ferry disaster at Whitehall Street Terminal in 1871, the railroad went into receivership and was reorganized into the Staten Island Railway Company in 1873. In the 1880s, Erastus Wiman planned a system of rail lines encircling the island using a portion of the existing rail line, and organized the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad in 1880, in cooperation with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), which wanted an entry into New York.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Introduction
On June 19, 1874, all branches of the Flushing and North Side Railroad, including the Main Line to Great Neck were incorporated into the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, which included the Central Railroad of Long Island. Two years later, it would become part of the Long Island Rail Road. Despite the failed attempt to extend the line from Great Neck to in 1882, wealthy Port Washington residents persuaded the LIRR to bring the terminus to their hometown in 1895. This required the construction of the Manhasset Viaduct over Manhasset Bay, which was completed on June 23, 1898. The Woodside and Whitestone Branches were abandoned.
Flushing and North Side Railroad | Mergers
Work on the line was delayed until the commissioners reported. The SIRTR filed a map of the proposed route at the office of the clerk of Richmond County. The line as planned would cross the lawn of Ms. Post on the North Shore of the island; on February 26, 1883, Mr. Franklin Bartlett and Mr. Clifford Bartlett, on behalf of Ms. Post, notified the court a change of route would be demanded.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Organization: 1880–1884
In 1890 and 1906, respectively, the car float terminal and freight yard at Saint George and Arlington Yard were opened. The two main freight yards on Staten Island, Arlington and Saint George, were at capacity, and in 1912, to ease the congestion, the B&O began running freight via the Jersey Central into Jersey City. The B&O profited from the heavy coal trade that operated via the lines on Staten Island. In 1920, 4,000,000 tons of freight had been handled on the railway. In addition, passenger traffic on the line increased. Between 1903 and 1920, daily trips on the North Shore Branch increased from 50 to 65; from 50 to 60 on the South Beach Branch; and from 22 to 34 on the Tottenville Branch.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Increase in traffic
Ferry service between Perth Amboy and Tottenville began in 1863, operated by the SIRR. It was necessary to have a direct connection between the trains and the infrequent ferries to and from Manhattan, but this was difficult during the beginning of operation. The ferries serving Vanderbilt's Landing were owned by the attorney George Law. Vanderbilt tried to operate a ferry service between Manhattan and Staten Island that would compete with Law's. He also started construction on a central dock on the island, but he abandoned the scheme after a storm destroyed the timber work. Only the large stone foundation remained; it was still visible at low tide in 1900.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Ferry conflicts: 1860–1884
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) opened in stages in 1860. It was necessary to have a direct connection between the new railroad trains and the infrequent ferries to and from Manhattan, but this turned out to be difficult during the beginning of operation. The ferries serving Vanderbilt's Landing were owned by George Law, who operated a competing ferry service called the New York and Staten Island Steam Ferry. Afterwards, Vanderbilt tried to operate a ferry service between Manhattan and Staten Island that would rival Law's ferry service. Vanderbilt started construction on his plan for a central dock on the island, but he abandoned the scheme after a storm destroyed the timber work.
Staten Island Ferry | Staten Island Railway era
Since the Central Railroad of New Jersey became a New Jersey Transit line, a new junction would be built to the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. In order for all New England and southern freight to pass through the New York metropolitan area, a rail tunnel from Brooklyn to Staten Island, and a rail tunnel from Brooklyn to Greenville, New Jersey were planned. On December 15, 2004, a $72 million project to reactivate freight service on Staten Island and to repair the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge was announced by the NYCEDC and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
North Shore Branch | Freight service
In 1873 the newly opened New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) and Montclair Railway (later New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, NY&GL) began using trackage rights over the Erie route to Marion Junction in order to reach the PRR cut. NY&GL rerouted passenger trains to the Erie's Pavonia Terminal about 1890, and NYS&W did the same in 1911. NYS&W continued to maintain a freight house at Marion Junction. With the decline of the passenger railroads in the mid-20th century, Marion Junction lost much traffic. Facing east, it was not in the best alignment for freight traffic between upstate New York and points south.
Marion Junction (New Jersey) | History
On January 29, 1949, the PSC ordered the SIRT to restore five trains and to reschedule seven other trains for public convenience, and gave the SIRT until February 13 to carry out the order.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Service cuts and the discontinuation of service: 1948–1953
New train cars, designed to be compatible with subway service, were ordered, and electric service was inaugurated on the system's three branches in 1925. Through the 1930s and 1940s grade-crossing elimination projects were completed on the three branches. During World War II, freight traffic on the SIRT increased dramatically, briefly making it profitable. In 1948, the New York City Board of Transportation took over all of the bus lines on Staten Island, resulting in a decrease in bus fares from five cents per zone to seven cents for the whole island. Riders of the SIRT flocked to the buses, resulting in a steep drop in ridership.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Introduction
The North Shore Branch was opened to freight traffic on March 1, 1890. On July 1, 1890, all of the B&O's freight traffic started using the line. The B&O paid the SIRTR 10 cents-per-ton trackage to use the line from Arthur Kill to St. George. Once the Arthur Kill Bridge was completed, pressure was brought upon the United States War Department by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the PRR to have the newly built bridge torn down and replaced with a bridge with a different design, claiming it was an obstruction for the navigation of coal barges past Holland Hook on the Arthur Kill.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Extension to New Jersey
The Main North railway line from Sydney passes through a tunnel on the eastern end of the island, which is joined to Brooklyn by a railway causeway across Sandbrook Inlet, and to Cogra Point on the northern shore of the Hawkesbury River by the second Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge. The spans for this second bridge, built during the 1940s when it became necessary to replace the first bridge, were assembled on the northeastern side of Long Island, immediately to the west of the current bridge. The remains of the docks and crane mountings are still present on the hillside, and along the water's edge.
Long Island (New South Wales) | The Railway
The junction's location was set in 1871, when the LIRR's Rockaway Branch (now the Montauk Branch) was built, crossing the South Side Railroad of Long Island (now the Atlantic Branch). With the consolidation of the South Side into the LIRR system in 1876, all South Side passenger trains were rerouted to use the LIRR main line through Jamaica to Rockaway Junction and the LIRR's Rockaway Branch to this crossing, where a connecting track was built. This change took effect Sunday, June 25, 1876. A new Atlantic Division track opened alongside the Montauk Division east of the junction in 1906, changing the junction into a connecting track between the two lines.
Springfield Junction (Long Island Rail Road) | History
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is the only rapid transit line in the New York City borough of Staten Island and is operated by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The railway is considered a standard railroad line, but only the western portion of the North Shore Branch, which is disconnected from the rest of the SIR, is used by freight and is connected to the national railway system. While the first rail proposal for rail service on Staten Island was issued in 1836, construction did not begin until 1855 after the project was attempted a second time under the name Staten Island Railroad.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Introduction
Improvements were made to the SIRT after the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took control of the B&O in 1900, after which the B&O became profitable again. On October 25, 1905, New York City took ownership of the ferry and terminals and evicted the B&O from the Whitehall Street terminal. The St. George Terminal was then built by the city for $2,318,720, . In anticipation of a tunnel under the Narrows to Brooklyn and a connection there with the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, the SIRT electrified its lines with third rail power distribution and cars similar to those of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT).
Staten Island Railway | 20th century
George Yard, where the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's freight operations exchanged with car floats to other terminals in the New York Harbor. The B&O also operated the SIRT and ferries under a 99-year lease signed in 1885. A trolley terminal for the Staten Island Electric Company was formerly located above the ferryhouse. The St. George tunnel was lengthened in 1905. It was built with two portals at its north end; one on the geographic east side currently in use by the SIR, and an additional western portal intended for the Staten Island Tunnel, which would have traveled across the Narrows and connected to the New York City Subway's BMT Fourth Avenue Line in Brooklyn.
St. George Terminal | History
Attempts to start a rail line on the island were restarted in 1849 and 1850, when residents of Perth Amboy and Staten Island held meetings concerning a possible Tottenville-to-Stapleton line. Like the previous attempt in 1836, they faced financial difficulties, and sought out the help of William Vanderbilt—a son of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt and a resident of Staten Island. Vanderbilt had conceived of such a railroad as a way to reduce the monopoly of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, which was the only mean of reaching Philadelphia. Passengers would take ferries from New York City to Amboy, the railroad to Camden, and finally a ferry to Philadelphia.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Initial efforts: 1836–1860
Passenger service on the North Shore Branch ended in 1953. In 1985, B&O successor CSX sold it to Delaware Otsego and rail freight service was continued until 1991. Freight service on the western North Shore Railroad right-of-way (ROW) at Howland Hook was revived in 2005. For the first time in 16 years a train crossed the bridge on October 4, 2006, a single locomotive which would take on switching duties. Rail at the marine terminal was reactivated in 2007 with the completion of the single-track Chemical Coast connector.
ExpressRail | ExpressRail Staten Island
This is a List of New Jersey railroad junctions, present and past. Abbreviations used in the table: Line names may not be official, but serve to identify the line.
List of New Jersey railroad junctions | Introduction
On November 10, 1960, Staten Island Borough President Albert Maniscalco ordered the closure of this grade crossing and announced that he expected work on eliminating the grade crossing to begin the following year. On August 29, 1964, the PSC approved a $10,923,000 project to eliminate the last remaining grade-crossings on the line between the Jefferson Avenue and Grant City stations. As part of the project, new platforms and station buildings were built at New Dorp and Grant City, and new platforms were built at Jefferson Avenue. To eliminate the grade crossing, the line was raised on an embankment for part of the way and was depressed into an open cut for the rest.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Final grade-crossing elimination: 1960–1964
The Communipaw ferry constituted the main ferry route from the terminal and was operated by four ferries that crossed the North River to Liberty Street Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan. Additional service to 23rd Street was also operated until the CRNJ went bankrupt in 1945 and scrapped its ferry boats used on the 23rd street route in 1947. In the early 1900s the B&O Railroad requested the CRNJ operate ferries for its luxury Royal Blue service passengers to Whitehall Terminal and this was accomplished for several years until the City of New York purchased the Staten Island Ferry from the B&O's subsidiary, the Staten Island Railway, and ended the service in 1905.
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal | Ferries and ships
In 1885, Jacob Vanderbilt retired as President of the SIRW. The new lines opened by the B&O were operated by the SIRTR, while the original line from Clifton to Tottenville was called the SIRW, which was maintained as a separate corporation. The passenger cars used by the SIRW were leased by the SIRTR. Construction of the North Shore Branch began on March 17, 1884, after a number of legal proceedings; a party of surveyors started marking out the grades and broke ground for the roadbed. The rights of a horse car line to operate in Richmond Terrace were bought to build the line; the right of way followed the island's North Shore and reached a ferry to Elizabeth, New Jersey that had been operating since the mid-1700s.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Expansion: 1884–1900
Port Morris Junction was part of the Lackawanna until October 17, 1960; the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until April 1, 1976; and Conrail until February 27, 1979, when the tower was closed. Conrail abandoned the Cut-Off in 1983 and pulled up the tracks at the junction in October 1984. During 1983, NJ Transit (NJT) had taken over the operation of commuter rail service in New Jersey, including through the old Port Morris Junction area. Later that decade, NJT began operating a rail yard there. Initially, the bridge department began operating out of Port Morris Yard. Then, in the 1990s, a commuter rail yard was built at Port Morris, allowing commuter trainsets to begin their weekday morning eastbound runs at Hackettstown, Mount Olive, Netcong or Lake Hopatcong from the yard rather than the yard in Dover, as had previously been the case.
Port Morris Junction | History
In the 1920s, a branch was built to haul materials to construct the Outerbridge Crossing. The branch ran along the West Shore from the Richmond Valley station, and originally ended at Allentown Lane in Charleston, past the end of Drumgoole Boulevard. The branch was cut back south of the bridge after the bridge was completed. The Gulf Oil Corporation opened a dock and tank farm along the Arthur Kill in 1928; to serve it, the Travis Branch was built south from Arlington Yard into the marshes of the island's western shore to Gulfport. At this time, the B&O proposed to join the two branches along the West Shore.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Expansion
At the time the railroad crossed the Passaic at the Centre Street Bridge (no longer in existence) near its Newark station, at the site of today's New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The new "Pennsylvania Cut-off" diverged from the line (now today's Northeast Corridor) at Waverly Yard, crossed the Newark Ironbound and the Passaic to the Kearny Meadows and then crossed the Hackensack River on the Harsimus Branch Lift Bridge. It rejoined the main line at the Bergen Hill Cut, but diverged again using the Harsimus Stem Embankment to reach its freight yards on the Hudson River waterfront north of its passenger terminal at Exchange Place.
Point-No-Point Bridge | Introduction
The first electric train was operated on the South Beach Branch between South Beach and Fort Wadsworth on May 30, 1925, and the other branches were electrified by November of that year. Electrification did not greatly increase traffic, and the tunnel was never built. During the 1920s, a branch line along Staten Island's West Shore was built to haul building materials for the Outerbridge Crossing. The branch was cut back to a point south of the crossing after the bridge was built. The Gulf Oil Corporation opened a dock and tank farm along Arthur Kill in 1928; to serve it, the Travis Branch was built south from Arlington Yard into the marshes of the island's western shore to Gulfport in the early 1930s.
Staten Island Railway | 20th century
Although the Staten Island Railway originally consisted of three lines, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service. It resembles an outdoor line of the New York City Subway. Although the railway has been grade-separated from all roads since the 1960s, it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville—the end of the line. The terminus at St. George provides a direct connection with the Staten Island Ferry. St. George has twelve tracks, ten of which are in service.
Staten Island Railway | Passenger service
Hoping to build a line from Bay Ridge through East New York to Valley Stream, in 1870, the New York and Hempstead Railroad was incorporated. The line was leased by the South Side Railroad after two years of grading and excavating, but because of the financial panic of 1873 the project was drawn to a halt. This concept was resurrected when the New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica Railroad was created in 1875, with its line following the current path of the Bay Ridge Branch freight branch of the LIRR. The line was finished up to Bath Junction by the end of the Summer 1876, where it crossed the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad, the predecessor of the BMT West End line of the New York City Subway.
History of the Long Island Rail Road | Austin Corbin years, 1880–1900
Springfield Junction was a junction between the Long Island Rail Road's Montauk Branch and Atlantic Branch in Laurelton, Queens, New York City, United States. It was located at the place where those two branches now begin to parallel, just east of Laurelton station and half a mile east of Springfield Boulevard. No rail station was located at the junction itself, however Springfield Gardens station was located nearby.
Springfield Junction (Long Island Rail Road) | Introduction
By 1973, the car float yard at Jersey City operated by Jersey Central had closed. Afterwards, the car float operation at Saint George Yard was brought back; the New York Dock Railway took over the operation in September 1979, but closed it the next year. Only a few isolated industries on Staten Island were using rail service for freight, essentially abandoning St. George Yard. A lack of business led the C&O system to sell the Staten Island Railroad to the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad, which was owned by the Delaware Otsego Corporation on April 24, 1985. In October 1989, the Susquehanna embargoed the of track east of Elm Park on the North Shore Branch, ending rail freight traffic to Saint George.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Decline: 1971–2000
The Staten Island Rail Road was incorporated on August 2, 1851, after Perth Amboy and Staten Island residents petitioned for a Tottenville-to-Stapleton rail line. The railroad was financed with a loan from Cornelius Vanderbilt, the sole Staten Island-to-Manhattan ferry operator on the East Shore, his first involvement in a railroad. The line was completed to Tottenville on June 2, 1860. Under the leadership of Vanderbilt's brother, Jacob H. Vanderbilt, the Staten Island Rail Road took over several independent ferries. The Staten Island Railway and ferry line made a modest profit until the explosion of the ferry "Westfield" at Whitehall Street Terminal on July 30, 1871.
Staten Island Railway | 19th century
In 1990, the line's largest customer, Procter & Gamble, closed, leading to a large drop in freight traffic. The last freight train ran over the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge in 1990 and the bridge was taken out of service on July 25, 1991. Afterwards, the North Shore Branch and the Arthur Kill Bridge were taken over by CSX. The line and bridge were purchased again in 1994, this time by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), whose purchase was followed by a decade of false starts. In 1998, Conrail broke up, allowing parts of lines once operated by the competitors of the B&O to become a part of CSX.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Decline: 1971–2000
The North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway was constructed from Cranford Junction on the Central Railroad of New Jersey, in Union County, New Jersey, New Jersey, east to St. George, Staten Island, New York, to give the B&O access to its own deepwater port and ferry terminal. The line no longer runs between Union Avenue and St George on Staten Island. Many attempts have been made to restore the North Shore Branch for passenger service, but have hit political, financial, or legal barriers.
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | Baltimore & New York Railroad
The line was subsequently extended as the Bergen Neck Railroad to Constable Hook in Bayonne where Standard Oil had additional facilities. In 1891, the Bergen Neck Railroad and the National Docks Railway were consolidated. Six years after its initial construction, Standard Oil reached an agreement in 1889 with the New York Central Railroad (NYC) to connect the National Docks Railway with the NYC's West Shore Railroad at National Junction. The line consisted of the New Jersey Junction Railroad and the National Docks and New-Jersey Junction Connecting Railroad, with the National Docks Railway coming under the control of the NYC. It was now the Pennsylvania's turn to protest against the crossing of its property, and a costly "frog war" ensued.
National Docks Secondary | Standard Oil era
At the time, it took one and a half hours to get to Tottenville from Manhattan. Patronage of the rail line exceeded the greatest expectations of its projectors. On February 27, 1861, the New Jersey Locomotive Works gave notice of foreclosure on the two locomotives; Cornelius Vanderbilt interceded again and on September 4, 1861, the SIRR was placed into receivership with William Vanderbilt to prevent the loss of the locomotives and rolling stock to creditors. The Vanderbilts had taken stock in the railroad but in 1863, William Vanderbilt managed the receivership well enough for it to be discharged, with the debt paid off.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening: 1860
The St. Joseph and Grand Island Railroad (SJ&GI) was created in about 1879 when the St. Joseph and Western Railroad (SJ&W) built a line from Hastings to Grand Island, Nebraska. Upon completion of the line, the SJ&W was reorganized into the SJ&GI. Doniphan, Nebraska, was plotted in 1879 at about the halfway point between Hastings and Grand Island and was named for John Doniphan, an attorney for the railroad. The SJ&GI was essentially part of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) for most of its existence. When the UP built a shorter cutoff between Hastings and Gibbon in 1914, use of the SJ&GI tracks north of Hastings gradually declined.
St. Joseph and Grand Island Railway | Introduction
There had been plans to build the Staten Island Tunnel, a railroad or subway tunnel, from Bay Ridge to Staten Island as early as 1890. By the 1910s, there were two proposals to build a tunnel splitting from the Fourth Avenue subway in Bay Ridge, either at Fort Hamilton or at between 65th and 67th Streets. The plan for the tunnel from 65th-67th Streets was ultimately selected and work started in 1923, though the project was halted two years later. In 1927, two years after the cancellation of the Staten Island Tunnel, engineer David B. Steinman brought up the possibility of constructing a vehicular bridge, the "Liberty Bridge", across the Narrows.
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | Staten Island connection and later years
The area was once home to the Rosebank station on the railway's now-defunct South Beach Branch, which was located east of the proposed station site. Several proposals have been made to connect the SIR to the subway system, including the abandoned, unfinished Staten Island Tunnel and a line along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge using B Division cars and loading gauge, but economic, political and engineering difficulties have prevented these projects from realization.
Staten Island Railway | Future plans
By July 1872, the railroad and ferry were in receivership. On September 17, 1872, the company was sold to George Law in foreclosure. The following April 1, the Staten Island Rail Road was transferred to the Staten Island Railway Company. By 1880 the railway was barely operational, and New York State sued (through Attorney General Hamilton Ward) to dissolve the company in May of that year. Erastus Wiman, one of the island's most prominent residents, organized the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company (SIRT) on March 25, 1880, and partnered with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) to build a large rail terminal on the island and centralize the six-to-eight ferry landings.
Staten Island Railway | 19th century
A two-track, one-half-block elevated connection was built on the east side of Vesta Avenue (now Van Sinderen Avenue) between the Fulton Street and Broadway Lines. This connection, equipped with a third rail to supply electric power, was opened on August 9, 1900, and new service patterns were implemented: during times other than rush hours, Lexington Avenue and Fulton Street trains were through-routed, and travel beyond Manhattan Junction required a transfer. This "East New York Loop" was unpopular, and was soon stopped; the next service to use the tracks was the BMT Canarsie Line to Broadway Ferry (later the 15 train), joined to the Fulton Street Line at Pitkin and Snediker Avenues in 1906.
Broadway Junction station | History
The New Jersey Junction Railroad (NJJ) was part of the New York Central Railroad and ran along the Hudson River in Hudson County, New Jersey, from the West Shore Railroad (NYCRR) yards at Weehawken Terminal south to Jersey City. It later owned an extension to the north, separated by the Weehawken yard from the original line. The company was incorporated under the laws of New Jersey on February 27, 1886. On July 1, 1886, it was leased for 100 years to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. The line opened for freight in May 1887 and passengers in June 1887.
New Jersey Junction Railroad | Introduction
The new signal system required the installation of of underground fiber optic cable. The signals system limits the maximum speed at certain points and at sharp curves, and limits trains to when approaching a terminal. On July 17, 2006, rush-hour express service was sped up, with all morning express trains running non-stop from New Dorp to St. George. Evening express service started earlier under the new timetable. In response to record ridership growth on the SIR, rush-hour express service was expanded in late 2007. Evening service was expanded on November 14 when five additional express trains were added, expanding the span of express service by 80 minutes.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Consistent growth: 2000s and 2010s
An overpass linked both platforms. The overpass still exists, but has been blocked by a metal fence on the Ellis Street side, rendering it largely useless. The stairways leading down to the platform were demolished along with the station.
Atlantic station (Staten Island Railway) | Station layout
On October 28, 1947, the SIRT filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to get permission to discontinue ferry service between Tottenville and Perth Amboy Ferry Slip in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The SIRT said the abandonment should be permitted because of "the substantial deficits being incurred in operation of the service, which covers a distance of 3,600 feet". On September 22, 1948, the ICC allowed the SIRT to abandon the ferry, which it had been operating for 88 years. On October 16, the ferry operation was transferred to Sunrise Ferries of Elizabeth, New Jersey, which had agreed to lease the railway's ferry facilities at Tottenville and to lease Perth Amboy wharf and dock properties there.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Transfer of ferry service: 1947–1948
Electric service began on the Perth Amboy sub-division on July 1, 1925, to much fanfare. The North Shore Branch's electrification was completed on December 25, 1925, and resulted in a time savings of ten minutes from Arlington to St. George. Because of the high cost of electrification, however, St. George and Arlington Yards, along with the Mount Loretto Spur, and the Travis Branch were not electrified. Thirteen steam engines were retired and four new, wholly automatic substations opened at South Beach, Old Town Road, Eltingville, and Tottenville. The SIRT's old semaphore signals were replaced by new color position light signals.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Electrification: 1923–1925
On 6 January 1852 became a junction, when the northern section of the D&BJct was opened between Portadown and about beyond . Bridging of valley near Bessbrook by construction of Craigmore Viaduct delayed the running of through trains to just north of until 1852. The Boyne Viaduct at Drogheda was not built until 1854–55, at a cost of £124,000, to the design of Sir John Macneill, who was the consulting engineer for the D&BJct.
Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway | History
The Junction Railroad was a railroad created in 1860 to connect lines west of downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and allow north-south traffic through the metropolitan area for the first time. The railroad consisted of 3.56 miles of double track and 5.3 miles of sidings. It owned no locomotives or rolling stock. The line connected the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road line at the west end of the Columbia Bridge over the Schuylkill River, crossed the Pennsylvania Railroad line, ran parallel to Market Street, and turned south to connect with the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad at Gray's Ferry. It came under Pennsylvania Railroad control in 1881, and was eliminated by merger in 1908.
Junction Railroad (Philadelphia) | Introduction
Running on a separate right-of-way south of the Port Washington Branch and north of the Main Line, it had its own Newtown Station, then the line curved northeast where it had a station for Corona called Corona Park station, then passed through the southern end of Great Neck Junction, where the Central Railroad of Long Island branched off to head towards Garden City, Bethpage and Babylon. Finally, the line ended along the south side of the Flushing and North Side main line at Flushing station. After the Flushing and North Side and the Central Railroad of Long Island were consolidated into the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad in 1874, which itself was later merged into the LIRR in 1876, the LIRR no longer saw any need for the White Line and it was abandoned.
White Line (Long Island Rail Road) | History
The issue went to court, and the B&O ended up splitting the cost for the trolley terminal and the long viaduct with the trolley operators. Prior to October 1897 passengers placed their tickets into ticket choppers at stations to pay their fare. Afterwards, conductors collected tickets. In 1895, trolley service was inaugurated on Staten Island; it attracted passengers from the SIRTR, ending the railroad's monopoly. As a result, the railroad went into bankruptcy. On April 20, 1899, the railroad company and all of the real and personal property held in the company was sold at auction for $2,000,000 to representatives of the B&O.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Reorganization
The North Shore Branch closed to passenger service at midnight on March 31, 1953. A small portion of the western end is used for freight service as part of the ExpressRail intermodal network at the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. The network, which opened in 2007, connects to the Chemical Coast after crossing the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge. The North Shore Branch served Procter & Gamble, United States Gypsum, shipbuilders and a car float at Saint George Yard. A smaller eastern portion, which provided seasonal passenger service to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark station (where the Staten Island Yankees play), operated from June 24, 2001, to June 18, 2010.
Staten Island Railway | North Shore Branch
Trucks could deliver freight anywhere in the city without requiring a railroad siding. The rail tunnels required electric propulsion, limiting their use for freight. A rail freight tunnel from Staten Island to Brooklyn was proposed, but never completed. Rail freight traffic east of the Hudson that did not cross by barge had to go north some distance to cross the river by bridge. The first rail crossing of the Hudson was the Poughkeepsie Bridge built in 1888. The New York Central crossed just south of Albany, New York, where it continued west paralleling the Erie Canal to create the Water Level Route which competed with the Pennsylvania Railroad's more direct route that had to cross the Allegany Mountains.
Rail freight transportation in New York City and Long Island | Early days
Commuters testified that trains were missing connections to ferry boats and that some trains were being held at the St. George Terminal during rush hour to wait for two boatloads of passengers. Previously, they said, the trains pulled out with only one boatload of passengers. On September 13, 1948, the SIRT agreed to add four trains and to extend the schedule of four others. On January 5, 1949, the PSC recommended the SIRT restore the service cut; if it refused, the PSC would order the SIRT to restore the service. Hall suggested lowering the fare to 10 cents or a 20-cent round trip to make the service more competitive with the buses on the island.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Service cuts and the discontinuation of service: 1948–1953
Bath Junction was located near the present site of the station. It took the name as a railroad junction of the New York & Sea Beach Railway (Sea Beach Line) with the Brooklyn, Bath Coney Island Railroad (West End Line). The NY&SB called the station at the junction "Bath Junction," while the BB&CI called it "Sea Beach Junction." Soon, however, they settled on the common name. Bath Junction was located at grade near the current intersection of New Utrecht Avenue and 62nd Street. The junction included a switching track connecting the two lines, so that NY&SB trains might reach the Brooklyn Bridge via the BB&CI tracks.
62nd Street/New Utrecht Avenue station | Bath Junction
The majority of former stations are located on the North Shore Branch and South Beach Branch, which were closed to passenger service at midnight on Tuesday, March 31, 1953. A small western portion of the North Shore Branch that is disconnected to the Main Line is used for freight service, and a smaller eastern portion of the same branch provided seasonal service to the Richmond County Bank Ballpark station from 2001 to 2009. Restoration is being discussed along this mostly abandoned line as part of the Staten Island light rail plan. The South Beach Branch was abandoned and demolished except for a remaining stanchion on St.
List of Staten Island Railway stations | Disused and former stations
The old bridge had been condemned and ordered replaced by the United States Secretary of the Army in 1949, with an expected cost of $8,000,000 to be split between the SIRT and the U.S. Government. When the bridge reopened, long-unit coal trains from West Virginia began using an extension of the Travis Branch, on Staten Island's West Shore to serve a new Consolidated Edison power plant in Travis. The closure of Bethlehem Steel in 1960 and of U.S. Gypsum in 1972 led to a dramatic decline in rail traffic via the Arthur Kill Bridge, although there still was enough traffic in the 1970s to keep car floats reasonably busy.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Freight operations: 1957–1971
The Park Avenue Railroad merged with the Greenwood and Coney Island Railroad on October 9, 1874 to form the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad (PP&CI). In June 1883, soon after the Brooklyn Bridge opened, the PP&CI rerouted the line as an effort to make more profit. Tracks were built on Concord Street from Bridge Street west to Washington Street, and the PP&CI used the newer alignment of the DeKalb Avenue Line on Washington Street past the bridge to Front Street and Water Street and the older alignment via Gold Street and Bridge Street, which had been used primarily by the PP&CI, was abandoned.
B69 (New York City bus) | History
The North Shore Branch was completed in 1885 and opened for service on February 23, 1886, with trains terminating at Elm Park. Travel times between Manhattan and Elm Park were reduced from 90 minutes with the old ferry system to 39 minutes. On March 7, 1886, the key piece of Wiman's plan, the St. George Terminal, opened; North Shore trains operated between Elm Park and St. George, and East Shore trains operated between St. George and Tottenville. In early 1886, in anticipation of the opening of the terminal and the consolidation of operations, the former Staten Island Railway stations from Clifton to Tottenville were upgraded from low-level platforms to high-level platforms to match the platforms on the new lines.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening of the North Shore and South Beach Branches
Any new service would require a physical separation from the current freight tracks. A new terminal station has been proposed south of the original site along South Avenue between Brabant Street and Continental Place, along with a second nearby station for a proposed West Shore service at Forest Avenue.
Arlington station (Staten Island Railway) | History
Verney Junction interchange station in Buckinghamshire, England was built at the point of two railway lines intersecting each other in open countryside. The station was built in an open remote field being used from 1868 to 1968. The Manhattan Transfer (PRR station) on the Pennsylvania Railroad was located outside Newark, New Jersey in a relatively isolated area, and was used primarily for passenger interchange. Sometimes cross-platform interchange is offered between mainline railways and city metro systems, such as Barking and Stratford stations in London. In some cases, no dedicated underground passage or footbridge is provided, and therefore passengers have to transfer between two parts of a station through city streets.
Interchange station | Examples
In 1888, subsequent to building the Arthur Kill swing bridge between New Jersey and northwestern Staten Island, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (the owners of the Staten Island Railway until 1971) proposed a tunnel between Staten Island and Brooklyn. In 1890, Staten Island developer Erastus Wiman, who controlled the railway, sponsored a plan by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to construct a tunnel under the Narrows to connect Staten Island with Brooklyn for both passenger and freight service. The proposal never made it through the approval process when financial challenges stopped the plan at the drawing board. The tunnel would have gone near the foot of Vanderbilt Avenue on Staten Island to Bay Ridge in Brooklyn, traveling at a depth of below the narrows.
Staten Island Tunnel | Original plans
In 1926, following the island's rail network passing to the Southern Railway, a signal box and turnouts were installed at Smallbrook. From then until 1966, the line was the Junction between the Ryde Pier Head to Ventnor and Ryde Pier Head to Cowes Lines, and was notable for only being operated as such during the summer months when traffic increased. The junction has been featured in many photographs from the time. If the Isle of Wight Steam Railway achieves its long term aim of extending to Ryde St. Johns Road, it is likely that Smallbrook Junction station would close.
Smallbrook Junction railway station | History
On June 2, 1923, the Kaufman Act was signed by Governor Al Smith, mandating that all railroads in New York City–including the SIRT—be electrified by January 1, 1926. As a result, the B&O drew up electrification plans, which were submitted to the PSC. The plans were approved by the PSC on May 1, 1924, and construction began on August 1, 1924. The SIRT was to be electrified using 600 volt D.C. third-rail power distribution so it would be compatible with the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit (BMT) once a planned tunnel was completed under the Narrows to Brooklyn, connecting the line to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway system.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Electrification: 1923–1925
Kearny Junction was a railroad junction in Kearny, New Jersey along the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad main line. Just west of Kearny Junction, the DL&W Harrison Cut-off to Kingsland joins the DL&W main line.
Kearny Junction | Introduction