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
1860 1860. 1860 1860
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
No,  Staten Island Railway opened after the ferry service
assistant
and what was its date of opening?
user
As a result, the railroad became property of the Vanderbilts; facilities were enlarged under their leadership—an expansion made possible by increasing the capital stock to $800,000 from $350,000.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening: 1860
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
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 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
Stockholders and officials took an inaugural ride on the double-track line between Vanderbilt's Landing and Eltingville on February 1, 1860, and passenger operations began on April 23 that year. At Vanderbilt's Landing, passengers continued their passage to Manhattan by ferry. The first locomotive was named "Albert Journeay", after the railroad's president. A second locomotive was added to the line on May 5, 1860; it was named "E. Bancker" after the company's vice-president. The remainder of the line was expected to be completed in a month. Over the next month, the remainder of the line was built between Annadale and Pleasant Plains as a single-track line, with a passing siding at Huguenot, passing through mosquito-infested land laced with peat bogs and quicksand—an area known locally as Skunk's Misery.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening: 1860
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
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
Nonetheless, on October 2, 1925, the 95th Street subway station, which was built mainly in anticipation for the Staten Island Tunnel, was opened. The station was built with a false wall at its south end, intended for either a planned extension to 100th or 101st Streets or a line leading to a future Fort Hamilton-based tunnel.
Staten Island Tunnel | Construction halted
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
The North Shore Branch opened for service on February 23, 1886, to Elm Park. The Saint George terminal opened on March 7, 1886, and all SIR lines were extended to the station. The remainder of the North Shore Branch, to its terminus at Erastina, was opened in the summer of 1886. On January 1, 1888, the South Beach Branch opened for passenger service to Arrochar. In 1893, the South Beach Branch was extended from Arrochar to a new terminal at South Beach. The new lines opened by the B&O were known as the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway, and the original line (from Clifton to Tottenville) was called the Staten Island Railway.
Staten Island Railway | 19th century
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
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
The station's exact opening date is not certain, but it is known that the station opened between 1909 and 1911. The station was primarily built to serve the workers of the former Atlantic Terra Cotta factory, from where the station name originated. The pedestrian overpass was built in the 1930s. There used to be a grade crossing adjacent to the station, and at least until the 1970s, a small shanty that protected it still existed. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority purchased and gained control of the Staten Island Rapid Transit in 1971, and started to modernize the rail line. The stations on the line were modernized again in the 1990s, with the exception of Atlantic, and the nearby Nassau station, which also was built to serve a factory.
Atlantic station (Staten Island Railway) | History
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
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
The St. George Terminal opened in early 1886. It was served by a Staten Island Ferry route to Manhattan's Whitehall Terminal, as well as three routes of the Staten Island Railway: the North Shore Branch to Elm Park station (later to New Jersey), the East Shore Branch to Tottenville station, and the South Beach Branch to South Beach station. With the completion of the Staten Island Railway, Wiman's Staten Island Amusement Company started operating locations in both St. George and Erastina (now Mariners Harbor). The St. George location opened in 1886 and included an illuminated fountain, as well as public events and competitions, a 60-piece military band, and the St.
St. George, Staten Island | Renaming and late 19th century
Plans for reopening this line were studied at various times during the 1990s and early 2000s as a Staten Island light rail line.
Port Richmond, Staten Island | 20th century
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 B&O built about of rock fill out from shore and along the Kill Van Kull to deal with opposition from property owners in the neighborhood of Sailors' Snug Harbor, costing an additional $25,000. The company underwent a contest in litigation to acquire property for the line to pass over the cove at Palmer's run. Some properties in Port Richmond were acquired, displacing several home and business owners. A farm on the northwestern corner of Staten Island at Old Place—which was renamed Arlington by the B&O—was also purchased. Grading work on the section between Clifton (previously Vanderbilt's Landing) and Tompkinsville began at this time, and during early 1884, construction continued with such energy that this section, which had been expected to open on September 1, opened on July 31 that year.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Expansion: 1884–1900
On March 8, 1886, the South Beach Branch opened for passenger service to Arrochar. The remainder of the North Shore Branch to its terminus at Erastina was opened in the summer of 1886. The new lines opened by the B&O railroad were called the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway, while the original line from Clifton to Tottenville was called the Staten Island Railway. In 1889–1890 a station was put up at the South Avenue grade crossing at Arlington in 1889–1890, where trains were turned on their way back to St. George. Various proposals were made by the B&O for a railroad between Staten Island and New Jersey.
North Shore Branch | Opening
It took a lot of time and wood to built the sub-roadbed with logs. It was viewed as unlikely to be a worthwhile investment to double-track the line because of the low passenger volume south of New Dorp. South of Pleasant Plains, the line was double-tracked. The line was extended to Annadale on May 14, 1860, and was completed to Tottenville on June 2, 1860, with a formal opening of the railroad. The completion of the line to Tottenville allowed passengers to transfer to a ferry that crossed the Arthur Kill and allowed passage to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Initially, services made eleven stops between Vanderbilt's Landing and Tottenville.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening: 1860
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
The first train on the section contained the managers and officers, a few invited guests, and several passengers who had boarded prior to the train's arrival at Tompkinsville. The ride took three and a half minutes. The extension opened for passenger service on August 1, 1884. The opening of the line made the SIRTR's 99-year lease of the SIRW effective; under this agreement, the railroad to Tottenville and its properties became part of the rapid transit system.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Expansion: 1884–1900
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
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
Twenty rail cars were also destroyed in the fire. Since the power circuits were melted, the electric MUs were trapped in the station. Diesel cars were sent to rescue them, but wouldn't couple with the MUs due to their different coupling systems. Some cars were saved through the use of rigging tow chains, but precious minutes were lost. 5 cars were totally destroyed in the fire, while 16 suffered heavy damage. A few cars were sent to Clifton shops, with the others kept at St. George with their windows boarded up. Two days after the fire, the city voted $3,000,000 to start work on a new $12,000,000 terminal that would be opened in 1948.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Fires
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
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
This prompted Robert Moses to propose the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which opened in 1964 and only carries vehicles.
Staten Island Tunnel | Vehicular tunnels under the Narrows
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
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 railroad line was still intact from Cranford Junction to Arlington.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Decline: 1971–2000
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
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
Many stations were named after nearby large farms, such as Garretson's and Gifford's. The stations built at Eltingville and Annadale—whose namesakes, the Eltings family and Anna Seguine, were influential in paying for the construction of the rail line—were the most elaborate. The arrival of the railroad gave dignity to some locations on Staten Island; "Poverty Hollow" was renamed Rosebank, Oakwood became Oakwood Heights, and other places were renamed with the coming of the railroad. In August 1860, the railroad was extended from the depot at Vanderbilt's Landing to the wharf, which allowed passengers to walk directly to the boat from the train instead of walking along the sand.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening: 1860
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 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
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
The station opened on February 23, 1886 as a surface station. In the early 1930s as part of a grade crossing elimination project, the station was depressed into the current open-cut below grade level, and rebuilt with concrete platforms. The platforms are slightly offset due to the right-of-way crossing at a diagonal with the streets in the neighborhood; each measures about in length, which would fit three cars of the former ME-1 rolling stock (67 feet in length) or of the current R44 SIR cars (75 feet in length). Exit stairs were located at the west end of the station towards Morningstar Road.
Elm Park station (Staten Island Railway) | History
On July 1, 1892, Staten Island, New York's first trolley line opened, running between Port Richmond and Meiers Corners. Trolleys, which cost only a nickel a ride through most of their existence, help facilitate mass transit across the Island by reaching communities not serviced by trains. Henry H. Rogers was long-known as the Staten Island transit magnate, and was also involved with the Staten Island-Manhattan Ferry Service and the Richmond Power and Light Company.
Henry Huttleston Rogers | Transit: Staten Island
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
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
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
During the mid-2000s, some trains did run with five cars. The SIR timetable stated, "Select rush hour trains operate with additional cars. For a more comfortable ride, please use all available cars." Platforms at 18 stations were lengthened to accommodate five-car trains in 1988. In 1993, the Dongan Hills station became accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In 1998, renovations were completed at St. George, Tompkinsville, Stapleton, New Dorp, Richmond Valley and Tottenville.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Rebranding and service improvements: 1990s
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
The station opened on June 2, 1860, with the opening of the Staten Island Railway from Annadale to Tottenville. Eight shipyards were located at this location in the 1880s. From the year 1860 to 1885, the locomotives of the Staten Island Railway were maintained and repaired at Journea's Shipyard and at Tyrell's Machine shop. A ferry was operated by the Staten Island Railway from 1867 until 1948 that ran across the Arthur Kill to the Perth Amboy Ferry Slip in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The ferry service dated back to the 1700s and ended on October 17, 1963. There are remains of the old slip to the ferry near the end of Bentley Street, which is now a dead-end street blocked by a Jersey barrier.
Tottenville station | History
The Holland Tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan, and the Staten Island Ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, both saw decreased vehicle counts after the bridge opened. In summer 1965, Staten Island saw increased patronage at its beaches, facilitated by the opening of the new bridge. By the time of the bridge's first anniversary, 17million motorists had crossed the -Narrows Bridge, paying $9million in tolls. The bridge had seen 34% more trips than planners had projected. Conversely, 5.5million fewer passengers and 700,000 fewer vehicles rode the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan.
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge | Opening and early years
The railway's predecessor, the Staten Island Rail-Road Company, was incorporated on May 21, 1836. The charter called for the construction of a single or double-tracked line "commencing at some point in the town of Southfield, within one mile of the steamboat landing at the Quarantine, and terminating at some point in the town of Westfield; opposite Amboy." The proposed line would have run between the present-day locations of Clifton and Tottenville. The route had an estimated cost of $300,000. However, the company lost its charter in 1838 because the railroad was not built within two years after it was incorporated.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Initial efforts: 1836–1860
The Staten Island Railway, currently the borough's only passenger railroad, traverses the island 24/7 from its northeastern tip to its southwestern tip. The Staten Island Railway opened in 1860 and was owned and operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) until July 1, 1971, when the line was bought by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The Staten Island Railway continued to have its own railway police, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Police, until 2005 when the 25-officer police force was consolidated into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department. Staten Island is the only borough not served by the New York City Subway.
Staten Island | Trains
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
As evidenced by a map from 1884, the South Beach Branch was originally intended to run to Prominard Street in Oakwood Beach. The extension, however, was not built because the SIRTR could not gain the Vanderbilt family's approval to cross their New Dorp Beach farm. Instead, the line was only built as far as South Beach. During fiscal year 1893, the SIRTR purchased land to extend the line to South Beach and the South Beach Branch was completed in 1894.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Opening of the North Shore and South Beach Branches
Once the new station opened, Atlantic closed, and in May 2017, it was demolished.
Atlantic station (Staten Island Railway) | 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The station opened on February 23, 1886. Formerly a surface station, it and the Port Richmond station one stop east were elevated onto the current concrete trestle in 1935 as part of an SIRT grade crossing elimination project, opening as an elevated station on February 25, 1937. West of the station past Nicholas Avenue, the line recedes into an open-cut. Tower Hill station closed on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch. It is one of the few stations along the North Shore line still standing, although in ruins. Similar to the nearby Port Richmond Station, the station has a concrete island platform with a metal canopy and street staircases at both ends of the platform.
Tower Hill station (Staten Island Railway) | History
The station opened on October 31, 1925, but the Staten Island extension was never built due to various funding disputes. The platform was lengthened in the 1960s.
Bay Ridge–95th Street station | Introduction
Morning service express service was expanded on December 5. The span of express service was extended by 45 minutes during the morning with the addition of three express trains. Express service was also added in the off-peak direction to Tottenville during the morning, with five express trips leaving St. George. Five local trains were also added to the schedule.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Consistent growth: 2000s and 2010s
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
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
Station booths and MetroCard vending machines are located on both sides. Just before each platform bay are the old destination indicators to the left and right of each platform entrance, corresponding to each departing track. There are green bulbs above these displays that indicate where the next train will be leaving from. This station originally opened with nothing overhead; no bus bays and no ramps. It was the site of a 1946 fire that nearly destroyed the terminal. Just south of the station towards Tompkinsville, the SIR runs in the system's only tunnel, known as the St. George Tunnel.
St. George Terminal | Staten Island Railway station
Alternate plans included constructing two sets of two tubes, one for commuter and freight service from the LIRR and the other for rapid transit, or two tunnels each with individual tubes for freight and subway service. The freight service would have occurred during off-peak hours only, but simultaneous with subway service, with passenger trains running in 30-minute or one-hour headways during these times. A 1912 proposal had freight running at night between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., while the 1925 plans called for joint freight and passenger service during early mornings (5 a.m. to 6 a.m.), middays (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and overnights (8 p.m.
Staten Island Tunnel | Selection of Bay Ridge-based plan
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
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
Only the large stone foundation remained; this was still visible in 1900 at low tide. A long franchise battle ensued; and as a result, Vanderbilt sold his ferry service to Law in 1862. Vanderbilt subsequently lost interest in Staten Island's transit operations, and he handed the operations of the ferry and railroad over to his brother, Jacob Vanderbilt, who was the president of the company until 1883. In March 1864, Vanderbilt bought Law's ferries, bringing both the railroad and the ferries under the same company. The railway assumed the Staten Island and New York Ferry Company's operations in 1865. On July 30, 1871, "Westfield II" was damaged when its boiler exploded while sitting in its slip at South Ferry in Manhattan.
Staten Island Ferry | Staten Island Railway era
The ferry terminal was opened in early 1886. On June 25, 1946, a large fire destroyed both the wooden ferry and rail terminals, killing three people, and injuring more than 200. Full service was restored in July of that year. A new $21-million facility was built by the city, and opened on June 8, 1951. Plans for a renovation of the terminal were announced in March 1997, and the terminal was renovated in the 2000s, as part of a $300 million renovation of several ferry terminals in the area, including the Whitehall Terminal. , St. George's direct rail-sea connection is one of a few left in the United States.
Staten Island Ferry | St. George Terminal
A controlling interest in the SIRTR was obtained by the B&O in November 1885 through purchases of stock. On November 21, 1885, Robert Garrett, President of the B&O, leased the SIRTR to the B&O for 99 years, which gave the B&O access to New York, allowing it to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). Wiman needed the proceeds of the sale to pay for the construction of the North Shore Branch. The funds also helped pay for the construction of a bridge over the Kill Van Kull, the acquisition of of waterfront property, and for terminal facilities at St. George.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Expansion: 1884–1900
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
Due to the wide space from trains caused by the platform's curvature, the last car for St. George-bound trains do not open here.
Clifton station (Staten Island Railway) | Station layout
The South Beach Branch opened on January 1, 1888, to Arrochar, and was extended to South Beach in 1893. The branch closed at midnight on March 31, 1953. It was abandoned and demolished, except for a few segments: a concrete embankment at Clayton Street and Saint John's Avenue, the Tompkins Avenue overpass, trestle over Robin Road in Arrochar and a filled-in bridge under McClean Avenue. This line left the Main Line at (south of the Clifton station), and was east of the Main Line. Although the right-of-way has been redeveloped, most of it is still traceable on maps; the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll plaza is on the former right-of-way.
Staten Island Railway | South Beach Branch
Davis, the businessman Erastus Wiman, who was expanding the Staten Island Railway to New Brighton, promised to "canonize" Law if the latter agreed to relinquish the land rights for a new railroad–ferry terminal there. The St. George Terminal opened in early 1886, bringing more development to the neighborhood.
New Brighton, Staten Island | Late 19th century
The station opened on June 2, 1860, with the opening of the Staten Island Railway from Annadale to Tottenville.
Pleasant Plains station | History
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
The station opened toward the beginning of 1937, likely during a grade crossing elimination project. The original name of the station was "Old Town Road"; the "Road" was dropped soon after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority assumed control of the Staten Island Railway from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1971 (the MTA concurrently shortened the name of the Huguenot Park station to simply "Huguenot").
Old Town station (Staten Island Railway) | History
The Staten Island Tunnel is an abandoned, incomplete railway/subway tunnel in New York City. It was intended to connect railways on Staten Island (precursors to the modern-day Staten Island Railway) to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn, via a new crossing under the Narrows. Planned to extend , the tunnel would have been among the world's longest at the time of its planning, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Construction began in 1923, and the tunnel was excavated into the Narrows before New York City Mayor John Hylan, a former Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) employee and initial proponent of the tunnel, canceled the project in 1925.
Staten Island Tunnel | Introduction
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
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
By 1880, the SIRW was barely operational, and as a result New York State sued through Attorney General Hamilton Ward to have the company dissolved in May that year. The suit said the Company had become "insolvent in September 1872, to have then surrendered its rights to others, and have failed to exercise those rights". The legal proceedings commenced after an injunction was obtained that restrained the creditors of the railway company from proceeding against it until after the suit of the people was determined. Although it was floundering, the railway become the centerpiece of a plan to develop the island by a Canadian, Erastus Wiman.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Organization: 1880–1884
The railroad already owned the line from Elizabethport, New Jersey to South Beach, including the Arthur Kill Bridge. At the time, it was rumored the B&O trains would be rerouted from Communipow station to Saint George. There was no change in the SIRTRC's management after the purchase. On July 1, 1899, the SIRTR defaulted on its payment of interest on its second mortgage bonds, and its lease of the Staten Island Railway ended on July 14 when it was put into receivership. On July 31, 1899, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company—also shortened to Staten Island Rapid Transit, or SIRT–was incorporated for the purpose of operating the SIRTR, with the transaction taking place on August 1, 1899.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Reorganization
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
The station opened on April 23, 1860, with the opening of the Staten Island Railway from Vanderbilt's Landing to Eltingville. Prior to 1965, the Grant City Station was at grade level. In 1964 construction began on eliminating the crossings from Jefferson Avenue to New Dorp. The tracks were displaced onto South Railroad Avenue and the station was relocated during the construction.
Grant City station | History
The Staten Island approach to the -Narrows Bridge was the first part of the new project to be completed, and it opened in January 1964. The upper deck was opened on November 21, 1964, at a cost of $320 million in 1964. Politicians at all levels of the government, from Brooklyn Borough President Abe Stark to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, wrote speeches paying tribute to the -Narrows Bridge. The opening ceremony was attended by over 5,000 people, including 1,500 official guests. Several dignitaries, involving the mayor, the governor, and the borough presidents of Brooklyn and Staten Island, cut the gold ribbon.
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge | Opening and early years
The station opened on June 2, 1860 as Lemon Creek, with the opening of the Staten Island Railway from Annadale to Tottenville. Prior to being placed in an open-cut the station consisted of a small platform connected to a small station house, which was connected to a two-story house. The platform could be reached by going up a short staircase.
Prince's Bay station | History
In November 1947, the Arthur Kill swing bridge was knocked off its center pier foundation by a passing oil tanker, rendering the bridge useless. Freight had to be rerouted through float bridges, with most of it passing through the Central Railroad of New Jersey's yards. The bridge was then condemned by the Army Corps of Engineers. Work on a replacement span started in 1955. On August 25, 1959, the damaged bridge was replaced with a state-of-the-art, single track, vertical lift bridge. The 2,000 ton lift span was prefabricated then floated into place. The new bridge was raised ; because the new bridge aided navigation on the Arthur Kill, the United States Government assumed 90 percent of the $11,000,000 cost of the project.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Freight operations: 1957–1971
The rail station, signed as St. George, which opened on March 7, 1886, is the northern terminus of the main line of the Staten Island Railway. Service is provided 24 hours a day, every day. It is also one of two stations that require the US$2.75 fare on entry and exit, the other being Tompkinsville. This station is handicapped accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This station is situated in an open cut below street level, with a four-lane bus terminal and parking lot above it. The station has five active platforms and ten tracks, numbered 1 through 10 from east to west.
St. George Terminal | Staten Island Railway station
One of the last regular freight moves off Staten Island took place in March 1991. The railroad filed for abandonment in December 1991, and AK Drawbridge was left locked in the raised position. The lines on Staten Island were subsequently transferred to the New York City Economic Development Corp. and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which have restored the bridge, and developed ExpressRail to service the Howland Hook Marine Terminal.
Delaware Otsego Corporation | Staten Island Railway
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
This station was originally known as Vanderbilt's Landing and opened on April 23, 1860 with the opening of the Staten Island Railway, and was the northern terminal for the line. The line extended from Vanderbilt's Landing to Eltingville. The station was also once known as Vanderbilt Avenue. It also included a ferry port with ferries to Stapleton, Tompkinsville, and South Ferry in Manhattan. The port was replaced by Saint George Terminal on March 7, 1886, which was also the day before Clifton became the northern terminus of the South Beach Branch, a status it maintained until 1953. In 2019, the MTA announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.
Clifton station (Staten Island Railway) | History
Vanderbilt thought his railroad would cut travel times—passengers would take a ferry from New York to Staten Island, then take his railroad, before taking a ferry to Amboy—and eliminate the monopoly of the Camden and Amboy between New York City and its terminus in Amboy. Since the plan conceived by the local residents followed Vanderbilt's proposed route, he helped charter the Staten Island Railroad Company (SIRR) on August 2, 1851 in order to build the rail line. The articles of association for the company were filed on October 18, 1851. In 1852, the line was expected to cost $322,195. Two possible route options were considered; the first would start at New Ferry Dock in Stapleton, before passing through Rocky Hollow, following the valley between Castleton and Southfield Heights before descending to New Dorp.
History of the Staten Island Railway | Initial efforts: 1836–1860
The station opened on February 23, 1886 along with the rest of the North Shore branch west to Elm Park. The station was located near the edge of the Kill Van Kull, several feet below street level. The southernmost (St. George-bound) platform was constructed directly at the rear of apartment buildings. A wooden stationhouse, signed "NEW BRIGHTON R.R. STATION," was located at street level at the foot of Westervelt Avenue between the buildings. The stationhouse led to an overpass and stairs down to the northern (west-bound) platform. Canopies were located at the eastern end of the station. West of the station, the line crossed Jersey Street at-grade.
New Brighton station (Staten Island Railway) | History
They then joined a motorcade to mark the official opening of the bridge. A 50-cent toll was charged to all motorists crossing the bridge. The Bridge's opening was celebrated across Staten Island. Moses did not invite any of the 12,000 workers to the opening, so they boycotted the event and instead attended a mass in memory of the three workers who died during construction. The opening was accompanied by the release of a commemorative postage stamp, which depicted a ship sailing underneath the new span. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) created a bus route across the bridge to connect Victory Boulevard in Staten Island with the Bay Ridge–95th Street subway station in Brooklyn.
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge | Opening and early years