Long Beach Branch

The Long Beach Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station, where it merges with the Far Rockaway Branch to continue west as the Atlantic Branch. East from there the Long Beach Branch parallels the Montauk Branch to Lynbrook station, where it turns south toward Long Beach station.[4][5] Trains operating on the Long Beach Branch continue west of Valley Stream via the Atlantic Branch to Jamaica station, with most continuing on to Atlantic Terminal or Penn Station.

Long Beach Branch
Long Beach Branch train #853 departs Lynbrook en route to Penn Station
Overview
TypeCommuter rail
SystemLong Island Rail Road
StatusOperational
LocaleNassau County, New York, USA
TerminiValley Interlocking
Long Beach
Stations10
Services
  Long Beach Branch
Ridership4,849,085 (2018, -1.0%)[1]
Operation
Opened1880 (1880) (NY&LB)[2]
OwnerLong Island Rail Road Company[3]
Operator(s)Metropolitan Transportation Authority
CharacterAt-grade
Rolling stockBudd M3
Bombardier M7
Kawasaki M9
Technical
Line length8.8 mi (14.2 km)
Number of tracks1-2
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification750 V (DC) third rail
Route map
Atlantic
Main Line
to Penn Station & Long Island City
9.3 mi
15 km
 Jamaica
​​​
Main Line
12.2 mi
19.6 km
 Locust Manor
13.1 mi
21.1 km
 Laurelton
Montauk Branch
via St. Albans
Springfield Junction
Cedarhurst Cut-off
14.0 mi
22.5 km
 Rosedale
Queens
Nassau
16.1 mi
25.9 km
 Valley Stream
Far Rockaway
West Hempstead
17.7 mi
28.5 km
 Lynbrook
Babylon via Montauk Branch
Zone 4
Zone 7
17.8 mi
28.6 km
 Centre Avenue
18.3 mi
29.5 km
 East Rockaway
Atlantic Avenue (closed)
18.9 mi
30.4 km
 Oceanside
Simpsons Channel
Jekyl Island (closed)
21.4 mi
34.4 km
 Island Park
Wreck Lead Bridge
Wreck Lead (closed)
Queenswater (closed)
Club House (closed)
22.7 mi
36.5 km
 Long Beach
Distances shown from Pennsylvania Station

In 2018, the branch recorded an annual ridership of 4,849,085 based on ticket sales, down 1% from 2017.[1]

History
Further information: History of the Long Island Rail Road
The station house at Long Beach, which opened in 1909 and was designed by Kenneth M. Murchison.

Origins

The Long Beach Branch began as the New York and Long Beach Railroad (NY&LB) Company, operating from Lynbrook to Long Beach in 1880.[2] The railroad's original southern terminus was along the Atlantic Ocean. The LIRR, which had just recently been acquired by entrepreneur Austin Corbin,[6] operated the NY&LB from its inception until 1904, when it was merged with the other lines of the LIRR. At Lynbrook, trains continued west to Hunters Point, Queens, operating on tracks built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island (which had merged with the LIRR prior to the NY&LB service).[7] In 1909, Long Beach station was moved 1,000 feet (300 m) north from the oceanfront to Reynolds Channel, where it remains today.[8]

A five-mile (8 km) extension to Point Lookout, New York owned by the Long Beach Marine Railway Company existed between 1881 and 1895. The LIRR bought the line in 1886 and continued to operate passenger service until 1895.[2]

Pennsylvania Railroad ownership

The LIRR had planned to extend the Atlantic Branch north into Manhattan to meet the New York Central Railroad (NYCRR) at what is now Grand Central Terminal, while at the same time, NYCRR competitor Pennsylvania Railroad was planning to build a tunnel to a new Manhattan terminal from New Jersey. Following negotiations, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) acquired a majority stake of the LIRR in 1900,[9] allowing the railroads to jointly build the New York Tunnel Extension and share a Manhattan terminal at Pennsylvania Station, which opened in 1910. Also in 1910, the Long Beach Branch was extended westward from Lynbrook to Valley Stream, further integrating it with the LIRR Atlantic Branch and the PRR's new Manhattan terminal. The line was double-tracked from Valley Stream to Lynbrook in late 1910, then from East Rockaway to Wreck Lead ("WL") on January 15, 1927. Electrification of the main tracks from Valley Stream to Long Beach was finished in September 1910, with the freight sidings being electrified between 1928 and 1930. This upgrade coincided with the PRR's electrification and grade separation of multiple suburban lines. Color light signals were installed in January 1927; they were later replaced by PRR-style position light signals.

MTA takeover

On January 20, 1965, the State of New York announced its intentions to purchase the LIRR from the PRR. The was to be operated by the newly-formed Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority, today's current MTA. The MTA began operating new M1 electric coaches in 1968, which resulted in the upgrading of every station on the line to high-level platforms.

The Long Beach Branch's familiar orange color scheme (    ) was first implemented on May 20, 1974 as part of the MTA's Form 8 timetable.[10]

Hurricane Sandy and infrastructure modernization

Hurricane Sandy struck Long Island on October 29–30, 2012, and the Long Beach Branch was the most seriously affected of all the LIRR lines despite a full systemwide shutdown on October 29. Third rail power was lost, as three of the four substations on the line were knocked out.[11] The line between Island Park and Long Beach was strewn with debris, and switch motors at Long Beach station, along with other signal and communications components on the line, were rendered inoperative due to immersion in salt water. Bus service began between Lynbrook and Island Park on November 7.[12] Partial rail service was restored on November 14, when a diesel-operated shuttle between Lynbrook and Long Beach began operating on a modified weekday schedule,[13] with shuttle buses being utilized on weekends and Thanksgiving in place of train service. Full electric service, initially not expected to return until January 2013,[14] was restored much earlier than anticipated, on November 25, 2012.[15]

The total cost of post-Sandy restoration projects on the branch is expected to cost $68.6 million and be completed by September 2021.[16] The projects also include the raising of the Oceanside, Oil City, and Long Beach substations 15 feet (4.6 m) off the ground and an emergency generator for the Wreck Lead Bridge over Reynolds Channel.[16][17]

Positive train control, a federally-mandated technology to improve railroad safety, was implemented on the line on October 30, 2019.[18][19]

Stations
Zone Station Miles (km)
from NYP[20]		 Date
opened		 Date
closed		 Connections / notes
For continuing service to Jamaica and points west, see Atlantic Branch
3 Locust Manor 12.2 (19) 1869 LIRR: Far Rockaway Branch
Laurelton 13.1 (21) 1907 LIRR: Far Rockaway Branch
Rosedale 14.0 (23) 1870 LIRR: Far Rockaway Branch
4 Valley Stream 16.1 (26) 1869 LIRR: Far Rockaway Branch
LIRR: West Hempstead Branch
Lynbrook 19.5 (31.4) 1867[21] LIRR: Babylon Branch
NICE Bus: n4, n25, n31, n32
Originally Pearsall's Corners, then Pearsall's
7 Centre Avenue 20.4 (32.8) 1898 Originally South Lynbrook
East Rockaway 20.9 (33.6) 1880
Atlantic Avenue 1898 1951
Oceanside 21.4 (34.4) 1897
Barnum Island Channel Bridge
Jekyl Island 1901 1922 Originally named Barnum Island, then Island Park
Island Park 23.6 (38.0) 1898 NICE Bus: n15
Originally The Dykes
Reynolds Channel Bridge
Wreck Lead 1888 1927
Queenswater 1898 1936 Originally Inner Beach, then Queenswater
Club House 1898 1909
Long Beach 24.9 (40.0) 1880 NICE Bus: n15, n33
Long Beach Bus: Point Lookout, East Loop, West End Route, Shoppers Special


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References
External video
LIRR Time Lapse: Penn Station to Long Beach, MTA's LIRR; May 20, 2010; 2-minute YouTube video clip
LIRR Time Lapse: Long Beach to Penn Station, MTA's LIRR; May 20, 2010; 2-minute YouTube video clip
  1. "2018 Annual Ridership Report" (PDF). Long Island Rail Road. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  2. Felix Reifschneider, History of the Long Island Railroad, 1925, reprinted winter 2001 in The Third Rail
  3. "February 2020 MTA Board Action Items". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 26, 2020. p. 39.
  4. "Long Island Rail Road" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 2017.
  5. "Long Beach Branch Timetable" (PDF). Long Island Rail Road. March 9, 2020.
  6. "LIRR Early History". lirrhistory.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  7. "Long Beach". Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  8. "The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History Volume #5 (New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad; New York & Rockaway Beach railway; New York & Long Beach Railroad; New York & Rockaway railroad; Brooklyn rapid transit operation to Rockaway; Over L.I.R.R.)", by Vincent F. Seyfried
  9. "PENNSYLVANIA'S NEW PLANS OUTLINED; Big Improvements to be Made in Long Island's Acquisition. NO THOUGHT OF MONTAUK POINT Ferry Connection from Jersey City to Bay Ridge and Tunnels to Follow, an Official Says". The New York Times. May 8, 1900. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  10. "LIRR Timetables". Trains Are Fun. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  11. "Major Long Beach Branch Restoration Project Begin". Metropolitan Transit Authority. April 12, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  12. "Hurricane Sandy Recovery Service As of November 7" (PDF). Long Island Rail Road. November 7, 2012.
  13. "Long Beach Branch" (PDF). November 14, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. "LIRR Restores Limited Weekday Train Service on Long Beach Branch". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  15. "LIRR Restores Weekend & Weekday Electric Train Service on Long Beach Branch starting Nov. 25". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  16. Castillo, Alfonso A. (October 30, 2018). "LIRR still years away from some Sandy repairs". Newsday. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  17. "Sandy Substation Restoration / Long Beach Branch (Completed 01/2018)". Long Island Rail Road. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  18. "LIRR adds Positive Train Control on four branches". Fox 5. October 30, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  19. "LIRR Commissions Positive Train Control on Four Branches" (Press release). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 30, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  20. Station pages linked from LIRR Stations Archived September 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  21. Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961

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