Montauk Branch

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The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It is the longest LIRR branch, extending 115 miles (185 km) east from Long Island City to Montauk.

The westernmost portion of the Montauk Branch in Queens, known as the "Old Montauk" or "Lower Montauk", runs from Long Island City to a connection with the Atlantic Branch west of Jamaica Station, mostly at street level with grade crossings. This portion of the line sees only two regular passenger trains on weekdays only, which make no stops on the Old Montauk itself. Five intermediate stations in Queens (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were abandoned in 1998 as unprofitable when all platforms on the railroad were raised to floor-level loading for the new double-decker trains.

The portion from Jamaica to Babylon Station has been electrified since 1925, and is the busiest single commuter railroad branch in the U.S. From Babylon east to Montauk, diesel-electric or hybrid electric/diesel-electric locomotives haul trains of passenger coaches.

The Montauk Line has heavy ridership and frequent service as far as Patchogue and commuter service as far as Speonk. In the summer, with travelers going out to The Hamptons, Fire Island and other beaches, additional service is operated to the far eastern terminal at Montauk, such as "The Cannonball," a Friday afternoon train departing from Hunterspoint Avenue and running non-stop between Jamaica Station and Westhampton. The Montauk Branch, along with the parallel Atlantic Branch, spawns three subsidiary branches: the West Hempstead Branch, Far Rockaway Branch, and Long Beach Branch.

The electrified portion of the Montauk Branch ends at Babylon Station—the electric service to Babylon is often identified as a separate service, the "Babylon Branch". Some of the Montauk's diesel trains begin or end their runs at Babylon station, connecting with electric trains there. Other Montauk diesel trains operate into New York City, to Jamaica Station, Hunterspoint Avenue, Long Island City or Pennsylvania Station. Terminal stations in diesel territory, east of Babylon, include Patchogue and Speonk. The Montauk Branch is double-tracked from Long Island City all the way through Babylon, becoming single line at the former site of Bayport station. Most Montauk Branch diesel trains operate west to NYC via the Montauk Branch, though a handful of trains operate via the diesel-only Central Branch, joining the Main Line east of Bethpage Station.

Until 1949 the Montauk Branch was connected to the Main Line via a branch that ran from Manorville (Main) to Eastport (Montauk).

Until 1940 the Montauk Branch also ran from Bridgehampton north into Sag Harbor. In early times, the 'Scoot' ran frequently between Greenport on the North Fork, 'around the horn' at the Manorville-Eastport line, and east to Sag Harbor. In their day, both of those villages were very busy, bustling ports.

The Montauk is home to the only tower in North America that uses "hooping" train operations, located at Patchogue. "Hooping" is the transfer of instructions to both the engineer and conductor by attaching the folded orders to the "hoop," a rod several feet long with a loop at the end that is passed from the ground to a moving train by catching the loop on one's arm. Plans are underway to suspend hooping by mid-May 2006.

The Montauk Branch enjoys frequent service and has heavy ridership because it serves the suburban communities on Nassau County's and westernmost Suffolk County's south shore. It is grade-separated on embankments or elevated structures from Lynbrook Station to Babylon Station, the only LIRR branch east of New York City to have no road crossings at grade.

The Southampton College stop was demolished in 1998, along with other lightly-used stations. In 2004, the stop was temporarily reinstated, complete with a steel walkway over Sunrise Highway to the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, during the U.S. Open (golf) tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament it was dismantled.

The Montauk station was initially near the center of a sleepy fishing village at the north end of Fort Pond (where Austin Corbin built a pier in his unsuccessful effort to have trans-Atlantic ships dock there.) The Great Hurricane of 1938 devastated the terminus area and tore up sections of the roadbed. The population center then moved two miles to the south, away from the station.

[edit] Stations

Station / Location	Station link	Miles (Kilometers) to Penn Station	Connections/Notes
For continuing service to Jamaica and points west, see City Terminal Zone.
For the historical route of the Montauk Branch west of Jamaica, see City Terminal Zone. For the route of the Montauk Branch between Jamaica and Babylon, see Babylon Branch. Most Montauk Branch trains will not stop at Babylon Branch stations.
Hillside Facility (limited service via Main Line and Central Branch)			Employees-only station
Mineola (limited service via Main Line and Central Branch) Front Street and Mineola Boulevard, Mineola	[1]	20.5 (33.0)	Transfer to Oyster Bay Branch trains Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N22, N23, N24, N40, N41, N78, N79
Hicksville (limited service via Main Line and Central Branch) Newbridge Road (Route 106) and West Barclay Street, Hicksville	[2]	26.8 (43.1)	Transfer to Port Jefferson Branch and Ronkonkoma Branch trains Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N22, N48, N49, N50, N73, N74, N78, N79, N80, N81, N94
South Farmingdale (Central Branch station) South Farmingdale			closed
Babylon Railroad Avenue just west of Deer Park Avenue, Babylon	[3]	38.2 (61.5)	Transfer to Babylon Branch trains Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N19, N72 Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S20, S23, S25, S27, S29, S40, S42, S47 (seasonal service to Robert Moses State Park)
Bay Shore Park Avenue and Oak Street, Bay Shore	[4]	42.3 (68.1)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S40, S42, S45, 2A, 2B Ferries to Fire Island: Fair Harbor, Kismet, Ocean Bay Park, Ocean Beach
Islip Islip Avenue (Route 111), between Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway, Islip	[5]	44.8 (72.1)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S42
Club House East Islip			closed 1897
Great River Connetquot Avenue and Hawthorne Avenue, Great River	[6]	46.9 (75.5)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): 3C
Oakdale Montauk Highway and Oakdale-Bohemia Road, Oakdale	[7]	49.0 (78.9)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S40
Sayville Lakeland Avenue and Depot Street, Sayville	[8]	51.5 (82.9)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S57, S59 Ferries to Fire Island: Cherry Grove, Fire Island Pines
Bayport Bayport			closed 1980
Blue Point Blue Point			closed 1980
Patchogue Division Street and Ocean Avenue, Patchogue	[9]	55.6 (89.5)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S54, S61, 7A, 7B Ferries to Fire Island: Davis Park, Watch Hill
East Patchogue/Hagerman East Patchogue			closed 1928
Bellport Station Road and Montauk Highway, Bellport	[10]	59.4 (95.6)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S66, S68, 7B
Mastic-Shirley William Floyd Parkway and Northern Boulevard, Shirley	[11]	64.0 (103.0)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S66, S68, S71, 7D, 7E
Mastic Mastic			closed 1960
Center Moriches Center Moriches			closed March 16, 1998
East Moriches East Moriches			closed 1958
Eastport Eastport			closed 1958
Speonk Phillips Avenue and Depot Road, Speonk	[12]	73.1 (117.6)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S90 Bus (Hampton Jitney)
Westhampton Station Road and Depot Road, Westhampton	[13]	75.9 (122.1)	Bus (Hampton Jitney)
Quogue Quogue			closed March 16, 1998
Hampton Bays Springville Road and Good Ground Road, Hampton Bays	[14]	83.7 (134.7)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S92, 10D, 10E Bus (Hampton Jitney)
Suffolk Downs Shinnecock Hills			closed 1927
Shinnecock Hills Shinnecock Hills			closed 1932
Golf Grounds Southampton			closed 1932
Southampton College-Long Island University Southampton			closed March 16, 1998
Southampton North Main Street, between Prospect Street and Willow Street, Southampton	[15]	90.9 (146.3)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S92, 10A
Water Mill Water Mill			closed 1968
Bridgehampton Maple Lane and Butter Lane, Bridgehampton	[16]	96.1 (154.7)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S92, 10A Bus (Hampton Jitney)
Wainscott Wainscott			closed 1936
East Hampton Newtown Lane and Race Lane, East Hampton	[17]	103.0 (165.8)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S92, 10B, 10C Bus (Hampton Jitney)
Amagansett Main Street and Abrams Landing Road, Amagansett	[18]	106.0 (170.6)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): 10C Bus (Hampton Jitney)
Montauk Edgemere Street and Fort Pond Road, Montauk	[19]	117.0 (188.3)	Bus (Suffolk County Transit): S94 (summer only), 10C Bus (Hampton Jitney)