Port Washington Branch
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The Port Washington Branch is an electrified two-track rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at Winfield Junction, just east of the Woodside station, and runs roughly parallel to Northern Boulevard past Shea Stadium, Flushing, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Neck, and then crosses into Nassau County for stops in Great Neck, Manhasset, and Plandome before terminating at Port Washington.[1][2]
The branch has the distinction of being the only LIRR service whose trains do not serve Jamaica, as it branches off the Main Line several miles west of that station.
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[edit] Route description
The line has two tracks from the Woodside to Great Neck, and one track from east of Great Neck past Manhasset and Plandome stations to Port Washington. This often causes massive delays during two-way rush hour operations. A second track cannot be added through Manhasset and Plandome due to the proximity of businesses to the narrow right-of-way in Plandome. Also, the trestle between Great Neck and Manhasset also runs only one track.[citation needed]
To eliminate as many delays as possible on the heavily-used line, most peak-hour trains are either local from Penn Station to Great Neck (making all stops in between the two) or express from Penn Station to Port Washington (making stops only at Great Neck, Manhasset, Plandome, and Port Washington, although some trains make their first stop at Bayside).
During rush hours, there are also some trains that run express back to Penn Station from Great Neck, stopping only at Flushing Main Street and Woodside.
Extra service is offered during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and for New York Mets home games, both of which are held in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. These trains stop at a special Shea Stadium station between Woodside and Flushing Main Street.
The route originally terminated in Great Neck until the building of a train trestle over the marshes at the southern end of Manhasset Bay. According to the Village of Manhasset's website, "in 1897, a contract was given to the Carnegie Steel Company and a subsidiary, the King Iron Company, undertook the job of constructing the bridge." The trestle bridge cost about $60,000, and the first train to cross it was on June 23, 1898.
The bridge stands 181 feet tall and runs 678 feet across the bay, offering a spectacular view of the Manhasset Bay. According to the Manhasset Website, scenes from the silent film serial "The Perils of Pauline" were shot on the trestle.
[edit] Station listing
| Station/ location |
Station link |
Miles (kilometers) to Penn Station |
Connections/notes | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pennsylvania Station  34th Street and Seventh Avenue, Midtown Manhattan |
[1] | Subway: 1 2 3 (Manhattan to The Bronx and Brooklyn) (7th Avenue) and A C E (Manhattan to Brooklyn and Queens) (8th Avenue) Bus (New York City Bus): M4, M10, M16, M20, M34, Q32 |
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| Woodside 61st Street and Roosevelt Avenue, Woodside |
[2] | 5.1 (8.2) | Subway: (7) Bus (New York City Bus): Q18, Q32, Q53 |
Opened November 15, 1869 on north side of tracks west of 58th Street; closed 1914 and demolished 1916 (replaced with current structure during grade crossing elimination) |
| Winfield Woodside |
Opened July 1854 on southeast corner of 50th Avenue and 69th Street; moved to the junction in August 1876 to also serve the Main Line; closed 1929 | |||
| Elmhurst Elmhurst |
Opened 1855 as Newtown; name changed to Elmhurst June 1897; closed 1985 | |||
| Corona Corona |
Service began June 26, 1854; station opened April 2, 1855 on west side of National Avenue as Fashion Race Course; renamed West Flushing when 108th Street was abandoned, and Corona in June 1872; closed 1963 | |||
| West Flushing Corona |
Opened September 1854 on north side of line and east side of 108th Street; later abandoned and name assigned to later Corona station | |||
| Shea Stadium (seasonal service) Flushing Meadows Park, south of Roosevelt Avenue |
[3] | 8.6 (13.8) | Subway: (7) | |
| Flushing Main Street Main Street and 41st Avenue, Flushing |
[4] | 9.5 (15.3) | Subway: (7) Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q17, Q20, Q25, Q26, Q28, Q34, Q44, Q48, Q58 Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N21 |
Service began June 26, 1854 |
| Murray Hill 150th Street and 41st Avenue, Flushing |
[5] | 10.3 (16.6) | Bus (New York City Bus): Q15 | |
| Broadway 162nd Street and Northern Boulevard, Flushing |
[6] | 11.1 (17.9) | Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q13, Q28 | |
| Auburndale 192nd Street and Station Road, Auburndale |
[7] | 11.7 (18.8) | Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q13, Q28, Q76 | |
| Bayside 213th Street and 41st Avenue, Bayside |
[8] | 12.6 (20.3) | Bus (New York City Bus): Q13, Q31 | |
| Douglaston 235th Street and 41st Avenue, Douglaston |
[9] | 13.9 (22.4) | ||
| Little Neck Little Neck Parkway and 39th Road, Little Neck |
[10] | 14.5 (23.3) | Bus (New York City Bus): Q12, Q79 Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N21 |
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| Great Neck Middle Neck Road and Station Plaza at Great Neck Road, Great Neck |
[11] | 15.7 (25.3) | Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N20, N21, N25, N57, N58 | |
| Manhasset Plandome Road and Maple Place, Manhasset |
[12] | 17.2 (27.7) | ||
| Plandome Off Stonytown Road and Rockwood Road, Plandome |
[13] | 18.3 (29.5) | ||
| Port Washington Main Street, between Haven Avenue and South Bayles Avenue, Port Washington |
[14] | 19.9 (32.0) | Bus (MTA Long Island Bus): N23 | |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- MTA Long Island Rail Road
- Port Washington Branch Stations (Bob Andersen's Unofficial LIRR History Website)
- NYCSubway.org: Port Washignton Branch
- Forgotten New York:
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| Routes | Main Line • Atlantic • Montauk • (Central) |
| Branch services | Babylon • Belmont Park • City Terminal Zone • Far Rockaway • Hempstead • Long Beach • Montauk • Oyster Bay • Port Jefferson • Port Washington • Ronkonkoma • West Hempstead |
| Former and freight lines | Atlantic Avenue rapid transit • Bay Ridge • Bethpage • Bushwick • Central Extension • Creedmoor • Evergreen • Manhattan Beach • Manorville • Rockaway Beach • Sag Harbor • West Brighton Beach • Whitestone |
| Other | East Side Access • Fleet • Former lines • History • Stations |
