Southern Railroad of Long Island
Encyclopedia
The South Side Railroad of Long Island was a railroad company in the U.S. state
of New York
. Chartered in 1860 and first opened in 1867 as a competitor to the Long Island Rail Road
, it was reorganized in 1874 as the Southern Railroad of Long Island and leased in 1876 to the LIRR. After a reorganization as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879 (immediately after which it was again leased to the LIRR) it was merged in 1889.
The main line of the South Side Railroad is now the Montauk Branch
of the LIRR from Long Island City to Jamaica, the Atlantic Branch from Jamaica to Valley Stream, and the Montauk Branch again from Valley Stream to Patchogue. The Brooklyn and Montauk extended the line to Eastport while leased to the LIRR. The South Side also owned or leased lines that are now the Bushwick Branch
and Far Rockaway Branch
, as well as the IND Rockaway Line
of the New York City Subway
from Far Rockaway to Hammels (abandoned beyond Hammels to Rockaway Park) and an abandoned branch from Valley Stream to Hempstead
.
, with Willet Charlick, brother of the LIRR
's Oliver Charlick, and Charles Fox of Baldwin
in control. An April 12, 1867 supplement to its charter authorized an extension to East Hampton
. Construction began in June 1866, and it opened for regular service from Jamaica east to Babylon
on October 28, 1867. Extensions opened to Islip on September 5, 1868, Sayville on December 11, 1868, and Patchogue on April 10, 1869. It was forced to build its own line west of Jamaica due to a lease made of the Brooklyn Central and Jamaica Railroad (including the Atlantic Avenue Line) by the LIRR in November 1866 and the LIRR's purchase of the New York and Flushing Railroad on July 13, 1867. The line from Jamaica west to Bushwick opened on July 18, 1868, with a streetcar connection to the 8th Street Ferry in Williamsburg, and it opened its own track in Boerum Street, Broadway, and 8th Street to Williamsburg (operated by horses, soon replaced by steam dummies, west of Bushwick) on November 4, 1868. A branch was also built from Maspeth (west of Flushing Avenue
) northwest to Furman's Island at the junction of Newtown Creek
and Maspeth Creek for freight. However, an extension beyond Patchogue was not built, because the LIRR built the Sag Harbor Branch
in 1869 and 1870 to cut off the competition. Prior to the acquisition by the LIRR, there was a proposal by the SSRRLI to extend the main line southeast towards Bellport
, and then northeast to Brookhaven
and Southaven
. Rather than the Brookhaven station that existed on the LIRR between 1884 and 1958, the planned station in Brookhaven was to be named "Fireplace" after Fireplace Neck.
At the beginning, the South Side was looking at the New York and Flushing Railroad for access to Long Island City, but the LIRR bought it in 1867 and forced the South Side to build to Williamsburg. However, the Flushing and North Side Railroad
soon drove most traffic away from the New York and Flushing, leading to the portion east of Winfield being sold to the Flushing and North Side in 1869, and the rest lying unused. The Hunters Point and South Side Railroad was incorporated on January 5, 1870 to connect Fresh Pond on the South Side with the East River
, and opened in 1872 to a point on the New York and Flushing. The South Side thus gained a new freight terminal at Long Island City by rebuilding part of the old New York and Flushing, but passenger service continued to operate to Williamsburg.
. The New York and Hempstead Plains Railroad was incorporated March 1, 1870 to build from Bay Ridge east to Hempstead, and on August 10, 1871 the two companies merged to form the New York and Hempstead Railroad. The line opened on September 28, 1872, and was leased to the South Side on May 10, 1873.
The South Side entered receivership
on November 9, 1873, and was sold on September 16, 1874 to the Poppenhusens, who also controlled the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad. The South Side was reincorporated as the Southern Railroad of Long Island on September 25, 1874. The two Poppenhusen lines were connected at Babylon
, and the Southern's branch to Hempstead was abandoned temporarily after only two years of operation. The Southern Hempstead Branch Railroad was incorporated on July 1, 1875 as a reorganization of the New York and Hempstead, and the Southern began operating it shortly thereafter. It was however closed permanently in May 1879, since Hempstead was already served adequately from the north (effectively the LIRR's current Hempstead Branch
).
On January 26, 1876, the Poppenhusens acquired the LIRR. The line beyond Bushwick to Williamsburg was abandoned February 26, making the line to Bushwick a branch; passenger trains operated over a new connection into the LIRR's Long Island City
terminal. The LIRR leased the Southern on May 3, 1876. In June, the Southern became the main passenger route from Long Island City to Jamaica; most passenger trains on the Southern from Jamaica east to Springfield Gardens were rerouted to the LIRR's Springfield Branch. This route east of Jamaica is still the main one for trains using the ex-Southern (Montauk Branch
) east of Valley Stream, but the "Lower Montauk" west of Jamaica is almost unused by passenger trains now.
However, the LIRR entered receivership
in late 1877, and the Southern was reorganized on November 20, 1879 as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad, immediately re-leased to the LIRR. The Brooklyn and Montauk opened an extension from Patchogue to Eastport to connect to the LIRR's Sag Harbor Branch
in 1881, and on October 5, 1889 it was merged into the LIRR.
The majority of the Southern is still intact; only its Hempstead Branch, Bushwick-Williamsburg line, and Far Rockaway Branch
west of Hammels have been abandoned. The Far Rockaway Branch from Far Rockaway to Hammels is now part of the IND Rockaway Line
of the New York City Subway
.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Chartered in 1860 and first opened in 1867 as a competitor to the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
, it was reorganized in 1874 as the Southern Railroad of Long Island and leased in 1876 to the LIRR. After a reorganization as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879 (immediately after which it was again leased to the LIRR) it was merged in 1889.
The main line of the South Side Railroad is now the Montauk Branch
Montauk Branch
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east...
of the LIRR from Long Island City to Jamaica, the Atlantic Branch from Jamaica to Valley Stream, and the Montauk Branch again from Valley Stream to Patchogue. The Brooklyn and Montauk extended the line to Eastport while leased to the LIRR. The South Side also owned or leased lines that are now the Bushwick Branch
Bushwick Branch
The Bushwick Branch, also called the Bushwick Lead Track, is a freight railroad branch that runs from Bushwick, Brooklyn, to Fresh Pond Junction in Queens, New York, where it connects with the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road...
and Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch
The Far Rockaway 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; the Long Beach Branch also begins there, heading east and south to Long Beach,...
, as well as the IND Rockaway Line
IND Rockaway Line
The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways.-History:...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
from Far Rockaway to Hammels (abandoned beyond Hammels to Rockaway Park) and an abandoned branch from Valley Stream to Hempstead
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
.
History
The South Side Railroad was incorporated March 23, 1860 and organized April 20, 1860 to build from Brooklyn to IslipIslip (town), New York
The Town of Islip is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York . Located on the south shore of Long Island, the town population was 322,612 at the 2000 census. The smaller, unincorporated hamlet of Islip lies within the town.-Demographics:...
, with Willet Charlick, brother of the LIRR
Lirr
Lirr or LIRR may refer to:*Long Island Rail Road, a commuter railroad in Long Island, New York, USA*Lapeer Industrial Railroad, in Lapeer, Michigan*Leeds Inner Ring Road, a motorway and A-road circling Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
's Oliver Charlick, and Charles Fox of Baldwin
Baldwin, Nassau County, New York
Baldwin is a hamlet located in the town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 24,033 at the 2010 census.Baldwin is also a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road....
in control. An April 12, 1867 supplement to its charter authorized an extension to East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
. Construction began in June 1866, and it opened for regular service from Jamaica east to Babylon
Babylon (village), New York
Babylon is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 12,615 at the 2000 census.Its official name is The Incorporated Village of Babylon...
on October 28, 1867. Extensions opened to Islip on September 5, 1868, Sayville on December 11, 1868, and Patchogue on April 10, 1869. It was forced to build its own line west of Jamaica due to a lease made of the Brooklyn Central and Jamaica Railroad (including the Atlantic Avenue Line) by the LIRR in November 1866 and the LIRR's purchase of the New York and Flushing Railroad on July 13, 1867. The line from Jamaica west to Bushwick opened on July 18, 1868, with a streetcar connection to the 8th Street Ferry in Williamsburg, and it opened its own track in Boerum Street, Broadway, and 8th Street to Williamsburg (operated by horses, soon replaced by steam dummies, west of Bushwick) on November 4, 1868. A branch was also built from Maspeth (west of Flushing Avenue
Flushing Avenue
Flushing Avenue is an approximately five mile street running through northern Brooklyn and west central Queens beginning at the termination of Nassau Street, on the northern fringe of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and ending where it merges with Grand Avenue, in Maspeth. It divides the neighborhood of...
) northwest to Furman's Island at the junction of Newtown Creek
Newtown Creek
Newtown Creek is a estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City, New York, United States. It derives its name from New Town , which was the name for the Dutch and British settlement in what is now Elmhurst, Queens...
and Maspeth Creek for freight. However, an extension beyond Patchogue was not built, because the LIRR built the Sag Harbor Branch
Sag Harbor Branch
The Sag Harbor Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road that was the eastern terminal on the south shore line of Long Island from 1869 to 1895 and then was a spur from Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor, New York from 1895 to 1940....
in 1869 and 1870 to cut off the competition. Prior to the acquisition by the LIRR, there was a proposal by the SSRRLI to extend the main line southeast towards Bellport
Bellport, New York
Bellport is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 2,363 at the 2000 census. The village is named after the Bell family, early settlers of the area. The public education system in Bellport makes up the South Country Central School District consisting of six...
, and then northeast to Brookhaven
Brookhaven (CDP), New York
----Brookhaven is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 3,570 at the 2000 census.The community of Brookhaven is part of the Town of Brookhaven.-Geography:...
and Southaven
South Haven, New York
South Haven is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, on the South Shore of Long Island.South Haven is part of the Town of Brookhaven, not to be confused with the hamlet of Brookhaven with which it shares a ZIP Code....
. Rather than the Brookhaven station that existed on the LIRR between 1884 and 1958, the planned station in Brookhaven was to be named "Fireplace" after Fireplace Neck.
Flushing and North Side Railroad
The Flushing and North Side Railroad is a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Long Island in 1874 to form the Flushing, North Shore,...
soon drove most traffic away from the New York and Flushing, leading to the portion east of Winfield being sold to the Flushing and North Side in 1869, and the rest lying unused. The Hunters Point and South Side Railroad was incorporated on January 5, 1870 to connect Fresh Pond on the South Side with the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
, and opened in 1872 to a point on the New York and Flushing. The South Side thus gained a new freight terminal at Long Island City by rebuilding part of the old New York and Flushing, but passenger service continued to operate to Williamsburg.
Far Rockaway Branch
The Far Rockaway Branch Railroad was incorporated June 22, 1868 and opened on July 29, 1869 from the main line at Valley Stream to Mott Avenue at Far Rockaway, and was extended September 2, 1869 to the Boardwalk at Beach 30th Street. From opening it was leased to the South Side. The Rockaway Railway was incorporated September 5, 1871 to continue from Far Rockaway west to Rockaway Point, and opened July 4, 1872 to Beach 103rd Street at Seaside, again leased by the South Side. Both companies were merged into the South Side on September 14, 1872, along with the Hunters Point and South Side and New York and Flushing.South Hempstead Branch
The Hempstead and Rockaway Railroad was incorporated in April 1868 to build from Valley Stream on the South Side to HempsteadHempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
. The New York and Hempstead Plains Railroad was incorporated March 1, 1870 to build from Bay Ridge east to Hempstead, and on August 10, 1871 the two companies merged to form the New York and Hempstead Railroad. The line opened on September 28, 1872, and was leased to the South Side on May 10, 1873.
The South Side entered receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
on November 9, 1873, and was sold on September 16, 1874 to the Poppenhusens, who also controlled the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad. The South Side was reincorporated as the Southern Railroad of Long Island on September 25, 1874. The two Poppenhusen lines were connected at Babylon
Babylon (village), New York
Babylon is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 12,615 at the 2000 census.Its official name is The Incorporated Village of Babylon...
, and the Southern's branch to Hempstead was abandoned temporarily after only two years of operation. The Southern Hempstead Branch Railroad was incorporated on July 1, 1875 as a reorganization of the New York and Hempstead, and the Southern began operating it shortly thereafter. It was however closed permanently in May 1879, since Hempstead was already served adequately from the north (effectively the LIRR's current Hempstead Branch
Hempstead Branch
The Hempstead 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 the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Queens Village station...
).
On January 26, 1876, the Poppenhusens acquired the LIRR. The line beyond Bushwick to Williamsburg was abandoned February 26, making the line to Bushwick a branch; passenger trains operated over a new connection into the LIRR's Long Island City
Long Island City (LIRR station)
Long Island City is a rail terminal of the Long Island Rail Road in Long Island City, Queens. Within the City Terminal Zone and located at Borden Avenue and 2nd Street, it is the westernmost LIRR station in Queens and the end of both the Main Line and the Montauk Branch...
terminal. The LIRR leased the Southern on May 3, 1876. In June, the Southern became the main passenger route from Long Island City to Jamaica; most passenger trains on the Southern from Jamaica east to Springfield Gardens were rerouted to the LIRR's Springfield Branch. This route east of Jamaica is still the main one for trains using the ex-Southern (Montauk Branch
Montauk Branch
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east...
) east of Valley Stream, but the "Lower Montauk" west of Jamaica is almost unused by passenger trains now.
However, the LIRR entered receivership
Receivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
in late 1877, and the Southern was reorganized on November 20, 1879 as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad, immediately re-leased to the LIRR. The Brooklyn and Montauk opened an extension from Patchogue to Eastport to connect to the LIRR's Sag Harbor Branch
Sag Harbor Branch
The Sag Harbor Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road that was the eastern terminal on the south shore line of Long Island from 1869 to 1895 and then was a spur from Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor, New York from 1895 to 1940....
in 1881, and on October 5, 1889 it was merged into the LIRR.
The majority of the Southern is still intact; only its Hempstead Branch, Bushwick-Williamsburg line, and Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch
The Far Rockaway 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; the Long Beach Branch also begins there, heading east and south to Long Beach,...
west of Hammels have been abandoned. The Far Rockaway Branch from Far Rockaway to Hammels is now part of the IND Rockaway Line
IND Rockaway Line
The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways.-History:...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
.