Staten Island Railway
Encyclopedia
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit
line in the borough
of Staten Island, New York City, USA
. It is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service along the western portion of the North Shore
Branch is connected to the national railway system
.
SIR operates with modified R44
New York City Subway
cars, and is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
, but there being no direct rail link between the SIR and the subway system proper. SIR riders get a free transfer to New York subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters typically use the Staten Island Ferry
to reach Manhattan
. The current SIR line has been completely grade separated from intersecting roads since 1966.
The Staten Island Railway provides full-time local service between Saint George
and Tottenville
along the east side of the borough. On weekdays, express service to St. George is provided between 6:17 AM and 8:17 AM and to Tottenville from 7:06 AM to 8:06 AM and 4:31 PM to 7:51 PM. As there is no lettered route designation, as on other BMT or IND lines, express service is noted by the presence of a red marker with the terminal and 'express' directly underneath it.
, the current southern terminus. At that time the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
was seeking to develop passenger and freight service to New York City. They purchased the little railroad which had as of yet no connection with New Jersey. A large rock formation lay north of Tomkinsville. The B&O financed a double-track 610 feet (185.9 m) tunnel through solid rock under the U.S. Lighthouse Service (Later Coast Guard) base at Tomkinsville terminating at a rocky tide swept point on Staten Island's extreme northeastern corner. The area was renamed St. George in honor of a prominent Staten Island attorney. A new central ferry terminal railyard, car-float bridge and rapid transit terminal was constructed over fill barged in from the excavation of New York "skyscrapers". There was still no connection to New Jersey. The B&O purchased a horse car line extending along Richmond Terrace terminating at a ferry to Elizabeth. Opposition from property owners caused the B&O to barge in two miles of rock fill and along the Kill Van Kull for its tracks. At Old Place, a farm was purchased and re-named "Arlington" by the B&O railroad. The later became the terminal for the North Shore branch. If the SIR were considered part of the subway, this would be the oldest continually operated subway system right-of-way in New York City
. In common with the BMT
lines to Coney Island
, the SIR started as a normal passenger and freight railroad line. In 1880, the Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) was incorporated and it leased the Staten Island Railway in 1884. Seeking a greater presence in the New York market and improved freight connections for its New York harbor car float
operations, the b&O acquired control of the SIRT in November, 1885..By 1886, the railroad was operating ferries to Elizabeth and Perth Amboy Ferry Slip
In 1895, the B&O contracted for the construction of new expanded train and ferry terminals at St. George and Tottenville.
of the Staten Island's three passenger lines. A short 2 mile passenger and freight spur to Mount Loretto was never electrified. From 1885 until the 1920s every third Sunday a special three car MU electric train would run as a special directly from St. George to Mount Loretto, a catholic orphanage, remaining there for three hours and returning. A steam powered 2-8-0 was assigned to take the electric cars from the main line to Mount Loretto at a special station behind the church. Because the steam engine had AAR couplers and the electric cars had Westinghouse H-2 MU couplers a special coupler was used to connect the engine and the cars. The MU car doors operated from air pressure and could be opened and closed at Mount Loretto even though there was no third rail. The trains crossed a wooded area on Amboy road where they were flagged across. The 2-8-0 would then use a wye and a run-around track to get to the other end of the train to take the special back. This was discontinued when bus service was initiated from St. George along Hylan Boulevard in 1932. The main line between St. George
and Tottenville at the extreme southern end of Staten Island was completely electrified by July 1, 1925, along with the St.George-South Beach branch on the Narrows. The line from the St. George ferry terminal to Arlington on Staten Island's north shore was electrified on December 1, 1925. There was originally another station further down the line from Arlington at the town of Miliken, later named Port Ivory, after the main product of Procter & Gamble
. The extension was electrified and used to transport workers from the Procter & Gamble Plant. Procter & Gamble had its own railroad and fleet of steam (and later diesel) engines that interchanged with the SIRT/B&0 at Arlington yard. This area is now the site of the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. The SIRT tracks crossed Western Ave. and terminated at a float bridge, and there was also an interchange with the Staten Island streetcar system. New subway-type equipment manufactured by the Pressed Steel Car Corp. (who also manufactured equipment for the BMT) was placed in service on all passenger trains. Current passenger service is provided by 63 R44 units modified to FRA standards.
(later diesel
) power continued on all branches. Starting in the 1880s Erastus Wiman
rose to the leadership of the company and in a reorganization he renamed the company the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company in the 1880s. Wiman oversaw the opening of the extension of the Main Line from its original Clifton terminus north to Tompkinsville on July 31, 1884; the opening of the North Shore Branch on February 23, 1886; and the South Beach Branch on March 8, 1886. Wiman soon began negotiations with the leaders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
for the mutual benefit of the two companies that were then still independent. Being smaller than the Pennsylvania Railroad
and the New York Central Railroad
, the B&O relished the opportunity to start rail service to the potentially lucrative New York City market via collaboration with the SIRTRR. With capital provided by the B&O the SIRTRR opened its first connection to the mainland rail network on June 13, 1889 over the first bridge over the Arthur Kill
waterway. The SIRTRR connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Linden, New Jersey
, the Lehigh Valley Railroad
at Staten Island Junction in Cranford, New Jersey
and the Central Railroad of New Jersey
at Cranford Junction, also in Cranford.
From the 1930s to the 1950s, primary interstate freight traffic terminated at the Baltimore & Ohio float bridges in St. George, and many railroads, including the Chesapeake and Ohio had interstate trackage rights. Direct track connections were possible with the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Central Railroad of New Jersey and Reading Railroad, plus the carfloat operation which connected with offline terminals in Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Manhattan and New Jersey.
Direct connections were also made to two small private railroads such as American Dock Company located at Tompkinsville and Pouch Terminal at Clifton. American Dock operated electric locomotives utilizing overhead trolley wire, while Pouch Terminal was first switched by a gas mechanical locomotive, then a Mack Diesel which has been preserved and now residing at Allaire State Park in New Jersey. American Dock and Pouch Terminal were both owned by different members of the Pouch family, but retained separate identities. The American Dock trackage despite being overhead trolley wire, did not connect with the Staten Island trolley system, but purchased power from them.
During the late 19th Century, a small gauge railroad with a single 0-4-0 ran on Fort Wadsworth and connected with a team track on the South Beach line. .
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
replaced the original bridge in 1959 and carried freight until 1991 when traffic had essentially disappeared. From 2004 to 2006 the bridge was refurbished and freight service over the bridge, along the western portions of the North Shore Branch, resumed in 2007.
On May 11, 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
used the North Shore Branch en route to a meeting with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.
, after his ship had landed in Tompkinsville
. On October 21, 1957, a young Queen Elizabeth II
and Prince Philip
rode a special B&O train from Washington, D.C.
along the abandoned North Shore Branch to Stapleton to start their royal visit to New York City.
Service on both the North Shore and South Beach branches was terminated at midnight on Tuesday, March 31, 1953. The South Beach right-of-way has been demolished and new housing has been built on most of it. The North Shore line remains basically intact and is currently under consideration to be reactivated.
In the mid 1960s, the last grade crossings were eliminated.
, and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company was renamed Staten Island Railroad Corporation, which still exists as a subsidiary of the CSX Corporation
. The MTA created a subsidiary, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, for the purposes of operation and maintenance. In March 1973, new R44
cars — the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs — were pressed into service on the Staten Island line, replacing the PS Standard
rolling stock that had been inherited from the B&O days and had been in use since 1925 (the R44 cars are still in service as of 2010).
In 1994, as part of a public image campaign of the MTA, the various operating agencies of the MTA were given "popular names" at which time the public face of SIRTOA became MTA Staten Island Railway, which name is used on trains, stations, timetables and other public presentments.
. At St. George there are twelve tracks, only six of which are presently used for service. At Tottenville there is a three track yard, with two tracks on either side of a concrete station platform. Schedules are made by NYCT's Operations Planning unit. The last passenger trains on both the North Shore and South Beach Branches ran on March 31, 1953. The right-of-way of the South Beach Branch was eventually de-mapped and the tracks have been removed. The North Shore and Travis Branches saw freight service temporarily suspended beginning in 1991. Freight service along the Travis Branch and the western most portion of the North Shore Branch was restored by 2007. Along the remainder of the North Shore
Branch tracks and rail overpasses still exist in some places. In 2001, a small section of the eastern most portion of the North Shore Branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to provide passenger service to the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark
, home of the Staten Island Yankees
minor-league baseball team. Plans to reopen the remainder of the North Shore Branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Port Ivory.
under contract with the State of New Jersey
and other companies. The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
which transports trains from Staten Island
to New Jersey
over the Arthur Kill
waterway was renovated from 2004 to 2006 and began regular service on April 2, 2007, 16 years after the bridge closed. A portion of the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway was rehabilitated, the Arlington Yard
was expanded, and 6500 feet (1,981 m) of new track was laid along the Travis Branch to Fresh Kills. Soon after service restarted on the line Mayor of New York City
Michael Bloomberg
officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007. On behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation
formed an agreement with CSX Transportation
, Norfolk Southern Railway
, and Conrail to provide service over the reactivated line to haul waste from the Staten Island Transfer Station and ship container
freight from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal
and other industrial businesses.
, SIR is not under any FRA oversight.
. Since the 1960s it has been grade separated from all roads, but it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville, the end of the line. It uses NYC Transit-standard 600 V DC third rail power. Its equipment is specially modified subway vehicles, purchased at the same time as nearly identical cars for NYCT. Heavy maintenance of the equipment is performed at the NYCT's Clifton Shops. Any work that can't be done at Clifton requires the cars be trucked over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
to the subway's Coney Island Complex shops in Brooklyn.
The right-of-way also includes elevated, embankment and open-cut portions, and a tunnel near St. George.
Over the years there have been several proposals for connecting the SIR with the subway system (including the incomplete Staten Island Tunnel
and a possible line along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
), as it uses B Division
-sized cars and loading gauge
, but various economic, political, and engineering difficulties have prevented this from happening.
In the past, passengers often avoided paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville
, and taking a short walk to the St. George ferry terminal. Because of this, the MTA installed turnstile
s at Tompkinsville, along with a new stationhouse which opened on January 20, 2010. Recently, there has been discussion of restoring fare collection along the entire line.
Fare is payable by MetroCard. Since this card enables free transfers for a continuing ride on the subway and bus systems, for many more riders there is effectively no fare at all for riding SIR. Riders are also allowed to transfer between a Staten Island bus, SIR, and a Manhattan bus or subway near South Ferry. Because of this, the SIR's farebox recovery ratio
in 2001 was 0.16—that is, for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares, the lowest ratio of MTA agencies (part of the reason the MTA wishes to merge the SIR with the subway proper is to simplify the accounting and subsidization of what is essentially a single line).
station to accept passengers for its a.m. rush hour run to St. George when it ran into the bumper block and subsequently derailed. No passengers were on the train at the time of the incident. An investigation revealed that the engineer, Kim Canady, fell asleep at the helm, having stayed up late the night before to celebrate Christmas with her family.
Notes:
(where the Staten Island Yankees play) passenger station from 2001 to 2009. Restoration is being discussed along this mostly abandoned 6.1 miles (9.8 km) line as part of the Staten Island light rail
plan.
.
Completion of the study is necessary to qualify the project for the estimated $360 million it requires to develop the 5.1 miles (8.2 km) line. A preliminary study found that ridership could hit 15,000 daily.
There is a new station that will be named Arthur Kill Road
to be built near the southern terminus of the line. It will essentially replace both the Atlantic and Nassau stations, which are in the poorest condition of all the stations on the line. There is also discussion of rebuilding a Rosebank station, which will bridge the longest gap between two stations (Grasmere and Clifton). A Rosebank station
once existed on the now-defunct South Beach Branch of the railway.
Passenger train timetable, 1867:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
line in the borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Staten Island, New York City, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service along the western portion of the North Shore
North Shore, Staten Island
The term North Shore is frequently applied to a series of neighborhoods within New York City's borough of Staten Island, USA.- Boundaries :...
Branch is connected to the national railway system
Rail transport in the United States
Presently, most rail transport in the United States is based on freight train shipments. The U.S. rail industry has experienced repeated convulsions due to changing U.S. economic needs and the rise of automobile, bus, and air transport....
.
SIR operates with modified R44
R44 (New York City Subway car)
The R44 is a New York City Transit car model that debuted in 1971 and currently operates on the Staten Island Railway.-History:The R44 was the first 75-foot car for the New York City Subway. It was introduced for the B Division under the idea from New York City Transit that a train of eight cars...
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...
cars, and is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
, but there being no direct rail link between the SIR and the subway system proper. SIR riders get a free transfer to New York subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters typically use the Staten Island Ferry
Staten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
to reach Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. The current SIR line has been completely grade separated from intersecting roads since 1966.
The Staten Island Railway provides full-time local service between Saint George
and Tottenville
Tottenville (Staten Island Railway station)
Tottenville is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York. Located near Main Street and Arthur Kill Road, it is the southern terminus on the main line and the southernmost railway station in New York State....
along the east side of the borough. On weekdays, express service to St. George is provided between 6:17 AM and 8:17 AM and to Tottenville from 7:06 AM to 8:06 AM and 4:31 PM to 7:51 PM. As there is no lettered route designation, as on other BMT or IND lines, express service is noted by the presence of a red marker with the terminal and 'express' directly underneath it.
History
The first line of what is now the Staten Island Railway opened in 1860 connecting Tomkinsville (Vanderbilt Ferry landing) to TottenvilleTottenville, Staten Island
Tottenville with an area of approx. , is the southernmost neighborhood of Staten Island, New York City and New York State. Originally named Bentley Manor by one of its first settlers, Captain Christopher Billop , after a small ship he owned named the Bentley, the district was renamed Tottenville in...
, the current southern terminus. At that time the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
was seeking to develop passenger and freight service to New York City. They purchased the little railroad which had as of yet no connection with New Jersey. A large rock formation lay north of Tomkinsville. The B&O financed a double-track 610 feet (185.9 m) tunnel through solid rock under the U.S. Lighthouse Service (Later Coast Guard) base at Tomkinsville terminating at a rocky tide swept point on Staten Island's extreme northeastern corner. The area was renamed St. George in honor of a prominent Staten Island attorney. A new central ferry terminal railyard, car-float bridge and rapid transit terminal was constructed over fill barged in from the excavation of New York "skyscrapers". There was still no connection to New Jersey. The B&O purchased a horse car line extending along Richmond Terrace terminating at a ferry to Elizabeth. Opposition from property owners caused the B&O to barge in two miles of rock fill and along the Kill Van Kull for its tracks. At Old Place, a farm was purchased and re-named "Arlington" by the B&O railroad. The later became the terminal for the North Shore branch. If the SIR were considered part of the subway, this would be the oldest continually operated subway system right-of-way in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In common with the BMT
Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation
The Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation was an urban transit holding company, based in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, and incorporated in 1923. The system was sold to the city in 1940 and today, together with the IND subway system, form the B Division of the New York City Subway...
lines to Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, the SIR started as a normal passenger and freight railroad line. In 1880, the Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) was incorporated and it leased the Staten Island Railway in 1884. Seeking a greater presence in the New York market and improved freight connections for its New York harbor car float
Car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is an unpowered barge with rail tracks mounted on its deck. It is used to move railroad cars across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go, and is pushed by a towboat or towed by a tugboat...
operations, the b&O acquired control of the SIRT in November, 1885..By 1886, the railroad was operating ferries to Elizabeth and Perth Amboy Ferry Slip
Perth Amboy Ferry Slip
The Perth Amboy Ferry Slip, located on Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, was once a vital ferry slip for boats in New York Harbor.It was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The ferry slip was restored in 1998 to its 1904...
In 1895, the B&O contracted for the construction of new expanded train and ferry terminals at St. George and Tottenville.
Electrification and passenger service
In August 1924, work began on electrificationElectrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...
of the Staten Island's three passenger lines. A short 2 mile passenger and freight spur to Mount Loretto was never electrified. From 1885 until the 1920s every third Sunday a special three car MU electric train would run as a special directly from St. George to Mount Loretto, a catholic orphanage, remaining there for three hours and returning. A steam powered 2-8-0 was assigned to take the electric cars from the main line to Mount Loretto at a special station behind the church. Because the steam engine had AAR couplers and the electric cars had Westinghouse H-2 MU couplers a special coupler was used to connect the engine and the cars. The MU car doors operated from air pressure and could be opened and closed at Mount Loretto even though there was no third rail. The trains crossed a wooded area on Amboy road where they were flagged across. The 2-8-0 would then use a wye and a run-around track to get to the other end of the train to take the special back. This was discontinued when bus service was initiated from St. George along Hylan Boulevard in 1932. The main line between St. George
St. George, Staten Island
St. George is a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of Staten Island in New York City, where the Kill Van Kull enters Upper New York Bay. It is the most densely developed neighborhood on Staten Island, and the location of the administrative center for the borough and for the coterminous Richmond...
and Tottenville at the extreme southern end of Staten Island was completely electrified by July 1, 1925, along with the St.George-South Beach branch on the Narrows. The line from the St. George ferry terminal to Arlington on Staten Island's north shore was electrified on December 1, 1925. There was originally another station further down the line from Arlington at the town of Miliken, later named Port Ivory, after the main product of Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
. The extension was electrified and used to transport workers from the Procter & Gamble Plant. Procter & Gamble had its own railroad and fleet of steam (and later diesel) engines that interchanged with the SIRT/B&0 at Arlington yard. This area is now the site of the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. The SIRT tracks crossed Western Ave. and terminated at a float bridge, and there was also an interchange with the Staten Island streetcar system. New subway-type equipment manufactured by the Pressed Steel Car Corp. (who also manufactured equipment for the BMT) was placed in service on all passenger trains. Current passenger service is provided by 63 R44 units modified to FRA standards.
Freight service
Freight service with steamSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
(later diesel
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
) power continued on all branches. Starting in the 1880s Erastus Wiman
Erastus Wiman
Erastus Wiman was a Canadian journalist and businessman who later moved to the United States.Wiman was born in Churchville, Upper Canada, now part of Ontario, on April 21, 1834....
rose to the leadership of the company and in a reorganization he renamed the company the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company in the 1880s. Wiman oversaw the opening of the extension of the Main Line from its original Clifton terminus north to Tompkinsville on July 31, 1884; the opening of the North Shore Branch on February 23, 1886; and the South Beach Branch on March 8, 1886. Wiman soon began negotiations with the leaders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
for the mutual benefit of the two companies that were then still independent. Being smaller than the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
and the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, the B&O relished the opportunity to start rail service to the potentially lucrative New York City market via collaboration with the SIRTRR. With capital provided by the B&O the SIRTRR opened its first connection to the mainland rail network on June 13, 1889 over the first bridge over the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...
waterway. The SIRTRR connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Linden, New Jersey
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...
, the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...
at Staten Island Junction in Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,625.Cranford was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden,...
and the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
at Cranford Junction, also in Cranford.
From the 1930s to the 1950s, primary interstate freight traffic terminated at the Baltimore & Ohio float bridges in St. George, and many railroads, including the Chesapeake and Ohio had interstate trackage rights. Direct track connections were possible with the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Central Railroad of New Jersey and Reading Railroad, plus the carfloat operation which connected with offline terminals in Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Manhattan and New Jersey.
Direct connections were also made to two small private railroads such as American Dock Company located at Tompkinsville and Pouch Terminal at Clifton. American Dock operated electric locomotives utilizing overhead trolley wire, while Pouch Terminal was first switched by a gas mechanical locomotive, then a Mack Diesel which has been preserved and now residing at Allaire State Park in New Jersey. American Dock and Pouch Terminal were both owned by different members of the Pouch family, but retained separate identities. The American Dock trackage despite being overhead trolley wire, did not connect with the Staten Island trolley system, but purchased power from them.
During the late 19th Century, a small gauge railroad with a single 0-4-0 ran on Fort Wadsworth and connected with a team track on the South Beach line. .
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge is a railroad-only, vertical lift bridge connecting Elizabethport, New Jersey and the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island. The bridge was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1959 to replace an older swing span...
replaced the original bridge in 1959 and carried freight until 1991 when traffic had essentially disappeared. From 2004 to 2006 the bridge was refurbished and freight service over the bridge, along the western portions of the North Shore Branch, resumed in 2007.
Mid-20th century
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
used the North Shore Branch en route to a meeting with President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, after his ship had landed in Tompkinsville
Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Tompkinsville is a neighborhood in northeastern Staten Island in New York City in the United States. Though the neighborhood sits on the island's eastern shore, along the waterfront facing Upper New York Bay — between St...
. On October 21, 1957, a young Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
rode a special B&O train from Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
along the abandoned North Shore Branch to Stapleton to start their royal visit to New York City.
Service on both the North Shore and South Beach branches was terminated at midnight on Tuesday, March 31, 1953. The South Beach right-of-way has been demolished and new housing has been built on most of it. The North Shore line remains basically intact and is currently under consideration to be reactivated.
In the mid 1960s, the last grade crossings were eliminated.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
In 1971 the passenger operations of the former Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company, which had absorbed lessor Staten Island Railway Company in 1944, were acquired from its parent Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
, and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company was renamed Staten Island Railroad Corporation, which still exists as a subsidiary of the CSX Corporation
CSX Corporation
CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 by the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries and eventually merged the various railroads owned by those predecessors into a single line that became known as CSX Transportation. Based in Richmond, Virginia, USA after the merger, in 2003...
. The MTA created a subsidiary, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, for the purposes of operation and maintenance. In March 1973, new R44
R44 (New York City Subway car)
The R44 is a New York City Transit car model that debuted in 1971 and currently operates on the Staten Island Railway.-History:The R44 was the first 75-foot car for the New York City Subway. It was introduced for the B Division under the idea from New York City Transit that a train of eight cars...
cars — the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs — were pressed into service on the Staten Island line, replacing the PS Standard
PS Standard (New York City Subway car)
The ME-1 was a rapid transit car built from 1925-1926 for Staten Island Railway and later also used in the New York City Subway. They were the first electric cars to run in revenue service on the SIRT. They are also frequently referred to as MU-1s or MUE-1s...
rolling stock that had been inherited from the B&O days and had been in use since 1925 (the R44 cars are still in service as of 2010).
In 1994, as part of a public image campaign of the MTA, the various operating agencies of the MTA were given "popular names" at which time the public face of SIRTOA became MTA Staten Island Railway, which name is used on trains, stations, timetables and other public presentments.
Current status
Today, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service. The terminal station at St. George provides a direct connection to the Staten Island FerryStaten Island Ferry
The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:...
. At St. George there are twelve tracks, only six of which are presently used for service. At Tottenville there is a three track yard, with two tracks on either side of a concrete station platform. Schedules are made by NYCT's Operations Planning unit. The last passenger trains on both the North Shore and South Beach Branches ran on March 31, 1953. The right-of-way of the South Beach Branch was eventually de-mapped and the tracks have been removed. The North Shore and Travis Branches saw freight service temporarily suspended beginning in 1991. Freight service along the Travis Branch and the western most portion of the North Shore Branch was restored by 2007. Along the remainder of the North Shore
North Shore, Staten Island
The term North Shore is frequently applied to a series of neighborhoods within New York City's borough of Staten Island, USA.- Boundaries :...
Branch tracks and rail overpasses still exist in some places. In 2001, a small section of the eastern most portion of the North Shore Branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to provide passenger service to the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark
Richmond County Bank Ballpark
The Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George is a baseball stadium located on the north-eastern tip of Staten Island. The ballpark is the home of the Staten Island Yankees, the NY-Penn League affiliate of the New York Yankees, and of Wagner College Seahawks Baseball. The ballpark was also...
, home of the Staten Island Yankees
Staten Island Yankees
The Staten Island Yankees are a minor league baseball team, located in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers," the Yankees are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the New York Yankees and play in the New York - Penn League at Richmond County Bank Ballpark...
minor-league baseball team. Plans to reopen the remainder of the North Shore Branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Port Ivory.
Restored freight service
The freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway was restored in late 2006, and is operated in part by the Morristown and Erie RailwayMorristown and Erie Railway
The Morristown and Erie Railway is a freight short line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey. It operates freight rail service five days a week in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas...
under contract with the State of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and other companies. The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge
The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge is a railroad-only, vertical lift bridge connecting Elizabethport, New Jersey and the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island. The bridge was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1959 to replace an older swing span...
which transports trains from Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
over the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...
waterway was renovated from 2004 to 2006 and began regular service on April 2, 2007, 16 years after the bridge closed. A portion of the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway was rehabilitated, the Arlington Yard
Arlington Yard
Arlington Yard is a freight yard located on the North Shore Branch right of way of the Staten Island Railway in Staten Island, New York, United States. It lies west of the former Arlington station, east of Western Avenue, and north of the Staten Island Expressway in the Port Ivory neighborhood...
was expanded, and 6500 feet (1,981 m) of new track was laid along the Travis Branch to Fresh Kills. Soon after service restarted on the line Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007. On behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York City Economic Development Corporation
New York City Economic Development Corporation is a non-profit local development corporation that promotes economic growth across New York City's five boroughs. It is the City's official Economic development corporation, charged with using the City's assets to drive growth, create jobs, and...
formed an agreement with CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
, Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
, and Conrail to provide service over the reactivated line to haul waste from the Staten Island Transfer Station and ship container
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
freight from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal
Howland Hook Marine Terminal
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located in northwestern Staten Island in New York City...
and other industrial businesses.
FRA oversight
Unlike PATHPort Authority Trans-Hudson
PATH, derived from Port Authority Trans-Hudson, is a rapid transit railroad linking Manhattan, New York City with Newark, Harrison, Hoboken and Jersey City in metropolitan northern New Jersey...
, SIR is not under any FRA oversight.
Nature of the line
In general appearance, the current operating line of SIR looks somewhat like an outdoor line of the New York City SubwayNew 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...
. Since the 1960s it has been grade separated from all roads, but it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville, the end of the line. It uses NYC Transit-standard 600 V DC third rail power. Its equipment is specially modified subway vehicles, purchased at the same time as nearly identical cars for NYCT. Heavy maintenance of the equipment is performed at the NYCT's Clifton Shops. Any work that can't be done at Clifton requires the cars be trucked over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
to the subway's Coney Island Complex shops in Brooklyn.
The right-of-way also includes elevated, embankment and open-cut portions, and a tunnel near St. George.
Over the years there have been several proposals for connecting the SIR with the subway system (including the incomplete Staten Island Tunnel
Staten Island Tunnel
The Staten Island Tunnel is an abandoned, incomplete subway tunnel that was intended to connect railways on Staten Island to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn....
and a possible line along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
), as it uses B Division
B Division (New York City Subway)
The B Division is a division of the New York City Subway, consisting of the lines operated with services designated by letters , in addition to the Franklin Avenue Shuttle and Rockaway Park Shuttle...
-sized cars and loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
, but various economic, political, and engineering difficulties have prevented this from happening.
Fares
The cash fare is $2.25. Fares are paid on entry and exit only at St. George and Tompkinsville. Rides not originating or terminating at St George or Tompkinsville are free. Prior to the 1997 introduction of "1 fare zones" that came along with free transfers from the SIR to the subway system and MTA buses by using the MetroCard, fares were collected by the conductors on the trains for passengers boarding at stops other than St. George.In the past, passengers often avoided paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville
Tompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station)
Tompkinsville is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, located at Victory Boulevard and Bay Street on the main line. It is located at grade with an island platform, but all staircases go up for overpasses at both ends...
, and taking a short walk to the St. George ferry terminal. Because of this, the MTA installed turnstile
Turnstile
A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. It can also be made so as to enforce one-way traffic of people, and in addition, it can restrict passage only to people who insert a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar...
s at Tompkinsville, along with a new stationhouse which opened on January 20, 2010. Recently, there has been discussion of restoring fare collection along the entire line.
Fare is payable by MetroCard. Since this card enables free transfers for a continuing ride on the subway and bus systems, for many more riders there is effectively no fare at all for riding SIR. Riders are also allowed to transfer between a Staten Island bus, SIR, and a Manhattan bus or subway near South Ferry. Because of this, the SIR's farebox recovery ratio
Farebox recovery ratio
The farebox recovery ratio of a passenger transportation system is the proportion of the amount of revenue generated through fares by its paying customers as a fraction of the cost of its total operating expenses....
in 2001 was 0.16—that is, for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares, the lowest ratio of MTA agencies (part of the reason the MTA wishes to merge the SIR with the subway proper is to simplify the accounting and subsidization of what is essentially a single line).
Incidents
On December 26, 2008 at 6:27 a.m., a train was pulling into the TottenvilleTottenville (Staten Island Railway station)
Tottenville is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York. Located near Main Street and Arthur Kill Road, it is the southern terminus on the main line and the southernmost railway station in New York State....
station to accept passengers for its a.m. rush hour run to St. George when it ran into the bumper block and subsequently derailed. No passengers were on the train at the time of the incident. An investigation revealed that the engineer, Kim Canady, fell asleep at the helm, having stayed up late the night before to celebrate Christmas with her family.
Stations
| Stations | Connections | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Staten Island Staten Island Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay... |
|||
| St. George | Staten Island Ferry Staten Island Ferry The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry service operated by the New York City Department of Transportation that runs between the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island.-Overview:... |
||
| Tompkinsville Tompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station) Tompkinsville is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, located at Victory Boulevard and Bay Street on the main line. It is located at grade with an island platform, but all staircases go up for overpasses at both ends... |
|||
| Stapleton Stapleton (Staten Island Railway station) Stapleton is an elevated Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Stapleton, Staten Island, New York, located at Cebra Avenue and Bay Street on the main line. It contains an island platform. The north end has an exit to Prospect Street and a New York City Department of Transportation... |
|||
| Clifton Clifton (Staten Island Railway station) Clifton is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Clifton, Staten Island, New York. It is located at Norwood Avenue and Bay Street on the main line. It is located on an embankment with side platforms and beige canopies. The north end has exits on both platforms that lead to Bay Street... |
|||
| Grasmere Grasmere (Staten Island Railway station) Grasmere is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Grasmere, Staten Island, New York. It is located at Clove Road on the main line. This station has the original brick station house from the 1933 grade separation project over the Tottenville-bound track at the south end of the line.... |
S53 bus to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | ||
| Old Town Old Town (Staten Island Railway station) Old Town is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Old Town, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an embankment at Railroad Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms, and metal orange canopies and walls... |
|||
| Dongan Hills Dongan Hills (Staten Island Railway station) Dongan Hills is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Dongan Hills, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an embankment at Seaview Avenue and Railroad Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms and beige canopies. This station is handicapped accessible in compliance of... |
|||
| Jefferson Avenue Jefferson Avenue (Staten Island Railway station) Jefferson Avenue is a Staten Island Railway station between the neighborhoods of Grant City, Staten Island, New York and Dongan Hills, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an embankment at Jefferson Avenue and Railroad Avenue on the main line. This station has two side platforms. There is no... |
|||
| Grant City Grant City (Staten Island Railway station) Grant City is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Grant City, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an open cut at Lincoln Avenue and Railroad Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms and aqua green walls. There are two exits; the main exit at the south end leads to... |
|||
| New Dorp New Dorp (Staten Island Railway station) New Dorp is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of New Dorp, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an open cut at New Dorp Lane and Railroad Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms and orange colored walls and railings. The northbound platform has a high concrete... |
|||
| Oakwood Heights Oakwood Heights (Staten Island Railway station) Oakwood Heights is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Oakwood, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an open cut at Guyon Avenue and Railroad Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms and beige painted walls... |
|||
| Bay Terrace Bay Terrace (Staten Island Railway station) Bay Terrace is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Bay Terrace, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an embankment at Bay Terrace and South Railroad Avenue on the main line. It has an island platform and exits are located at both ends. The north exit leads to Justin Avenue... |
|||
| Great Kills Great Kills (Staten Island Railway station) Great Kills is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Great Kills, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an open cut southwest of Giffords Lane and Amboy Road on the main line. It has two side platforms and turquoise blue canopies and walls. This station is... |
|||
| Eltingville Eltingville (Staten Island Railway station) Eltingville is an elevated Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Eltingville, Staten Island, New York. It is located at Richmond Avenue on the main line. It contains two side platforms, orange canopies and walls, and staircases at the western end only that lead to Richmond Avenue... |
Bus to Eltingville Transit Center Eltingville Transit Center The Eltingville Transit Center is a park and ride transit center that is located in Eltingville, Staten Island. It is located at the intersection of Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue, near the end of the Korean War Veterans Parkway. The transit center was completed in 2004. Amenities include... and Staten Island Mall Staten Island Mall Staten Island Mall is a shopping mall in the Staten Island borough of New York City, United States. It is the only indoor shopping mall in the borough. It is the largest retail center on the island and is the site of the island's second largest public transit hub after the St... |
||
| Annadale Annadale (Staten Island Railway station) Annadale is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Annadale, Staten Island, New York. It is located in a shallow open cut at Annadale Road and Sneden Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms and light orange color walls and tiles... |
Blue Heron Park | ||
| Huguenot Huguenot (Staten Island Railway station) Huguenot is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Huguenot, Staten Island, New York. It is located on an open cut at Huguenot Avenue on the main line. It has two side platforms, exit stairs at the south end, and a brick stationhouse built in 1939 on street level... |
|||
| Prince's Bay Prince's Bay (Staten Island Railway station) Prince's Bay is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Prince's Bay, Staten Island, New York. It is located near Seguine Avenue and Amboy Road on the main line. It's in an open-cut with two side platforms, green canopies, and walls of steel and concrete... |
|||
| Pleasant Plains Pleasant Plains (Staten Island Railway station) Pleasant Plains is an elevated Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Pleasant Plains, Staten Island, New York. Located at Penton Street and Amboy Road on the main line, it has two side platforms and orange canopies. The north exit leads to Amboy Road via a long passage and steps... |
|||
| Richmond Valley Richmond Valley (Staten Island Railway station) Richmond Valley is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Richmond Valley, Staten Island, New York. Located at Richmond Valley Road and Amboy Road on the main line, the station is a mixture of open cut at the north end and grade level at the south end... |
|||
| Nassau Nassau (Staten Island Railway station) Nassau is a Staten Island Railway station located roughly between the neighborhoods of Tottenville and Charleston , in Staten Island, New York. In the St. George bound direction it is located at Bethel Avenue and Saint Andrews Place. In the Tottenville bound direction it is at the end of Nassau... |
|||
| Arthur Kill Road Arthur Kill Road (Staten Island Railway station) Arthur Kill is a planned future station on the Staten Island Railway that will replace the Atlantic and Nassau stations. It will be accessible to disabled persons and include a 150-car parking lot on property owned by SIR... |
Planned | ||
| Atlantic Atlantic (Staten Island Railway station) Atlantic is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York. Located roughly at Fisher Avenue and Arthur Kill Road on the main line, it is at grade level with side platforms that can hold only one car. Unlike most short platforms where the first car goes... |
|||
| Tottenville Tottenville (Staten Island Railway station) Tottenville is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tottenville, Staten Island, New York. Located near Main Street and Arthur Kill Road, it is the southern terminus on the main line and the southernmost railway station in New York State.... |
|||
Notes:
- Under four-car operation, the last car does not open at Clifton because of a large gap between the platform and the rear car of the train.
- Under four-car operation, the last car does not open at Richmond Valley in either direction.
- Only one door opens at Atlantic and Nassau; the conductor leaves the cab and manually keys open a door.
- Nassau and Atlantic will close when Arthur Kill RoadArthur Kill Road (Staten Island Railway station)Arthur Kill is a planned future station on the Staten Island Railway that will replace the Atlantic and Nassau stations. It will be accessible to disabled persons and include a 150-car parking lot on property owned by SIR...
station opens.
In popular culture
- The 1986 independent filmIndependent filmAn independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
Combat ShockCombat ShockCombat Shock is a 1986 drama film written and directed by Buddy Giovinazzo and distributed by Troma Entertainment.The plot of the film takes place in Staten Island, and follows an unemployed Vietnam veteran living in total poverty with his nagging wife, his deformed baby due to Ricky having been...
used the railway as a backdrop for many scenes and subplots. Although some scenes were shot at the Tompkinsville StationTompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station)Tompkinsville is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, located at Victory Boulevard and Bay Street on the main line. It is located at grade with an island platform, but all staircases go up for overpasses at both ends...
, the viaduct and closed stations of the former North Shore Line were used in much of the movie to enhance the "grittyness" of Frankie Dunlan's life as a Vietnam War veteran. - Part of singer MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Papa Don't PreachPapa Don't Preach"Papa Don't Preach" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The song was written by Brian Elliot with additional lyrics by Madonna, and produced by Stephen Bray and Madonna for her third studio album True Blue, released in June 1986...
" was filmed on the stairs and platform of the railway's Stapleton stationStapleton (Staten Island Railway station)Stapleton is an elevated Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Stapleton, Staten Island, New York, located at Cebra Avenue and Bay Street on the main line. It contains an island platform. The north end has an exit to Prospect Street and a New York City Department of Transportation...
.
North Shore Branch
The North Shore Branch closed to passenger service at midnight on Tuesday March 31, 1953. A small western portion is used for freight service, and a smaller eastern portion provided seasonal service to the RCB BallparkRichmond County Bank Ballpark (Staten Island Railway station)
Richmond Country Bank Ballpark is a closed station on the Staten Island Railway. The newest station on the railway, it opened on June 24, 2001 in conjunction with the Staten Island Yankees baseball season....
(where the Staten Island Yankees play) passenger station from 2001 to 2009. Restoration is being discussed along this mostly abandoned 6.1 miles (9.8 km) line as part of the Staten Island light rail
Staten Island light rail
Staten Island light rail proposals refer to any number of projects in the New York City borough of Staten Island. These proposals are among the several light rail projects that have been floated in New York City in recent years.- North Shore Light Rail :...
plan.
- Station (milepost)
- St. George (0.0)
- New BrightonNew Brighton (Staten Island Railway station)New Brighton was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It has two tracks and two side platforms. It was located in the New Brighton section of Staten Island, at the north end of Westervelt Avenue and Richmond Terrace from the Saint George terminus...
(0.7) - Sailors' Snug HarborSailors' Snug Harbor (Staten Island Railway station)Sailors' Snug Harbor is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It has two tracks and two side platforms. It was closed on March 31, 1953 along with all other stations on the North Shore Branch. It is located in the Livingston section of Staten Island, north of...
(1.2) - LivingstonLivingston (Staten Island Railway station)Livingston is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It was abandoned on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch. It is located in the Livingston section of Staten Island,...
(1.8) - West BrightonWest New Brighton (Staten Island Railway station)West New Brighton is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two side platforms and two tracks. It closed on March 31, 1953. It was located in the West New Brighton section of Staten Island, north of Richmond Terrace between North Burgher Avenue and...
(2.4) - Port RichmondPort Richmond (Staten Island Railway station)Port Richmond is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It has two tracks and an island platform. It is on a trestle at Park Avenue and Church Street. It was closed on March 31, 1953, along with the rest of the North Shore Branch and South Beach Branch...
(3.0) - Tower HillTower Hill (Staten Island Railway station)Tower Hill is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It has two tracks and two side platforms. It closed on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch. It is located on a trestle in the Tower Hill section of Staten...
(3.4) - Elm ParkElm Park (Staten Island Railway station)Elm Park is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It has two tracks and two side platforms. It was abandoned on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch. It is located in the Staten Island neighborhood of Elm...
(3.9) - Lake AvenueLake Avenue (Staten Island Railway station)Lake Avenue is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. It has two tracks and two side platforms. It is located in an open cut. The station was abandoned on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest...
(4.3) - Mariners HarborMariners' Harbor (Staten Island Railway station)Mariners' Harbor is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It has two tracks and one island platform. It is located in an open cut. It was abandoned on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch...
(4.6) - Harbor RoadHarbor Road (Staten Island Railway station)Harbor Road was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York. The station, located under the overpass at the highest point of Harbor Road, was built in an open-cut with two tracks and one island platform. It closed on March...
(4.9) - ArlingtonArlington (Staten Island Railway station)Arlington was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway, in Staten Island, New York. It had one island platform and two tracks. It was closed on March 31, 1953. For a few years before its closure, it was the western terminus of the North Shore Line; before then,...
(5.2) - Port IvoryPort Ivory, Staten IslandPort Ivory is a coastal area situated in the northwestern corner of Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States. It is located on Newark Bay near the entrances the Kill van Kull to the west and Arthur Kill to the east....
(6.1)
South Beach Branch
The South Beach Branch closed at midnight Tuesday March 31, 1953. It was abandoned and demolished except for remaining stanchions on St. John's Avenue and Robin Road. This 4.1 miles (6.6 km) line left the Main Line south of the Clifton station and lay to the east of the Main Line.- Station (milepost)
- BachmannBachmann (Staten Island Railway station)Bachmann is a station on the demolished South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It was closed in 1937 due in part to its proximity to the Rosebank station and the fact that the Bachmann's Brewery had already burned down in 1881...
(2.0) - RosebankRosebank (Staten Island Railway station)Rosebank is a demolished station in the Rosebank neighborhood along the abandoned South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It closed on March 31, 1953....
(2.1) - Belair RoadBelair Road (Staten Island Railway station)Belair Road is a demolished station on the abandoned South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two side platforms and two tracks. It was abandoned on March 31, 1953.-External links:* http://www.gretschviking.net/GOSIRTPage1.htm...
(2.5) - Fort WadsworthFort Wadsworth (Staten Island Railway station)Fort Wadsworth was a station on the demolished South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway, near the historic Fort Wadsworth. It had two side platforms and two tracks. It closed on March 31, 1953....
(2.7) - ArrocharArrochar (Staten Island Railway station)Arrochar is a station on the demolished South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two side platforms and two tracks. It closed on March 31, 1953 and was fully demolished when the toll plaza of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge was built on the same location.-References:*...
(3.2) - Cedar AvenueCedar Avenue (Staten Island Railway station)Cedar Avenue was a station on the demolished South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It was abandoned on March 31, 1953.-References:*http://www.stationreporter.net/sbeach.htm-External links:...
(3.5) - South BeachSouth Beach (Staten Island Railway station)South Beach is a station on the demolished South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It closed on March 31, 1953, along with the North Shore Branch and the rest of the South Beach Branch.-References:...
(3.9) - Wentworth AvenueWentworth Avenue (Staten Island Railway station)Wentworth Avenue is a station on the demolished South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had one side platform served by one track. This platform was only a door's length, and had to be keyed open by the conductor...
(4.1)
Industries serviced
- North Shore Branch: Procter & GambleProcter & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
, United States Gypsum, Staten Island Ship Building, Car floatCar floatA railroad car float or rail barge is an unpowered barge with rail tracks mounted on its deck. It is used to move railroad cars across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go, and is pushed by a towboat or towed by a tugboat... - Travis Branch: Gulf OilGulf OilGulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
Port, Con Edison coal plant - Tottenville Line: Nassau Smelting, Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island AdvanceThe Staten Island Advance is a daily newspaper published in the borough of Staten Island in New York City. The only daily newspaper published in the borough, and the only borough to have its own major daily paper, it covers news of local and community interest, including borough politics. As of...
, Pouch Terminal - South Beach Branch: Bachmann's BreweryBachmann's BreweryThe Mayer Bachmann’s Brewery was the largest of the half-dozen breweries on Staten Island before its destruction by fire in 1881.The brewery occupied the block bounded by Forest , Maple , Willow, and Tompkins Avenues in the village of Clifton. Constructed in 1851, it was the first lager beer...
Future service
The Staten Island Advance reported in May 2006 that Staten Island business and political leaders are looking to restore service on the North Shore Branch. They are seeking approval of $4 million in federal funding for a detailed feasibility study, to revive the North Shore line as a commuter line ending at the St. George Ferry Terminal. Alternatively, there has been talk of adding light rail service to Staten IslandStaten Island light rail
Staten Island light rail proposals refer to any number of projects in the New York City borough of Staten Island. These proposals are among the several light rail projects that have been floated in New York City in recent years.- North Shore Light Rail :...
.
Completion of the study is necessary to qualify the project for the estimated $360 million it requires to develop the 5.1 miles (8.2 km) line. A preliminary study found that ridership could hit 15,000 daily.
There is a new station that will be named Arthur Kill Road
Arthur Kill Road (Staten Island Railway station)
Arthur Kill is a planned future station on the Staten Island Railway that will replace the Atlantic and Nassau stations. It will be accessible to disabled persons and include a 150-car parking lot on property owned by SIR...
to be built near the southern terminus of the line. It will essentially replace both the Atlantic and Nassau stations, which are in the poorest condition of all the stations on the line. There is also discussion of rebuilding a Rosebank station, which will bridge the longest gap between two stations (Grasmere and Clifton). A Rosebank station
Rosebank (Staten Island Railway station)
Rosebank is a demolished station in the Rosebank neighborhood along the abandoned South Beach Branch of the Staten Island Railway. It had two tracks and two side platforms. It closed on March 31, 1953....
once existed on the now-defunct South Beach Branch of the railway.
See also
- Cross-Harbor Rail TunnelCross-Harbor Rail TunnelThe Cross-Harbor Rail Tunnel is a proposed freight rail transport tunnel under Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey between northeastern New Jersey and Long Island, including southern and eastern New York City.-Background:Direct connections for rail freight between Long Island...
- Staten Island light railStaten Island light railStaten Island light rail proposals refer to any number of projects in the New York City borough of Staten Island. These proposals are among the several light rail projects that have been floated in New York City in recent years.- North Shore Light Rail :...
- List of New York City Subway stations
- Staten Island TunnelStaten Island TunnelThe Staten Island Tunnel is an abandoned, incomplete subway tunnel that was intended to connect railways on Staten Island to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn....
External links
- Staten Island Railway
- History of SIRT
- nycsubway.org - SIRT: Staten Island Rapid Transit
- TrainsAreFun.com - Staten Island Rapid Transit
- Gary Owen's SIRT South Beach Line Tribute Page
- Gary Owen's SIRT North Shore Tribute Page
- Industrial & Offline Terminal Railroads of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan - American Dock Company
- Industrial & Offline Terminal Railroads of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan - Pouch Terminal
- Industrial & Offline Terminal Railroads of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Bronx & Manhattan - Procter & Gamble