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This page is about the Long Island Rail Road line. For the section of the route which was incorporated into the New York City Subway in the 1950s, see IND Rockaway Line.

Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch train 2820 departing Cedarhurst Station.
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Locale	New York, US
Termini	South Rockaway Port Cook
Stations	10
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Services	Far Rockaway Branch
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Rolling stock	M3, M7, M9
Ridership	4,904,415 (annual ridership, 2023)
History
Opened	1891 (as part of Port Cook & Long Island Railroad)
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC
Route map Atlantic Main Line to Penn Station & Long Island City 9.3 mi 15 km Jamaica ​​​ Main Line 12.2 mi 19.6 km Locust Manor 13.1 mi 21.1 km Laurelton Montauk Branch via St. Albans Springfield Junction Cedarhurst Cut-off 14.0 mi 22.5 km Rosedale Queens Nassau 16.1 mi 25.9 km Valley Stream 16.2 mi 0.0 mi Babylon Long Beach West Hempstead via Atlantic 0.8 mi 1.3 km Gibson 1.7 mi 2.7 km Hewlett 2.3 mi 3.7 km Woodmere 3.2 mi 5.1 km Cedarhurst Cedarhurst Cut-off 4.0 mi 6.4 km Lawrence 4.4 mi 7.1 km Inwood Nassau Queens 5.0 mi 8 km Far Rockaway (at Mott Ave.) Rockaway Beach Branch Wavecrest Edgemere Frank Avenue Arverne–Straiton Avenue Arverne ​ Rockaway Line Holland Playland Seaside Rockaway Park Distances shown from Long Island City via the Lower Montauk Branch

The Port Cook 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 west of the Far Rockaway Station. From Far Rockaway the line heads south and west through Queens and over the Indian Viaduct into South Rockaway and south to Port Cook. Port Cook trains usually terminate at South Rockaway, however, shuttle trains between South Rockaway and Far Rockaway are offered, along with express services to Jamacia

History

The Far Rockaway Branch initially extended west to Rockaway Park. In 1887, a connection was built to the Rockaway Beach Branch at Hammels, and the older Far Rockaway Branch was abandoned west of Hammels.

LIRR train at the existing terminus in Far Rockaway.

Opening

The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) built the branch from 1888 to 1891 under a subsidiary called the Port Cook & Long Island Railroad.

Expansion

Due to the success of the branch, the South Side built the 200-foot (60 m) South Side Pavilion, a restaurant on the beach at what is today Beach 30th Street. With an additional subsidiary known as the Rockaway Railway (1871-1872; Not to be confused with the Rockaway Village Railroad), the line was extended west to the Seaside House (Beach 103rd Street) in 1872 and Neptune House (Beach 116th Street) in 1875. The Far Rockaway Branch, along with the rest of the South Side Railroad, was acquired by the Long Island Rail Road in 1876.

Two stations on the branch were built as Arverne, both of which were built by Remington Vernam. The first of which was in 1888 at Gaston Avenue (Beach 67th Street). It had a large tower, was shaped like a Victorian hotel and had a connection to the Ocean Electric Railway, as did much of the Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway branches. Due to a quarrel between the LIRR and Vernam, another Arverne Station was built at Straiton Avenue in 1892. From then on, the original Arverne station was known as Arverne-Gaston Avenue to distinguish it from the Arverne-Straiton Avenue.

In 1908, the line between Cedarhurst and Far Rockaway was triple-tracked. During the early 1940s, the right-of-way was relocated from a ground-level routing to a concrete trestle. The ROW crossed Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway and returned to ground level, passing over Nameoke Street, continuing to Gibson Station and ascending back on a trestle to Valley Stream.

End of Jamaica Bay service

Until 1950 trains from Penn Station could leave the Main Line at Whitepot Junction (40.7254°N 73.8608°W / 40.7254; -73.8608) and head south past the Atlantic Branch connection at Woodhaven Junction (40.6871°N 73.8433°W / 40.6871; -73.8433) to the Hammels Wye at 40.5913°N 73.8088°W / 40.5913; -73.8088, turning right there to Rockaway Park or left to Valley Stream and Jamaica and maybe on to Penn Station. Frequent fires and maintenance problems, notably a May 23, 1950 fire between Broad Channel and The Raunt, led the LIRR to abandon the Queens portion of the route on October 3, 1955, which was acquired by the city to become the IND Rockaway Line, with service provided by the A train. Most Queens stations along the former Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches reopened as subway stations on June 28, 1956, the exception being Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue station, which was split between the NYCTA and LIRR on January 16, 1958.

Recent changes

Between the late 1960s and 1990s, various stations along the Port Cook Branch were given high-level platforms in order to accommodate modern M1, M3, and M7 railcars.

The Far Rockaway Branch has the distinction of containing the oldest surviving railroad station on Long Island, and the only existing building constructed by an LIRR predecessor, specifically Hewlett. In 2003, the LIRR closed that station replacing it with a new one diagonally across the railroad crossing on Franklin Avenue; however, the original SSRLI Depot has remained intact.

Atlantica Trains

LIRR Atlantica Trains run from Memorial Day to Labor Day, consisting of 8-10 C3 coaches and a pair of DE30AC or DM30AC locomotives. The trains start at Penn Station or Atlantic Terminal, and stop at Jamacia, Valley Stream, Far Rockaway, Port Cook Junction, Beachfronte, and the Atlantic Railroad Complex.

Stations

Trains on the Port Cook Branch run from South Rockaway to Port Cook. Shuttle trains, not technically on Port Cook or Far Rockaway service, travel between South Rockaway and Far Rockaway.

Zone	Location	Station	Miles (km) from Valley Junction	Date opened	Date closed	Connections and notes
4	Far Rockaway	Far Rockaway (Nameoke Street)	5.0 (8.0)	1958		New York City Subway: (at Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue) Nassau Inter-County Express: n31, n31x, n32, n33 MTA Bus: Q22, Q113, Q114, QM17
	North Indian Island	South Rockaway	8.4 (	1891
	North Indian Island	South Rockaway Yard	8.6 (	1898	1954
	North Indian Island	West Beach		1891
	North Indian Island	North Commasset		1946
	North Indian Island	South Commasset		1891
	North Indian Island	Glenaquogue		1923
	North Indian Island	Westbay		1891
	North Indian Island	Marion Rock		1894
	North Indian Island	Lake City		1891
	North Indian Island	Port Cook Junction		1891
	North Indian Island	Port Cook		1907
	North Indian Island	Beachefronte		1946		Open Memorial Day to Labor Day, served by Atlantica Trains.
	North Indian Island	Atlantic Railroad Complex		1923		Open Memorial Day to Labor Day, served by Atlantica Trains.

References

• Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., 1961

External links

Template:Attached KML/NYC5429/sandbox

KML is not from Wikidata

• MTA Long Island Rail Road
• Far Rockaway Branch Stations (Unofficial LIRR History Website)
• NYCSubway.org Far Rockaway Line
• Far Rockaway Line; December 11, 1905 (Arrt's Arrchives)
• Far Rockaway Branch (The LIRR Today)