J.J. Earl Freight Anecdotes

    

MA 13 or the Swamp Job
From my LIRR 1919 CR4:

Elmhurst:
     Elmhurst Coal Co.
     E. R. Durkee & Co.

Great Neck Junction:
     Queensboro Lumber Co.
     Heinrich Francke Sohne & Co.
     H. K. Lines
     Concrete Products Co.
     Nathan Manufacturing Co.

Broadway:
     F. Storm

Great Neck:
     Bayside Coal & Supply Co.
     Gregory Coal and Lumber Co.

Port Washington:
     C.W. Copp
     Munson Brothers

From my 1958 Bob Emery maps:

Elmhurst:
     Knickerbocker Ice Co.

Corona:
     E. R. Durkee Co.
     Corona Fuel Co.

Flushing:
     Con Edison Co. Warehouses     and Pole Yard
 

Auburndale:
     American Hospital supply Co.
     County Fuel Co.

Bayside:
     Marben Lumber & Flooring Co.
     C. H. Hawley Coal Co.
     Queensborough Lumber Co.

Great Neck:
     Gregory Coal & Lumber Co.
     Great Neck Lumber Co.
     North Shore Mason’s Supply Co.

Port Washington:
     Port Fuel Co.
     Port Washington Lumber Co.
     Donald D.Wyeing (Bldg Materials)

In 1960 I owned the MA 13 or the Swamp Job as it was called, because of it's doing switching in Corona Meadows Yard. This was the last remnant of the Whitestone Branch and it serviced a scrap dealer as well as Empire Millwork and a company that took covered hoppers of plastic pellets.

A team yard also served several customers and off #1 main, Con Edison had a yard where flat cars laden with poles were taken. On the south side, where Shea is today, A&P had a bakery where Jane Parker baked goods where made.

Plastic toys were made by Emenee in a building between the switching lead and #2 main and a carload of coal was taken at a coal yard off the same lead.

The MA13 shoved out of Yard A up the Westbound Montauk Cutoff as far as the Mainline Cutoff and then reversed down through “F”, Harold and on to “WIN” Winfield team yard was switched and then on to the branch.

I don’t remember the name of the consignee, but it was always referred to as “Durkee’s old siding”. This siding was double ended near old Elmhurst station. Hand thrown cross-over switches, known as United Nation Cross-overs got us into Corona Yard. At the time, the remnants of the former United Nations station was laying there in derelict form.

A coal siding was served off #1 at Elmhurst on our way back west.
In 1960, MA territory ended at Flushing and a road job, L40, did the work east of there. Not much to do and it was a sweet job for the extra man who wanted to get finished early to hit a day job the next day.

I worked the 13 again a few years later (1964) when MA Territory was extended to Port Wash. The team yard at Bayside took a box car of doo-dads for someone who ran a flea-market or something like that.
North Shore Mason took carloads of mason material and brick at Plandome or Manhasset off #1 and of course there was the lumber yard at Port Wash. That gate at the PW lumber yard was the undoing of many a MU drill conductor on the midnight yard job, but that’s another story altogether.

 J.J. Earl

Thanks to Dave Keller for the siding info and to JJ Earl for the narrative.

Fresh Pond Freight Moves: 1960s-1980s

New Haven trains during the sixties backed LIRR cars off at Fremont and then continued on to Bay Ridge with the rest of their train. NH trains were mostly through trains and not all stopped. Interchange tracks were north (east) of Fremont and there were a couple of lower tracks off the west leg. These were picked up by the yard job at Pond and switched in the west yard to be later taken to their proper place.

With Penn Central and later Conrail, there were no more through freights to Bay Ridge. Floating operations at Bay Ridge ended with the PC merger. When Conrail was formed, that was the end of all floating and all interchange came over Hell Gate .

Trains were dropped on one of the leads west of Fremont and crews would pick up their train to go to Oak Point on another of these tracks.  At times, the inbound train was dropped above Fremont, where it was picked up by the Pond job and shoved down the west leg of the wye into the west yard where it was switched. Radios were not used at this time and when shoving, a back-up hose was used to give the conductor control of the move.  

Cars dropped west of Fremont were pulled down the east leg and switched in the east yard.

Cars for Holban and Yard A were left in the west yard with trains for Holban pulling out through Pond. Trains for Yard A shoved out and reversed at Pond’s interlocking. 

Trains for Glendale, Atlas Terminal, etc. were made up in the east yard where the Glendale freight would shove out the east end with cars on both end of the engine.

Cars for Fresh Pond and Bushwick were also stored in the east yard.  Trains for PC/CR were made up in the west yard and pulled upstairs when they were ready to put off-line.

J. J. Earl February 14, 2007

HILLSIDE - BAKER SIDING c. 1960's

"...I seem to remember back in the early sixties that the Baker siding held two cars, while only one could be worked. I owned the last trick Hillside for a time and it seemed every night we would have a move to the Baker. It was set out the block car and shove in the two loads, every night. 

From 1988 to 1995, I was conductor on YFD 201 at Holban and several times during that time there was talk of Continental Bakers rebuilding that siding and getting FIVE cars a day. That would have meant several switches during the course of the day. I think the real reason that it never happened because the Powers that Be did not want to have a switch and possible de-railments of other traffic interfering with the then new Hillside Yard..."  J. J. Earl


Emery Map-Hillside-1958.jpg (177690 bytes) Emery Map 08/1958
The 1958 map shows the siding for the Continental Bakery west of 170th St . (formerly Brenton Ave. ) on the south side of the Main . (see item #8 on the map). Hillside station (and Holban Yard) were located east of Brenton Ave , later 170th Street . Info: Dave Keller

Similarly, the 1905-06 map shows the siding for Shults (Shultz?) Bakery at the same location, with said siding branching off the southernmost track which, according to Emery, was installed in 1905-06.  
Emery Map-Hillside-1905-06.jpg (126353 bytes) Emery Map 1905-06
So, it would seem there was a bakery at that same site for many, many years prior to J.J. Earl’s days of switching the siding! Info: Dave Keller

Spur trackage along 30 St. at Borden Ave. in Queens

WOW! 
I've been away too long. 
Having owned the Kearny in 1970 I hope that I can answer most of these questions. 
FIRST: Domino Sugar was at what would become News Point at the junction of Newtown Creek and the East River. The "Sugar House" was serviced by the B.E.D.T. who floated upriver, engine and all, from Kent Ave. 
SECOND: I don't know of an explosion at Domino, but there was one at the Chickle plant in Degnon Terminal. 
Kearny was switched by Alco S-1s. Larger engines were not permitted because of clearances and tight curves. 
The track being discussed here was accessed from the Eastbound Montauk Cutoff through a facing point switch. This made it necessary for the crew to shove from Yard A with up to fifteen cars while taking a block on the track as they switched. Block or no block, an extra brakeman was employed as a flagman. 
Crossings all had to be flagged by the conductor as the move crossed Review Ave. Several customers were between Review and Borden and they could not be placed until the customers across Borden Ave and 30th St were placed. 
A requirement for the conductor was to be wearing running shoes and carrying a pocket full of fusees. 
Shoving across Borden Ave was up grade and with three cars for Thyphin Steel. one or two for Hiram Walker, and maybe one for Bushwick Steel beyond Walker, stopping meant stalling on the crossing. 
Light the fusee, signal the crew to shove ahead when no trafic was coming and RUN LIKE HELL to the opposite side of the street to flag westbound traffic. 
Thyphin took three cars inside the building. These were usually set out into one of the sidings that led off the lead to Thyphin while we went through the building to place Bushwick at 31st Street and Walker, between the streets. 
Thyphin cars were then picked up and placed inside the building. Sometimes an extra car or two was placed alongside the street and across the street from the Thyphin Building. 
I first took the job in the fall of '69 and, as said previously, we sometimes placed fifteen or more cars. 
A year later, in a matter of weeks, the number of cars dwindled down to such a point that one night we went into Kearny light (engine only) and pulled out one car. It seemed like a conspiracy on the part of the company that such a busy job was suddenly not getting any freight. 
I saw the writing on the wall and took another job on the next bid sheet. 
The notice right after that stated that the job was abolished. 
Just when , or if, the switch was pulled out, I do not know.
_________________
JJ Earl