LIRR MANURE FREIGHT
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| Early History | ||||
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Pre-Civil War:
"...Cordwood was a major source of revenue for the railroad to transport
to New York City for people to use as a source of home heating
fuel before coal became more common. Farmers who were
clearing their land would bring the wood to trackside locations by wagon
for the railroad to ship to the city. The LIRR on eastbound trips would
haul back wood ash and horse manure
as fertilizer..." |
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April, 1867:
"...Over toward Newtown Creek in Maspeth work was also progressing. The
railroad successfully negotiated the purchase of thirty-five acres of
meadow land belonging to Calvary Cemetery between Jack's and Dutch Kills
creeks with a valuable frontage along Newtown Creek on which to
establish a freight and manure depot.
A depot on the East River would crowd existing factories, and the
trans-shipment of manure would make the area intolerable to
residents..." The
Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side
R.R. of L.I. by Vincent F.
Seyfried 1961 |
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Flushing & North Side R.R. 1873-1874:
Next to passenger traffic, in production of revenue, came the freight
traffic of the road. The Flushing & North Side R.R. In February, 1874,
as a result of a reduction in freight rates, the
manure hauling
business doubled. July 22, 1874--Manure on the Island Trees siding makes the passing siding so slick that one engine is unable to stop and slides into another. The Central R.R., because of its newness and glamour, won the preference of the Hempstead and Babylon people and secured the lion's share of the New York travel. The farmers along the line appreciated the low freight rates, and a heavy traffic developed in shipping manure with trains of as many as twenty-four cars. During the 1880's and 1890's and up to about 1898, all the fast trains to points beyond Babylon ran via the Central R.R. Regular local freight service (carload lots of manure, potatoes, etc.) continued until at least the mid 1920's. The flourishing freight business of the road induced the company to build a new freight depot and storehouse with a 100 foot platform at Vernon Avenue. The new structure was completed for use in July 1874. In February, 1874, as a result of a reduction in freight rates, the manure hauling business doubled. The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad by Vincent F. Seyfried Part Two 1963 |
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 Kings Park Hospital manure siding Emery Map 9/1957 Archive: Dave Keller |
 Bushwick Branch manure track CR4 1924 p.45 |
 LIRR post card Notification Form 121 - Manure at Bushwick siding 2/17/1894 "Please send check for car manure 1115 to C. R. Buffett, East Northport for $1225 and oblige." |
 Bushwick Branch manure track Emery map 1920's Archive: Dave Keller |
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 Telegram to Minor C. Keith Babylon siding "out of service" notification 9/08/1930 Archive: Dave Keller
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 Emery Map Central Ext. MP 31-32 Maywood Siding 8/1958 Archive: Dave Keller Patchogue PD Tower Crew Messages these two specially mention manure:
J. F. H. 11/09/1932
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 Lime lading waybill Maywood Siding 11/11/1909 Archive: Dave Keller |
A shipment of lime from Amityville to St. Catherine's Infirmary at Maywood Siding. Back then, lime was used
for two major purposes: “Maywood Siding” lime delivered to be added/mixed to the outbound manure loads to facilitate transport as lime assists in odor control and facilitates the manure solid breakdown process. Steven Lynch |
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ISLAND TREES:
Original station stop of CRR of LI 1870s (?) No depot
building erected (per Vincent F. Seyfried) located at Massapequa Road
(later Hicksville Rd.) crossing the CRR’s tracks. Discontinued as
station stop: c.1880s (?). Later site of
manure siding (25.40 miles from LI City)
listed in CR4s as “Island Tree” eff. 3/01/1913, 9/01/1919 and 7/01/1924.
Out of service: __? |
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| Island Trees Siding: July 22, 1874 - The CRR of LI: Manure on the Island Trees siding makes the passing siding so slick that one engine is unable to stop and slides into another. The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad by Vincent F. Seyfried Part Two 1963 | ||||
 1924 CR4 Central Extension - Island Tree siding Archive: Art Huneke |
 Central Extension manure sidings blueprint c.1920 Archive: Art Huneke Sprague’s Barn - Manure siding between Meadowbrook 1 and New Bridge Rd. stations New Bridge Rd - 1874 Manure siding where New Bridge Road crossed the Central Ext. Island Trees - Manure siding CR4s as “Island Tree” effective 3/01/1913 Plain Edge - 1873 Discontinued as station stop_? Location of manure siding last used in 1939 Research: Dave Keller |
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The property in Levittown where the main electric utility service wires are, is still owned by the Long Island Rail Road/MTA. This was the site of the former Central Rail Road Line, which is located north of Hempstead Turnpike, Levittown, NY. In the years before Levittown, when this was all farmland, the local farmers would sometimes refer to it as the "Manure Line". This property has been in the news in the past. In 1963, the Nassau Planning Commission recommended that the rail line should be reactivated as part of a transportation loop. The plan was protested by homeowners along the right-of-way area. Nassau Loop Proposal - Nassau
Planning Commission Levittown Tribune 6/27/1963
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 "Peck's
Siding" in Brentwood was just west of the original Thompson Station.
According to Dyson's book, William L. Peck came to Brentwood in 1887 and
bought massive estate of a thousand acres, which included part or all of
the original Wicks land at Thompson Station. The Peck Farm extended to
both sides of the LIRR mainline. In 1903 the property was inherited by
his two sons Benjamin S. and William L. Peck, Jr., both NYC politicians
and fertilizer tycoons. Apparently they got contracts with various city
agencies for exclusive collection of horse
manure collection. The LIRR "built a
ten-car spur at Pine Aire, which became known as 'Peck's Siding' to
handle the vast quantities of fertilizer that were brought and stored at
the farm." After the manure
was rendered into fertilizer, it was shipped back by the LIRR to "Peck's
Slip" at 34th Street on the East River where it was loaded onto two
masted schooners. During World War I, the Peck brothers obtained an
exclusive contract for the horse manure from Camp Upton and it was
shipped to Pecks Siding, Brentwood at a rate of 3-15 car loads a
day. As many as 500 rail car loads of fertilizer would pass through
Peck's Siding in a summer. The Peck Brothers made millions in the
fertilizer business; Peck's Siding was closed or abandoned about 1922
and according to Dyson the tracks were torn up a decade later.
Peck's Siding was rather famous or infamous, depending on your outlook,
and made it into the writings of the time. (Verne Dyson, A
Century of Brentwood, 1951, Pgs. 149 &150). - Pine Aire
Emery map MP 39-40 5/1958 - Archive: Dave Keller |
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