Bay Ridge Branch

LIRR Employee timetable #110, effective 6/16/29: Mileage is from "DF" tower (later "POND")

DF tower (Interlocking & block station) 0.0 miles
FN tower (Interlocking & block station) 0.4 miles (Later "FREMONT" tower)
NO tower (Interlocking & block station) 3.9 miles (cabin @ New Lots Ave)
MJ tower (Interlocking & block station) 7.5 miles (Manhattan Beach Jct: later "BEDFORD" tower)
NU tower (Interlocking & block station) 9.7 miles (cabin @ New Utrecht Ave)
Bay Ridge 11.9 miles


LIRR Employee timetable #6, effective 6/21/59: Mileage is from FREMONT tower: (Later razed 7/00)

FREMONT (Interlocking tower and block station) 0.0 miles
New Lots Crossover 4.3 miles
NU (Block LImit Station) 8.8 miles
Bay Ridge 11.5 miles

The New Haven had trackage rights over the Bay Ridge Branch for through freight interchange to the PRR via Bay Ridge/Greenville. After the State of New York purchased the Long Island Rail Road from the PRR, the Bay Ridge Branch was not included but the LIRR continued to operate the line including the yard at Bay Ridge.

Soon after the Penn Central took over the New Haven (this occurred on Jan. 1, 1969), the Penn Central took over the remaining local business as well as the office at New Lots and the tower at Fremont. At that time, there were I believe three jobs established to handle the Bay Ridge Branch local work as well as the LIRR freight interchange.

This was soon reduced to two jobs, a day job went over with cars for the Bay Ridge Branch and did all of the siding work from Fremont to 8th Avenue, Bay Ridge. There was no work beyond that point at the time. The night job brought the interchange cars from Selkirk over the bridge for Fremont and brought the cars going off the LIRR back to Oak Point. Occasionally, this job would make two trips but it rarely if ever went past Fremont.  by Noel Weaver
 

East NY Industrial Park serviced by the Bay Ridge Line

Circa 1970-1971, when the yard was abandoned, the 4 LI City style float bridges were torn down. The yard was abandoned for some time, with PC only playing host to interchange with the Bush Terminal RR/New York Dock Railway. In 1979 or 1981 ( haven't got the exact year yet ), NYD (NYS DEC is the NY State Dept of Environmental conservation) installed a pontoon float apron that came from the Erie 28th street yard in Manhattan at the northern tip of the old yard. This was to help handle the larger capacity cars that were coming into Bush Terminal Yard. This was utilized until about 1990 or so, and one end sank. Its still there today.

LIRR bought the branch back from Conrail in 1984, and started interchange with now NY Cross Harbor (NYCH), when the infamous Intermodal Bogie experiment took place.

In 1999, the NYD DEC rebuilt the yard completely, new track, ties, etc, including a pair of brand new cable suspension float aprons. This was all due to NYCH planning on moving their operations out of Bush Yard as it was getting too old, and track was to light with restrictive turnouts ( 80/90lb rail and #4 turnouts ). Well, this never came to fruition, and the two float bridges still sit idle, never used! Today the yard is used strictly for storage and the daily NYCH/NYA interchange point.

Just this past year and a half, NYA has done an EXTENSIVE track rehab program for the branch.  
Compliments: Paul Strubeck

65th STREET - BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN, NY
the terminus of the current NYA Brooklyn freight operations

  65th St. Yard Bay Ridge c. 1998

Bay Ridge, NY 1966

Bay Ridge Topographic

Derail to prevent "rollouts"

Double crossover, just before the aprons