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65th STREET
- BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN, NY - 1970-1999
Each apron has two tracks leading from it into two yards with several
ladder tracks in each yard. This is so that cars can be unloaded from the three track car floats, trains made up from them and dispatched while other trains arrive bringing new cars to be loaded onto the car floats for dispatch to New Jersey. This arrangement supported 1,000 cars a day during the period 1920
thru 1950 with lower numbers of cars after 1950.
So how is a loaded car float unloaded and then reloaded? The following sequence of events
occurrs. First of all, the car float is secured to the apron so that the tracks on the car float line up with those on the apron. Now if you're working with a three track car float only two outer tracks are connected to the tracks on the apron. The center track and the left track converge in a turnout,
on the float, of which only the points are on the apron. So nothing can be
removed from the center track until the points are clear.
Now a switcher on the left lead track usually using a flatcar or gondola
or two as an idler to reach onto the car float across the apron and couples with the string of cars on the left track of the car float. This string is pulled halfway off the
car float. That means if there are 6 cars in that string 3 are off the car float while the other 3 are still on it. The switcher then uncouples from these cars after their brakes are set. The switcher then goes onto the right track via a crossover and pushes the idler car onto the car float's right track and couples with cars on that track.
These cars are now pulled off the car float and into the yard to
clear a switch that allows that string of cars to be run back and
coupled to the six car string of cars that was pulled half way off the
float in the first operation. These cars are now pulled to clear the
switch to the center track. Now with a string of (12) cars, they are
coupled to the center track and (17) cars are pulled into the yard. All
this is subject to change if the consist of the freight coming in is all
heavy cars (100 ton) or more, long drawbar cars that wont couple up on
the turnout to the center track. The idea is to get (1) intact string of
cars into (1) track with the engine on the east end so it can couple up
to the string that is going to be loaded.
I have pulled and loaded a float with only (1) other man, the
yardmaster, after he mistakenly sent the crews home.
To load the car float one reverses the process with the center track
loaded first.
My thanks to: Irvin Feldman and LIRR Engineer: Ed Schleyer
Circa 1970-1971, when the yard was abandoned,
the four 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), New York Dock Railway installed a pontoon
supported pony plate girder float bridge that original came from the
Erie Railroad's West 28th Street yard in Manhattan. This float
bridge was installed at the northwestern tip of the 65th
Street yard and was referred to as the BAT (Brooklyn Army Terminal)
float bridge.
This float bridge installation was due to the
reconstruction of First Avenue which isolated the 65th Street from the
float bridges at Bush Terminal Yard. This float bridge was utilized
until about 1990 or so, when it was no longer needed and abandoned
in place. It has since pulled away from it's bulkhead anchors, and
sits partially submerged a few feet off the bulkhead, where it can still
be seen there today.
Long Island RR purchased the Bay Ridge Branch
back from Conrail in 1984, and started interchange with the New
York Cross Harbor Railroad (NYCHRR), the successor to New York Dock.
This is when the infamous "Intermodal Bogie" experiment took
place.
In 1999, the NYCEDC (New York City Economic
Development Corp.) completely rebuilt the 65th Street railyard, with new
track, ties, etc. This rebuild also included a pair of brand new cable
suspension type float bridges. This was all due to NYCHRR planning on
moving their base of operations out of the Bush Terminal Yard, as it was
getting too old, and track was too light with restrictive turnouts
(80-90lb rail and #4 turnouts).
The proposed relocation never came to fruition,
and the two float bridges still sit idle, never used!
In 2006, the New York Cross Harbor would become
a "fallen flag" and the new company operating the railroad
would be New York New Jersey Rail. Today the yard is used strictly for
storage and is the location of the interchange point NYNJ Rail and
New York & Atlantic Railway (NYA), which is the freight
subsidiary of the Long Island Railroad)
Just this past year and a half, NYA has done an
EXTENSIVE track rehab program for the Bay Ridge Branch.
Furthermore, there is now a repeated rumor
circulating that the NYNJ is relocating their Bush Terminal base of
operations to the 65th Street Yard (as NYCH had planned to in years
prior) and an agreement to carfloat freight for NYA is being worked on.
Research/Photo Collection: Phil Goldstein 07/2009
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