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Topographic Map
Island Park 1979 |
Emery Map 9/58 MP 20-22
Click on images to enlarge
Switching the Coal at Island Park
by JJ Earl
"...the coal train used the trailing point cross over east of Long Beach
Road to shove across into "The Light"
Loads would be placed in the empty tracks and empty cars gathered up and
pulled out onto #2 main.
The engines uncoupled and were reversed at LEAD to come back west on #1,
over the cross over and pull back west onto #1 stopping for a member of the
crew to throw these hand thrown switches back to their rightful position.
All main line crossovers had/have what is called a locking bar halfway
between the switches with a lever that, when thrown over, moves a rod that
connects to a locking device in each switch that will not allow it to be
thrown unless this security device itself is thrown."
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"Moving
Coal by Prayer"
by Mark Smith (Retired LIRR Locomotive Engineer)
The following is an excerpt pertaining to the
above map:
"... After Jamaica, passenger trains were on your back as soon as you fell
down at all. After Valley Stream, the trains were on an hourly basis.
This means that you had to pull past the crossover at the coal siding, back
your train in, cut off the hack, pull out and shove your train away, pick up
the hack, place it on the westbound empties, pull out and run around the
train on the main between regular trains. This required some fancy
operation by the crews..."
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Island Park
