ISLIP

S.S.R.R. timetable eastbound  1/01/1869
Archive: Art Huneke

 Islip Depot S.S.R.R (South Side Rail Road) first listed on timetable 5/20/1868 View SE
Photo:
George Brainerd Archive: Dave Keller 

 Islip Depot S.S.R.R (South Side Rail Road) Express House on the single track main.
View SW c.1879 Razed: 1881. Photo:
George Brainerd Archive: Dave Morrison

S.S.R.R. timetable westbound  1/01/1869
Archive: Art Huneke

Public timetable of January 1, 1869 indicates Sayville was the terminus (left). Service began to Patchogue April 1869.   The Public timetable of May 30, 1870 no longer lists Islip Centre.  Islip Centre Depot location (12/1868-6/1889), one mile west of the Islip Depot MP43, may have served the Olympic Boat Club members at the foot of Saxon Ave., Islip as the property of the Olympic Club.

The siding was for the use of the Olympic Club, on the Great South Bay funded by William H. Moffitt, a member of the Olympic Club and a real estate developer. Located on the south side of the tracks and crossing Saxon Ave. (Islip 1915 Hyde map, below).

 

ISLIP DEPOT HISTORY

South Side Rail Road Depot opened: 5/20/1868
Replaced: 1881 by new LIRR Depot. Razed? (1) 
2nd depot built:1881, razed: 12/1963
Track re-alignment 1906 as per Robert Emery; original Main #1 moved north, 2nd track added 1908. 
3rd depot dedication and opening: 12/7/1963 (2) North of tracks, Remodeled 1997
1999: Hi-level platforms and shelter installed to accommodate newly arrived C3 bi-level cars which were placed in service July, 1999
(Robert L. Myers data)  Research: Dave Keller

Note 1: After the LIRR acquired the S.S.R.R. in 1880, the depot may have been razed or moved as was known to happen at the time. 
Note 2: Both the first and LIRR 2nd depot both occupied the south side of the tracks location. The 3rd depot opening was on the current north of tracks location.


Engine House and Station at Islip repaired
The Long Island Farmer 1/19/1871

Islip Town Stations 1873 Beers map with annotations for the LIRR and South Side Rail Road (SSRR)
Stations at the time. Archive Islip Public Library  Research/Annotations: Steven Lynch
Islip-zoom_1858_creator-J.Chace_NormanB.Leventhal-Map-Collection_Boston Public Library.jpg (112972 bytes)
Islip zoom map - 1858
Creator: J. Chace 
Archive: Norman B. Leventhal Map Collection/Boston Public Library
Islip_townof_1.jpg (235134 bytes)
Islip map c. early 1870's

Islip_2.jpg (170869 bytes)
South Shore Islip Township
c. early 1870's

 islip.jpg (25795 bytes)
Islip 1905 post card view S
Collection: John Fusto

Islip-1888_Hyde-map.jpg (1007320 bytes)
Islip 1887 Hyde Map Collection: SUNY-Stony Brook 
Islip-1915_Hyde-map.jpg (831382 bytes)
Islip 1915  Hyde Map Collection: SUNY-Stony Brook 
ISLIP BUILD OUT 1867+ 

Let me deal with “the wrong side of the tracks”, if I may. The build out on the Montauk Branch of the South Side Rail Road from Babylon eastward towards Patchogue (as the short term goal) 1867-1880.  Sep. 5, 1868 South Side Railroad of Long Island opens between Babylon and Islip. Dec. 11, 1868 South Side Railroad of Long Island opens between Islip and Sayville.  April 10, 1869 South Side Railroad of Long Island opens between Sayville and Patchogue. (Info: PRR Chronology by Christopher T. Baer)

The reality at the time in rail line building, primitive at the time, was to build the least expensive right of way (ROW) requiring the fewest grades, crossing, bridges, etc. Building directly east from Bay Shore, with no major roads, streams, AND unoccupied land made the previous SSRR and current Islip station location the ideal price/performance solution. There was no wrong side of tracks as the Village and homes didn't exist in this area. I'll concur that “the wrong side of the tracks” occurred in thousands of urban areas as the railroads split older neighborhoods during the 1880-1920s. Evidence the Robert Moses Cross Bronx Expressway as a road building project as the same phenomena, as it destroyed the South Bronx area, for example. The phrase has emanated from either the wind blowing the soot/ashes from the steam locos into specific areas AND/OR the part of town that is not inhabited by the more well to do. Thus, the working class, poor or the extremely poor areas.

A fallacy, in the case of Islip and the entire South Shore Suffolk County LIRR Montauk Branch (in my opinion), at the onset. The folks with better houses/locations in the Victorian 19th Century typically lived in/nearer the center of a town's commerce, entertainment, ferry access, government services, etc. Check Bay Shore, Islip, Patchogue, just for example. The reality of the SSRR/LIRR Station being over a 3/4 mile carriage ride from the Grant Ave/Montauk Hwy location meant the need to "call a carriage taxi" to greet passengers, board a train, pick up goods, etc. 

The South Side Rail Road, later LIRR, did NOT divide Islip into a two sided socio-economic group, but rather spurned the growth of the entire area. William H. Moffitt developed the entire Moffitt Blvd area at the turn of the 20th Century and after WW I, Andrew Wolper built the entire Islip Manor affordable Cape Cod housing community.
 

F.G. Schlemmer - ISLIP Hygeia Ice COMPANY

F.G. Schlemmer Hygeia Ice and Distilled Water Co.  North Saxon Ave 1915 - View N
Photo: Islip Presbyterian Church sponsor Archive: Barbara Corbett Bishop

Suffolk County News, Sayville News edition April 13, 1900

County Review March 9, 1906

Schlemmer  Ice Co, and  Bailey's Mill Islip - Sanborn map 1/1909

Schlemmer Ice Co, and  Bailey's Mill Islip - Sanborn map 4/1925  Note: The  'Olympic siding' has been cut back to east of  Saxon Ave. and the Schlemmer  Ice Co. 'not running'.

Islip Sanborn map 12/1946 Bailey's Mill 'not in operation'.
Note:  Post WW II Suffolk County Bimasco Asphalt Paving with a new siding occupies the older Schlemmer Ice Co. site.
 

The building would be located (red X) on this 1915 Hyde map Islip segment, below: The Olympic siding was located .27 miles west of Islip station, based upon mileage indicated in the 1913 and 1919 CR4.  It was for the use of the Olympic Club, funded by William Moffitt, on the Great South Bay.  It was on the south side of the tracks and crossed Saxon Ave.

By 1914, Moffitt was said to have been worth over $2 million and had bought and sold over $20 million in property.  He had become a distinguished businessman whose company and accomplishments had been praised in the papers.  However, the real estate industry began to decline and Moffitt found himself so greatly indebted he sold his home on Orowoc Pond to Walter G. Oakman, (who in 1918 sold it to George Graham, a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives) in order to pay his mortgage.  Moffitt was also forced to sell a factory he owned in Bay Shore and continued to sell off his assets for the next three years to make ends meet.

Unable to pay back creditors, Moffitt fled to California and then became a fugitive.  He had been indicted back in New York with a grand larceny charge as a result of real estate deals totaling $4 million and chose to not appear.  Moffitt also spent time hiding in London but did come back to the United States where he was finally arrested and investigated.  Eventually, Moffitt was able to pay back his creditors and returned to California where he established another real estate business in the 1920’s.  All that was remembered of Moffitt however back in New York was Moffitt Boulevard located in Bay Shore.

His estate eventually became the new Islip High/Middle School location by the lake behind McDonalds on Main Street when it opened 1965 when I attended.

My “guess” with Moffitt in deep trouble financially, but the siding still in place for another 10 years until 1924. The LIRR may have spotted freight cars there for Baileys and a load for the Ice Company (team track style!?) across the street for wagon pickup.  Similar to Grinnell Lithograph on Moffitt Blvd over in the area across from the Islip Freight station/later team track.  Info: Steven Lynch

BAILEY'S LUMBER & COAL

Islip 1915 Hyde map - E. Bailey and Sons 
Coal and Wood Yard LIRR siding at Saxons (sic) Ave.

Islip Sanborn map 12/1946- E. Bailey and Sons, Suffolk Co. Bimasco Division Paving 
Islip-LumberCoalCo.jpg (48408 bytes)
Islip Lumber & Coal Co. - ex Bailey's Lumber  c.<1925 at Saxon Ave. location.
 

 In 1869 Edwin Bailey started the lumber business of E. Bailey & Sons which employed about 300 men for many years on the Patchogue River building ships and supplying lumber to the expanding housing markets spurred by railroad development. He also had a facility in Sayville and two locations in Islip as follows:

A location on the south siding in Islip on the SE corner of Saxon Ave and Moffitt Blvd. Sanborn Map 1909, perhaps earlier. The location would provide on/off loading of goods and material for the mill on Montauk Hwy. Identified as previously Hawkins Mill location Sanborn 1886 and later as Baileys on the Sanborn Index 1900 provided here.


Sanborn Islip inset map - Bailey's Mill  12/1890
Archive: Chris Klug

 

 

Sanborn Islip inset map - J.C. Hawkins Mill
1/1886 Archive: Chris Klug


Islip Montauk Hwy J.C. Hawkins Planing Mill -View W 1878-79 Photo: George Brainerd Archive: Brooklyn Museum-Chris Klug


Orowoc Creek, Islip c.1905 view NW
Bailey's Lumber Mill in right background

BaileysLumber-Islip.jpg (75598 bytes)
Bailey's Lumber Yard Islip c. 1890+ South Country Road (Montauk Hwy - 27A) near Orowoc Creek Note: Ship masts in background


Orowoc Creek, Islip 1915 Hyde map - Bailey's Lumber Mill location


Ex-Bailey's Lumber Yard, South Country Road (Montauk Hwy - 27A) Islip at Orowoc Creek view S  2017 Bing Maps

Bailey's Lumber Yard,  Islip  Sanborn map 1/1909 - View N

O. H. Doxsee Clam Company, Orowoc Creek, Islip

Doxsee Clam Canning Co.,Islip Sanborn map 3/1897
  JOHN L. ABREW  & CO.  

John L. Abrew Co. Coal & Wood Yard - Grant Ave Sanborn map 1/1909

 


 John L. Abrew Coal & Wood, Hay & Straw, Lime & Cement,
LILCO transformer, LIRR Section House north of tracks - Grant-Ave. Sanborn map 7/1916


John L. Abrew Coal,  Wood & Lime  - Grant-Ave  Sanborn map 4/1925

 

Note: Sanborn map 12/1946 indicates John L. Abrew Co. fire remains. This location later
became Lawrence Junk Yard & Auto Wreckers. c.1950's.

 


John L. Abrew Coal & Wood, C .W. Duryea Lumber Co., LILCO transformer. LIRR Tool House north of tracks. Sanborn map  - Grant Ave. MP42  4/1925


 Develop Inc. Prefabricated House Mfg.
Sanborn 12/1946

ISLIP FREIGHT HOUSE

Islip- LIRR main labeled as ''Southern Railroad of Long Island' from 1874 - 1st Freight House Sanborn map 12/1890 Note: Comac Rd. South of Moffitt Blvd. - Comack Rd. (SIC per Sanborn 1901 ) renamed Railroad Ave. c.1915 and further south after the intersection with previous Neck Rd. as Railroad Ave (1958) then later Nassau Ave. Previous South Side Rail Road structures: June 1876 listed the road as the "Southern RR of L.I. Division."
 

 
Islip- Railroad Hotel at Comac Rd.. LIRR labeled as ''Southern Railroad of Long Island' from 1874 - 1st Freight House Sanborn map 12/1890
Islip-1888-Station-close-up_Hyde-map.jpg (369596 bytes)
1888 Hyde map - Islip Station area close-up. 
1st Freight House, E. Hirst Coal Yard on north passing siding, N/S Neck Rd. leads to station parking area from the Islip village.
Islip-1915-close-up_Hyde.jpg (219524 bytes)
Hyde map 1915 - 2nd freight house west of
(Comac Rd.) Commack Rd.
1868: Islip S.S.R.R. builds station and wye 
mp42-43islip1902.jpg (66580 bytes)
 Emery drawing from 1902 Hyde map  LIRR station on south side - wye razed Collection: SUNY-Stony Brook

Note: The wye perhaps built as a function of the end of line at the time as Islip first appears on the timetable of South Side Rail Road May 20, 1868 as the terminal of the road and so remains until the  September 1, 1868 timetable. 

Islip as terminus until 4/1869 when line extended to Patchogue. Patchogue Summer 1888 LIRR opened on a timetable  8/11/1869 Info: Art Huneke

Original Islip Freight House east of Comac Rd. Secatogue Hotel Sanborn map inset 3/1897. So the older Railroad Hotel from the 1890 map has now been replaced by the Secatogue Hotel in this 1897 Sanborn map. (below) This could have occurred at anytime <1890 and 1897 as these maps are not update annually. Shortly thereafter, we have Monzet's Hotel 1898 (appears to be a name change) which appears on this map from 8/1902. 

Original Islip Freight House east of Comac Rd.
Secatogue Hotel Sanborn map inset 3/1897

Original Islip Freight House east of Comac Rd.
Monzet's Hotel 1898 (see Station Area section below) - Sanborn map inset 8/1902
Islip_Railroad-Ave_viewE_c.1944_Weber.jpg (36713 bytes)
Islip Railroad Ave view E  - Photo: c.1944 (Weber -Morrison)

Note: South of Moffitt Blvd. - Comack Rd. (sic per Sanborn 1901 ) renamed Railroad Ave.
 c.1915 and further south after the intersection with previous Neck Rd. as Nassau Blvd. then Nassau Ave.


Islip freight station (razed early 1950's) team track abandoned view E (W below) at Nassau Ave 6/21/2023 Photos/Archive: Dave Morrison
ISLIP COAL & FEED

Sanborn map 1/1909 - Islip freight house east of Comack Rd. and Islip Coal & Feed Co.


Sanborn map 7/1916 - 2nd Islip freight house west of Comack Rd. and Islip Coal & Feed Co. coal elevator in place.


Islip Coal and Feed Co. 1915 - View SW Islip Presbyterian Church directory
  Archive: Barbara Corbett-Bishop

Islip-Station_business-shed_viewW_c.1944_Weber.jpg (86893 bytes)
Islip Coal and Feed coal bunker zoom view W 
c.1944 (Weber-Morrison)

islipCF2.jpg (64231 bytes)
Islip Coal & Feed c. 1968 view W
Photo: Steve Lynch

islipcandf.jpg (71694 bytes)
Islip Coal & Feed c. 1968 view SE
Photo: Steve Lynch


Islip Coal & Feed c. 1968  view S
Photo: Steve Lynch

ISLIP STATION AREA
Islip_post-card_ViewNW_c.1905_Morrison.jpg (120295 bytes)
Islip post card View NW c.1905
Archive: Dave Morrison
Note: 1st freight station in far left.

Islip_view SE_c.1905_Morrison.jpg (94894 bytes)
Islip post card View SE c.1905 
Archive: Dave Morrison


Islip Station - Petroleum Heat & Power Co. Sanborn map 12/1946
Note: Later replaced by John H. C. Haff in the 1950's (asphalt, propane, fuel) and later Velvetop 1970's.

Islip  view S E c.1905 Korten colorized post card

islip1908.jpg (75833 bytes)
Islip 1908 view NE Collection: (Emery-SUNY Stony Brook)

 

Islip_first-day-Penn-station-service_9-8-1910.jpg (81441 bytes)
1st train direct from Penn Station out to Islip: 9/8/1910  Info: Dave Keller

Islip Station colorized post card - View E 1919
Express House in left background
 Islip-colorized-post-card_c.1915_Morrison.jpg (151333 bytes)
Islip post card c.1913 Korten colorized 
post card  Archive: Dave Morrison
islipdepot_c.1918.jpg (33374 bytes)
Islip Station c.1918 view east
 
Islip Station LIRR D53a #51 Eng. John Amott
View E c.1915 Archive: John Jett
 
Islip Freight Station LIRR D53a #46 Eng. John Amott
View N c.1915 Archive: John Jett
isliphydemap1915.jpg (161745 bytes)
Islip Hyde Map 1915 Collection: SUNY-Stony Brook
Islip-Station_viewNE_c.1925.jpg (73364 bytes)
Islip Station c.1925 view NE
Sta-Islip-Substa-1925.jpg (37845 bytes)
Islip Ave. crossing and LILCO Substation view E from moving train c.1925 Archive: Dave Keller
 islippropmap.jpg (57156 bytes)
LIRR Islip Land Plan  1915 - 1919/20 for the valuation maps
Collection: Art Huneke

isliptablekeller.jpg (16272 bytes)
Dave Keller Concept Table Location

islippropmap2.jpg (50624 bytes)
LIRR Islip Land Plan Property Owners
c. 1915 - 1919/20 Archive:  Art Huneke


Islip abandoned team track view E
6/21/2023 Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison


Islip Station platform view E 6/21/2023 Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison

The above are parts of the LIRR Land Plan. The ROW was about 66 feet wide, but on the north side the property runs diagonally to a width of about 125 feet. Room for a turntable, but not a wye. 

Forty years ago. I met a Mrs. Foley who lived on Commack Road or Wingan-Hauppaugue Road near the station. She remembered the turntable. In the early sixties, I met Tom Riley (Rahilly) who was a retired engineer who had qualified in 1892. He, if I remember correctly, used the turntable. Same with Sylvester Doxsey.  Info: Art Huneke

Sylvester P. Doxsey  was one of the oldest and most highly thought of LIRR engineers. Top of the seniority roster at one time. If, I recall correctly, Jeff Skinner told me that Sylvester Doxsey was in the cab of the first train out to Montauk in 1895.

Eyewitness accounts are more trustworthy, especially when one of them was Sylvester P. Doxsey himself! The property line on the north side of the tracks in your map shows it curving northeastward a bit then stopping and then paralleling the track. That would seem like it allowed for a lead track to also curve northeastwards, following that slight arc and connecting with the turntable sitting in that enlarged area. No additional property shown north for a wye. Info: Dave Keller

 
LIRR Rules & Rates of Pay - Islip  1/01/1924 
Archive: Dave Keller

Islip Shelter view east c.1935
Islip-Station_Islip-Coal-and-Feed_viewW_c.1944_weber.jpg (116844 bytes)
Islip station - Islip Coal and Feed coal bunker rear view W c.1944 (Weber-Morrison)
Ticket_Islip-Babylon_BradPhillips.jpg (53593 bytes)
Ticket - Islip-Babylon c. 1965
Archive: Brad Phillips
Islip_Bayslip-Plumbing_LILCO-sub-station_ViewE_Gaudiosi.jpg (107064 bytes)
Islip - Bayslip Plumbing, LILCO sub-station 
View E c. 1970 (Gaudiosi-Morrison)
Islip_ViewW_c.1970-Gaudiosi.jpg (98026 bytes)
Islip View W c.1970+ (Gaudiosi-Morrison)
Note: Islip Coal & Feed bunker razed

Ticket - Islip-Bay Shore  5/27/1968
Archive:
Jerry Landesman

Ticket back - Islip-Bay Shore  5/27/1968
Archive:
Jerry Landesman

Ticket - Islip-Nostrand Ave. 5/02/1968
Archive:
Jerry Landesman

Ticket back - Islip-Nostrand Ave. 5/02/1968
Archive:
Jerry Landesman
IslipMP41-MP42.jpg (84811 bytes)
Emery map MP 41-42 1958
Site of ex-"Olympia" 870 ft. siding in 1924 at
MP 41.49 Prop. (property) of Olympic Club on Great South Bay


 Emery map MP 42-43 1958
The first Main track was relocated further north on Winganhauppauge Creek feeding Brookwood Hall Lake to the current location just south of Moffitt Blvd. 1906


Emery map MP 43-44 1958


Islip Schematic 1958


Secatogue later Monzet's Hotel 1898 built in the 1890's
view NE 3/1980 Photo: Steven Lynch

Nolan's Inn 1966-1971 followed by a series of restaurants and club names: Chandler's Restaurant, Casablanca, Saturdays, Tavern on the Tracks, Silhouettes until burnt down in the 1990's

RS3-1554-SCOOT-Islip-1969.jpg (61961 bytes)
RS3  #1554  Scoot View NW 1969
Photo: J. P. Krzenski  Archive: Dave Keller

islip_old-ROW.jpg (60461 bytes)
Old S.S.R.R. and LIRR single track ROW prior to the 1906 relocation at the
Winganhauppauge Creek border of Islip/East Islip at  Info: Steve Lynch


IslipAveviewSE04-30-08MikeMcDermet.jpg (77494 bytes)
04/30/2008 Photo: Mike McDermet


LIRR map  - 1966

islipave.jpg (31023 bytes)
Islip Ave (Route 111) and Moffitt Blvd.
view SE just east of the station c. 1925

islipmanorcolor.jpg (64175 bytes)
 

Back years ago there was a husband and wife photographic team called the Kortens. They photographed all over LI and printed postcards that they sold. They were big on removing "unsightly" items from their postcard negatives by their skillful retouching of the images.

They retouched their images regularly, removing any form of unwanted stuff . . . even people, but telephone/telegraph poles were one of their specialties. Colorized postcards were very big in the 1920s and 30s. They are still very popular among collectors. Research: Dave Keller

lirr1520Islip.jpg (147741 bytes)
LIRR #1520 westbound 
Photo: Art Huneke

islipcolor1963.JPG (45095 bytes)
Station - Summer 1963 view NE
Photo/Archive: Art Huneke

Ticket-Islip_7-12-62BradPhillips.jpg (66161 bytes)
Ticket Coach Only Islip to Bay Shore  07/12/62 front 
Archive: Brad Phillips

Ticket-Islip-Reverse_7-12-62BradPhillips.jpg (42095 bytes)
Ticket Coach Only Islip to Bay Shore  07/12/62 reverse
Archive: Brad Phillips

As late as July, 1962 (pictured above right), the Islip ticket office was still using ROUND brass dater dies from the 19th century. Research: Dave Keller

This is blank ticket stock.  All ticket agencies had tickets with printed destinations as well as blank ticket stock. ALL were numbered for auditing purposes.  They also had a bunch of destination station rubber stamps.  If a ticket wished to be purchased to a station for which the ticket clerk had no printed tickets, a blank ticket was pulled from the case, was stamped with a destination station and then stamped on the back with the dater and dater die, validating the ticket.  

Sometimes tickets were purchased at a station for two totally different starting and destination points, not involving the purchase station, such as someone going to Patchogue and purchasing a ticket between Islip and Babylon.  TWO rubber stamps would be used on that ticket, then validated with the dater die. 

Its officially referred to as a "half-fare" ticket and was used for years for children up to a certain age as well as clergy.  Years later, special ticket stock was printed that read "Clergy" on them and there was also yet another rubber stamp that said "clergy" that the clerk would stamp blank ticket stock, similar to Brad's ticket at Islip.  But children always got the Half Fare tickets.

With that said, back around the turn of the century into the teens, there WERE mileage tickets sold on the LIRR but even then, nobody purchased 1/2 mile.  (Info courtesy of Dave Keller)

westernSuffolkCountyMap1941.jpg (519998 bytes)
Western Suffolk County Map 1941
Collection: East Islip Historical Society
Research: Ray Lembo Archivist/Trustee
lirr2403-CPA-24_mail-crane_ISLIP_eastbound_9-1962_ArtHuneke.jpg (115648 bytes)
LIRR # 2403 CPA-24  Eastbound at Islip mail Crane 9/1962 Archive: Art Huneke

Islip mail crane  view SW - 6/17/1965
Photo: Ron Ziel  Archive: Queens Public Library

Islip Station (north of tracks) 3/24/2003
Photo: Dan Marra

Westbound approaching
Irish Lane view east of  MP43
Photo: Steve Lynch 10/12/2001

MP 43 Just west of  Irish Lane
10/12/2001
Photo: Steve Lynch

Irish Lane view east 
Photo: Steve Lynch 10-12-2001
Islip Avenue, Joshua's Path, Wheeler Road,
Town Line Road, Hauppauge Road

LOCATION: Islip (at NY 27A) to Smithtown (at NY 25 and NY 25A)

NOTES: For many years, NY 111 was the designation for Carleton Avenue between East Islip and Hauppauge, while CR 17 was assigned to Islip Avenue. The alignments for NY 111 and CR 17 were switched in 1972. Further north, NY 111 is multiplexed with CR 76 for one block along the Town Line Road segment in Hauppauge (near Hauppauge High School). In the mid-1960's, the NYSDPW proposed a four-lane divided arterial highway, partially on new alignment, for NY 111. Rights-of-way for this plan were obtained near the northern terminus in Smithtown, where the route was straightened (but never widened).

LIRR-272_Islip_1978.jpg (83196 bytes)
LIRR GP38-2 #272 at Islip View SW 1978


Carlton Ave (ex-Rte. 111) view N.
Photo: Steve Lynch 10/12/2001

 


Irish Lane relay box  SE corner
Photo: Steve Lynch 10/12/2001

 


Islip Schematic 1999

 

 

StanleyR.Jones_TicketClerk-Telegrapher_Islip-021958(Jones-Keller).jpg (76502 bytes)
Stanley R. Jones Ticket Clerk/Telegrapher Islip 2/1958   (Stanley R. Jones - Dave Keller)

Stanley R. Jones, LIRR ticket clerk/telegrapher in white shirt and bow tie sending on his Vibroplex "Lightning Bug" key, with the telegraph sounder in the resonator at his ear - Islip station - February, 1958 just before his retirement. Stanley entered the roster of LIRR Telegraph Employees on May 2, 1919. In addition to the sounder being placed in the resonator to amplify the sound, it was typical old-style telegrapher fashion to insert a metal tobacco tin that was flattened and placed behind the sounder to make the "dots and dashes" even THAT much more audible. Notice the sign advertising Pullman accommodations . . . interline tickets were still being sold at this time. Research: Dave Keller

LIRR-Railroader19Dec1963issueIslipStation.jpg (133106 bytes)
LIRR Railroader December Issue -  Dedication of new Islip Station  - 
Dino Genchi  placing the weather vane he designed. 2/07/1963. Info: Brad Phillips
IslipNewStationDedicationCard-BradPhillips.jpg (36949 bytes)
Islip New Station Dedication Pass Honorary Station Master 12/07/63 Archive: Brad Phillips
lirr2004IslipViewW11-23-63.jpg (49194 bytes)
LIRR #2004 Eastbound 11/23/63
Photo: Bradford Phillips
IslipStationOpening12-63.jpg (38701 bytes)
Dedication of new Islip station - Dino Genchi placing the weather vane he designed.
12/07/1963 Photo: Bradford Phillips
GoodfellowOpeningIslipStation12-63.jpg (55286 bytes)
Goodfellow at dedication of new Islip station 12//07/1963  Photo: Bradford Phillips

Islip Station - View NW 12/1971
Photo/Archive: Dave Keller
Islip-Station-Weather-Vane_templet_DinoGenchi.c.1963.jpg (21600 bytes)
This is the weathervane my brother Dino Genchi made in metal shop and placed atop the Islip Train Station in 12/07/1963. My cousin still has the template (designed by someone else) in his garage. They used a cherry picker to have him place it! Info:  Diana J. Genchi

LIRailroader_V8N14_07031963_p2_Islip_Station_new_look.jpg (123026 bytes)
LI  Railroader Vol. 8 No. 14 7/03/1963 page 2

 


Islip Station - LIRR President Goodfellow Dedication 11/21/1963
Islip-Station_1971_Sturm-Fehn.jpg (89205 bytes)
Islip Station 1971 (Sturm-Fehn)

weather_vaneIslip-MikeMcDermet.jpg (21169 bytes) 
Weather Vane designed by Dino Genchi
2008 Photo: Mike McDermet

LIRR_IslipStation_weathervanedetail_06072012_AlCastelli.JPG (30818 bytes)
Weather vane 06/07/2012 
Photo: Al Castelli 


BERNARDINO F. GENCHI TRIBUTE - ISLIP STATION December 6, 2021

There will be a Rededication Ceremony at Islip Station at 2pm on December 6th, 2021. A photo display (left) will be placed into the display case inside the station waiting room. In addition, a locomotive weathervane will be placed atop the building cupola by the LIRR Bridge & Building (B&B) Department prior to the event.  Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, LIRR President Eng, President of the LIST-NRHS, Stephen Quigley, and Organizer Dave Morrison will be in attendance.


A photo display will be placed into the display case inside the station waiting room

 


Islip Station waiting room display case
11/06/2021 Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison
 LIRR restores weathervane at Islip Station

December 6, 1963 - The metal weathervane that Islip High School student Bernardino F. “Dino” Genchi, as a shop class project, was making wasn't ready yet, so a wood version was installed.  Shortly thereafter, Genchi's metal version was installed.   

In the photo (see below) taken during the December 6, 2021 event, the boy was holding a prototype from which Genchi's weathervane was produced.  LIRR historian, Dave Keller, indicates Genchi's weathervane had "disappeared" sometime between 1971 and 1975.  There is absolutely NO record of it being blown down in a storm (although it could have been).  

The 1970s were a time of copper thefts on the LIRR, particularly contact tips from the Morris Park Shop and 250mcm copper wire from overhead power lines.  In the 1997/98 renovation, a three-dimensional weathervane was installed.  At that same time, a similar weathervane was installed at Nassau Blvd Station. The three-dimensional weathervane (let's call it the second weathervane) became loose and the locomotive part fell off onto the roof of the station building.  Don Konrad got the locomotive piece off of the roof in September 2018.  That is the second Islip weathervane piece that is now at RMLI.

The weathervane installed December 6, 2021 is the third weathervane.  Info: Dave Morrison  Photo: LIRR/Glen Sager


Stephen Quigley-NRHS-LIST, Dave Morrison-Organizer, LIRR President Eng

Dave Morrison-Organizer, LIRR President Eng, Roby Johnson-Commander Suffolk County American Legion 

LIRR President Eng, Roby Johnson-Commander Suffolk County American Legion presentation 

Islip Station - Bernardino F. Genchi tribute ceremony December LIST-NRHS Semaphore

Roby Johnson, Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, Dina Soriano, LIRR President Eng


Genchi's daughter, Dina Soriano Family with weathervane replica


Islip High student Isabella Green sings
the National Anthem


Genchi plaque mounted Islip Station waitingroom 1/25/2022 Photo/Archive: Morrison


Genchi Tribute - Islip Bulletin 12/16/2021
Photos/Archive: Carl Dimino

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2006 Station view NW
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Islip Station views  west and east 6/07/2012 
Photos/Archive:: Al Castelli
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Islip Pedestrian crossing warning bell c.2008 connects the north/south
parking lots west of station  View N


EMD F9A HEP #619 1990


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LIRR #516 Summer 2005

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Islip Station cupola weather vane 4/2012

2006 Station Clock Tower view looking North

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Clock Tower zoom 
Photo: Mike McDermet


Islip Station - View SW 6/21/2023
Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison

Islip Station - View SE 6/21/2023 Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison
 

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Historical Marker Preservation Signpost 2017
Historical Society of Islip Hamlet

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Islip 1966 Class Montauk Train Ride  Photo: Carl Wopple
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Islip 1966 Class Montauk Train Ride boarding
Photo: Carl Wopple
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 STS Sign east of  Saxon Ave
View West 01/27/2008 
Photo: Mike McDermet

Speedometer test section sign, as per Special instructions 1038-A1 all STS are 1/2 mile in length and are located where speeds are 30 mph or greater; most are located near terminals. 

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 Saxon Ave Siding View West
01/27/2008 Photo: Mike McDermet
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Saxon Ave Switch View West
01/27/2008 Photo: Mike McDermet
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84 Lumber closed view W 6/01/2012
Photo: Al Castelli
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84 Lumber view SW 6/07/2012 
Photo: Al Castelli
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View SW towards Storage City  6/07/2012 Photo: Al Castelli
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PRIDE Equipment view NW 6/04/2013 Photo: John DeMarco
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LIRR DE #409 PRIDE Equipment view W 6/04/2013 Photo: John DeMarco

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Choo Choo Auto Islip Railroad Ave. view SE 
Google maps 2012


F&C Painting, Railroad Ave. renamed (c.1960's?)  to Nassau Ave.
View S 6/2/12023 Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison

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84 Lumber view SE 6/07/2012 
Photo: Al Castelli

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84 Lumber mailbox View S 
6/07/2012 Photo: Al Castelli

 

ISLIP ODD's &  END's
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First National Bank of Islip - National Currency Five Dollar series 1929

1863 to 1935, National Bank Notes were issued by banks throughout the country and in US territories. Banks with a federal charter would deposit bonds in the US Treasury. The banks then could issue banknotes worth up to 90 percent of the value of the bonds. The federal government would back the value of the notes—the issuance of which created a demand for the government bonds needed to back them  Source: Wikipedia

 

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Manor Inn Matchbook Cover
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Silver Dollar Bar & Grill Archive: Ray McGinley
corner of Commack Rd/Sunrise Hwy
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Billy Blake - Christmas Ad 1960's


Seascape Inn post card
1960's
Archive:  Bruce Smith


'Two Commuters' by Wayne Martin, Class of 68, - March, 2018
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Double Decker Interior 1950's

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The Ground Round -Saxon Ave/Main St., Islip Archive: Kevin Hein

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Class of '68 50th Reunion History

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Putt-Putt Miniature Golf - Main St., Islip Photo/Archive: Kevin Hein

    
Location was NE corner of  Hemlock St. and Islip Ave.


Location was NE corner of Moffitt Blvd. and Islip Ave.

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New Islip High opening 1/04/1965 news article 12/17/1964


 Islip McDonalds on site of ex-Moffitt Estate
First on Long Island in 1958  Photo is c.1966


ISLIP SPEEDWAY

Islip Speedway (1947-1984) was a .2-mile oval race track located 1 mile N of the Islip Station. The first demolition derby took place at Islip Speedway in 1958. The speedway has since been demolished.

Islip Speedway aerial view NE - Wiki


Islip Speedway Historic marker
Islip Historical Society

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Lemon Tree Matchbook
 
"Village Blacksmith" c.1940's+  Archive: Don Ochs

My opinion is the Bailey's Mill site. (Montauk Hwy - 27A) Islip at Orowoc Creek

The business name is: "The Village Blacksmith". A "bit far" from Islip Village, but that would make sense as "industries" were not usually located on the main streets in the 19th Century.



Islip Speedway (1947-1984) overlay map
View N by Thom Tramposch


Industries Along Moffitt Blvd, Islip Manor, NY  islipMikeMcDermet.jpg (46517 bytes)

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  Click to Visit:      Islip Freight Sightings:   Click to go:  islipbulkheadlumberflat3-80.jpg (58166 bytes)

Islip Manor - Wolpert Houses

In 1914, as World War I began, Andrew Wolpert Sr., a Bavarian native who had been a real estate agent in New York City, and his three sons began building houses in the woods between East Islip and Central Islip State Hospital. The Wolpert's wanted to attract people of German origin, according to historians. The place was known as Germantown, but the war brought pressures to change the name of the community. Many people who moved there worked in the state hospital. Info: East Islip Historical Society. 

Harry Luther Wolpert, son of Andrew, was President of East Islip Bank and purchased the closed Fort Upton lumber for the construction of Germantown. That's why they were called Wolpert House's. ..."Wolpert houses, in conjunction with Suffolk County National Bank, financed the many houses between Islip Ave.-Southern State Pkwy (east-west) and Southern State Pkwy-Moffitt Blvd. (north-south). These were Cape Cod style houses: basement, coal for heat, central staircase, one lower bath, and three bedrooms upper level with detached garage. Note that interior plumbing came into common use after WW I and the use of septic tanks. The Islip Manor area, for example, built c.1923 and reflects the need of returning vets for housing and the large numbers of Germans fleeing post WW I Fall 1921+ mass starvation, inflation, and poverty. A basic Wolpert house: Living/Kitchen/Bath/stairwell lower and three bedrooms upper connected.  Info: Matthew Wolpert (Andrew Wolpert Sr.'s Great Great Grandson)
 

Islip Manor marker - Islip Historical Society

As the builder can name streets; we have the deceased wife (1905) of  Harry L. Wolpert: Kunigunde Fuchs Wolpert, later  named for Kunigundia Place; the north/south street in Islip Terrace, 11752.  (I was a two summer mail carrier for the USPS). These houses were not built en-mass, as in the later Levittown production style, but all were similar in design/layout/cost to provide entry level housing. In 1948 Heinrich Pieper, who lived a couple of blocks north of Sunrise Highway east of Islip Ave., opened his bakery.  Perhaps another immigrant fleeing the horrors of WW II and settled in the Islip Manor area. Stanley Sadowski  purchased the location in 1953 and renamed it: Stanley's Bakery. Research: Steve Lynch 

Islip Prom Train

Islip-High-Prom_LIRR-baggage-car_June-1961.jpg (50874 bytes)"Kids from Islip High School dance to rock-and-roll music in the baggage car of an LIRR train as part of their "rolling prom"on June 24, 1961. Islip High School Class of 1961 graduate Richard Henkel doesn’t remember much about the destination of his senior class trip, but he sure remembers how he got there. “It was really phenomenal. . . . I remember the ride very clearly,” said Henkel, 73, now a resident of Phoenix. “I do not remember the layover time and how long we had out there. I seem to recall we got something to eat out there.”

Henkel’s selective memory is understandable, considering his commute to the Montauk Surf and Cabana Club was headline news. Henkel was one of 98 Islip seniors to take part in what was described at the time as a “rolling prom” aboard a Long Island Rail Road train.

The event was conceived by local businessman Jack Schoenholz, who owned a McDonald’s franchise in Islip and paid $1,700 Lloyds of London insurance fee, to fund the LIRR’s “Midnight Special” — a slow-speed ride 12 mph trip to the East End on a three-car train decked out for the graduating class. Parents and faculty members thought a train ride was a safer alternative to having the students drive to Montauk, especially considering the legal drinking age at the time was 18.  

An empty baggage car was transformed into a dance hall, complete with Hawaiian-inspired decorations and a four-piece rock-and-roll band. In an adjacent car, revelers could dine on 400 hamburgers and 100 hot dogs prepared for the trip, and sip refreshments at a nonalcoholic bar, according to Newsday’s coverage of the June 23, 1961, event. Note: Roy Staebler and Shirley Gambler , Class of "61 are still married.  Photo: (Newsday-Jim Cavanagh)

A third car allowed students to “ride this one out,” according to Newsday’s coverage. Students and chaperones could sit and talk there, or get some rest." Islip did a sports theme on the train the next year and Riverhead tried it, too.

"...Islip High School Prom Trains to Montauk consisted of an RS1 or RS3, a “Balloon-Roof” baggage car for dancing, a bar car and usually two coaches. Picking up the students at Islip, the train proceeded at 15 mph to Montauk during the night. Return the next morning was usually preceded by a dip in the surf and breakfast at Montauk..." Gene Collora “Semaphore” April 1991, pages 5-7

The LIRR Tour Department also operated a regular "Disco Train" with baggage car dancing and a bar. The service was very successful until a familiar criminal-minority element began patronizing it. There were assaults, a stabbing, drugs, fights and robberies. Like so much of Long Island's public assembly entertainment, the Disco Train ended with the arrival of that group.  

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Leaving Islip - Prom Train 6/24/1961 
Archive: Bill Carlsen
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Prom Train 6/24/1961 
Archive: Bill Carlsen
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"Sing Along" - Prom Train 6/24/1961 
Archive: Bill Carlsen
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"Partied Out" - Prom Train 6/24/1961 
Archive: Bill Carlsen
Walkin' the Tracks 

When the new Islip High School was opened in September 1966 I was 14 years old at the time. Located rather than in the center of town where the old high school was built prior to 1900, it was further west near the edge of Bay Shore/Islip line at Saxon Ave.; thus a longer walk home.

We would follow the path through the wooded area north of school and use the double LIRR tracks to go east across Grant Ave., Nassau Ave., and finally to Islip Ave. (Route 111). MP42-43

I was aware of the possible danger of the “silent” approach, thus was looking over my shoulder as I went. However, as the south track was more convenient, we used it not realizing the afternoon passenger commuters used this track for the eastbound trains.

IslipStation_PedXingBell_c.2008.jpg (29376 bytes)I remember the wooden pedestrian track crossing by the station, which for safety reasons is no longer there. The present pedestrian crossing connecting the north and south parking lots is located at the warning bell further west of the station.  

 

 


I never noticed the engines/consists that went through as none were freight and passenger trains were of no interest anyway. I was a freight fan from the start (model “real” trains not passenger/commute look alike “junk” as I thought at the time. As the railroad modeling in HO bug hit me several years earlier at the age of 10 (1962) the possibilities of freight movement and the variety of types/loads appealed to me.

The south side siding was always a disappointment as the LIRR had stopped using the track just past the Islip Coal & Feed Bunker turnout. This siding led to the Junk Yard west of Grant Ave.

The early fifties had doomed this bunker to be obsolete as the post WW II switch to fuel oil was very quick to catch on. The bunker was razed c. 1969, but had been unused for many years. With the demise of the bunker all tracks turnouts/sidings were left intact, however with no activity.
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The north siding was not much better, if at all. The freight station had long been gone and a large Victorian house occupied the SW corner of Moffitt Blvd. and Railroad Ave. (Robert Emery map 5/1958) Nassau (Ave?) corner. Grinnell Lithograph used the siding as a team track as evidenced with a truck path through the brush to this track. They were located N across the ROW on Moffitt Blvd.

This siding continued east of Railroad Ave. with an “S: curve to Bayslip Lumber (with the boxcar freight loading door evident) near Islip Ave.  I never saw any freight at that spot. 

With the building of 84 Lumber on the team track the N siding became active after 1969+. 84 lumber is closed 2012.
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After a while tank/boxcars also became evident further east on the old siding east of Railroad Ave (later renamed Nassau AVe.) used as a team track for Velspar. Still in use at this writing. 8/2012

From MP41-42: East of Saxon Ave and south of the LIRR original main the south siding west of the coal bunker had a new turnout installed for Inspected Transit Mix Co., the cement elevator and siding installed 1957. Abandoned: ?

Information concerning the Historical Society of Islip Hamlet,   www.isliphamlethistory.org