Jamaica

                                      "Change at Jamaica"  c.1950

      
Jamaica Area DOD Aerial 2/23/1966
 

WESTBRIDGE STATION: SHELTER SHED OPENED: 6/28/1916, WITH STREET LEVEL TICKET OFFICE ON JAMAICA AVE. AT THE CROSSING OF THE LIRR'S TRACKS BY THE JAMAICA AVE. EL. (photographic provenance). AGENCY CLOSED: 19_?. OUT OF SVC: 01/01/39 AND DISCONTINUED AS STATION STOP. Research: Dave Keller

Westbridge Station - Construction of BRT trestle. View W showing the girder trestle of the Jamaica Ave. BRT EL under construction on 12/11/1916.

The station platforms and covered stairways of the Westbridge station are visible at the far left and far right.  The station opened less than 6 months earlier on 6/28/16.  You can see how fresh white the high-level concrete platforms appear.
Info/Archive: Dave Keller

Westbridge LIRR valuation street-level view of the substantial brick ticket office with the shelter shed on the embankment above. View SE 5/24/1918
LIRR Valuation Photo / Art Huneke archive

Jamaica Station c.1925

Jamaica Station 7/2007

Jamaica Station-Track 8 View E 1952+ Archive: Bill Mangahas

The G5's 39-50, delivered in 1929-30, came with these Lines West tenders. The rear truck front axle has roller bearings for ASC. The passenger car and  MU car at the left is in the Tichy scheme (11/01/1949) with ASC installed below engineer cab window.

Jamaica Station restoration View SW 8/8/2013 
Archive: Dave Morrison

Centennial Jamaica Station 100 years 3/09/2013 
Archive: Dave Morrison

Newsday Jamaica 100th 10/23/2013

 5:30pm on September 5, 1950 finds Main Line train No. 242, from Hunterspoint Avenue, already on the model board in Jay Tower as it enters the matrix of switches on the west end of Jamaica Station. F. Rodney Dirkes photographed a westbound MU from the window of his train while it eased over the top of the flyover to both the Atlantic Branch line to Brooklyn and the leads to the receiving yard in Richmond Hill. No. 20, the Long Island R.R.'s class G5s, does the honors on the eastbound. Ron Ziel collection. View SE Archive: LIST Calendar May 2015

 
Penn-Station bound new MU cars (left) - CPA-20-5 #2005 LI City bound View E at  JAY Tower  8/1956  Photo: William D.  Middleton
 

Hall Tower Jamaica view E  c.1970 
Photo: Richard Glueck

JAY Tower, Jamaica View S 1979
 

View east at Hall Tower 03/27/1954 of a string of Tichy-schemed cars with orange end doors for better visibility at grade-crossings. 
Archive: Jim Gillin

Hall Tower view E after renovation

The "tank" in the photo (above center) was more properly termed a "holder" by its owner, the Brooklyn Union Gas Co.  Built around 1947, its purpose was to serve as a reservoir/pressure regulator for the burgeoning market for natural gas in southeastern Queens.  In keeping with the times, pressure in the holder was only 6" water gauge.  After Brooklyn Union Gas began to switch over to a higher pressure in the street mains, the holder became somewhat redundant and no longer served its original purpose. The tank was razed in July 1976. Info: Robert Strum

JAY Tower view W in 1969. A brand-new C420 at the far left in original yellow and pale blue MTA colors (delivered the summer of 1968)!

I walked along that elevated structure you see in the background behind the tower numerous times on my jaunts from Jamaica to the Richmond Hill storage yard to pick up my parlor or bar car.  It was safer to walk from the end of track 8 and up over that viaduct than up Archer Ave. to Jamaica Ave. and west to the yard. At the rear of that train on the overpass, you can make out the roof of the old Mail dock. Info: Dave Keller

Notes: The black canisters with the yellow numbers are for the switch machines. The yellow numbers are to identify the various switch numbers. The canisters themselves are the exterior covers for the electropneumatic components that operate the switch. 

The white 'pothead' covers, made of cast cement adjacent to the third rails, cover the terminals for the third rail cable connections. The ones semi center, not near the third rail, are for a sectionalizing switch.  

JAY Tower view W in 1998. LIRR M1 #9754 westbound on its journey to LI City.

4-4-0 #86, 4-4-0 #? and trains laying up westbound at
old station  Jamaica, NY – c. 1890

LIRR 4-4-0 #76 view W from the Beaver St. overpass towards the Division St. crossing, Jamaica in 1903/ Photo: Hal B. Fullerton Archive: Queens Public Library

Note: Archer Ave. at that time was called Twombly Place and ran behind the depot building at the right.  The white smoke in the distance is the approximate location of the 1913 depot/general offices. Research: Dave Keller

 

4-6-0 camelback and train westbound past twin water tanks – east of old Jamaica station – 3/1903

Sub Station #4 valuation photo 6/10/1902 Archive: Dave Morrison

Water tanks, water spout and trains and equipment looking east from Jamaica station platform roof – March 27, 1903
Photo: Hal B. Fullerton Archive: Queens Public Library

Both photos (left and below) were taken from the Prospect St. overpass (old street name), looking west. The tracks were in a cut from here eastward. The ROW was crossed by a number of iron bridges.

The Beaver Street crossing is not evident between the overpass and the station. Emery's map indicates that the Beaver St. crossing was taken out after 1903. So . . we know both images were photographed AFTER 1903.

This was photographed sometime between 1903 and the "in-service" date of 1906 of Tower 41 (2^nd).
Research: Dave Keller

The colorized post card showing a night view produced in 1908. Info: Dave Keller
 

Tower 15, WEST of the station complex and viewed east from a signal bridge at the east end of the old layup yard. It was called
"Jamaica Air Tower," was in service in August, 1899 and was the first completely pneumatic 47-lever interlocking machine on the LIRR.
(hence the "Air Tower" moniker).

It was renamed "JT" in 1907 and was taken out of service with the 1913 grade elimination/Jamaica station relocation project.

This valuation photo (3/08/1904) was probably taken along with others to show the area prior to the elimination. I'm sure plans were already in the works for that massive project when this photo was taken in 1904, therefore the tower was then identified as Tower 15, Jamaica Air Tower.

Research: Dave Keller, LIRR Historian
 

The interlocking tower in this photo is "JE" tower which was originally numbered Tower 41 (2^nd), placed in service 6/29/1906 and renamed with call letters in 1907. The tower remained in service until it was demolished in the 1913 grade elimination/Jamaica Station elevation project.
Research: Dave Keller

MP41 train 1912 rebuild near JAY Tower Archive: Rob Gales

MP41 1006 and train westbound past “J” Tower Jamaica c.1913

Grade elimination west of the new depot, looking east from the west side of Van Wyck Avenue – 3/10/1913.  The superstructure over the avenue is in place in the right background and in the right background can be seen the Dunton Electric Car Shop, which 1906 building was located on the east side of Van Wyck Ave., south of the LIRR’s tracks.  It’s quite evident this was a very LONG structure.  

Grade elimination in progress at Jamaica, NY.  View looking east from upper level of the new Jamaica station general offices towards old Jamaica station across from gas tanks – 3/12/1913

View E from upper level of Jamaica Station. 3/30/2017
Photo/Archive: Dave Morrison

H6sb (2-8-0) pulling freight eastbound through the station past “JE” (later “HALL”) tower – Jamaica – c. 1932

LIRR #107 2-8-0 Jamaica 8/18/1952
Photo/Archive:  Don Ball, Jr.
 

G5s (4-6-0) #37 and train eastbound at speed leaving station and “JE” tower Jamaica, NY 1935
Note: Photo from the rear of a moving train
eastbound on the Atlantic branch

DD1 #354 with eastbound passenger train at track 8,
Jamaica, NY - 4/17/1938 Archive: Dave Keller

This photo was shot by Henry Barsky from one of the station office building upper floors of the Jamaica station general offices. We see a train of mixed Tuscan Red and Tichy cars in the foreground. By HALL tower is a set of DD1 electric locomotives. In the center background are two MU cars; one Tuscan Red and one Tichy. At the far left is a K4s steam locomotive heading eastbound in front of the gas tanks with a C-Liner to the left of the K4 loco.

The exact spot where the DD1s are sitting still exists a two car pocket track (MY pocket) protected both east and west by low home signals. DD1s last appeared June 22, 1951. These are in older paint. The light K4s indicates a train power switch. Info: Ron Zinn

That gas holder belonged to the Brooklyn Union Gas Company. It was built somewhere around 1945-6, on a piece of land which had been the site for a gas works back around 1910 and earlier. Some LIRR pictures from that era show a much smaller holder on that site, but that disappeared by the 1920’s.

Interesting shot – in the period of change from PRR Tuscan Red to the Tichy light gray scheme. Note the DD-1. It has probably brought a train bound for the East End from Penn Station and cut off in the station. The steam engine is probably on the little engine pocket just east of Hall tower, and will back on to the train, make the brake test and head east. The DD-1 will go east almost to Union Hall St. and reverse back over the Montauk Freight tracks to Morris Park. Info: Henry Raudenbush

Jamaica Station - View E Tracks #11-12  for Brooklyn bound trains when service begins to Grand Central in Dec. 2022. 6/25/2021
Photo/Archive: Tim Darnell

The  photo (above) view W from the elevated structure of the JFK Airtrain towards Atlantic Avenue which is to the left of the warehouse building. The Van Wyck Expressway is down below track level behind the Johnson Ave. Yard. The LIRR yard tracks are on the site of the old Dunton Car Repair Shop. Jay Tower and the tracks into Jamaica Station are to the far right. The yard is numbered 1-4, North to South. The M7 is on track 1, M9 on track 2. 
The LIRR track car is located on what will be Atlantic No. 4 track (tracks are being re-configured). Continuing east turns into track 12 in Jamaica. Those crossover switches just east of the track car, are west of Platform F (Tracks 11-12) in Jamaica station

Westbound trains coming in on tracks 4, 5, and 6. Seems the Penn trains were using track 6, and GCT track 5. Babylon Branch eastbounds are using the Atlantic Branch, due to the Van Wyck overpass project. The Oyster Bay train is still on the "right" side.   View E at HALL - 4/15/2023

Info/Photo/Archive: John Michno

Built: 1913. Below grade access to platform via stairs from iron bridge. ETT no.73 effective: May 27, 1914 lists Union Hall Street Station on the Montauk Division for westbound trains. There was no platform for eastbound Montauk Division trains at that time. (Art Huneke data) Eastbound platform added: ?

High level platform out of service: 11/16/29 on account of “Jamaica Improvement East” project.
Temporary, low level platform north of track 1, between 165th St. and New York Ave. in service: 11/16/1929. Out of service: 12/8/1929
Temporary high level platform south of track 1 in service: 12/8/1929.
Temporary eastward high level platform between tracks 2 and 3 out of service: 6/21/1930.
Temporary eastward high level platform south of track 6 in service: 6/21/1930. Permanent eastward high level platform between tracks 3 and 5 in service. As westward and eastward platform: 6/21/1930.
Temporary eastward high level platform out of service: 2/26/1931.
Permanent westward high level platform in service: 2/26/1931. Agency still listed in "LIRR ticket offices open for sale of tickets" 9/12/1955 as part time. Agency closed: ?
 Discontinued as station stop: 1976. Razed: c. 2001. Research: Dave Keller
 

Union Hall St. Bridge View N 1928  Archive: Steve Rothaug

The iron bridge at Union Hall St. had stair access to the station 
in the cut below grade.   Info: Dave Keller

Union Hall St. Station View NE 1928 Archive: Steve Rothaug

The view of the Union Hall St. station platform is looking down from that same iron bridge.  The tracks were elevated in 1930-31 with the Jamaica East Elimination project. Info: Dave Keller

In the 1929 image above, looking east from the Washington St. iron bridge, note the half-filled-in turntable pit at the far right.  This turntable, when active, had an access track from the west and an access track from the east.  The one from the east was truncated and accessed the 2-story section shanty, seen in the image below.  As a matter of fact, the entire track layout has been reworked from the way it looks in the 1911 image below, as part of the Jamaica grade elimination project completed in 1913.  Research: Dave Keller

What's unique about this structure is that the access track to the shanty was the turntable lead at one time.  The turntable track and girder support has been removed and the section house built ATOP the truncated end of the stubbed-out turntable lead, to allow the handcar to be set on tracks inside the building in the direction of travel instead of being alongside the tracks at a 90 degree angle and having to be manhandled out front onto the tracks whenever the car needed to be used.  Info: Dave Keller

View of the turntable looking NW towards the Washington St. iron bridge.  The east turntable lead is still in place in the foreground, so the 2-story section house wasn't yet constructed. Emery's map of 1908 still shows the lead to the turntable as active, so construction of the section house would have happened sometime between 1908 and the 1911 image showing the section house. The elevated view of the structure would have been photographed from the Union Hall Street iron bridge, looking SW. Info: Dave Keller