LIRR SERVICE TO WEB OFFSET

LIRR SERVICE TO:

Industries Served by the Long Island Railroad

VOLUME 15:
LONG ISLAND RAILROAD SERVICE TO LONG ISLAND CITY'S WEB OFFSET PUBLICATION CORP.

By Nicholas Kalis

Fifteenth in a series of glimpses into industries or warehouses that made for interesting freight operations on the Long Island. Information presented has included, where available, a brief history of the firm, how it was served by the LIRR, and what commodities were received or shipped from this facility.

Street map of Long Island City with Web Offset
Publication location indicated by a red star.
Credit: Yahoo!

Maps of Freight Stations and Private Sidings (June 1966), page 2 identifies Web Offset (Spot 17), located in Long Island City, as facing Yard A while with its own track it shared a spur with Louis Sherry (Spot 17a). Web’s siding actually crossed over the National Casket siding. Web was not, as was previously thought, the Universal Building at 31-04 Northern Boulevard (once known as Jackson Avenue). Instead, local telephone directories place Web Offset at 30-30 Northern Boulevard. The Universal Building could not have come close to the tracks given its meager depth. Web was squeezed between National Casket (Spot 16) and Louis Sherry (Spot 17a), also at 30-30 Northern Boulevard. While Hyde Atlas, Queens Vol. 1, updated through 1955 makes no mention of Web Offset, Hyde identifies the one and two-story Universal Building facing Northern Boulevard to its right.

Our 1966 map puts Web Offset (Spot 17) to the left (west) of the six-story Louis Sherry (Spot 17a). Did the one-story building with roll-up doors to the left of the main six-story building belong to Louis Sherry or to Web Offset (Spot 17)? As both Web and Sherry shared the same address, siding, and the number “17” in their spot numbers Sherry and Web likely shared the same building just as American Steel Wool and Brenner, known as Spots 12 and 12a respectively, shared one building. The under-utilized, and therefore unusual, parcel to the right (east) of Louis Sherry abutted the rear of Universa l Building which was one-story tall on the side closest to Yard. Hyde shows Universal to the east of the left hand side of Sexton Foods/Speed Queen (Spot 18)
Credit: Bill Myers

Our 1966 map puts Web Offset (Spot 17) west of the six-story Louis Sherry (Spot 17a). Did the one-story building with roll-up doors to the bottom of the main six-story building belong to Louis Sherry or to Web Offset (Spot 17)? As both Web and Sherry shared the same siding and the number “17” in their spot numbers , Sherry and Web likely shared the same building . The under-utilized, and therefore unusual, parcel to the top of Louis Sherry abutted the rear of Universal Building which was one-story tall on the side closest to Yard A.
Credit: Library of Congress 111550 HAER NY 31, NEYO, 167 NY-121-4

Web Offst (Spot 17)should apear in right background to the right of National Casket (Spot16)
Credit: The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, LaGuardia Community College/The City University of New York

Commodities shipped into Web Offset by rail were presumably paper carried in box cars. Can any of our readers tell us what form the paper came in, i.e. was the paper in industrial size rolls? These boxcars may have originated in Canada or other paper producing regions such as the American South from industrial plants I have been unable to identify. Can any reader tell from what plants the paper originated? Web may have produced envelopes or sheet goods but that is only my guess, in any case if it was a typical industry of Long Island City, only empties left this facility by rail. In 1970-71, Web moved to Brooklyn.

Modeling

For readers who would like to model this structure in HO scale, I would suggest Fox Chemicals ($60.00) by Jeff Springer’s Custom Model Railroads of Baltimore, Maryland. I have built a foam core mock-up of this building.

Credits

Thanks to Rhoda Levenson of Brenner Paper, Carl Fabrizi, Bob Miller of the Queensboro Public Library, and Bill Myers

Bibliography

Author Unknown Maps of Freight Stations and Private Sidings (Reprint) June 1966

Maps of Freight Stations and Private Sidings 1966
showing Web Offst as Spot 17.