Sunrise Special tender use:

When the Sunrise Special was towed behind loco #21, did that locomotive or tender stay idle 6 days a week, waiting for the Friday night train? Seems like an expensive allocation of equipment. I'm wondering if she saw commuter service as well. Any thoughts on this?

I would imagine it stayed behind. That tender had been used on other locomotives, including a PRR K4, LIRR 35, and at least one of the leased PRR G5s.

The LIRR stopped running the "Sunrise Special" sometime before 1935. Also, from what I know, in addition to 21 pulling the "Special" was LIRR 35 and PRR K-4s 1589.

There are 3 wood hacks behind the 2 pass cars. LIRR #421 paint scheme indicates it is about the time LIRR sold 3 wood hacks (12, 14, and 29) to Seashore Trolley museum in Maine and a trolley museum in Connecticut. (one of them just came back to LI a few years ago -- #12). I believe this photo is of the freight move of the 5 sold/donated cars to interchange. 
Info: Art Single

What's New
     

LIRR Glassware 04/17/08
LIRR Matchbooks  04/16/08
LIRR Gas Turbine Info 03/24/2008
LIRR 1955  Steam Phase Out 03/22/08
LIRR Freight Schedule with NY, NH&H
LIRR 1976 Freedom Train at Belmont
LIRR Wantagh Station Park 03/15/2008
LIRR S1 #421 on Museum  Run 
LIRR MU leased units to SIRT 01/14/08
Mill Neck Station 12/28/07
Penn Station, NY City 11/01/2007
Leased Units on the LIRR 10/04/2007
Sands Street Terminal 10/04/2007
Mr. Met - Watch the Gap 09/20/07
Polo Grounds 1940 09/15/07 
LIRR Milk Cars 07/29/07
LIRR Ping Pong Visitor Center LIE 03/14/07
Newsday "Trouble on the Tracks" 8-22-66 02/14/07
Corona 11/24/06
Alco FA-2 HEP Unit #3100 09/18/06
Connetquot River Photos 07/13/07

PRR N5 caboose 477604 on LIRR property Hempstead 04/05/34
Photo: George E. Votava
D. Keller Archive

Syosset c. 1956
Morrison Collection

The Cerro water tower, demolished 09/2004.

The Cerro Wire & Cable Co. on Robbins Lane produced electrical conduit and hot-rolled copper rods from the 1950s through 1986. 

Visitor Center LIRR Ping Pong Car on south side Long Island Expway (I495)

Photo: Paul Strubeck 2006

P54D 7921. From the Bob Emery roster: 

7921 saved for preservation and stored until 4-1976. Repainted tuscan red with black roof and gold leaf lettering and renumbered back to 921 for use on Heritage Train from 5-1976 to 8-1976. Stored on Track 1, Flatbush, NY

LIRR Power Pack EMD F7Am  #622 
Built  Nov 1950
Photo: Graeme Skeet 1992 Speonk, NY
"m" designation indicates modified from original condition: G. Skeet

Mill Neck Station c. 1914
 Archive: John Hammond

Newsday Article 08/22/1966 
Engineer's View of Dangerous Conditions
Newspaper article courtesy of Thomas Collins

Mill Neck Station
 Archive: John Hammond

Back in the early 1970s, the LIRR loaned or leased six (6) MU cars to the Staten Island Rapid Transit for their use. 

These two LIRR MU cars are seen in SIRT service, stopped at Princes Bay station on Staten Island on April 28, 1973.

The LIRR never had any stations that looked like this structure and located in a cut.  Also . . . . check out that shelter shed across from the depot building!  Certainly not “Pennsy style!” Info: Dave Keller

Shea Stadium is to the left, just across the street. To the right is where the scrap cars were kept. I've heard they cut up cars here, and shipped the pieces in gondolas to Naporano.
Photo: Tim Darnell  05/1976

The branch came off the Pt. Wash line, just east of Shea Stadium station.
Info: Tim Darnell

Looking north from just north of the Port Wash Branch.  Shea Stadium to your left, Roosevelt Ave and IRT ahead. Taken I believe in 1978. 
Info/Photo/Collection: Art Huenke

Across the street, facing northeast.

P-74B #7523 Pullman-Std. Built 1926
Photo: Tim Darnell c. 1976-77

Roosevelt Ave bridge under the #7 line, facing southwest. The track in the foreground is the remains of the old Whitestone branch, looking towards the old 1964 World's Fair site.

The work train is eastbound on the Port Washington branch.
 Info: D.Keller/T. Darnell 
Photo: Tim Darnell

LIRR 2181 in the scrapline at Corona. 
Prior EL 1310 previously DL&W 310.
 3 cabooses  C-94, C-52, and C1. Photo: Tim Darnell c. 1976-77

The Sheffield Farms cars are a publicity photo of cars built for Sheffield by General American Refrigerator Car Company in 1928
Source:  Carstens Publications
From: Electric Heritage of the Long Island Rail Road : 1905-1975 by Ron Ziel with John Krause

LIRR Milk Car #3000 Builder's Photo
Archive: Steven Lynch

The Grandview Dairy car  is a builder’s photo, judging by the typical masking of all background and the roster shot of a nice, shiny, new car. 
Source:  Carstens Publications
From:Electric Heritage of the Long Island Rail Road : 1905-1975 by Ron Ziel with John Krause

 Grandview Dairy car,  was a Pfaudler tank car. Pfaudler started making these cars in the 1920s.  My December, 1930 ORER shows 105 cars in the GPEX, 40 foot (inside dimension), 6,000 gallon milk tank car series numbered 700-804.
Research: Walter Wohleking

IRT 9th Avenue Line:  3-car train northbound leaving 155th St . station at 8th Ave. , passing Polo Grounds (in background) and entering the Harlem River Bridge – NY, NY – 3/10/40 (This train ran between Rector Street and Burnside Avenue)  George E. Votava Photo, Dave Keller Archive

IRT 9th Avenue Line:  Station at 155th St. and 8th Avenue, Polo Grounds – NY, NY – 4/27/40  (View looking NE towards the Harlem River Bridge.  Polo Grounds stadium at the left.  It appears we have a sand-lot game in progress in the foreground!)  George E. Votava Photo, Dave Keller Archive

IRT 9th Avenue Line:  Motor #3041 on 3-car shuttle between 155th St . and Burnside Ave. at Polo Ground station – 155th St. and 8th Ave. – NY, NY – 6/28/40  (View looking NW.  Polo Grounds stadium in background.  “N. Y. Giants” sign visible at rear.) George E. Votava Photo, Dave Keller Archive  

IRT 3-car shuttle EL train at the Polo Grounds station was taken in 6/28/40, the 9th Ave. portion of the EL structure at the left of the photo was already out of service two (2) weeks but was not yet into the demolition stage.  That would explain why the area looks so abandoned when it should be full of people and cars, etc. Info: Dave Keller Archive  

IRT 9th Avenue Line:  Close-up scan of entrance to Polo Grounds stadium from negative of scan #3 above.  Showing “N. Y. Giants” sign behind 155th St. station. (View looking NW) George E. Votava Photo, Dave Keller Archive

Elevated Line Polo Grounds truncated line 1957  Info: David Pirmann

Elevated Line Polo Grounds truncated line 1950's  Info: David Pirmann

These photos and more at David Pirmann's site: www.nycsubway.org

Elevated Line Polo Grounds Shuttle Map
Info: David Pirmann

The 9th Ave. EL was torn down in 1940. The 2nd Ave. EL  lasted until 1942.  Info: Joe Hagan 

The short portion that is of the truncated section.  See photos above. Dave Keller

Unification of the privately owned transit lines with the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (IND System) occurred in June of 1940. Municipal operation of the IRT would begin on June 12th, 1940, two weeks after the City of New York took over the BMT. As part of the Unification deal, the 2nd Ave. El north of 59th Street and the 9th Ave. El in Manhattan would close forever at 12:01am on June 12th, 1940. There were no special ceremonies held for the closing of these lines. The last train on the 9th Ave. El, a 7 car train filled with 500 people, left South Ferry at 11:14pm, arriving at 155th Street at 12:06am. Free transfers at 155th St , Manhattan , and 161st St. in the Bronx , were made available to the Independent's Concourse line when the El closed. The only remaining portion of the 9th Ave El, the "Polo Grounds Shuttle" to Burnside Ave (later 167th Street), closed for about 1˝ hours at the close of 9th Ave. El service, to prepare this portion of the line for its new service pattern. Source: David Pirmann's site: www.nycsubway.org

The shuttle ran from Burnside Ave. in the Bronx , stopping at Sedgwick Ave., Bronx , then on to the Polo Grounds at 155th St. and 8th Avenue.  I believe ALL service on that line ended in 1958.  It was only there to service the Giants games and then they left NY and there was no immediate need to keep the EL.  Info: Dave Keller

The "Polo Grounds Shuttle", as it was called, saw little patronage because of the redundant IND Concourse Line running so closely nearby. In addition, the New York Central's Putnam Division stopped running, and in 1957, the Giants played their last season in the Polo Grounds. With so little ridership, the "Polo Grounds Shuttle" ceased operation at 11:59pm on August 31st, 1958. Source: David Pirmann's site: www.nycsubway.org

The Mets began playing there in 1962, but no one had planned for that back in 1958.  They might have left the EL standing and shuttle running had they known this was going to happen.

But, they had the underground  IND train as late as those 1940 photos and it connected between there AND Yankee stadium as well as with the rest of NYC, so there really was no need for the EL  Historical input: Dave Keller

BMT Terminal at Sands Street , Brooklyn – 1939  (View looking NE)  Collection: Dave Keller

Collection: Brooklyn Public Library

Sands Street Terminal Brooklyn , NY
by Dave Keller

                In the early days of the Elevated railway system in New York City , small steam engines of the Brooklyn Bridge Railway, and later the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT) pulled trains from the Park Row terminal in Manhattan , traversing the famous Brooklyn Bridge , finally entering the massive Sands Street terminal building in Brooklyn at the middle level.  some years, later, the steam engines were replaced with all electric trains, and the BRT went bankrupt, re-emerging as the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit (BMT).  The Fulton Street EL line of the BMT ran trains over the bridge, utilizing the two terminals.

Another BMT EL, the Myrtle Avenue line, came into the terminal building on the upper level, entering in on one side to discharge passengers at platforms adjacent to the loop track which ran outside the building, so the train could run around the loop, then, stopping at another set of platforms on the other side of the building, pick up passengers before re-entering and passing through the building for the return trip.

The Fulton Street El which utilized the middle level of the structure also had a spur that ran on the west side of the terminal, under the above mentioned loop, and, after making a connection at Sands Street with access to the large structure via a long, covered walkway, continued on towards the Fulton St. Ferry.  In later years, as the Fulton Street line already ran trains over the bridge, and the Fulton St. Ferry was discontinued, the elevated line under the loop was no longer required and was demolished.

Besides running trolleys at street level, the B&QT (Brooklyn & Queens Transit), a subsidiary of the BMT created to operate all their street lines, also ran cars at the middle level of the Sands Street terminal and over the Brooklyn Bridge , operating on the outer tracks.

The 1939 view, below, looking northeast (due to the situation of the tracks and terminal in relation to the bridge, the loop side of the building facing west) shows a Peter Witt-type streetcar headed eastbound off the bridge, approaching the terminal building. (The connected trolley pole always trailed behind the car.)

 

                This massive terminal in Brooklyn , as well as the Park Row terminal in Manhattan , was demolished in 1944 and that ended any EL train service over the Brooklyn Bridge .  Trolleys continued to run over the bridge until 1949, using more modified and smaller trolley stations.  Thereafter, the bridge only accommodated automobile and pedestrian traffic.  

View looking east.  Fulton Street EL line to the Fulton Street Ferry visible under the loop.  View also shows the  long, covered walkway to connect to the bridge station.

View looking north towards NYC

Aerial view of the Sands Street Terminal  System: New York City Transit
Line: BMT Fulton Ave.
Collection: Herbert P. Maruska

PRR Station, NY City Arcade Walkway, view west
Photo: www.nyc-architecture.com

OPERATION CHANGEOVER  10/08/1955

THE   DAY   THE   MUSIC   DIED  OCTOBER   16,   1955

Follow the links above to aRRt's Archives for more final steam action

  
LIRR G5s #35 Last Day of  Steam backing onto Wye at Port Jefferson 10/16/1955
Archive: Dave Keller

LIRR diamond crossing sign Wantagh 12/04/2007 Photo: Al Castelli

Wantagh Station 2000
Photo: Bob Anderson

Article on Gas Turbine test August, 1967
Archive: Paul Strubeck

LIRR Gas Turbine Roslyn, NY

" YOUR MAIN LINE to the MAINLAND"