The engine has been idling or operating under a light load for an extended period of time or it is cold. Notice how the radiator shutter is closed, indicating low engine water temperature. Diesel engines are most efficient at full horsepower and at hot temperatures. With extended idling/low horsepower usage, the cylinder liners tend to glaze up and unburned fuel and lubricating oil builds up in the exhaust system and as the engine exhaust gets hot from hard work, all this build up burns off and usually clears in a few minutes. I run across this all the time.  Info: Paul Kennedy

Sunrise Special Observation
C. 1920's

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

LIRR "Training" consist 06/10/09 
Photo: Dietrich Ryan

What's New
     


LIRR #35 move June 17, 1978 06/15/10
Passenger Interiors 06/15/10
ex-LIRR #400 at BR&W 03/04/10
Lake Okeechobee parlor at WH 3/03/10
Bulova Corp. Woodside 03/02/10
Brick Mystery Bldg at Bliss 12/05/09
Milk Car Mystery Solved 12/03/09
LIRR US Open Golf  07/01/09
K4s Pre/Post Facelift 1947  06/29/08
M1s Testing in Bridgeport 06/29/08
FA at Old Northport Junction 06/21/09
Alco S1-2  White Exhaust 03/25/09
LIRR Glassware 12/30/08
Atlantic Ave Station 10/23/08
Flushing Street Station 10/01/2008
Victory Drumhead  09/27/08
East River Sand Barge 09/20/08
LIRR Event & Promo Buttons 08/25/08
NYCHRR Paul Strubeck's  05/22/08
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

"Symbol freight MA-13 passes by the landmark Bulova Building at Woodside Station on July 17, 1967 enroute to service the Winfield team track and industries on the Port Washington Branch. The MA-13 was the only regular freight to use the "Main Line Cutoff" at F Tower; it was crossed over to the Port Washington Branch at WIN after switching cars for Supro Building Supplies on the Winfield team track."  Photo: Richard F. Makse

On September 5, 1965, Black River & Western #400, ex-LIRR 400, switches on the passing siding at Ringoes on the PRR's Flemington Branch. The 400 was sold for scrap in 1963 and made its way to the BR&W in 1965. It's now at the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum in Willimantic. This 44 tonner was purchased by the LIRR primarily to switch EX Yard in Flatbush Ave where it was able to negotiate the tight clearances along the platforms. 

BRW60, on the main track at Ringoes, would be the last steam locomotive to operate on LIRR rails when it came to Long Island on November 26, 1967.
 Photo: Richard F. Makse

LIRR FA1 #616 westbound at Old Northport Junction on 2/26/77.  Old Northport spur branched off to the left.  All traces of it are long gone.  (William Madden photo, Dave Keller archive)

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 1950's 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

August 22, 1969: A late summer afternoon sun lights up FEC's Lake Okeechobee on the rear of LIRR train #22 at the west switch of WH. In that first summer of all lightweight "parlors", #22 was the "City of Everywhere" with surplus sleepers/lounge cars used as parlors cars from at least five different railroads. 
Photo: Richard F. Makse

MU #2509 Two car train Princes Bay,  Staten Island 04/28/1973 
Archive: Dave Keller

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

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

Syosset c. Summer 1944
Photo: Fred Weber Archive: Dave Morrison

Here are some photos I took of the move of LIRR G-5 #35 out of Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, LI on June 17, 1978 Some of you may recognize a few of the people in the photos. I could not even drive that day. I was only out of the hospital a short time after having my appendix removed. My Mother drove me because I had to see and photograph this event. Photo/Info: Jim Gillin

For 2 summers while I was in college, I worked across the street from #35, at General Applied Science Labs in the building that had earlier been the Meadowbrook Country Club. Part of the property was the old Meadowbrook Station, which GASL used for storage of gas tanks (like welder's tanks). 

I spent many of my lunch hours on nice days sitting over by 35, and on crummy days prowling around the grounds and inside the station and office buildings. Close by here was the bridge over nothing, which is shown on a number of websites now. I think it was for an old access road within the country club property. The road under the LIRR bridge had long ago been filled in with dirt, but the bridge was/is still visible.

Thanx for sending along these shots of the move! Art Single

Goodwin Gallagher Sand & Gravel retail facility on the East River about 1/4 mile north of the Queensboro Bridge. Goodwin - Gallagher "mined" sand from Port Washington and the sand was used to pave New York City streets. Upon receiving the images, I subsequently created a webpage:

Goodwin Gallagher Sand & Gravel provides further details; Locomotives Roster, Tugboat Roster, etc. 

The four stacked industry behind everything, is the Manhattan Power Plant on York & 75th Streets.

I've also been in contact with Judith Byrdie, who is historian of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, and confirms that is the steeple of the Chapel of the Good Shepard , the white porched structure is the "Alms Homes". She has seen other images looking east in the Astoria Historical society that shows a frontal view of the sand dealer, but no one has responded to my inquiries as yet to obtain an copy of the image. 

The photo was taken 06/06/1917 and according to Judith Byrdie, was originally part of the Transit Museum holdings as the neg identification codes match other negs and images used by the Transit Museum surveyors. She believes they were either surveyors photos for the subway tunnel projects or works in progress recordings.

The 1920 issue of "MVUS" (Johnson's Merchant Vessels of the US) lists 4 powered vessels for Goodwin-Gallagher Sand and Gravel Corp., 551 Fifth Avenue, NY

Collection: Roger McEnery, Research: Philip M. Goldstein

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

DD1 with the string of milk cars with caption is by Harold Fagerberg 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 LIRR Milk Car Mystery  Solved
BY WALTER WOHLEKING

Milk Train Elec Eng Runs Except Sundays LIRR ETT #117 1932
PRR brought milk cars thru PENN to Sunnyside
Research/Archive: Art Huneke

Note: Daily setouts to Sheffield Farms

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

 
Sheffield Farms Milk Truck 
Greenwich Village, NY City

Milk Train Elec Eng Runs Sundays LIRR ETT #117 1932
PRR brought milk cars thru PENN to Sunnyside
Research/Archive: Art Huneke

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.

No outside dimensions are given for the cars, but the inside length between tanks with bulkheads in place was 40 feet, the inside width was a little over 8'9" and the inside height was 7'7". A note states, "Cars in this series are passenger equipped, having glass lined tanks and are used for transportation of milk in bulk, capacity 6,000 gallons." While no capacity data is probvided in this ORER, subsequent issues list "95,000 lbs."
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 1½ 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

Collection: Brooklyn Public Library

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.  

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 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

LIRR Gas Turbine Tour Special
11/13/1977 Sign up Form

Then it was followed up by a second car, GT2, for which they built a covered shed at the end of the Ronkonkoma wye.

" YOUR MAIN LINE to the MAINLAND"

NY Cross Harbor Railroad
A website dedicated to the NY Cross Harbor Railroad's past and present, featuring rosters, photos, maps and history's as well as operations of this once great short line in the heart of the Brooklyn Waterfront. A fabulous site on this industrial rail line.  By Paul Strubeck

New York Cross Harbor SW1200RS #1337 at Bayonne, NJ - 10-2-98 . . . . nice view of the WTC Twin Towers to the left of the diesel!
    Richard Louderback photo, Dave Keller+ archive

NYNJ Rail McAllister tug 06/17/200 Photo: Brad McClelland

I’d say shot at the conversion date from Tichy to Goodfellow Gray with Dashing Dan, around 1962.  You’ll notice in this shot how the lead car is nice freshly painted and the Tichy car with white roof is kind of worn.

These cars needed a paint job but the LIRR hadn’t gotten around to them as yet.

Can’t be any earlier than 1962, because that was the date the LIRR FIRST began the grey with Dan logo.

All the automobiles are all 50s with a 40s under the viaduct . . . . .  So you can’t go by that.  The conversion DID NOT occur in the 1950s. Info: Dave Keller

M1 P-9xxx  Interior spotting features:

1.  Type of seating
2.  Shape of car roof
3.  Style of luggage racks
4.  Center-door lobbies (2 per car: we’re
     looking at one of them)
5.  Motorman’s door opened down
     at the  end of the car
Photo: Steve Hoskins c. 1970's
Data: Dave Keller 11/2008

LIRR #9299 M1 Interior 8/15/06 
Photo: Neil Feldman


LIRR #9934 M3 Interior 11/01/09 
Photo: Neil Feldman

P54 Archive:  Bob Anderson

LIRR #2798 Push Pull 2700-series ZIP car Oyster Bay 09/25/84
Archive: Dave Keller

M1 P-9547  Photo: Neil Feldman

P72 #2924  Photo: Neil Feldman

LIRR M7 Seating Photo: Mike McDermet

K4s #5406 Train #4613 Cold Spring Harbor
 03/16/1947 Archive: Dave Keller+

LIRR Kiosk front view Bethpage State Park 
US Open 2009 05/25/09 Photo: Al Castelli