Wading River
 Extension  

Emery Composite Map of the Wading River Extension - 1925
by Steven Lynch 11/18/2006

Bob Andersen Googled Earth and got these satellite shots of the ROW as it looks today, which he then pieced together, highlighted the ROW route and added the stations.  

A Brief History of the Wading River Extension
by Dave Keller

The Wading River Extension headed east from Port Jefferson in 1895, built by the “LIRR Co. North Shore Branch,” a subsidiary of the LIRR. The stations were as follows, after leaving Port Jefferson:

  MP60-61 Emery Map 1925, Collection: Dave Keller

MILLER’S PLACE:  1^st depot  BUILT: 1898  BURNED: 1902

MILLER’S PLACE:  2^nd depot BUILT: 1902  BURNED: 1928. THEREAFTER PLATFORM ONLY. LAST REVENUE TRAIN:  10/9/38.  OUT OF SVC: 3/29/39 WITH BRANCHA

ROCKY POINT: BUILT: 1895.  LAST REVENUE TRAIN: 10/9/38.  OUT OF SVC:  3/29/39 WITH 
BRANCH ABANDONMENT. IN USE AS PRIVATE BUSINESS.  STILL STANDING: 2003

MP64-65 Emery Map 1925, Collection: Dave Keller

   Rocky Point depot c. 1930 View looking northeast. Collection: Dave Keller

SHOREHAM:  BUILT: 1895 AS “WARDENCLYFFE.” 2^ND DEPOT BUILT: 1902, .2 MILES EAST OF ORIGINAL LOCATION.  RENAMED “SHOREHAM”: 1906. AGENCY CLOSED: 1935. DEPOT CLOSED WITH LAST REVENUE TRAIN:  10/9/38.  OUT OF SVC: 3/29/39 WITH BRANCH ABANDONMENT. USED AS PRIVATE BUSINESS. RAZED: 1950

MP65-66 Emery Map 1925, Collection: Dave Keller

WADING RIVER:  BUILT: 1895, REMODELED TO TWO STORY: 1906.  AGENCY CLOSED: c. 1933.  STATION FACILITIES RELOCATED 1 MILE WEST OF FORMER LOCATION TO RANDALL ROAD : 1/18/38 (MILLER FAMILY RECLAIMED THEIR PROPERTY FROM RIVERHEAD TOWN LINE EAST TO END OF TRACK). WOODEN DEPOT RAZED SOMETIME AFTER AND LUMBER USED TO BUILD STORE NORTH OF STATION SITE. LAST REVENUE TRAIN: 10/9/38.  RELOCATED STATION OUT OF SVC:  3/29/39 WITH BRANCH ABANDONMENT AND TRACK CUT-BACK. 

  
MP68 Emery Map 1925, Collection: Dave Keller

Wading River winter 1912

A rare image this is. The upstairs has recently been added so the agent and his family could live on site. There are his two kids in the foreground: the boy in the sleigh wearing no hat and freezing his ears off and the little girl, well-bundled up and walking along the freshly-shoveled wooden platform.

In the background it appears that the agent is sweeping off the remainder of the platform and some LIRR men are clearing snow from around the switch which allowed the engine to be cut off and run around the train at end-of-track. You can see the switch target to the right of the single guy at the right . . . it towers over him as does the lone, Dietez kerosene platform lamp towering over the sweeping agent. Collection: Dave Keller

Wading River 1918 with "Schultz" building in background

Wading River 2001 "Schultz" building now a bar/restaurant. 

  
Depot building looking northeast  9-6-37 
 Collection: Dave Keller

The Wading River terminal had a wye, located north of the tracks to turn engines around. It also had a wooden, two-stall engine house south of the tracks along with coaling and watering facilities.

The LIRR’s main track ended on the west side of Wading River-Manor Road, with the depot building on the north side of the tracks. However, a siding used to service a coal supplier branched south off the main and extended further east across Wading River-Manor Road a distance. So . . . . while the LIRR’s end-of-track was technically on the west side of Wading River-Manor Road, it really extended further, via the siding.

As business got really slow, the railroad stopped running actual trains out to Wading River, but ran a shuttle service between Port Jefferson and Wading River utilizing a self-propelled gas car, nicknamed a “doodlebug.” This car ran on gasoline and carried passengers as well as baggage and could operate with only a motorman and a conductor. Quite a bit of savings from a steam locomotive and tender using lots of coal and water had having a full crew of engineer, fireman, conductor, trainman and brakeman.

An interesting point to note is that in January, 1938, the end-of-track was cut back one mile west with a low-level platform constructed for use as the new station as the description above for Wading River station mentions.

Per official LIRR General Orders, the following information may be of interest to you as it spells out the final days of service:

GENERAL ORDER #811C, EFFECTIVE 1/18/38:

WADING RIVER STATION AND STATION FACILITIES RELOCATED 1 MILE 
WEST OF FORMER LOCATION.

GENERAL ORDER #1006C, EFFECTIVE 3/29/39:

SINGLE TRACK FROM A POINT 1,550’ EAST OF EAST LEG OF WYE, PORT
JEFFERSON STATION TO WADING RIVER STATION OUT OF SERVICE.
(Last revenue train was on 10/9/38. DK)

MILLER PLACE STATION AND STATION FACILITIES OUT OF SERVICE

ROCKY POINT STATION AND STATION FACILITIES OUT OF SERVICE

SHOREHAM STATION AND STATION FACILITIES OUT OF SERVICE

WADING RIVER STATION AND STATION FACILITIES OUT OF SERVICE

PO (Port Jefferson) UNATTENDED BLOCK STATION OUT OF SERVICE

MI (Miller Place) UNATTENDED BLOCK STATION OUT OF SERVICE

WY (Wading River) UNATTENDED BLOCK STATION OUT OF SERVICE

JF (Port Jefferson) EASTWARD BLOCK SIGNAL OUT OF SERVICE

WESTWARD LOWER QUADRANT SEMAPHORE DISTANT SIGNAL LOCATED 
EAST OF PORT JEFFERSON STATION OUT OF SERVICE


The right-of-way was acquired by Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) to run their power lines. The right-of-way is now used by LIPA, the successor to LILCO. 

The late Robert Emery, railfan and LIRR Conductor walked the remains of the right-of-way in October of 1957 and provided the following data regarding mileposts:

Location of mileposts in relation to Route 25A as of 10/1957:

All located on north side:

MP 58 300’ east of Columbia Street - Port Jefferson 
MP 59 On embankment 400’ west of Gulf gas station - Mt. Sinai (still in)
MP 60 Back of Miller Machine Tool factory – Miller Place
MP 61 100’ east of Miller Place Road – Miller Place (still in)
MP 62 North on Harrison Ave. where it crossed the LIRR tracks – Sound
Beach
MP 63 About 400’ north of the point where LILCO high tension feeder line 
to RCA crosses Route 25A – Rocky Point
MP 64 500’ north of Rocky Point School – Rocky Point (still in)
MP 65 300’ east of Harding Street – Rocky Point (still in)
MP 66 Approx. ___’ north of Miller Ave. on ROW – Shoreham (still in)
MP 67 400’ west of “Nike” Air Base Road – Wading River (still in)
MP 68 Approx. 300’ north of hollow on Route 25A which is 1,000’ west of 
Riverhead Town Line – Wading River

The stone overpass at Woodville Road in Shoreham is the last of the right-of-way structures that is still intact. The wooden trestle over the tracks at Miller’s Place was dismantled in 1939. The stone overpass at Rocky Point was demolished around the same time and the reddish-brown stones were shipped up the road and used as a retaining wall at Cedar Beach. 

The depot building at Rocky Point is still standing, having been moved slightly south of the original right-of-way and onto private property and has been incorporated into the structures on their grounds. As far as I know it is still standing.

I saw the station sign for the Wading River depot many years ago in a local historical society in Wading River. Everything else is gone.  Dave Keller 11/2006