LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch
The New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad (NYW&R) was incorporated in 1877 to build a line from Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Rockaway Beach. An agreement was later made with the LIRR to provide this service over the LIRR Montauk Division (connecting to the new line at Glendale Junction) and the LIRR Atlantic Division (connecting at new line at Woodhaven Junction). The new line between Glendale Junction and Rockaway Beach opened in 1880.
The company went bankrupt in 1887 and was sold in foreclosure to LIRR owner Austin Corbin, who reorganized it as the New York and Rockaway Beach Railway (NY&RB). The NY&RB was leased to the LIRR in 1904, which began operating it as the Rockaway Beach Division.
In 1910, the Glendale Cut-off connected the northern part of the Rockaway Beach Division from Glendale Junction to the main line at White Pot Junction in Rego Park. The NY&RB was officially merged into the LIRR in 1920.
The electrified service via the Rockaway Beach Branch provided a 35-minute ride from the Rockaways directly into Penn Station. Analogous contemporary service on the A train requires around one hour and ten minutes.
A fire on the trestle across Jamaica Bay in 1950 severed the line in the middle. The bankrupt LIRR sold the line to the City of New York in 1952 for expansion of the subway system. Although the original plans included use of the entire Rockaway Beach Branch, only the portion of the line south of Liberty Avenue was incorporated into the IND Rockaway Line (A train) to provide subway service to the Rockaways that began operation in 1956.
The LIRR leased the 3.5 mile northern portion of the Rockaway Beach Branch and continued service until declining patronage led to termination on June 8, 1962, effectively resulting in abandonment of the northern portion of the line.
Subsequent competing but (as of this writing) unrealized plans for the abandoned section have included a linear park or reactivation as part of direct LIRR service between Manhattan and JFK Airport.
The abandoned section is an enticing destination for urban explorers, although it is quite precarious to traverse, both physically and legally. The section in Forest Park is readily accessible, but the Glendale Cutoff north of the park and viaduct south of the park are heavily fenced by the city and adjacent property owners. Be careful out there.
