Jump to content

Staten Island Railway: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
ScottyBerg (talk | contribs)
12,729 edits
tweaking, removing OR
Line 243: Line 243:
=== North Shore Branch ===
=== North Shore Branch ===
[[Image:Bard Av SIRT jeh.JPG|thumb|Abandoned line]]
[[Image:Bard Av SIRT jeh.JPG|thumb|Abandoned line]]
The '''North Shore Branch''' closed to passenger service at midnight on Tuesday March 31, 1953. A small western portion is used for freight service, and a smaller eastern portion provided seasonal service to the [[Richmond County Bank Ballpark (Staten Island Railway station)|RCB Ballpark]] passenger station from 2001 to 2009. Restoration is being discussed along this mostly abandoned {{convert|6.1|mi|km|adj=on}} line as part of the [[Staten Island light rail]] plan.<ref name="silive_reality"/>
The '''North Shore Branch''' closed to passenger service at midnight on Tuesday March 31, 1953. A small western portion is used for freight service, and a smaller eastern portion provided seasonal service to the [[Richmond County Bank Ballpark (Staten Island Railway station)|RCB Ballpark]] (where the Staten Island Yankees play) passenger station from 2001 to 2009. Restoration is being discussed along this mostly abandoned {{convert|6.1|mi|km|adj=on}} line as part of the [[Staten Island light rail]] plan.<ref name="silive_reality"/>
*'''Station (milepost)'''
*'''Station (milepost)'''
*[[Saint George (Staten Island Railway station)|St. George]] (0.0)
*[[Saint George (Staten Island Railway station)|St. George]] (0.0)

Revision as of 00:59, 12 June 2011

Staten Island Railway
File:MTA Staten Island Railway LOGO.PNG
An SIR rush hour local train discharges passengers at the Great Kills SIR station, its last stop.
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerMetropolitan Transportation Authority
LocaleStaten Island, New York
Termini
Stations22
Service
TypeRapid transit
Services1
Operator(s)Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority
Rolling stock63 R44SI cars
History
Opened1860
Technical
Line length14 mi (22 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Route map

Note: Service to Ballpark station discontinued as of June 2010. Google Map showing route and abandoned branches

The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA. It is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service along the western portion of the North Shore Branch is connected to the national railway system.

SIR operates with modified R44 New York City Subway cars,[1] and is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, but there being no direct rail link between the SIR and the subway system proper. SIR riders get a free transfer to New York subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps. Commuters typically use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan. The current SIR line has been completely grade separated from intersecting roads since 1966.

The Staten Island Railway provides full-time local service between Saint George and Tottenville along the east side of the borough. On weekdays, express service to St. George is provided between 6:17 AM and 8:17 AM and to Tottenville from 7:06 AM to 8:06 AM and 4:31 PM to 7:51 PM.[2] As there is no lettered route designation, as on other BMT or IND lines, express service is noted by the presence of a red marker with the terminal and 'express' directly underneath it.

History

The first line of what is now the Staten Island Railway opened in 1860 connecting Tomkinsville (Vanderbilt Ferry landing) to Tottenville, the current southern terminus. At that time the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was seeking to develop passenger and freight service to New York City. They purchased the little railroad which had as of yet no connection with New Jersey. A large rock formation lay north of Tomkinsville. The B & O financed a double-track 610-foot-long (190 m) tunnel through solid rock under the U.S. Lighthouse Service (Later Coast Guard) base at Tomkinsville terminating at a rocky tide swept point on Staten Island's extreme northeastern corner. The area was renamed St. George in honor of a prominent Staten Island attorney. A new central ferry terminal railyard, car-float bridge and rapid transit terminal was constructed over fill barged in from the excavation of New York "skyscrapers". There was still no connection to New Jersey. The B & O purchased a horse car line extending along Richmond Terrace terminating at a ferry to Elizabeth. Opposition from property owners caused the B & O to barge in two miles of rock fill and along the Kill Van Kull for its tracks. At Old Place, a farm was purchased and re-named "Arlington" by the B & O railroad. The later became the terminal for the North Shore branch. If the SIR were considered part of the subway, this would be the oldest continually operated subway system right-of-way in New York City. In common with the BMT lines to Coney Island, the SIR started as a normal passenger and freight railroad line.[3][4] In 1880, the Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) was incorporated and it leased the Staten Island Railway in 1884.[5] Seeking a greater presence in the New York market and improved freight connections for its New York harbor car float operations, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad acquired control of the SIRT in November, 1885.[5]

Electrification and passenger service

In August 1924, work began on electrification of the Staten Island's three passenger lines. A short 2 mile passenger and freight spur to Mount Loretto was never electrified. From 1885 until the 1920s every third Sunday a special three car MU electric train would run as a special directly from St. George to Mount Loretto, a catholic orphanage, remaining there for three hours and returning. A steam powered 2-8-0 was assigned to take the electric cars from the main line to Mount Loretto at a special station behind the church. Because the steam engine had AAR couplers and the electric cars had Westinghouse H-2 MU couplers a special coupler was used to connect the engine and the cars. The MU car doors operated from air pressure and could be opened and closed at Mount Lorettto even though there was no third rail. The trains crossed a wooded area on Amboy road where they were flagged across. The 2-8-0 would then use a wye and a run-around track to get to the other end of the train to take the special back. This was discontinued when bus service was initiated from St. George along Hylan Boulevard in 1932. The main line between St. George and Tottenville at the extreme southern end of Staten Island was completely electrified by July 1, 1925, along with the St.George-South Beach branch on the Narrows.[6] The line from the St. George ferry terminal to Arlington on Staten Island's north shore was electrified on December 1, 1925. There was originally another station further down the line from Arlington at the town of Miliken, later named Port Ivory, after the main product of Procter & Gamble. The extension was electrified and used to transport workers from the Procter & Gamble Plant. Procter & Gamble had its own railroad and fleet of steam (and later diesel) engines that interchanged with the SIRT/B&0 at Arlington yard. This area is now the site of the Howland Hook Marine Terminal. The SIRT tracks crossed Western Ave. and terminated at a float bridge, and there was also an interchange with the Staten Island streetcar system. New subway-type equipment manufactured by the Pressed Steel Car Corp. (who also manufactured equipment for the BMT) was placed in service on all passenger trains. Current passenger service is provided by 63 R44 units modified to FRA standards.

Freight service

Freight service with steam (later diesel) power continued on all branches. Starting in the 1880s Erastus Wiman rose to the leadership of the company and in a reorganization he renamed the company the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company in the 1880s.[7] Wiman oversaw the opening of the extension of the Main Line from its original Clifton terminus north to Tompkinsville on July 31, 1884; the opening of the North Shore Branch on February 23, 1886; and the South Beach Branch on March 8, 1886. Wiman soon began negotiations with the leaders of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for the mutual benefit of the two companies that were then still independent. Being smaller than the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad, the B&O relished the opportunity to start rail service to the potentially lucrative New York City market via collaboration with the SIRTRR. With capital provided by the B&O the SIRTRR opened its first connection to the mainland rail network on June 13, 1889 over the first bridge over the Arthur Kill waterway.[7] The SIRTRR connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad in Linden, New Jersey, the Lehigh Valley Railroad at Staten Island Junction in Cranford, New Jersey and the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Cranford Junction, also in Cranford.

During the 1930s, '40s and '50s, primary interstate freight traffic terminated at the car floats in St. George and many railroads, including the Chesapeake and Ohio had interstate trackage rights. Direct track connections were possible with the LV, PRR and CNJ/RDG (Later to become Conrail), plus the carfloat operation. Connections were also made to small private railroads such as the one at Pouch Terminal, switched by a Mack Diesel, preserved and now residing at Allaire State Park in New Jersey. Until 1930, Pouch Terminal, with separate trackage in Tompkinsville and Clifton, was electrified with overhead wire, and owned two electric freight motors. The system did not connect with the Staten Island trolley system, but they purchased power from them. During the late 19th Century, a small 3 ft (914 mm) gauge railroad with a single 0-4-0 ran on Fort Wadsworth and connected with a team track on the South Beach line. The last through passenger service between Staten Island and Washington D.C. ran in 1957 with a special two-section train from Tompkinsville with the British Royal family on board.

The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge replaced the original bridge in 1959 and carried freight until 1991 when traffic had essentially disappeared. From 2004 to 2006 the bridge was refurbished and freight service over the bridge, along the western portions of the North Shore Branch, resumed in 2007.[8]

Mid-20th century

Staten Island Rapid Transit, 1952

On May 11, 1943, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used the North Shore Branch en route to a meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., after his ship had landed in Tompkinsville. On October 21, 1957, a young Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip rode a special B&O train from Washington, D.C. along the abandoned North Shore Branch to Stapleton to start their royal visit to New York City.[9]

Service on both the North Shore and South Beach branches was terminated at midnight on Tuesday, March 31, 1953. The South Beach right-of-way has been demolished and new housing has been built on most of it. The North Shore line remains basically intact and is currently under consideration to be reactivated.

In the mid 1960s, the last grade crossings were eliminated.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

In 1971 the passenger operations of the former Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company, which had absorbed lessor Staten Island Railway Company in 1944, were acquired from its parent Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company was renamed Staten Island Railroad Corporation, which still exists as a subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The MTA created a subsidiary, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, for the purposes of operation and maintenance. In March 1973, new R44 cars — the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs — were pressed into service on the Staten Island line, replacing the PS Standard rolling stock that had been inherited from the B&O days and had been in use since 1925 (the R44 cars are still in service as of 2010).[1][10]

In 1994, as part of a public image campaign of the MTA, the various operating agencies of the MTA were given "popular names" at which time the public face of SIRTOA became MTA Staten Island Railway, which name is used on trains, stations, timetables and other public presentments.[3]

Current status

Today, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service. The terminal station at St. George provides a direct connection to the Staten Island Ferry. At St. George there are twelve tracks, only six of which are presently used for service. At Tottenville there is a three track yard, with two tracks on either side of a concrete station platform. Schedules are made by NYCT's Operations Planning unit. The last passenger trains on both the North Shore and South Beach Branches ran on March 31, 1953. The right-of-way of the South Beach Branch was eventually de-mapped and the tracks have been removed. The North Shore and Travis Branches saw freight service temporarily suspended beginning in 1991. Freight service along the Travis Branch and the western most portion of the North Shore Branch was restored by 2007. Along the remainder of the North Shore Branch tracks and rail overpasses still exist in some places. In 2001, a small section of the eastern most portion of the North Shore Branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to provide passenger service to the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees minor-league baseball team. Plans to reopen the remainder of the North Shore Branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Port Ivory by 2015.[11]

Restored freight service

The freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway was restored in late 2006, and is operated in part by the Morristown and Erie Railway under contract with the State of New Jersey and other companies.[12] The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge which transports trains from Staten Island to New Jersey over the Arthur Kill waterway was renovated from 2004 to 2006 and began regular service on April 2, 2007, 16 years after the bridge closed.[13] A portion of the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway was rehabilitated, the Arlington Yard was expanded, and 6,500 feet (1,981 m) of new track was laid along the Travis Branch to Fresh Kills.[14] Soon after service restarted on the line Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007.[15] On behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation formed an agreement with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Conrail to provide service over the reactivated line to haul waste from the Staten Island Transfer Station and ship container freight from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and other industrial businesses.

FRA oversight

Unlike the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), SIRTOA is subject to rules of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) but operates under a waiver which permits it to exempt itself from certain rules of equipment and operation usually required by the FRA.[3][16] This FRA status complicates any plan for combined freight and passenger operation.

The SIR shares a similar status with the Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) system, which is also an FRA railroad running on a somewhat different waiver.[17]

Nature of the line

New Dorp station

In general appearance, the current operating line of SIR looks somewhat like an outdoor line of the New York City Subway. Since the 1960s it has been grade separated from all roads, but it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville, the end of the line. It uses NYC Transit-standard 600 V DC third rail power. Its equipment is specially modified subway vehicles, purchased at the same time as nearly-identical cars for NYCT. Heavy maintenance of the equipment is performed at the NYCT's Clifton Shops. Any work that can't be done at Clifton requires the cars be trucked over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the subway's Coney Island Complex shops in Brooklyn.[18]

The right-of-way also includes elevated, embankment and open-cut portions, and a tunnel near St. George.

Over the years there have been several proposals for connecting the SIR with the subway system (including the incomplete Staten Island Tunnel and a possible line along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge), as it uses B Division-sized cars and loading gauge, but various economic, political, and engineering difficulties have prevented this from happening.[19][20]

Fares

Main article: New York City transit fares

The cash fare is $2.25. Fares are paid on entry and exit only at St. George and Tompkinsville. Rides not originating or terminating at St George or Tompkinsville are free. Prior to the 1997 introduction of "1 fare zones" that came along with free transfers from the SIR to the subway system and MTA buses by using the MetroCard, fares were collected by the conductors on the trains for passengers boarding at stops other than St. George.[3]

In the past, passengers often avoided paying the fare by exiting at Tompkinsville, and taking a short walk to the St. George ferry terminal. Because of this, the MTA installed turnstiles at Tompkinsville, along with a new stationhouse which opened on January 20, 2010. Recently, there has been discussion of restoring fare collection along the entire line.

Fare is payable by MetroCard. Since this card enables free transfers for a continuing ride on the subway and bus systems, for many more riders there is effectively no fare at all for riding SIR. Riders are also allowed to transfer between a Staten Island bus, SIR, and a Manhattan bus or subway near South Ferry. Because of this, the SIR's farebox recovery ratio in 2001 was 0.16—that is, for every dollar of expense, 16 cents was recovered in fares, the lowest ratio of MTA agencies (part of the reason the MTA wishes to merge the SIR with the subway proper is to simplify the accounting and subsidization of what is essentially a single line).[21]

Incidents

On December 26, 2008 at 6:27 a.m., a train was pulling into the Tottenville station to accept passengers for its a.m. rush hour run to St. George when it ran into the bumper block and subsequently derailed. No passengers were on the train at the time of the incident. An investigation revealed that the engineer, Kim Canady, fell asleep at the helm, having stayed up late the night before to celebrate Christmas with her family [22]

Stations

Legend
00.0
North Shore Branch
mi
0.0
 
12.2
Cranford
Raritan Valley Line
11.7
Conrail Lehigh Line
GSPkwy Shield.svg G.S. Parkway
Amtrak Northeast Corridor
US 1-9.svg US 1/9
9.2
 Linden Yard
I-95.svg I-95
Conrail Garden State Secondary
6.8
Arthur Kill Bridge
New Jersey
New York
 Howland Hook
6.1
 Port Ivory
Travis Branch
 National Grid
Travis
Fresh Kills
Arlington Yard (freight)
5.2
 Arlington
4.9
 Harbor Road
Union Avenue
4.6
 Mariners' Harbor
4.3
 Lake Avenue
3.9
 Elm Park
NY-440.svg NY 440
Bayonne Bridge
over Kill Van Kull
3.4
 Tower Hill
3.0
 Port Richmond
2.4
 West New Brighton
1.8
 Livingston
1.2
 Sailors' Snug Harbor
0.7
 New Brighton
RCB Ballpark
00.0
 St. George
Staten Island Ferry
Tompkinsville
Stapleton
Clifton
00.0
South Beach Branch
2.0
 Bachmann
2.1
 Rosebank
2.5
 Belair Road
2.7
 Fort Wadsworth
3.2
 Arrochar
3.5
 Cedar Avenue
3.9
 South Beach
4.1
 Wentworth Avenue
Hylan Boulevard
I-278.svg
I-278
Staten Island Expressway
 Grasmere
Old Town
Dongan Hills
Jefferson Avenue
Grant City
New Dorp
Oakwood Heights
Bay Terrace
Great Kills
Eltingville
Annadale
Huguenot
Prince's Bay
Pleasant Plains
Mount Loretto Spur
 Richmond Valley
West Shore Line
Page Avenue
 Nassau
Arthur Kill
Atlantic
Tottenville
This diagram:
Station service legend
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights and weekends planned
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only flag stop
Time period details
Disabled access Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
Disabled access ↑ Station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
in the indicated direction only
Disabled access ↓
Elevator access to mezzanine only
Stations Disabled access Connections
Staten Island
Stops all times St. George Disabled access Staten Island Ferry
Stops all times Tompkinsville
Stops all times Stapleton
Stops all times Clifton
Stops all times Grasmere S53 bus to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Stops all times Old Town
Stops all times Dongan Hills Disabled access
Stops all times Jefferson Avenue
Stops all times Grant City
Stops all times New Dorp
Stops all times Oakwood Heights
Stops all times Bay Terrace
Stops all times Great Kills Disabled access
Stops all times Eltingville Bus to Eltingville Transit Center and Staten Island Mall
Stops all times Annadale Blue Heron Park
Stops all times Huguenot
Stops all times Prince's Bay
Stops all times Pleasant Plains
Stops all times Richmond Valley
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Nassau
Stops late nights and weekends Arthur Kill Road Disabled access Under construction
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Atlantic
Stops all times Tottenville Disabled access

Notes:

  • Under four-car operation, the last car does not open at Clifton because of a large gap between the platform and the rear car of the train.
  • Under four-car operation, the last car does not open at Richmond Valley in either direction.
  • Only one door opens at Atlantic; the conductor leaves the cab and manually keys open a door.
  • Nassau and Atlantic will close when Arthur Kill Road station opens.

Former stations on closed lines

North Shore Branch

Abandoned line

The North Shore Branch closed to passenger service at midnight on Tuesday March 31, 1953. A small western portion is used for freight service, and a smaller eastern portion provided seasonal service to the RCB Ballpark (where the Staten Island Yankees play) passenger station from 2001 to 2009. Restoration is being discussed along this mostly abandoned 6.1-mile (9.8 km) line as part of the Staten Island light rail plan.[11]

South Beach Branch

The South Beach Branch closed at midnight Tuesday March 31, 1953. It was abandoned and demolished except for remaining stanchions on St. John's Avenue and Robin Road.[24][25] This 4.1-mile (6.6 km) line left the Main Line south of the Clifton station and lay to the east of the Main Line.

Industries serviced

Future service

The Staten Island Advance reported in May 2006 that Staten Island business and political leaders are looking to restore service on the North Shore Branch. They are seeking approval of $4 million in federal funding for a detailed feasibility study, to revive the North Shore line as a commuter line ending at the St. George Ferry Terminal. Alternatively, there has been talk of adding light rail service to Staten Island.

Completion of the study is necessary to qualify the project for the estimated $360 million it requires to develop the 5.1-mile (8.2 km) line. A preliminary study found that ridership could hit 15,000 daily.[11]

There is a new station that will be named Arthur Kill Road to be built near the southern terminus of the line. It will essentially replace both the Atlantic and Nassau stations, which are in the poorest condition of all the stations on the line. There is also discussion of rebuilding a Rosebank station, which will bridge the longest gap between two stations (Grasmere and Clifton). A Rosebank station once existed on the now-defunct South Beach Branch of the railway.[26]

Passenger train timetable, 1867:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b nycsubway.org - R44 car information
  2. ^ - Staten Island Railway timetable
  3. ^ a b c d David Paul Gerber. "Staten Island Railway". Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  4. ^ An early railroad to Coney Island was the Coney Island and Brooklyn Railroad. Note the reference to "Brooklyn News". New York Times. June 23, 1862. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  5. ^ a b Harwood, Jr., Herbert H. Royal Blue Line. Sykesville, Md.: Greenberg. p. 37. ISBN 0-89778-155-4.
  6. ^ Harwood, p. 133.
  7. ^ a b Irvin Leigh and Paul Matus (December 23, 2001). "SIRT The Essential History". p. 6. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  8. ^ "Arthur Kill Railroad Lift Bridge". Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  9. ^ "Railroad News Photos". Trains magazine. 18 (4): 8. 1958. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Peggy Darlington. "North Shore Line". Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  11. ^ a b c Yates, Maura; Helsel, Phil (07-12-2008). "Reality check for Staten Island's rail plans". Retrieved 2009-02-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "New Jersey short line to operate county-owned lines". July 8, 2002. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  13. ^ "New York City welcomes back Staten Island Railroad". April 19, 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  14. ^ "NYCEDC – About Us – Our Projects – Completed Projects – Staten Island Railroad Reactivation". Retrieved 2009-03-07. [dead link]
  15. ^ "Mayor Bloomberg Officially Reactivates the Staten Island Railroad" (Press release). New York City Mayor's Office. 2007-04-17. Retrieved 2010-01-28.
  16. ^ "SIRT: Staten Island Rapid Transit". Retrieved 2009-02-25.
  17. ^ "Federal Railroad Administration: Passenger Rail; Chapter 1". Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  18. ^ "Coney Island Complex". Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  19. ^ http://www.panix.com/~danielc/nyc/sibktunl.htm
  20. ^ Kuntzman, Gersh (2007-11-10). "Fidler's folly: Let's tunnel to SI!". The Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
  21. ^ "MTA to merge agencies into five companies". October 11, 2002. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  22. ^ http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/train_derailment_at_staten_isl.html
  23. ^ http://citynoise.org/article/9036 Dark Descention
  24. ^ "Gary Owen's S.I.R.T. South Beach Line Page". Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  25. ^ "Gary Owen's S.I.R.T. South Beach Line Page". p. 2. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  26. ^ DAnna, Ed A. (05-15-2008). "A rail station for Rosebank?". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2010-01-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Staten_Island_Railway&oldid=433806652"