The Busiest Railroad in North America, Explained

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

The ferry from Greenport didn't go all the way to Boston! On the contrary, it went to Stonington, Connecticut, where people would then board another train, through Providence, to Boston! The LIRR bought the steamboat Cleopatra from Cornelius Vanderbilt, then known for his ferry empire, to cover the Long Island Sound crossing, and began operating to Stonington, Connecticut on August 10, 1844, while the line to Greenport had an opening excursion on July 27, and revenue service began over the full line on July 29. The LIRR began operating the Worcester and New Haven steamboats in 1845, and established a second route to Boston via steamboat to Allyn's Point (in Ledyard, Connecticut) and the Norwich and Worcester Railroad and Boston and Worcester Railroad. This route via Long Island was chosen because they thought southern Connecticut was impassible due to numerous hills and river valleys, but of course as mentioned, the New York and New Haven Railroad opened across southern CT in 1848, and they faced competition from steamboats like the early 1847 completion of the Fall River Line (which consisted of a train journey from Boston to Fall River, then a ferry from Fall River to Manhattan), it caused the LIRR to sell their Worcester and Cleopatra steamboats to the Norwich & Worcester in July 1846, and sold their last steamboat, the New Haven, to Jacob Vanderbilt. The Lower Montauk Branch once had nine stations, four of which were closed by 1940. The remaining five stations (Richmond Hill, Glendale, Fresh Pond, Haberman, and Penny Bridge) were closed in March 1998 due to low ridership and incompatibility with the then-new C3 bi-levels since they needed high-level platforms. After these stations closed, the LIRR continued to use the Lower Montauk to operate non-stop trains between Jamaica and Long Island City rather than divert them to the Main Line, which only two trains used the Lower Montauk by the time the service was re-routed. These two trains were re-routed north to Hunterspoint Avenue in 2012, effectively ceasing passenger train service on the Lower Montauk. And worth mentioning that not every Montauk Branch train uses the Central Branch (fun fact: a guy named Charles Minthorn Murphy became the first man ever to ride a bicycle for one mile in less than a minute by drafting behind a LIRR car on the Central Branch in 1899) to reach Jamaica or beyond, some use the Babylon Branch! Not all trains on the Montauk Branch go to Montauk, many terminate at Speonk or Patchogue, with Patchogue being the busiest Montauk Branch station. The Montauk Branch is by no means perfect, as east of Babylon, it's only double-tracked up until Sayville, so it's a long stretch of non-electrified single-track between Sayville and Montauk with some sidings, Speonk yard is already at-capacity, they can't run more Penn-Montauk trains in particular because not all the locomotives are dual-mode to enter Penn (and they're too big to enter the tunnel to GCT), the EMD DE/DM30AC equipment breaking down, but having rush-hour service to Penn Station as well as Queens like Jamaica, Long Island City and Hunterspoint Ave is still superb! And besides serving the summer crowds heading to the Hamptons, it's also an important year-round corridor for those who live on the Montauk Branch's commuter portion between Speonk and Babylon, and a lifeline for those who live on Fire Island as the Montauk Branch has connections to the ferries for the nearly car-free Fire Island communities.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

I should clarify that Patchogue is the busiest Montauk Branch service station, as in the busiest served by just Montauk Branch service trains, since of course the Babylon Branch service uses the Montauk Branch too and including the Babylon Branch service stations, Babylon station is the busiest. Hunterspoint Ave is also busier than Patchogue, but that’s on the Main Line and two other services stop there (Oyster Bay and Port Jeff).

[@Transit_Biker]

And today there is a ferry that runs between Port Jefferson, NY & Bridgeport, CT.

[@grahamcracker659]

this very scare, my cat sad

[@mtasubwaymartasubway]

​@@grahamcracker659 Weirdo

[@allenhalegua4839]

You should have included New Jersey Transit. It runs into NY Penn Station

[@mrrk2u]

Retired LIRR engineer for 32 years. Enjoyed the video and history..good job.

[@SteveReggie]

The 3 commuter rail networks include LIRR, Metro North and NJ Transit. PATH is a rapid transit line, like subways and SI Railway.

[@benfleishman2944]

PATH operates like a (fairly infrequent) subway, but it’s in fact legally commuter rail 😂 apparently this is because it runs at grade very close to NEC tracks, and it requires PATH operators to get certified to drive full-on locomotives

[@sokyu7723]

@@benfleishman2944 that means there's four lol, NJT, LIRR, PATH, and Metro-North

[@klabkebash]

Should have removed PATH and put in NJ Transit

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

​@@sokyu7723I think he didn't count the PSNY tracks into the North River Tunnels. PATH at least has more than 1 station in NYC, too IDK, just giving ideas...

[@joshw1687]

​@@benfleishman2944yea that's crazy lol

[@Urban_Man]

I think LI also needs some north south transit connections, making it easy to make trips within Nassau/Suffolk county.

[@ronaldeithiii8475]

He didn’t include the abandonment of the West Hempstead line

[@chrispontani6059]

@@ronaldeithiii8475or Kings Park, Northport, Sag Harbor, Pilgrim State, or Whitestone Branches. No mention of Hunterspoint Ave. or LIC as terminals.

[@sean668]

A quick line between Patchogue and Port Jeff would be great for Suffolk

[@Pocketfarmer1]

The island needs trolly lines . There used to be a couple long ago . You can see the tracts in Northport.

[@dougall1687]

There are Suffolk County Transit buses that run North-South such as the #1 that goes between Huntington (actually Halesite just north) and Amityville. But from having to ride this daily for a year only the first bus of the day is anywhere close to on-time and there was (is?) no online bus tracking for when the buses are 30+ minutes late.

[@Borv413]

As someone who is from Poughkeepsie and regularly uses the Hudson line to NYC and beyond (and to Newburgh in the fall), can't wait for y'all to cover Metro-North!

[@moneymaker9959]

Right MNR next!!!

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Long Island City and Hunterspoint Ave are also part of the City Terminal Zone. Although Montauk Branch trains stopped using Lower Montauk, they still serve LIC by using the Main Line to reach it, while also serving Hunterspoint Ave. The PRR didn't go bankrupt, Penn Central did, and the state bought the LIRR from the PRR in 1965 before it became Penn Central after it merged with NY Central and New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1968, and filed for bankruptcy in 1970. The Belmont Park Branch isn't used for game days at the UBS Arena. While it WAS once used for game day events alongside Elmont-UBS Arena station, the LIRR eliminated shuttle services for special events at UBS Arena to Belmont Park station in February 2023, which coincided with Elmont operating full time as part of the redevelopment of train schedules for East Side Access. So Belmont Park station is only open when the Belmont Stakes is at Belmont Park. Belmont Park used to have regular service but it stopped in spring 2009, on May 28, 2009, Belmont Park service resumed per the MTA board's approval as the New York State legislature passed a funding plan for the MTA, regular service suspended again in 2010 due to MTA budget cuts and trains only operated on June 4 and 5 during the weekend of the Belmont Stakes, and finally in April 2011, the NYRA announced that it would subsidize the cost of providing LIRR service to the racetrack for the entire spring/summer meet, and that was the last year it had regular service. The Greenport Branch gets limited service because besides the fact that it's diesel service, it's the last dark territory (no conventional signals) on the LIRR, it's single-tracked from Ronkonkoma all the way to Greenport, the North Fork is sparsely populated compared to the South Fork/Hamptons, and it mainly relies on seasonal tourism like its wineries. Greenport's turntable is maintained by the Railroad Museum of Long Island, and is the only pneumatic (air) powered turntable remaining on Long Island. Besides Oyster Bay and Greenport, the Atlantic Branch's Morris Park Facility/Boland's Landing also has a turntable but theirs is STILL functioning as the facility is used for maintaining and refueling diesel locomotives and electro-diesel locomotives since the 1990s. And the Railroad Museum of Long Island's Riverhead location has a preserved piece of the former Riverhead turntable that can be seen when riding the museum's Alan Herschel Company 16-inch gauge train from the 1964-1965 NY World's Fair! Also, for those confused why they counted PATH as commuter rail, although it acts like a rapid transit system, PATH is legally considered commuter rail by the FRA because of the right-of-way between Jersey City and Newark where it's in close proximity to Amtrak and NJT trackage, and shares the Dock Bridge (so the NY metro has four; the three major ones of NJT, LIRR, and MNR, and then PATH)

[@johnnycaps1]

You should be doing an accurate and comprehensive KZbin video on the LIRR! Great (and accurate) information!

[@mirzaahmed6589]

@@johnnycaps1 he's too busy running North Korea.

[@oddfellow831]

Highly impressed with your work and presentation. Keep up the good work.

[@ps.montreal5551]

Very informative video. I was on the LIRR once going to the New York World's Fair in the mid 60's.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

Weird choice to count PATH but not NJ Transit, particularly when NJ Transit operates two of Metro North’s lines, but this is still a great overview of the LIRR.

[@gerardmoran9560]

The West Hempstead tracks used to run north and join what's now the Hempstead Branch at the north end of Country Life Press station. It then had a curve to the east (now the Mitchell Secondary), to the west (now the Hempstead Branch) and another to the north. That line ran east of Franklin Ave and joined the mainline just east of Mineola. Look at Google Earth and you can see the right of way.

[@chetk4624]

I live for a number of years in West Hempstead walking distance to the Lakeview Station. The West Hempstead train ran on the other side of my backyard fence and I used to tell people I have a 1:1 train set in my back yard. Thanks for a great explanation of the LIRR. I did use the train to commute to my employment in NYC until I changed jobs and career with a company in Lake Success. I'm 77 and moved in the 80's to Texas for another job change.

[@guyl4231]

Very well done. Clear, concise. Top notch!

[@CraftyFoxe]

This was pretty interesting to watch. I had no idea the whole reason why LIRR exists was to go to CT.

[@KentPatterson-z4u]

Very well done: Answers many questions of a complex railroad.

[@JohnFallot]

11:32 Fun fact, back in the early 1900s they *were* all connected! The Oyster Bay, Hempstead, and West Hempstead lines all intersected at Garden City. The Hempstead Line continued east through Levittown and then joined the Central Branch. You can see the faintest outlines in how the properties and trees line up in Google Maps. And also in, well, historical docs.

[@DTD110865]

A video or two on this would be nice, but I have a feeling some might've already been done.

[@alexharris2495]

Some interesting information here

[@aimaturebeauty]

I read a book awhile ago about all of the rail lines that used to exist on Long Island that are now gone or where absorbed into the LIRR. It would be amazing if those lines still existed. I detailed video on those lines would be amazing. Many from the 1800's

[@nycdan95]

Yes you can still see the right of way for the most part.

[@evandoorbell4278]

The tracks from West Hempstead used to continue to Country Life Press station. Parts of the old right-of-way are still visible.

[@FTrainProductions]

There was also the Whitestone Branch too

[@DTD110865]

As well as the Sag Harbor/Manorville Branch, which charlesbaran1106 already mentioned.

[@MRichardHorn]

@@DTD110865 also the Central Railroad of Long Island of which parts became the Creedmore branch (now tore up), part of the Hempstead branch(in service), part of the Meadowbrook race track branch (maintenance service only), the extension of the Meadowbrook branch that ran thru Eisenhower Park and Levittown to Belmont Junction (now tore up), part of the Central Branch (in service) and that the portion south of Merrick Road (NYS Rt. 27-A) (now long gone)

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

LIRR used to go to Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn

[@antoniogoode4407]

I think you is right I remember back in the days the long Island railroad used the bay ridge Brunch line in Brooklyn back in the 60

[@andrew_ray]

Why isn't Manhattan Beach in Manhattan?

[@omapep21]

@@andrew_raybecause of those damn democrats

[@munipalsfanboything]

@@andrew_ray weird geographical names

[@William_George825]

I grew up in massapequa. Great video, it brings back lots of memories.

[@roberthuron9160]

You forgot the Whitestone Branch,which is rather convenient to LaGuardia Airport,and would work as a city shuttle service! In addition,Oyster Bay has TR's home,and museum,along with the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum! Honestly,you could do several videos on the joint services,that the LIRR and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit ran,and one was a line to the Rockaways,from Delancy Street,and Brooklyn Bridge! History,with a 190 year span,and tons of permutations! Thank you 😇 😊!!

[@DTD110865]

The Whitestone Branch was too far east from LaGurardia Airport.

[@javigalinsky417]

You should have included NJT as a commuter rr that services the nyc metro area. Its the third busy commuter railroad in the country behind LIRR and Metro North.

[@PenskePC17]

Wow! NYC has the top 3 commuters, I'm shocked Metra doesn't make it in there, but I guess it loses a lot of traffic with the South Shore Line being a separate system.

[@PenskePC17]

@@ianhardy9375 I was talking about the South Shore line in Chicago, which is its own service that operates out of Chicago like Metra, but is owned and operated by the Indiana department of transit.

[@alexisdespland4939]

the lirr is the oldest compant that o still operates on it origanal corporate charter

[@stuartaaron613]

No mention of service from Jamaica to Hunters Point Avenue and Long Island City via the Main Line. Also, Jamaica Station has seven platforms since the introduction of the Atlantic Avenue shuttle service.

[@mzxeternal]

Not bad but you guys missed a a bit! Whitestone branch, Manhattan Beach Branch, the Central Branches far larger history (which had it running all the way into Queens and connecting to the current port Washington branch.. The Bushwick Branch, Sag Harbor, The Cedarhurst cutoff, The Montauk line also uses both the Babylon or the Central depending on the train. Just saying there's a lot there for a followup video. Keep up the great work!

[@samuelitooooo]

The alignments of all of the above are so interesting to me. I'd definitely watch a follow-up video.

[@thomas5714]

Great job. The LIRR sold the property of the closed Wading River Branch to LILCO, which put up power lines from Port Jeff to Wading River then out to the end of the North Fork.

[@antonnickel524]

There are a number of significant errors in this video. The Atlantic Branch goes all the way to Long Beach, the Port Washington Branch diverts at Harold, Winfield is no longer in existence but used to be where Rockaway beach diverged. West Hempstead used to run through Mineola to Oyster Bay creating continuous possible service from Rockaway Park to Oyster Bay, and much more. Happy to help if you’d like more info.

[@jointransitassociation]

Please go on, and if you can, please provide sources to each error. I want to read as much as I can about the LIRR.

[@DTD110865]

Actually, he's right about the junction of the Main Line and Port Washington Branch being Winfield Junction. The junction between the Main Line and Rockaway Branch was called Whitepot Junction. BTW, the bridge over the former Rockaway Line should be converted into a new transfer station between the IND Rego Park Line, and the LIRR Main Line, and should be named "Rego Park Transfer" for both systems.

[@Gringo_In_Chile]

The Port Washington branch also has other interesting features, such as: The branch has 2 parallel east, west tracks. But just after the Great neck station to the end of the line at Port Washington there is a single track the both east and west bound trains use. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is the systems longest single track train trestle that crosses a valley between Great Neck and Manhasset.

[@DTD110865]

@@Gringo_In_Chile The Port Washington Branch east of Great Neck, including the Manhasset Viaduct should be double-tracked.

[@adm_ackbar4899]

No it turns into the Long Beach Branch after Valley Stream

[@cooper6851]

Great video man! Keep up the great work 🤝

[@LanceBoos]

Great video, and spot on with the 19th-century history! I've noticed a huge improvement (at least on the Ronkonkoma branch) since the connection to Grand Central opened, but overall LIRR has a ton of work to do with signal improvements and adding additional tracks to multiple lines. The amount of grade-level crossings is ridiculous, but I suppose it's not LIRR's fault that maniacal Long Island drivers will just go around the gates with reckless abandon. I'd love to see a few north-south shuttles, though I think the only somewhat feasible one would be along the median of Nicolls Rd. (making Robert Moses turn in his grave is a bonus!), connecting Stony Brook to Patchogue. And finally, what they consider an "accessible" station is disgraceful. Central Islip, for example, has no elevator. If somebody can't use the pedestrian bridge, they have to cross the tracks at Lowell Avenue to access the only ramps. Of course there's no good pickup/dropoff spot by the ramp on the inbound platform, nor is there a nearby ticket machine. Par for the course with the entire MTA really.

[@JoyClinton-i8g]

When you die, it doesn't matter if your soul is going to heaven or hell, it will have to change trains at Jamaica.

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

Knocked it out the park like you do in every video... Very informative.

[@AweShiyte]

The channel between Island Park and Long Beach is called Reynold's Channel, not Wreck Lead. (Take it from someone who grew up in LB).

[@thedriver4038]

He confused it with the name of the drawbridge over Reynolds Channel and its associated interlocking, which is Wreck lead

[@EPMTUNES]

Awesome video. You got through a lot considering this is such a complex system. A video on Metro North would be fun too!

[@Metsfan30]

“in Long Island” amongst other extremely simple mistakes (mispronunciations, the mention of the LIRR Montauk branch despite that stretch of track from LIC to Jamaica literally not being active, Belmont Park doesn’t serve UBS Arena on event days-it should but doesn’t, etc) really makes this a hard watch

[@JonBrooks105]

Rail Road...

[@shengweizhang9723]

That Montauk Branch vs Montauk service part is really confusing especially for people not familiar with the system

[@syed2194]

Also he forgot to include NJ Transit when talking about the different commuter rails that service NYC. Poorly done video.

[@magicmasterfan1]

wait, the Lower montauk branch still has passenger service to hunterspoint avenue and long island city terminal. very few trains go this way( i believe 8 or so terminate at mornings and go back at evenings) but there definitely is still passenger service on the line.

[@travelfiftystates314]

Yeah I got so confused here too lol

[@samuelitooooo]

They use the Main Line to get to those stations though (and I believe Hunterspoint Ave isn't on the Lower Montauk).

[@sonicbfdiag7050]

LIRR Rider Here (Far Rock and Oyster Bay from Far Rockaway to either Roslyn, Greenvale, Glen Head, Sea Cliff, or Glen St (got stranded at Glen Cove at one point)) also I did not know that the Greenport Branch is Dark Territory..and Single Tracked, as well as having very low frequencies imagine getting stranded there with no access to other forms of transportation

[@dennisfariello4852]

Another abandoned branch was the Creedmore branch. When I was a kid in Floral Park they were still running freight on that branch.

[@writer125]

WOW, great report on the LIRR. This is a blast 💥 from my past. I’m originally from Long Island, born and raised. I used to take the LIRR into the city 🏙️ all the time. Either from Bellmore, Hicksville or Hempstead. This brought back lots of memories of the trains 🚂. Thanx for posting this.

[@mrlegend4456railfanning]

This was such an Interesting Video for the LIRR 👍

[@adrianwitzburg4140]

For me PATH is considered as subway, as it’s too short to be considered a commuter rail, being much smaller than even the 1 train. On the other hand, NJ Transit’s rail system offers commuter rail service from Penn Station to parts of northern New Jersey, which is also part of the NYC metropolitan area.

[@stevenroshni1228]

Everyone except for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) would agree with you

[@blue9multimediagroup]

​@@stevenroshni1228 That's only because PATH is right next to the NEC and there once was a connection. Functionally, it's heavy rail.

[@DTD110865]

New Jersey Transit also connects to Philadelphia and Atlantic City, the former of which also has SEPTA Regional Rail.

[@GENIUSA1A]

Light rail

[@DTD110865]

@@GENIUSA1A Three light rail systems with New Jersey Transit. There are others I wish they had built.

[@mistervideosoex]

Another great video! My only comment is that the Far Rockaway and Long Beach branches are part of the Atlantic branch rather than the Montauk branch, but other than that small thing the video was still very informative and accurate, great as always

[@JSythe]

Looking forward to your Metro North video!

[@ericmed]

There was a Creedmor branch that would later deliver supplies to the hospital however it originally branched off Flushing and connected to Floral Park. If you look at the satellite view north and west of Jericho turnpike and Little Neck Parkway, it’s still visible as expanded backyards etc.

[@johnterry9930]

Main Line is only four tracks through Woodside, the Port Washington Branch actually starts in Harold. So Woodside has the 4 track mainline and 2 track Port Wash branch.

[@seffssweetsstitches2897]

I remember there was a line that went towards Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale/East Meadow probably 20+ years ago. The circus would arrive at the coliseum along with all the elephants and tigers. It was exciting to watch.

[@qolspony]

Thanks for the video. I read something about lots of services to Coney Island, Brighton/Manhattan Beach served by Long Island Railroad sometime ago. The Atlantic Branch was more important back than, because of the above.

[@alexisdespland4939]

you forgot to mention the beach at long beacjh.

[@MRichardHorn]

At one time the Long Beach branch ran all the way to Point Lookout (now tore up).

[@PeterHKwok]

Funny timing, I did the drone work, camera, and sound for the South Fork Rally for the Rails video in May demanding upgraded infrastructure & service for apparently the fastest growing LIRR branch, Speonk - Montauk, the video was just uploaded to KZbin yesterday: kzbin.info/www/bejne/baSpkop5qtRjiac

[@electrikpikachujm69]

very cool

[@RESTOREMADAMQUEENYOUCOWARDS]

"Like the subway in the US.." 7 Train: YOU CALL ME?

[@My_HandleIs_]

Very interesting! I have ridden LIRR a few times, but only one route.

[@carlinthomas9482]

I would like to see the LIRR extended from Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn to Penn Station and Grand Central and then continue north to connect with Metro North trains. This way you would have regional trains pass through the entire length of Manhattan and beyond.

[@stevenroshni1228]

there was talk a while back about having LIRR join the Montague street tunnel

[@WeMissRevis]

Just a note, Penn Central didn’t sell the LIRR to the MTA, PC sold it to NYS, who then created what is now the MTA around it

[@Matt-oq4jq]

i'm literally about to get on the LIRR, let's go

[@writer125]

Enjoy the ride.

[@frankmontesinos]

Great video! You missed the abandoned line that served College Point & Whitestone. I learned about it a few years ago and I think there are a couple of other spurs that would be interesting to have again.

[@transitcaptain]

One thing that’s always important is to separate the definition of line from the definition of service. For example, the trains shown on schedules are technically services that are named after the lines they run on. Those lines are always branches except for Ronkonkoma, which is a service that uses the line called the main line. The big lines that a lot of services use don’t have their own services, but rather the branch lines use them. This includes the mainline and Atlantic branches.

[@Mike-hf8kq]

Agreed, ie no such thing as the Babylon branch except in timetables....Montauk branch runs from LIC to Montauk via lower Montauk to Jamaica to Babylon via st. Albans and on to Montauk. Or port Jeff branch starts in hicksville

[@steveamurray59]

Thanks for this, I had no idea that there were so many lines outside of the New York City. I'm outside of the states, so this is real handy, thanks.

[@coolyungdru]

Lived in queens forever yet knew next to none of this. Great overview!

[@pleappleappleap]

PATH is rapid transit, not commuter rail. New Jersey Transit is commuter rail.

[@stevenroshni1228]

Wikipedia explains it: "Although PATH has long operated as a rapid transit system, it is legally a commuter railroad under the jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)."

[@jamesparson]

Looks like rapid transit to me. Disclaimer, when I visited NYC a few years back, I used it as an alternative to MTA 6th Ave. Lines. I never even crossed into Jersey.

[@pleappleappleap]

@@stevenroshni1228 But then it you're going to count PATH as a commuter railroad, then New York City has four, not three.

[@stevenroshni1228]

@@pleappleappleap it functions like a metro rapid transit but regulated as a railroad.

[@beagles1518]

You're 100% right,the federal railroad administration & FTA needs to get their categories right!

[@flyphone1072]

0:22 I guess NJT doesn't exist.

[@robertsmith-zg7ir]

There was also a extension to Whitestone from 1869 to 1932. the end of the line was at the foot of 154 st in Beechhurst where the tropicana Orange juice plant is today.

[@steveclark4544]

The Hempstead branch: Your forgetting that it also serves Hofstra and Adelphi Universities .

[@rahimjoseph211]

You’re*

[@Amir_Hassan]

I wish you mentioned the Manhattan Beach branch! That would have been great. Overall awesome video and learned a lot of new things about a railroad I thought I knew a lot about. Thanks!

[@shadowmamba95]

One correction about the Montauk Branch. Montauk has not one, but two different services. One of them is what you mentioned, about heading to the Main Line (I call this the Central Branch service), but the typical Montauk Branch service involves skipping the whole Babylon Branch from Jamaica to Babylon before heading to Montauk (this is the real Montauk Branch service, while the Central Branch service is served during rush hours at limited times).

[@Chris-o7r6v]

I once took the LI railroad from Nassau to Montauk it was awesome!

[@joeynickdotnet]

You missed the Creedmoor spur, which ran west from Floral Park, parallel to 87 Ave, up to Hillside Avenue. It served Creedmoor Psychiatric hospital until the ~1950's, plus a coal yard for home heating. Remnants of the track were visible crossing Hillside Ave until the late 1980's to early 1990'swhenthey were covered up by repaving. In the late 1800's, that same line ran much farther west, including several other spurs near Creedmoor.

[@f.g.9466]

Being from a different geography I never realised how large the LIRR network is with so many branches and services. Awesome video, you gained a subscriber, look forward to videos about the other commuter railroads in the region. One thing that I find very helpful in understanding the systems is getting a vague idea of frequency for each line branch, as in how many trains per hour (or day?) even if just at peak times. Some parts of the mainline having multiple tracks I can imagine there are frequent services, some running express, but how frequent?

[@Transit_Biker]

Funny how the "main line" actually follows the original route but a bit to the north. The old central line ran from the multi-wye at garden city to bethpage junction just west of farmingdale. Would be amazing to re-activate the old central line & bypass the very busy "main line" to points west. There could also be services that only run on the western half of the system via the central line & a re-established manorville branch. Probably a pipe dream at this point, but it could be amazing if it were implemented to reduce car-centric travel.

[@UrbanistExploringCities]

Great video! Could you make a video about the public transit proposals in Long Island?

[@vibeking888]

@@ianhardy9375Route 110 BRT, LIRR Electrfication (Beyond Huntington and Ronkonkoma) are two I can think of

[@vibeking888]

@JimAllen-PersonaI am near the Northport station and it is brutal. Barely any cars for such a large parking lot next to it. Prime for TOD!

[@Thelastairbendy]

yea i wouldnt say the LIRR goes to green acres also west hempstead branch and hempstead branch used to connect at country life press

[@RichardAuletta]

Copiague -- not Coipauge. Rockville Centre, not Rockville Center.

[@moosesandmeese969]

All the system needs to be a proper regional rail system is to be double tracked on all branches and frequencies increased to a minimum of every hour all day.

[@AnAbsurdExistence]

This video must have taken weeks of on and off work, well done on the research! Did you ride any of the tracks in preparation for this?

[@EdwardM-t8p]

I think it would be a good idea to (if the MTA ever builds it) extend the SAS south of Hanover Square to and take over the Atlantic Branch out to Jamaica, and maybe the Far Rockaway Branch. The other branches and subbranches from Jamaica to the Long Island towns can remain under LIRR services.

[@morganschmitt5370]

I wouldn't call the path a commuter rail it's more of a subway between New York City, Jersey City, and Newark Penn Station

[@stephenrichmond917]

PATH was once the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, and the Federal Railroad Administration still regulates it as a commuter railroad even though it operates as a rapid transit line.

[@AgathaLOutahere]

More of a hybrid of urban mass transit and commuter rail.

[@shaund9759]

Cool. As someone who used the LIRR to commute from Long Beach to the city for half my life I found this very interesting.

[@dante6563]

The LIRR! Lets fucking go!!!!

[@LeydenAigg]

I wish someone would "explain" why there's no connection between the various LIRR branches. The LIRR is useful only for travel to and from NYC, with very limited options for traveling from one place on Long Island to another. If there were connections between the Babylon, Ronkonkoma, and Port Jefferson branches, the major ones, ridership would more than double.

[@Enginshim]

Growing up in Uniondale I feel that pain. I had to go to Merrick to catch the train. And there was limited bus service to the station. Wasn’t going to Hempstead, especially after dark.

[@cheesebuger13]

Also, update to UBS arena service, Elmont has a new station on the mainline. Making the Belmont line mostly used as a yard now.

[@robertsmith-zg7ir]

In the early 1950s the turn table and brick building was still there at the end of 154st in Beechhurst.

[@thatotherguy3348]

Shelter islander here, I’ve long appreciated how easily connected to the greater New York area we are through only a 3 hour train (which I’ve ridden myself from greenport all the way to penn station/grand central). I have wondered, since the area is generally rural, how much double tracking and/or electrifying service from ronkonkoma to greenport would increase ridership. I for one would appreciate the one seat ride as a result of the through running this would allow.

[@charlesbaran1106]

Some lines were originally other railroads, but all wound up as part of the LIRR. One of the early lines ran from west of Flushing to Floral Park. Its path is seen as the Kissena Corridor park and the street pattern. There is a sealed off tunnel under the Cross Island Parkway and a bridge to nowhere east of Floral Park Station. Montauk trains used to have the option of taking the Main Line to Manorville, then turning southeast towards Eastport. A line once continued east of Garden City to where the Central Branch leaves the Ronkonkoma Branch. The street pattern around Levittown shows this. That same junction east of Garden City also led north to Mineola Station. The Whitestone Branch left the Port Washington Branch near the present-day Citi Field. Its Flushing station was called Flushing-Bridge St., to distinguish it from Flushing-Main St.; the latter still keeps that designation some 90 years later. Not really branches, spurs to various hospitals, such as Creedmoor, Pilgrim State, and Kings Park, had passenger trains for hospital visitors and freight trains. I believe Kings Park still received coal cars in the 1970s, long after the passenger trains disappeared. While the track from Long Island City to Jamaica no longer has passenger service, LIC and nearby Hunterspoint Av. host diesel trains from out east during peak hours. Fun fact: due to the age of the original company, LIRR to this day spells it "rail road" (separate words), as per the usage of the 1830s.

[@stuartaaron613]

The bridge east of Floral Park used to be the connection to Creedmoor Hospital.

[@charlesbaran1106]

Yes, thanks. I recall a grade crossing on Hillside Av. near the ball fields.

[@calvinkendrick851]

Very informative video of the LIRR. At some point if possible I’d like to see a little more focus on why in some areas, lines run at grade on the road instead of embankments or open cuts.

[@DanielChazin]

As has been pointed out in comments below, the video contains two major errors. First, the third major commuter railroad into New York City is NJ Transit, not PATH. Second, the ferry from Greenport went to Stonlngton, CT, from where passengers would transfer to a train that took them to Boston. It's also interesting to note that the LIRR apparently did not succeed in capturing much traffic from New York to Boston, even before the completion of the railroad from New York to New Haven in 1848. The steamboat owners lowered their prices, and most passengers did not want to pay the higher fares charged by the LIRR, even though the train was faster than the steamboats.

[@johnnycaps1]

Interesting and normally not discussed. So the LIRR was a bit of a failure at it's inception. The investors might not have considered how the alternative passenger services (steamboats?) to Boston would react - especially in terms of their pricing. Sad.

[@1sttigertiger426]

Double-tracking the Port Jefferson branch is a higher priority than electrification. Bi-level Diesels can reliably provide the motive power.

[@fresusjeak]

Very nice video! Good writing, good reading, good editing. May I suggest a better microphone? I'd be happy to look up options that might do a better job of catching your reading performance. What is your current recording device?

[@gerardwebb1945]

I feel that Path is a subway, because on all commuter lines in the new york area, they check tickets, path have ticket gates where we insert a ticket also station distance in the cities.

[@pastorjerrykliner3162]

I'm a little surprised NJ Transit didn't get mentioned as part of the "Regional Rail" system...

[@tompeled6193]

8:36 These 3 branches should be converted to light rail.

[@MattMontiglio]

You also forgot the original central branch which was an extension of the current Hempstead branch. Followed the power lines from garden city through east meadow and Levittown and reconnected with the current central branch spur in Bethpage.

[@knottytoob]

I ❤LIRR. Circa 1990s all aboard 8:13 AM Westbury to Penn Station 34th street. Stand clear of closing doors. Toot toot

[@brmnyc]

How I wish they would electrify the Montauk Branch from Babylon to Patchogue or beyond.

[@bradmulholland]

PATH is definitely more of a rapid transit system, NJ Transit is ten commuter rail system along the lines of LIRR and Metro North

[@EdwardM-t8p]

There's also NJ Transit but it doesn't really go through and serve NYC, only Penn Station.

[@Monkeyboy000009]

I believe the Belmont Park Station is just used for storage since they fully opened the UBS-Elmont station. They don’t run any trains there anymore during Event days

[@WeMissRevis]

Service is still provided during race days, but not for the stadium. But since the racecourse is being rebuilt and races moved to Saratoga and Aqueduct until 2026, there’s currently no service.

[@frankcheung99]

Great work! I live in New Hyde Park, long island !

[@cirvine11]

Wasn’t there once a train to Sag Harbor on the East End? I think you can still see portions of where the track was.

[@TheLiamster]

I wonder if there have ever been any proposals to bring LIRR across the Long Island Sound to Connecticut? It would probably cost a lot of money and might not make much sense

[@stevenroshni1228]

no but the car people had dreams of bringing the LIE to Connecticut from Eastern Long Island. That's why it has an even leading digit.

[@arielfilmsinc1926]

Also Sea Cliff had a coaling station The building still stands but isused for rock and gravel Part of the siding is still there

[@qwerqwer183]

I want to give a shout out to Forest Hills Station Square, which is the entrance to Forest Hills Gardens and was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr

[@lucaostuni2688]

I am surprised you didn't mention the LIRR's "Cannonball" seasonal express train that runs once per week from NY Penn to Montauk from memorial day to columbus day.

[@history_leisure]

If West Hempstead is extended to Mineola, wouldn't that make the existing Hempstead branch redundant since those stops look pretty close. Add a new Hempstead stop on the section to Mineola and Garden City, maybe use the spur to with stops at Clinton Rd and Roosevelt Field. I thought of that for a combined RER/S-bahn service since even slightly more frequent/all day service could be appealing to the tourist generators, but one could also just ran a bus paralleling the existing Hempstead branch and continue to directly serve these areas to make up for the 2/3 lost stations (Country Life Press is so close to Hempstead and the existing Garden City station and would basically become the new Garden City station maybe 100-200ft to the north)