Leaving
White Pot Junction and walking south along the LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch,
we see an indication that this land once served as the rail road right-of-way.
The two steel rail tracks are clearly visible, as is the third rail.
This line was an electrified line back in it's early days. A Subtalk
member stated that further up the route there are traces of the third rail
that dates back to 1903!
Notice the hill on the right. At the top of the hill are apartment
buildings and housing complexes that make-up the Rego park community.
The railroad line is depressed in this area.
This is picture
shows the trench that once contained the northbound tracks. White
Pot Junction is just a little north of this picture.
The railroad configuration in this area is interesting in that the southbound tracks were depressed (as indicated in the picture above) and then the northbound tracks were depressed geographically below the southbound tracks. Engineers had to have excavated a lot of fill to layer the line in this area.
Jim Guthrie, oldnyc.com contributor, adds: "At the point where the tracks
reach the same level, a spring switch was installed in 1958, making the
branch a single track operation. The northbound track was the only track
in service. This was mainly precipitated by the platform on the eastbound
side collapsing onto the track that year, with neither the city nor the
LIRR ready to pay for repairs."
Downed
trees cover most of the tracks. Graffiti and other works of "art" cover
some of the railroad ties and surrounding trees.
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