A staircase
from the platform takes subway customers to street level. Notice
the wood wall that helps to block the wind off of the ocean.
The old LIRR
platform lights are still in use today! Very rarely do you see incandescent
light bulbs provide lighting for the length of the subway platform.
Fluorescent lights or the new sodium lamps are standard issue lighting
for subway platforms. The incandescent bulbs add to the station's
charm.
Oldnyc.com frequent contributor Jim Guthrie recently visited the stations.
Jim notes: "I see they have drilled holes in the platforms for new lighting
- the Holland and Playland stations in particular. The last of the
LIRR incandescent bulbs seem to be about to go. My guess is the TA
El Station type walls will go up to replace the PRR-style safety fences
as well."
A view
of the Atlantic ocean from the window of the subway car. These two
large buildings are housing projects.
Rockaway
Beach was once a vacation destination for many New Yorkers. Many
small bungalows and private homes dotted the landscape. In the 1960's,
the City of New York instituted a "slum" clearance program. Many
of the bungalows were demolished. During the HUD (Housing and Urban
Development) programs in the late 1960's, public housing projects were
built in many areas of New York City. With many of the bungalow houses
cleared, the City decided to build public housing project on the land formerly
occupied by the bungalows. There are strings of high-rise public
housing projects that are located throughout this area. There is
also a lot of vacant lots, many now undeveloped, that are waiting for some
type of development to take place. The Rockaways have undergone substantial
transformation in the past thirty years.
Last
stop, Rockaway Park Beach... last stop. This is the end of the line,
the last stop on the virtual tour. Before the NYCTA took over operation
of the line, Rockaway Park Beach was a terminal for the LIRR service in
this area. Far Rockaway was not a terminal, since the connecting
loop service provided travel to other destinations.
The LIRR Rockaway Park station was upgraded for the NYCTA takeover of
the line.
** Epilogue **
I sincerely hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of the LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch. It was certainly a lot of fun taking the "real" tour and pondering all sorts of questions and thoughts that raced through my mind as the tour progressed. When you stop to think about it, it is really quite fascinating that an abandoned railroad ROW exists within the City of New York. With land prices and the building boom the way it is, it is amazing that this piece of property continues to remain untouched. Steve Anderson, whose excellent site www.nycroads.com, recently posted information that Robert Moses was planning on using the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch for a spur of one of his highways. What was to be I-78, the Bushwick Expressway was to have a spur route that would have utilized the RR ROW for it's route. You can read more about it by following this link: http://www.nycroads.com/roads/bushwick/
A forest (albeit a narrow one) runs through the middle of Queens, and not many people know about it or even think twice about it if they do know about it!
Thanks for taking part of the virtual tour of the Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Beach Branch!
If you still want to acquire even more knowledge about the Rockaway Beach Branch, check out these two websites:
Forgotten-ny.com at: www.forgotten-ny.com/SUBWAYS/Rockaway%20Line/rockline.html
LIRRhistory.com at: www.lirrhistory.com/rockpics.html
*** END OF THE TOUR ***