by NIMBYkiller
Went to Mineola this morn with my friend, got there round 10:00. Saw some trains go bye. 10:30 comes and goes, no one shows. Decided to wait til 10:50 cuz someone from subtalk emailed me saying he's definately comming. He shows up and we start walkin.
Turns out I'm not the only one who understands just how simple it'd be to relay the track between Old Country Rd and Country Life Press. Basically, between Mineola and Old Country Rd(bout one block), the ROW is blocked by a building. Have the line be underground there(either way it'd have to be in order to avoid trains from OB going to Far Rock from crossing the mainline if they were to restart that service).
Old Country Rd to 11th Av is all parking lots that I've never seen cars in
11th Av to the secondary is all clear, just a dirt path with some trees on the side. Was this line 2 tracks, cuz it definately seems wide enough.
Walked St James St North to Washington b/c the secondary has live 3rd rail til Washington Av. At Washington Av, the old trolley platform is still there(this thing is about 3 feet long. You couldn't even fit a LIB bus shelter on it).
Washington Av to Clinton, quite a few new ties in place. The dirt was all turned up. I guess this was prep work for the circus train?
Clinton Rd to Quentin Roosevelt BLVD(old Garden City yard at now severed Stewart Av crossing). This whole section is lined with about 25-30 hoppers and 2 flatbed cars broken into 3 sections on the south track. These flatbed cars had rails that were welded to the top of the car. I guess this is used for shipping rail equipment??? They seemed to have a fairly new coat of brownish paint. The last 5 cars were those Norfolk Southern hoppers. I'm still confused as to why on earth they are here. Oh, and at the Clinton Rd side, the first hopper(last on the train when they were brought in) still has the red flag on the coupler....hmmm, to take or not to take? Decided not to, regret it now though, lol.
Also walked that small industrial spur that doubles back through the bus facility to that pasta or w/e place and some other industries. The Oak St crossing has been removed, not just paved over, removed. Friends of 35 still has their stuff there(2 cabooses, 2 P72s or P75s, and the boxcar).
The yard there at Quentin Roosevelt and Stewart is all torn up except for the 1st yard track and the secondary's track. I think the yard was 3 or 4 tracks and then the 2 tracks on the secondary that now merge into one just before crossing Quentin Roosevelt BLVD
Quentin Roosevelt BLVD to Mitchell Field. This was my first time on this section. This definately had to have been 2 tracks at one point b/c it is simply too wide not to have been. The south track is still there. We walked to a point just east of the post office truck entrance where I saw a rail poking out through the brush. It wasn't connected by a switch or anything, it was just there. We walked to a crossing about 15 feet later and realized it was the Mitchell Field spur that we were looking for(for those who don't know, trains from the west would have to pass the spur, then back onto it).
Mitchell Field Spur. The first section between the secondary and the second grade crossing is one track with the track still in tact. After crossing that 2nd grade crossing, if you look down and turn around, you can see that there was another track that simply went straight as if it used to intersect the secondary. Turns out this was the siding for the coal silos(which are no longer there).
After that 2nd grade crossing, as we continue once again south toward where 35 used to be, the tracks are paved over, with a section of a switch poking out still. You can easily see where the track is beneath the pavement(hard to explain, but most of you know what I mean). After the 3rd grade crossing(btw, all these grade crossings on this spur are lightly used service roads) the tracks once again show themselves. This is where the high level freight platform is. On the track on the west side(platform side), there is all old trailers, a fork lift, and yes, still the front of an what I believe is an F unit. The trailers and forklift have keystones painted on reading 35.
All of a sudden, BMTman and Thurston(subtalk) show up. We sit for a while and talk(while I get a call from Joe(emfinate) that he is stuck on a rollercoaster at six flags. Hey Joe, ya still up there!? lol). While all of the secondary is great, Mitchell Field really is like a trip in its own. The 2 tracks end just north of Charles Lindbergh BLVD(atleast I think, didn't walk down that far, but didn't see any tracks past there).
From there, BMTman and Thurston went off, and Mike F(subtalk), Paul(subtalk/friend from school), and I walked back to Quentin Roosevelt BLVD. We then walked the industrial spur(which still, to Paul and I, seems so logical that it'd be the Roosevelt Raceway spur, but JJ says it's not).
This spur is the same as it was when I last walked it before winter(one week before the original trip was supposed to happen). The Stewart Av crossing is still severed(still a bummer). We walked over the Meadowbrook Parkway(always fun). We checked out the old spur at what is now Lowes. Then went on to play a game of Russian Roulette with Zeckendorf BLVD. About 10 feet north of Zeckendorf, the spur becomes to tracks, which JJ says was for a bypass, which makes sense. This section is still covered with debris and mini trees. (Thanks for the heads up about this spot Sir Ray! Tried to keep tresspassing in this area to a minimum, but I don't think it was a successful attemp, lol).
The track becomes single track again, curves, then crosses East Gate Rd. From there, it goes onto a now heavily tree covered stip the length of the parking lot. You can still see the rails there. Once we reached the end of the parking lot where the tracks end(atleast as far as the eye can see), we looked on toward Zeckendorf BLVD(this street curves north to meet Old Country Rd). I then realized that I may start believing JJ b/c Zeckendorf BLVD is really high up. I couldn't see an underpass for where the tracks would've gone. Still wanna go check that area out.
Got an N22 Jamaica bus back to Mineola. Mike went for his car while Paul and I got onto an N23 Manorhaven about to leave.
All in all, an increadible trip! Got lots of photos, but wish I had taken even more. All yall definately missed some real cool stuff.
Oh, and Bob, as soon as I get those pics developed, I'll scan em and send em over to you with some captions and what not.
Next walking trip will be From Mitchell Field spur area all the way to B tower. Hope it's as good as this was.
Turns out I'm not the only one who understands just how simple it'd be to relay the track between Old Country Rd and Country Life Press. Basically, between Mineola and Old Country Rd(bout one block), the ROW is blocked by a building. Have the line be underground there(either way it'd have to be in order to avoid trains from OB going to Far Rock from crossing the mainline if they were to restart that service).
Old Country Rd to 11th Av is all parking lots that I've never seen cars in
11th Av to the secondary is all clear, just a dirt path with some trees on the side. Was this line 2 tracks, cuz it definately seems wide enough.
Walked St James St North to Washington b/c the secondary has live 3rd rail til Washington Av. At Washington Av, the old trolley platform is still there(this thing is about 3 feet long. You couldn't even fit a LIB bus shelter on it).
Washington Av to Clinton, quite a few new ties in place. The dirt was all turned up. I guess this was prep work for the circus train?
Clinton Rd to Quentin Roosevelt BLVD(old Garden City yard at now severed Stewart Av crossing). This whole section is lined with about 25-30 hoppers and 2 flatbed cars broken into 3 sections on the south track. These flatbed cars had rails that were welded to the top of the car. I guess this is used for shipping rail equipment??? They seemed to have a fairly new coat of brownish paint. The last 5 cars were those Norfolk Southern hoppers. I'm still confused as to why on earth they are here. Oh, and at the Clinton Rd side, the first hopper(last on the train when they were brought in) still has the red flag on the coupler....hmmm, to take or not to take? Decided not to, regret it now though, lol.
Also walked that small industrial spur that doubles back through the bus facility to that pasta or w/e place and some other industries. The Oak St crossing has been removed, not just paved over, removed. Friends of 35 still has their stuff there(2 cabooses, 2 P72s or P75s, and the boxcar).
The yard there at Quentin Roosevelt and Stewart is all torn up except for the 1st yard track and the secondary's track. I think the yard was 3 or 4 tracks and then the 2 tracks on the secondary that now merge into one just before crossing Quentin Roosevelt BLVD
Quentin Roosevelt BLVD to Mitchell Field. This was my first time on this section. This definately had to have been 2 tracks at one point b/c it is simply too wide not to have been. The south track is still there. We walked to a point just east of the post office truck entrance where I saw a rail poking out through the brush. It wasn't connected by a switch or anything, it was just there. We walked to a crossing about 15 feet later and realized it was the Mitchell Field spur that we were looking for(for those who don't know, trains from the west would have to pass the spur, then back onto it).
Mitchell Field Spur. The first section between the secondary and the second grade crossing is one track with the track still in tact. After crossing that 2nd grade crossing, if you look down and turn around, you can see that there was another track that simply went straight as if it used to intersect the secondary. Turns out this was the siding for the coal silos(which are no longer there).
After that 2nd grade crossing, as we continue once again south toward where 35 used to be, the tracks are paved over, with a section of a switch poking out still. You can easily see where the track is beneath the pavement(hard to explain, but most of you know what I mean). After the 3rd grade crossing(btw, all these grade crossings on this spur are lightly used service roads) the tracks once again show themselves. This is where the high level freight platform is. On the track on the west side(platform side), there is all old trailers, a fork lift, and yes, still the front of an what I believe is an F unit. The trailers and forklift have keystones painted on reading 35.
All of a sudden, BMTman and Thurston(subtalk) show up. We sit for a while and talk(while I get a call from Joe(emfinate) that he is stuck on a rollercoaster at six flags. Hey Joe, ya still up there!? lol). While all of the secondary is great, Mitchell Field really is like a trip in its own. The 2 tracks end just north of Charles Lindbergh BLVD(atleast I think, didn't walk down that far, but didn't see any tracks past there).
From there, BMTman and Thurston went off, and Mike F(subtalk), Paul(subtalk/friend from school), and I walked back to Quentin Roosevelt BLVD. We then walked the industrial spur(which still, to Paul and I, seems so logical that it'd be the Roosevelt Raceway spur, but JJ says it's not).
This spur is the same as it was when I last walked it before winter(one week before the original trip was supposed to happen). The Stewart Av crossing is still severed(still a bummer). We walked over the Meadowbrook Parkway(always fun). We checked out the old spur at what is now Lowes. Then went on to play a game of Russian Roulette with Zeckendorf BLVD. About 10 feet north of Zeckendorf, the spur becomes to tracks, which JJ says was for a bypass, which makes sense. This section is still covered with debris and mini trees. (Thanks for the heads up about this spot Sir Ray! Tried to keep tresspassing in this area to a minimum, but I don't think it was a successful attemp, lol).
The track becomes single track again, curves, then crosses East Gate Rd. From there, it goes onto a now heavily tree covered stip the length of the parking lot. You can still see the rails there. Once we reached the end of the parking lot where the tracks end(atleast as far as the eye can see), we looked on toward Zeckendorf BLVD(this street curves north to meet Old Country Rd). I then realized that I may start believing JJ b/c Zeckendorf BLVD is really high up. I couldn't see an underpass for where the tracks would've gone. Still wanna go check that area out.
Got an N22 Jamaica bus back to Mineola. Mike went for his car while Paul and I got onto an N23 Manorhaven about to leave.
All in all, an increadible trip! Got lots of photos, but wish I had taken even more. All yall definately missed some real cool stuff.
Oh, and Bob, as soon as I get those pics developed, I'll scan em and send em over to you with some captions and what not.
Next walking trip will be From Mitchell Field spur area all the way to B tower. Hope it's as good as this was.
