Railroad Forums 

Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #405086  by mathrocks0421
 
RPM2Night wrote:
henry6 wrote:
MNRR_RTC wrote:I remember one train on a Saturday that was a DM express to Montauk making Babylon it's first stop. I believe it was the 8:21am out of Jamaica. Sometimes it went down the Montauk branch and sometimes we would go on the mainline and cut across the central branch to Babylon. Either way, it was a nice way to ride to Islip on a Saturday.
Isn't that the summer schedule for the Cannon Ball? OR was. All parlor, too. Actually came out of L.I. City at one time.
the C-Ball still does originate at LIC. The equipment does atleast...I'd have to look at the book and see if HPA is the actual 1st regular passenger stop.
I believe the Cannonball is on Friday night.
Also, LIC and HPA are closed on Saturdays (and Sundays).
This summer, there is a train 8702 leaving Jamaica at 8:16am, first stop after Jamaica is Bay Shore. It arrives in Montauk at 10:53am. I assume this is the same train the reader refers to. Not sure where it originates. Jamaica is the first stop where passengers can board.
 #405092  by mathrocks0421
 
Diverging Route wrote:[quote="CTG"
I've always liked "hidden" stops that one would never expect. Like the 4:39 AM local from Babylon to Penn that makes a stop at Valley Stream (typically the only Babylon train that does so). At various times, there have been trains from the Main Line that also made westbound stops at Queens Village and Hollis -- though there aren't any on the current schedule.

I'm sure others will come to mind.
The 1:24am weekend local from Babylon to Penn stops at Valley Stream (and rosedale, laurelton, and locust manor). Curiously, it skips Lynbrook. (Lynbrook is only served about 30 minutes earlier by the previous Babylon train or 2 hours later by a Long Beach train)
 #405097  by mathrocks0421
 
kuzzel540 wrote:Train 190. The only direct train from Valley Stream to Babylon.
Train 6 does it early weekend mornings and 6004 on early weekend mornings. (Both making all stops Lynbrook->Babylon).

 #405300  by CTG
 
Another current oddball -- Train 502. Leaves Jamaica at 8:04 AM, then stops at New Hyde Park, Mineola, and then all stops to Oyster Bay.
 #901357  by Jo24Sam
 
Lame attempt to bump a 4 year old thread started by myself. Anyone got any current oddities or past ones?

Re:

 #901621  by keyboardkat
 
LI Loco wrote:Often I would see a diesel set sitting atop the Cross Island Parkway overpass. Obviously, this was the Mineola-Oyster Bay shuttle.

Guess someone woke up and realized that if they have to go this far for a run-around, might as well go all the way to Jamaica where passengers could make cross-platform connections to both New York and Brooklyn.
Wasn't there also a mid day Port Jeff train whose equipment was held at Queens (near the Cross Island Parkway Bridge)?

Some years back (maybe ten) I took my young daughter on a train ride from NYP to Port Jeff and back. Our electric train to Huntington passed a diesel consist of three or four C-3s sitting on the eastbound main at Queens, and this was the only diesel consist that we passed. But after arriving at Huntington, when the electric train pulled out for the yard, the diesel Port Jeff connection followed it almost immediately into the station on the same track. Now, I assumed that the diesel train followed us, deadheading behind the electric train and then picking up the passenger load at Huntington. The only other possibility is that a diesel consist followed us empty all the way from Jamaica, and I don't see how the economics of that would work.
On the return trip, the diesel train ran all the way to Jamaica to make the NY connection.
 #901630  by LIengineerBob
 
Most likely, you seen an Oyster Bay train sitting in Queens Interlocking. I can not recall any Port Jeff trains that ran all the way to Queens Tower to return east. It was common for Oyster bay Trains to do that though.

The Port Jeff train most likely came from Hicksville (station or North side track) or was already in Huntington either in the south side extension (not likely sine the train followed you) or was in the north side in Huntington and followed the MU into the station (which pulled into the south side extension to clear the main for the Port Jeff diesel.
 #902904  by dlandw
 
Hello all,

Another thread brought back from the dead...

Jo24Sam was correct about most Long Beach trains being sent to Brooklyn rather than Penn Station for many years. I'm not sure when the change started happening, but I think it was sometime in the late 70s before more Long Beach trains began operating through to Penn Station, while Hempstead and Far Rockaway trains became the standard connections to Brooklyn.

There were always a few direct trains from Long Beach to Penn Station, but they were far less common. It also seemed that many more (if not all) off-peak Long Beach trains stopped at Rosedale, Laurelton and Locust Manor, and not just on weekends. I clearly remember sweltering on an MP-54 equipped train as it limped through those stations one summer afternoon. In fact, after the M-1s had vanquished them elsewhere, the MP-54s still operated out of Long Beach, purportedly until clearances in the Atlantic Avenue tunnels were improved to allow the M-1s to operate to Flatbush Ave.

Also, around the early 80s, Long Beach connections at Jamaica began to be partnered more frequently with a Huntington train out of Penn Station, rather than a Babylon train as they had been previously. And, as has been noted, more direct service from Penn Station to Long Beach was added during the p.m. peak.

As far as schedule oddities, in the mid 80s, I used to ride the 7:28 a.m. weekday departure from Long Beach, which skipped Island Park for no explicable reason! I believe it was the only train that did so. One inbound super-express made its last stop at Centre Avenue, even skipping Lynbrook. A few skipped Valley Stream, but most trains (both peak and off-peak) stopped at both Lynbrook and Valley Stream.

There were always a few (too few!) Long Beach trains that operated via the Montauk Branch to Jamaica, even though, by the late 80s, only one outbound Long Beach train actually stopped at St. Albans.

Cheers,
Al "dlandw"
 #1566928  by Jo24Sam
 
It's been 14 years since this thread was started (by me) and 10 years since the last post. Earlier this month (March 8 2021) the LIRR scaled down to a very bare bones schedule with ridership being way down. Weekday schedules in this timetable nearly resembled weekend timetables. However - the most interesting train in a long time was added to the schedule. Train #6998; a direct out bound from Penn Station to West Hempstead at 4:29PM in the PM Peak. I've been looking at schedules for almost 30 years, and this was a first for a WH train to originate in Penn. It was also then the first West Hempstead 'branch' train from Penn to make a St Albans stop (A WH 'branch' station) as direct service from NYP was only available from a Babylon train to this station. I post this now as this train will only have a lifespan of... 1 month. a few days from now on 3.29.21 it will be removed, and go back to train #956 a 4:20PM departure from Atlantic Terminal to West Hempstead with the new sorta-back-to-normal schedule.
 #1566935  by CTG
 
This is one of my all-time favorite rr.net threads. I'm glad you noticed and documented that Penn-West Hempstead train -- a true rarity.

I gave a quick glance to the 3/29 schedules and noticed a few oddballs.

Train 1625 -- 7:19am Huntington - Flatbush, all local stops including Floral Park, Queens Village and Hollis.
Train 798 -- 6:47am Penn - Hempstead. Skips Hollis and Country Life Press.

Also the East Williston - Penn run, which disappeared with the 3/8 schedules has not returned.
 #1566955  by MACTRAXX
 
JS - CTG (and Everyone:) Good past LIRR scheduling topic from more than 10 years ago...

This is a good time to discuss LIRR scheduling - so much has happened since March 2020.

First I will mention that the LIRR has discontinued printing all Branch timetables.
The last printed timetables were dated March 9 to May 17, 2020 for all eleven Branch timetable forms.

The LIRR looked into cutting printing costs after printing an enormous amount of schedules in the past
few years - with one of the best examples special timetables for Main Line Third Track Project work.

The 2021 schedule changes so far this year have been very interesting - the January 25 timetables had some
service reductions to both weekday and weekend schedules.

With the March 8 timetables taking note to ridership being about 25 percent of pre-pandemic normal levels
the LIRR went back to what was basically the Essential Service Schedules that were in effect during 2020.
With ridership gradually increasing during weekday peak hours in particular these cuts turned out
to be more drastic than expected - crowded trains were widely reported by the media in the first days.

With the March 29 timetable change the LIRR re-instated the January 25 timetable on weekdays - but kept
the same lower weekend service levels as implemented with the March 8 timetables.

One example of trains that were cut were the weekend "skip-stop" trains on the Babylon Branch that made
Freeport, Bellmore, Massapequa, Amityville and Babylon. These were cut with the March 8 timetable
and not restored with the March 29 timetable. Babylon Branch weekend service is an hourly local in each
direction with some Montauk Branch through trains running nonstop between Babylon and Jamaica.

CTG: You actually answered your own question - Train #1625 replaced #1501 from East Williston in the 1/25
schedule. #1625 to Atlantic Terminal from Huntington stops at Platform A in Floral Park and offers the only
direct service to Queens Village and Hollis westbound from the Main Line.

Floral Park morning weekday service to and from the Main Line was cut completely with the Essential Service
and March 8 timetables - meaning no trains at all served Platform A - all service was Hempstead Branch trains.

Main Line direct morning trains stopping at Floral Park were restored with the March 29 schedule change:
Eastbound #1606 - 5:28 AM; #1608 - 6:24 AM; #1612 - 8:36 AM to Huntington stopping at Platform B
Westbound #1607 - 4:17 AM; #1615* - 6:13 AM; #1625 - 7:55 AM from Huntington stopping at Platform A

*#1615 from Huntington leaves Huntington 5:46 AM; Cold Spring Harbor 5:51 AM; Syosset 5:57 AM then
operates nonstop to Floral Park Platform A - 6:13 AM; Jamaica 6:23 AM; arrives Penn Station 6:41 AM.

JS: There was one peak hour weekday through train to West Hempstead from Penn Station in each direction.
One through train to West Hempstead once ran from Penn Station in the PM Peak.
I noticed Train #907 was the single Penn Station direct train in the AM Peak: Leaving West Hempstead 7:34 AM
than all stops to Westwood 7:45 AM; St. Albans 7:55 AM; Jamaica 8:05 AM; Forest Hills 8:12 AM; Woodside 8:17 AM
arriving at Penn Station 8:29 AM.

St. Albans is actually NOT a West Hempstead Branch station - but was included in the West Hempstead Branch
timetables (along with long-gone Springfield Gardens) when Branch timetables were first introduced with the
May 20, 1974 schedule change to not get "lost in the shuffle" of the Babylon Branch timetable - which initially
showed all service to Patchogue (AND Speonk in 1974 only) for the first years of issue. The West Hempstead
Branch only has five stations - adding St. Albans and Springfield Gardens increased this coverage to seven.

The service pattern at St. Albans shows that 4 weekday AM Peak trains from West Hempstead
did stop at St. Albans - at all other times Babylon Branch trains provide service to St. Albans.
Valley Stream stops to and from the West Hempstead Branch are in the WH Branch timetable.

In closing this post the LIRR has always been an "Eastbound" or "Westbound" Railroad.
The terms "Inbound" and "Outbound" are never used in print and rarely if ever referred to in this manner.
In this case true directions win out - and rightfully so...MACTRAXX
 #1567035  by R36 Combine Coach
 
MACTRAXX wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 4:08 am St. Albans is actually NOT a West Hempstead Branch station - but was included in the West
Hempstead Branch timetables.
On a related note, why is the Main Line between Jamaica and Hicksville considered part of Port Jefferson
Branch, though the true main line runs to Ronkonkoma and Greenport?
 #1567039  by MACTRAXX
 
R36: When the Branch line timetables were created in 1974 placing New Hyde Park to Hicksville in the
Port Jefferson Branch timetable made sense since the Huntington electrified service and route was
served much more often than the Main Line east of Hicksville was. Another main reason was the June
26, 1972 introduction of Hicksville-Ronkonkoma push-pull service connecting with through trains to
and from Huntington.

There was past discussion in 2019 about St. Albans and Springfield Gardens being placed in the West
Hempstead Branch timetable instead of the much-larger coverage Babylon Branch timetable:
https://www.railroad.net/st-albans-the- ... 69105.html
St. Albans service at the time of the May 20, 1974 introduction of the Branch Line timetables was just
two trains each way west in the AM Peak and east in the PM Peak. Just one train each way stopped at
Springfield Gardens - AM Peak west and PM Peak east. On weekends one morning train west and one
afternoon train east stopped at both stations.

There was other Branch line and timetable discussion in that topic...MACTRAXX