Former LIRR (?) branch?

I've noticed on at least two LIRR maps dating from the early 1900's a branch that diverged off the current Far Rockway Branch at Woodmere and headed south for a mile or two to "Ocean Point". Interestingly, a look at a current Hagstrom map reveals a Railroad Ave. that seems to be about where this branch would have been.

Any information on this out there?

-- Vic

I've never heard anything about this. Perhaps it was a trolley line?

There was a branch north to where the montauk and atlantic branch meets in laurlton, that was the cederhurst cutoff may this be the branch that your confusing it with(?)

also the Long Beach branch at one time went to point look out.

do you have a map that can be posted here?

That sounds like the trolley line that went the route that you describe.
The LIRR owned the Ocean Electric and there are other places shown on old maps that were LIRR owned trolley lines.
The main route of the OE was ran from Far Rockaway to 116th Streed with another line that ran to Neponsit.
These were discontinued in the late 1920s.
The line to the beach was discontinued much earlier.
Interesting note:
When OE service was abandoned, the crews and some cars were assigned to Country Life Press shuttle service.
Crews were placed on the bottom of LIRR rosters and were protected on CLP runs.
When seniority permitted, they could bid assignments elswhere.

Hi, From what I have read in a local paper, the line went to the Rockaway Hunting Club for service to the events they held there. Im not sure if it was a steeplechase race etc.

Vic,

That was the Cedarhurst Village Railway which was owned by Charles Cheever, the inventor. It was built, as Mr. Keller says, to serve the Rockaway Hunt Club. Abandoned very early, I'm sure the line did see some steam train service for the Club's special events.

It was generally just a horsecar line. Equipment was swapped with the Far Rockaway Village Railway, of which Cheever was also an investor. The Far Rockaway horsecar line was bought by the LIRR and became the beach branch of the Ocean Electric.

Cheever was an interesting guy. He was 3' 6" tall, stunted in his growth and was carried around by a man-servent. He owned the first trans-atlantic cable, the first NYC telephone line and was a famed inventor.

Clem

Hi Clem:

I hadn't mentioned the Hunt Club. That was BobLI, but I was about to confirm that this was most probably the line as identified.

Interesting story about Cheever.

Would you call the man-servant who carried him an "under-a-cheever?"

Dave Keller

Yes, most of the railroads of Long Island -- both current LIRR and 'subway lines' lines of southern Brooklyn -- in their early steam days terminated at points closer to the shoreline than they do now. The LIRR Long Beach, Far Rockaway Lines and the Brighton, Culver and West End Lines of the subway system all were cut back further inland due to beach erosion. Keep in mind that most of the Railroad barons did not take hurricane and storm surges into account when they first laid out their plans. Their modus operandi was reactive not proactive. When the storms hit, THEN they cut back their ops to 'higher ground.'

Mr. Flagler and his famously short-lived 'railroad to the sea' was a good example of how railroads and the sea DO NOT MIX . There is an excelllent book with that title that makes a good read for any buff of railroad history (without haveing to be interested specifically in the railroads of Florida).

Yes!

The massive bridge project connecting the Florida Keys by rail was a major undertaking for its day.

All it took was one hurricane in the 1930s to wipe all that construction out. So massive was the desstruction that the line was never rebuilt.

The Long Beach station was built right on the sand of the beach as was the water tower. The track curved around what today would be the westernmost side of the present-day depot aiming towards the water, then headed east paralleling the beach, making a stop at the depot. The tracks continued as far east as there was beach (Point Lookout), where there was a wye installed to turn the locomotives.

Another feat that was accomplished due to beach erosion was when the Brighton Beach Hotel was moved inland by jacking it up, laying rails under it, shoving flatcars along the tracks, lowering the jacks, so the entire hotel was bearing on those flatcars and pulling it by multiple locomotives. Business inside the hotel went on as usual during the entire project!!!! The massive beach erosion had the waves breaking on the covered verandah seaside.

Dave Keller

I know I have seen a picture of the Brighton Beach Hotel being moved but I can't remember if it was in a book or somewhere else. It was an impressive sight to see several locos pulling this huge building across the sand. A huge engineering feat for it's day.

I have that Book about FEC. Also there was a program on the history channel "Over Seas Highway" witch is about the FEC, hurricine of '38(?) i beleive and the rebuilding of the RR infistructure into the current highway. Many of the existing bridges that the road uses are the actual railroad. i thing there is a few bridges that had to be replaced new..

Pompano Chris can fill in on thoes details.

Thanks Clemuel and BobLI and others. I was aware of the Cedarhurst Cutoff and the traction lines in Far Rockaway, but his one had me going.

The more I get into this stuff, the more I realize I don't know.

-- Vic

And as more and more of us die off without passing this stuff along, the more will be forever forgotten!!!

Imagine what great stuff has already been lost because the old-old timers never wrote it down and the "younger" guys they told, also died without writing it down!!

Dave Keller

RRChef wrote:I know I have seen a picture of the Brighton Beach Hotel being moved but I can't remember if it was in a book or somewhere else. It was an impressive sight to see several locos pulling this huge building across the sand. A huge engineering feat for it's day.

It appears in Steel Rails to the Sunrise by Ron Zeil.

Stuart