Old & new sidings

A thread was removed from the LI forum about the Waldbaum's siding, I wanted to add and ask these:
I chased a few freights in the 1970s, but only have 126 Instamatic photos!
I do remember the freight serving Waldbaums (also Hill's in Pine-Aire and Eldee's), and I once chased a freight from Valley to W-H by bike!
It had the 1520 that day and was backing into W-H with a Buffalo Creek flour boxcar when I got there. There was also a siding east of Malveren, on a curve, under a hwy. overpass.(Wasn't that near where the steam engine is suopposed to be buried?!?)
I have a few questions myself, I seem to remember tracks in the street just east of RVC station by the power plant, but not for too long in the early 1960's.
And does the Freeport team track still exist, and see use?

HI,
The tracks in the street went to NY Telephone. Freeport is used . There is a spur that is connected off the team track. A plastics customer gets covered hoppers of pellets there. Jay or Jason help me on the customers name please!!!!
Chris

Quality Lineals. I posted a reply on the LIRR forum. Apparently, it's not blocked anymore.

Jay

Is this plastics customer in Freeport still an active customer? Is their spur visible from Sunrise Highway?

Spartan Phalanx wrote:Is this plastics customer in Freeport still an active customer? Is their spur visible from Sunrise Highway?

The first question I cannot answer, as there are conflicting reports as to whether the hopper car(s) is for storage only or are in use.
The second one is a definite yes, from Sunrise Highway (north side - westbound side) west of the Meadowbrook off-ramp - look Northwest past the municipal maintenance yard, you'll see (some) of a covered hopper (the rest of the hopper obscured by a building) on trackage to the south of the mainline. Not sure if this has been the same hopper there for the past...3 years? longer?, but there is a covered hopper there.
At least I think that's the spur they are talking about.

Here's a look facing west at the team track in 1974. It had 3 tracks back then, I also caught a Speno grinding train parked in there.

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I just found this, taken further east, closer to the Meadowbrook Pky.
That is a ballast train up on the main. The hopper mentioned should be right around here, or on the siding to the left.

Live Local to the rescue (of course, these images may be 1 or more years old)
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=8771564

Siding(s) look unecumbered to, well, whatever yard abuts S. Columbus, although the shadows are a bit dark to be completely sure.
The Covered hopper seems to have permanent fittings (and hence is only used for storage), although I cannot zoom quite in enough to confirm this.
Man, I knew that hopper was there, and I've been to that Home Depot (& Staples, and even Cablevision) several dozen times, and just never bothered to investigate the area - but then, you really can't see all that much from the ground without trespassing anyway.

The customer no longer receives service. The cars on site were purchased by the customer for storage.

Jay

It looks like one portion of the tracks are covered in dirt east of the hopper.

Was the spur disconnected, or is a return to service by the NYA just a phone call away?

Spartan Phalanx wrote:Was the spur disconnected, or is a return to service by the NYA just a phone call away?

Going through Freeport yesterday, I made a point of touring the area. Except for Quality Lineals[sp], which has the storage hopper, and the Long Island RR service yard (electrical /Hi-Tension, I think I saw on a sign on the fence), none of the other businesses would seem likely to use rail services (light industry, such as 2 cabinet woodworking shops, a collision repair place, a Fish distributor (I think - I saw a truck parked against a garage with a Fish seller's sign), a Beauty Products distributor (west of the LIRR yard), and 2 wood-frame homes.
Nothing too promising.
I think the covered over spur portion is simply an improtu grade crossing from the muncipal service yard.

So what service does the Montauk branch see these days between Valley Stream and Babylon? There used to be (in the 1970's) a daily run from Holban South yard that covered different branches each day (W. Hemp., Freeport, etc.) Any service on the sounth shore at all?

Was Holban-South the yard down in St. Albans on Dunkirk St., today the home of the odd-LIRR MoW equipment?

Don't remember the street name, but Holban North is where the Hillside complex is now. Holban South lead switch was just west of St. Albans Station.