Rockaway Junction was a

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and station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line and

Montauk Branch The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. Howe ...

Hillside, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springf ...

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. It was located in the vicinity where the Montauk Branch now crosses over the two eastbound passenger tracks and the two freight tracks of the Main Line, just west of the Hillside Facility, although at the time of the station's existence it was at ground level along with the junction itself.

History

The junction was formed in 1871, when the LIRR's Rockaway Branch (now the Montauk Branch) was built south from the Main Line. , January 2005 Edition It was not a station until June 1875, when it first appeared on a timetable as the first stop of the Rockaway Branch, and superseded the nearby Willow Tree station and when the local

Atlantic Avenue rapid transit The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

trains were extended from

Woodhaven Junction Woodhaven Junction was a station complex on the Atlantic Branch and Rockaway Beach Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, located at Atlantic Avenue between 98th and 100th Streets in Woodhaven, Queens, New York City. The elevated Rockaway Beach ...

through

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

to Rockaway Junction, their new terminal. Other sources say it opened on June 24, 1890, when at the same time the Canal Street station opened. By 1897, these local trains continued along the Main Line to Hempstead or the Montauk Division to

Valley Stream Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population in the Village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census. The incorporated Village of Valley Stream is within the Town of Hempstead, ...

Electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

service to Rockaway Junction began on August 29, 1905, but the station house was torn down between 1905 and 1906 for construction of the

Holban Yard The Hillside Facility, also called the Hillside Support Facility or the Hillside Maintenance Complex, is a maintenance facility of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. The Hillside facility was built between 1984 an ...

, a major LIRR freight yard. However, Rockaway Junction still appeared on timetables until 1910. The junction itself was eliminated when the tracks were elevated between 1929 and 1931, and included a bridge for the Montauk Branch to cross over the two eastbound passenger tracks and the two freight tracks of the Main Line, just west of the Holban Yard. Roughly eight decades after the station closed, the Rockaway Junction site and nearby Holban Yard became the site of the LIRR's

Hillside Maintenance Facility The Hillside Facility, also called the Hillside Support Facility or the Hillside Maintenance Complex, is a maintenance facility of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. The Hillside facility was built between 1984 an ...

Confusion with Hillside

This station is often confused with the nearby Hillside station, due to their locations (Hillside was located two blocks west at 177th Street), and the fact that their years overlap. Hillside's opening is unknown (although suspected to be in 1909) and closed in 1911. It reopened in May 1911 and closed in 1966, while Rockaway Junction opened in 1890 and closed in 1905/1906 and still appeared on timetables until 1910.

References

External links

Hillside Station Photo History
{{LIRR stations navbox Former Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Transportation buildings and structures in Queens, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1890 Rail junctions in the United States Jamaica, Queens