Sunnyside Yard is a large
coach yard
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
, a
railroad yard for
passenger cars, in
Sunnyside, Queens in
New York City.
Description
The yard is owned by
Amtrak and is also used by
New Jersey Transit. The shared tracks of the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
(LIRR)
Main Line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
and Amtrak's
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...
pass along the southern edge of the yard. Northeast of the yard a
balloon track (or reverse loop) is used for "U-turning" Amtrak and NJ Transit trains which terminate at Penn Station. Leading eastward near the south side of the yard, this balloon track switches off and turns left under the LIRR/Amtrak tracks, turns left once again, and merges with the Sunnyside yard track to turn the train west toward Penn Station.
History
The
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR) completed construction of the yard in 1910.
At that time Sunnyside was the largest coach yard in the world, occupying 192 acres (0.78 km
2) and containing 25.7 mi (41.4 km) of
track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
.
The yard served as the main
train storage and service point for PRR trains serving New York City. It is connected to
Pennsylvania Station in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
by the
East River Tunnels. The Sunnyside North Yard initially had 45 tracks with a capacity of 526 cars. The South Yard had 45 tracks with a 552 car capacity.
Plans
East Side Access project
Plans for the East Side Access project to
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
call for some LIRR trains to diverge from the
main line
Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to:
Transportation
Railway
* Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system
* Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...
and travel through
a tunnel under the yard. The project would also create a new station at Queens Boulevard, named
Sunnyside.
Harold Interlocking
In May 2011, a $294.7 million federal grant was awarded to address congestion at Harold Interlocking, the United States' busiest
rail junction, which is part of the yard. The work will allow for dedicated tracks to the
Hell Gate Line right of way for Amtrak trains arriving from or bound for
New England, thus avoiding NJT and LIRR traffic.
Housing development
In 2017 it was announced that the city would begin a feasibility study into the construction of 21,000 to 31,000 units of housing on top of the rail yard. The project, which would be similar to the
Hudson Yards development over
West Side Yard, has stoked public controversy over the affordability of units, pedestrian and road connections, open space, and a nearby
Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site. In early 2020, Amtrak and the city government published a master plan. The plan called for building a deck over Sunnyside Yard and constructing 12,000 housing units, all of which would be
affordable housing, as well as of parks and public plazas.
See also
*
List of railroad yards in New York City
*
New York Connecting Railroad
*
New York Tunnel Extension
*
Transportation in New York City
References
External links
PLAZA Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
- Trainsarefun.com
*
ttp://www.discoverpotsdam.com/connolly/sunnyside-yard/ Photosof Sunnyside Yard circa 1925.
{{Authority control
Pennsylvania Railroad
Amtrak facilities
Long Island Rail Road
NJ Transit Rail Operations
Rail yards in New York (state)
1910 establishments in New York City
New York Tunnel Extension
Sunnyside, Queens