The Whitestone Branch was a branch 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 ...

, running north and east along the left bank of the

Flushing River The Flushing River, also known as Flushing Creek, is a waterway that flows northward through the borough of Queens in New York City, mostly within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, emptying into the Flushing Bay and the East River. The river run ...

from the

Port Washington Branch The Port Washington Branch is an electrified two-track rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction station, just east ...

near the modern Willets Point/

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushing ...

sections of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It crossed the river on one of the three bridges that were later torn down for the

Van Wyck Expressway Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...

, then ran north along

Flushing Bay Flushing Bay is a tidal embayment in New York City. It is located on the south side of the East River and stretches to the south near the neighborhood of Flushing, Queens. It is bordered on the west by LaGuardia Airport and the Grand Central Park ...

and east along the East River to Whitestone.

History

Originally conceived as a branch of the

Flushing and North Side Railroad The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Lo ...

that was intended to lead into

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

(a connection that never materialized) in 1869, it was consolidated into the Long Island Rail Road in 1876 when its owners, the Poppenhusen family, took over the bankrupt LIRR. It later became part of a subsidiary called the

Long Island City and Flushing Railroad Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

. On October 12, 1912 the branch was electrified. In the 1920s the branch began to lose patronage and the LIRR sought to rid itself of the line. There was a proposal for the city-owned

Independent Subway System The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...

to buy the line and incorporate it into the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

system. The deal was not successful, most likely due to the numerous

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...

s that would have been extremely costly to remove. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...

allowed the LIRR to abandon the line in 1932. Most of the branch was removed, except a small section of the line leading to the

Corona Yard The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwee ...

which remained well into the 1970s when the LIRR closed the Corona Yard and turned it over to the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. P ...

for subway use. Today only a small section of track remains just east of Mets–Willets Point station, branching off from the Port Washington Branch east of the station. The Flushing–Main Street station of the

was so named to distinguish it from the Whitestone's Flushing–Bridge Street station. Despite the closing of the Bridge Street station, the LIRR continues to use the name "Main Street" for the Port Washington Branch station to this day. A spur of the line near the Flushing River was abandoned when it went under water in 1983. Private homes have been built over the section of the line in Whitestone Landing.

Flushing Bay Freight Spur

The Flushing Bay Freight Spur was a freight-only spur that lead to a freight dock on

just west of the

delta. It began at the Whitestone Branch just north of the junction with the Port Washington Branch, then crossed a junction with a spur of the

Woodside Branch The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Long ...

leading to Great Neck Junction and the Central Branch, and a second junction with Woodside Branch that lead to the Whitestone Branch, and crossing a short bridge before finally terminating at the freight dock. No trace of the spur is known .

Stations

The entire line was abandoned on February 15, 1932.

References

External links

Whitestone Branch
(Unofficial LIRR History Website)
Like a Rolling Whitestone
(ForgottenNY.com)

an

Tracing Out The LIRR Whitestone Branch (LI & NY Places that are no more)
{{Long Island Rail Road Long Island Rail Road branches Transportation in Queens, New York Railway lines opened in 1869 Railway lines closed in 1932 1869 establishments in New York (state)