The Huntington Railroad was established on July 19, 1890 (although some sources claim it was in May, 1890) with a trolley line between Huntington Village and

Halesite Halesite is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 2,498 at the 2010 census. History Halesite is named after N ...

(now partially in the Village of Huntington Bay). It was eventually extended to Huntington Railroad Station, then along what is today mostly NY 110 through Melville, Farmingdale, and as far south as the docks of

Amityville Amityville () is a village near the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 9,523 at the 2010 census. History Huntington settlers first visited the Amityville area in 1653 due ...

. Huntington Railroad had only one line throughout its history, although the length varied through the years. Transit service is currently provided along the corridor by the S1 bus, operated by Suffolk County Transit.

History

The Huntington Railroad Company was chartered in May, 1890, and began operating on July 19, 1890 as a three-mile

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, w ...

line between Halesite, New York through Downtown Huntington to Huntington Railroad Station. The Long Island Rail Road acquired control of this company on March 5, 1898, and transformed it into an electric trolley on June 17, 1898. Control was transferred to an LIRR subsidiary called the Long Island Consolidated Electric Companies. The extension of the Huntington Railroad by the LICEC from Huntington to Amityville, was completed and put in operation on August 6, 1909. This line was 18.50 miles in length and reached from the harbor at Huntington to Great South Bay at Amityville, thus transformed Huntington Railroad into the only cross-island trolley on Long Island. Attempts to create other cross-island trolleys by the

South Shore Traction Company The Manhattan and Queens Traction Company, also known as the Manahttan and Queens Transit Company, was a streetcar company operating in Manhattan and Queens County, New York between 1913 and 1937. History The Manhattan and Queens Traction Compa ...

and Suffolk Traction Company failed. Nassau County had trolleys that spanned the county, but they were never run by a single company. From north to south the streets that the railroad ran along included Wincoma Drive, East Shore Drive, New York Avenue, Walt Whitman Road, Amityville Road, Broad Hollow Road, Conklin Street, Main Street (Farmingdale), Broadway, Sterling Place, Greene Street, Bennett Place, Richmond Avenue. Part of the right-of-way in Melville between Duryea Road and north of

Old Country Road Old Country Road is a major east–west thoroughfare through central Nassau County and extending into western Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. It serves many of the major shopping centers in central Nassau County including Rooseve ...

is today a realigned segment of NY 110. The former section is now known simply as Walt Whitman Road. Farmingdale LIRR Station Tower

As a cross-island line, the Huntington Railroad served all three Long Island Rail Road stations in its vicinity: Huntington Station, Farmingdale Station and Amityville Station. A tower at Farmingdale Station was the sub-station for powering trolleys. Between Sterling Place and Greene Street in Amityville, another separate ROW leading to a bridge for trolleys over the

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 ...

existed just along the west side of Amityville Station. In addition, Amityville Station also provided a connection to the Amityville Line of the

Babylon Railroad The Babylon Rail Road was a horsecar line in Babylon Village, New York, later converted to a trolley line. It was opened in 1871 and ceased operations in 1920. The line's main purpose was to provide transportation between the Long Island Rail ...

, which was established in 1910,The 100th Anniversary of the Amityville-Babylon Trolley Line (Amityville Historical Society and Lauder Museum)
and lasted two years after the original line of the Babylon Railroad ceased to operate. Trolley service began to decline at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, due to the cost of the war and the rise in the use of automobiles. Therefore, the LIRR prepared to remove involvement with trolleys. Huntington Railroad service ended on September 23, 1919, however, that was not the end of trolleys in western Suffolk County.

Huntington Traction Company

The Huntington Traction Company was the successor to the Huntington Railroad Company, inheriting the original line between Huntington Railroad Station and

. The company ran the line only as far south as

Jericho Turnpike Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gov ...

South Huntington South Huntington is an affluent hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Huntington in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 9,422 at the 2010 census. Residents have a Huntington Stat ...

, and used the same wires from the Huntington Railroad. Huntington Traction Company only used Wincoma Drive, East Shore Drive, New York Avenue, and Walt Whitman Road along its route. With the increasing use of buses, Huntington Traction couldn't compete either. The line was finally abandoned in 1927.

References

External links

Huntington Traction Company; 1920-1927 (Arrt's Arrchives)
{{NYC streetcar transit Streetcar lines on Long Island Railway companies established in 1890 Railway companies disestablished in 1919 Defunct New York (state) railroads Defunct public transport operators in the United States Companies affiliated with the Long Island Rail Road Transportation in Suffolk County, New York Transportation in Nassau County, New York 1890 establishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1890 1919 disestablishments in New York (state)