The Manhattan Beach Branch, Manhattan Beach Line, or Manhattan Beach Division was a line 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, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

, running from

Fresh Pond, Queens Fresh Pond was a small middle class neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, separated from Juniper Valley by the Lutheran and Mount Olivet cemeteries. In present day, it is now considered part of the surrounding neighborhoods of ...

, south to

Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn Manhattan Beach is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, by Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Sheepshead Bay on the north, and Brighton Bea ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It opened in 1877 and 1878 as the main line of the New York and Manhattan Beach Railway. The tracks from Flatbush south to Manhattan Beach were removed from 1938 to 1941, while most of the rest is now the freight-only

Bay Ridge Branch The Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in New York City. It is the longest freight-only line of the LIRR, connecting the Montauk Branch and CSX Transporta ...

. At Manhattan Beach, the line extended east to Oriental Beach, and a branch to the

Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Y ...

was provided north of

Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...

. Other lines in the Manhattan Beach Division included the West Brighton Beach Division (Culver Line),

, and

Evergreen Branch The Evergreen Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) that ran in Brooklyn and part of Queens in New York City. The line, at its fullest extent, ran between Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Ridgewood, Queens. The line consisted of two ...

History

Planning for a line to

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...

began in 1870 by the New York and Hempstead Plains Railroad (which built the

Southern Hempstead Branch The Southern Hempstead Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road from Valley Stream to Hempstead. It was established in 1870 and abandoned in May 1879, and is not the same route as the current West Hempstead Branch. History Hempstead res ...

from

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, ...

to Hempstead). By 1873, the line was to run from Bay Ridge to

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough li ...

, where it would join the LIRR's

Atlantic Avenue Division 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 a ...

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 Hispa ...

. The

panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...

struck after much work had been done in grading the new line.

Incorporation

The New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica Railroad was incorporated on November 20, 1875, to complete the work and operate the line to Jamaica, using the

Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad The BMT Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is served by the ...

(Canarsie Line) from New Lots to East New York and the LIRR Atlantic Avenue Division to Jamaica. The first piece, from the Bay Ridge Ferry (to

South Ferry, Manhattan South Ferry is at the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City and is the embarkation point for ferries to Staten Island (Staten Island Ferry, through the Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal) and Governors Island. Battery Park, abutting S ...

) to the crossing of the

Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Railroad The West End Line or New Utrecht Avenue Line was a surface transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, running along New Utrecht Avenue and other streets between Coney Island and Sunset Park. Built by the Brooklyn, Bath and Coney I ...

(West End Line) at

New Utrecht New Utrecht ( nl, Nieuw Utrecht) was a town in western Long Island, New York encompassing all or part of the present-day Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York Cit ...

, opened on August 23, 1876. Trains were operated over the BB&CI to

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

via

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...

from this junction. Banker

Austin Corbin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

incorporated the New York and Manhattan Beach Railway on October 24, 1876, to build a branch of this line to Manhattan Beach and extend it beyond East New York to Greenpoint and Hunter's Point. Corbin gained control of the New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica Railroad on November 15, 1876. The NY&MB bought the eastern half of

from the town of

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...

and renamed it Manhattan Beach. The NYBR&J built the line from Bay Ridge east to New Lots, while the NY&MB built from Manhattan Beach north to the NYBR&J at Manhattan Beach Junction and from New Lots north to East New York on the west side of the Canarsie Line. The new

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

system opened to terminals at Bay Ridge and East New York on July 18, 1877, concurrently with the Manhattan Beach Hotel and the

New York and Sea Beach Railroad The BMT Sea Beach Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT division of the New York City Subway, connecting the BMT Fourth Avenue Line at 59th Street via a four-track wide open cut to Coney Island in Brooklyn. It has at times hosted the fastes ...

. (The NY&MB leased the NYBR&J.) The Glendale and East River Railroad was incorporated on March 26, 1874, to build a narrow gauge line from Greenpoint east to

Glendale, Queens Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven to the south, and Middle Village to the north. Glendale was built on a ...

, and was also acquired by Corbin in November 1876. The line north from East New York to Jefferson Street was built by the NY&MB under the charter of the

(Canarsie Line), which gave its right to construct an extension to Hunter's Point to the NY&MB. The rest from Jefferson Street to Greenpoint was built by the G&ER and leased by the NY&MB. This extension beyond East New York to Greenpoint opened at the beginning of the season on May 16, 1878. The Kings County Central Railroad was incorporated in 1877 by Electus B. Litchfield and Austin Corbin to build a narrow gauge line from

downtown Brooklyn Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is known for its office and r ...

via the east side of Prospect Park to a connection with the NYBR&J east of Manhattan Beach, and to be leased by the NYBR&J. The line, operated by the NY&MB as its Prospect Park Division (along with the Bay Ridge and Greenpoint Divisions), was opened June 29, 1878, to Prospect Park, but was a failure and closed for good at the end of the 1878 season. The Eastern Railroad of Long Island was organized on November 28, 1878, to build a line from

on the NY&MB east via Woodhaven, Clarenceville,

, Springfield, Woodsburgh,

East Rockaway East Rockaway is a village in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 9,818 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of East Rockaway is at the edge of Rockaway Peninsula Proper in th ...

Christian Hook Christian Hook (born 1971) is a Gibraltarian contemporary artist. Hook was born in Gibraltar in 1971. He studied illustration at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom, and then worked as a part-time lecturer at the Royal College of Art in ...

, Freeport, Merrick, and

South Oyster Bay South Oyster Bay or East Bay is a lagoon

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

in competition with the LIRR's Southern Railroad Division. Corbin, who owned a summer house near Babylon, put up the money to build the road, which was also planned to cross the South Bay near

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 ...

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lon ...

Post-incorporation

Corbin acquired a controlling interest in the Long Island Rail Road on November 29, 1880 and became

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

on January 1, 1881. In December 1881, the LIRR leased the NY&MB and NYBR&J as the Manhattan Beach Division, with plans to change it to and build connections to the

and

Montauk Division 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. Howeve ...

. The lines from East New York to Manhattan Beach and Bay Ridge were converted to after the 1882 season, and the Long Island City and Manhattan Beach Railroad (incorporated February 24, 1883) built a connection from the new Cooper Avenue Junction north to another new junction, Fresh Pond Junction, on the Montauk. Trains began running from

Flatbush Avenue Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which connects Brooklyn to the R ...

to Manhattan Beach via the Atlantic Avenue Division on May 30, 1883, and from

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

via the Montauk Division on June 2, 1883. For the 1884 season (opened May 29), the double-track

line between East New York and Greenpoint was replaced with a single

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

track. 1885 was the last year that trains ran to Greenpoint, and the line between Greenpoint and the Bushwick Branch crossing was abandoned in October; they started using Bushwick instead in the 1886 season. Passenger trains stopped serving the line, later the Evergreen Branch, to Bushwick in 1894. Neck Road LIRR jeh

The New York, Bay Ridge and Jamaica Railroad, New York and Manhattan Beach Railroad, and Long Island City and Manhattan Beach Railroad merged on August 27, 1885 to form the New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach Railway. This company was merged into the LIRR on June 19, 1925, and the Glendale and East River Railroad was absorbed in 1928.

Closure and post-closure

The line south of Manhattan Beach Junction was upgraded to a

grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tr ...

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

shared with the Brighton Beach Line during 1907-1909. A

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

prohibition on

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

wagering Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

and the decline of the more upscale resorts on Coney Island, combined with more direct and lower-priced competition from nearby

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

and

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

lines, led to a rapid decline in the Manhattan Beach's economic viability. Passenger service ended completely in 1924, and freight ended in 1935. On May 17, 1937, the LIRR applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission for permission to abandon the line. In 2011, the long abandoned right-of-way of the New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan Beach Railway was subject to legal action by some homeowners living adjacent to its route in Sheepshead Bay, who wanted to acquire undisputed title to it.

List of stations

References

External links

Long Island Railroad Evergreen Branch (ForgottenNY.com)
{{LIRR Long Island Rail Road branches Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn Railroads on Long Island Transportation in Brooklyn Railway lines opened in 1877 1877 establishments in New York (state)