RAILFAN GUIDES of the U.S.

 

Todd's Railfan Guide to the
STATEN ISLAND RAPID TRANSIT
Staten Island - New York City NY

 

In General
Map
Signals

Station by Station
History

 


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In General

The title is actually a misnomer today, for the MTA now calls it SIR, or, the Staten Island Railway.  More down in the history section.

For those of you that remember the "good ole days" where the operator was confined to a small cabin on the right side of the car, and you could watch and take pictures out the front of the cars, those days are long gone.  Even in the newer cars which feature a full width cab, and a glass window so you could see forward, they have been covered over.  On one of the trips I took, there was an ever so slight hole in the paper they had the window covered up with, and I was taking pictures thru it..... and somehow, this woman who was riding shotgun in the cab noticed (I guess) the hole getting dark, she opened the door to the cab and told me to stop taking pictures :-(

The following comes from Wikipedia, so not all of it may be entirely true or accurate:  The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority (SIRTOA), publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the only rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, one of five in New York City, NY.  Service on the line is provided 24 hours a day, every day of the year.  It is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service which runs along the western portion of the North Shore Branch is connected to the national railway system.

SIR operates with modified R44 New York City Subway cars, and is run by the New York City Transit Authority, an agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and operator of the New York City Subway.  However, there is no direct rail link between the SIR and the subway system proper.  SIR riders do get a free transfer to New York subway lines, and the line is included on official New York City Subway maps.  Commuters who use the railway typically use the Staten Island Ferry to reach Manhattan; the line is accessible from within the Ferry Terminal.

The Staten Island Railway provides full-time local service between Saint George and Tottenville along the east side of the borough.  The line has a route bullet similar to other subway routes: the letters SIR in a blue circle.  It is used only on timetables and on the MTA's site, not on trains.  The line runs 24 hours a day and is one of only five mass-transit rail lines in the United States to do so (the others being the PATCO Speedline, the Red and Blue Lines of the Chicago 'L', the PATH lines, and the New York City Subway).

On weekdays, express service to St. George is provided between 6:17 AM and 8:17 AM and to Tottenville from 7:06 AM to 8:06 AM and 4:31 PM to 7:51 PM. Morning express trains run non-stop between St. George and New Dorp; afternoon express trains run non-stop from St. George to Great Kills southbound only.  Express service is noted on trains by the presence of a red marker with the terminal and 'express' directly underneath it.

Look for more info on the SIRT here

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Contact info is here

Map

Until I get around to making my own map of the SIR, these will have to do...


Signals


The Staten Island Rapid Transit uses B&O style CPL (color position light) signals.  Why?  At one time, the SIRT was owned by the B&O RR.  Their use in the transit industry is unique, for no-one else in the transit business uses CPL's as their signals.

There was talk years ago, of replacing the signals, but so far, they have not.  Enjoy them while you can, because this may be the only place you can go to see them, once CSX wipes them out of existence on their tracks! :-)

Most, if not all intermediate CPL signals have been removed, the need for them having been replaced by Automatic Train Control.

Pictures of the signals will be featured where they were taken.

The two photos below were found on EBay, for slides that were being sold, sent in by a fellow railfan.  These are probably dated at least to the 50's, before they made the right-of-way grade separated.  The Long Island RR used to have exposed third rails too!


Station by Station


St George
Tompkinsville
Stapleton
the Shops
Clifton
Grassmere
Old Town
Dongan Hills
Jefferson Ave
Grant City
New Dorp
Oakwood Heights
Bay Terrace
Great Kills
Eltingville
Annadale
Huguenot
Prince's Bay
Pleasant Plains
Richmond Valley
Nassau
Atlantic
Tottenville


St George - Ferry Terminal

GPS coordinates: 40.642351, -74.075126  The coordinates are for the entrance to the driveway into the terminal.

        "Underground" at St George

               

                In the yard at St George

        The Terminal

     "Topside" at St George

           Inside the cars

  Comin, n    Goin


Tunnel

Leading into and out of St George is a short tunnel.  From the north end, you cannot get any shots of the portal.  You can get pictures of the southern portal from the sidewalk along Bay St.  Taking a walk from Tompkinsville to St George is a short fun trip, especially if you are into busses.The actual tunnel is in yellow, the rest of the track that is covered up by man made stuff is in red.


Tompkinsville

GPS coordinates: 40.637678, -74.075126

You can get good shots from the overpasses at either end of the station.

      At Tompkinsville, looking north.

Out on the street, near the station:
And, in case you're wondering?  The Bell System is what preceded Verizon by about 30 years, also called "TPC" (the phone company :-).

     


Crossover

In preparation for the MOW lead, there is a crossover on the north, and south sides of the Tompkinsville station, the first Snag is the north crossover.


MOW

GPS coordinates: 40.635685, -74.075612

The SIR MOW (Maintenance-of-Way) facility is just south of the Tompkinsville station.

         


Stapleton

GPS coordinates, Water St end of the station: 40.627289, -74.075073


the Shops

The shops are adjacent to the Clifton station, and you may be able to get some pictures of equipment from the NB, or inbound platform.

           


Clifton

GPS coordinates: 40.621879, -74.071903

Clifton used to be where the branch to South Beach split off.

               


Grassmere

GPS coordinates: 40.603846, -74.083586


Crossover and Siding

To the south of the Grassmere station.


Old Town

GPS coordinates: 40.596071, -74.087797

   

     From the  platform

                  


Dongan Hills

GPS coordinates: 40.588934, -74.096191


Jefferson Ave

GPS coordinates: 40.584160, -74.102714


Crossovers


Grant City

GPS coordinates: 40.579336, -74.109323


New Dorp

GPS coordinates: 40.574096, -74.116586


Oakwood Heights

GPS coordinates: 40.565025, -74.126693


Bay Terrace

GPS coordinates: 40.557022, -74.136373


Great Kills

GPS coordinates: 40.551577, -74.150943


Siding

Just to the south of the Great Kills station.


Crossovers

This set of crossovers is separated by several hundred feet, not their usual style since nothing prevented them from placing them next to each other.  The above siding is also placed here, along with (probably) the newest signal structure on the system.


Eltingville

GPS coordinates: 40.544435, -74.165234

The Bing imagery here suffers a little in detail compared to the rest of their aerials from Staten Island, and because of this, the best view was from the other side, so St George is to the left.


Annadale

GPS coordinates: 40.540652, -74.177658


Huguenot

GPS coordinates: 40.533232, -74.192420


Siding

Just south of the Huguenot station.


Crossover

GPS coordinates:


Siding

Just north of the Prince's Bay station is this siding.


Prince's Bay

GPS coordinates: 40.525273, -74.200768


Pleasant Plains

GPS coordinates: 40.522696, -74.217118


Crossover

First set of crossovers north of Tottensville, between the Richmond Valley and Pleasant Plains stops.


Richmond Valley

GPS coordinates: 40.519695, -74.229199


Nassau

GPS coordinates: 40.517774, -74.238951


Atlantic

GPS coordinates: 40.515470, -74.245501


Tottenville

GPS coordinates: 40.511824, -74.252561


History


USGS Maps from 1897

I always like to start off the history section with the USGS maps, they tell you in pictures what you can't in 1000 words.  These particular Snags come from the 1897 Staten Island quadrangle. 

These maps and more can be found at the University of Texas website here


The northern section of the Staten Island Railway.


Coming in from New Jersey over the Arthur Kill.  How bout that 4x4 crossover over in Elizabeth!
Below, that 4x4 crossover today, from Bing Maps birds eye view... at least they kept the station :-)
To the west, there is still a signal bridge standing that crossed all four tracks, can't tell from the aerial view if the signals are still on it.


Detail of the St George terminal area.


The branch going down to South Beach.


Map from 1952


In General

The following history comes from Wikipedia, and as such, must contain my standard disclaimer: being Wikipedia is what it is, there may be some information which could be incorrect, not true, wrong, or other wise misleading.  Reader beware.  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island_Railway

The least-known borough of New York City is Staten Island. Geographically, Staten Island is much closer to New Jersey than to New York, and until the completion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964 its only direct connection to the rest of New York — city and state — was ferries from St. George, at the north end of the island.

In 1885 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) purchased the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway (SIRT), which had a short line of its own between Tompkinsville and Clifton on the northeast shore of Staten Island and leased the Staten Island Railway, a line from Clifton to Tottenville, at its southern tip. (The railway had been completed in 1860 and was one of Cornelius Vanderbilt's early properties.) B&O's intention was to build freight and passenger terminals on Staten Island; purchase of SIRT gave B&O waterfront property on New York Bay.  SIRT built a line west to the Arthur Kill Bridge in 1889 at the same time the Baltimore & New York Railroad (B&NY), another B&O subsidiary, constructed a connecting line from Cranford Junction on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. SIRT built a short line from Clifton to South Beach in 1892.

In anticipation of a tunnel under the Narrows to Brooklyn and a connection there with the New York subway system, SIRT electrified its lines in 1925 using third rail power distribution and cars similar to those of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT).  The electrification brought no big increase in traffic, and the tunnel was never built.

The timetable for 15 October 1940 shows 248 trains leaving St George each weekday (Mon-Fri): 80 to Tottenville, 4 to Great Kills, 82 to South Beach, 79 to Arlington and 3 to Port Ivory.

In 1944 SIRT purchased property of the B&NY and merged the Staten Railway.  In 1963 the railroad discontinued its ferry service between Tottenville and Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  The terminal at St. George was destroyed by fire in 1946; a modern replacement opened in 1951.

On 1 July 1948 bus fare on Staten Island dropped from 5 cents per zone (20 cents Tottenville to the ferry) to 7 cents for the whole island, or 12 cents including a Manhattan subway ride. In 1947 SIRT carried 12.3 million passengers; in 1948, 8.7 million; in 1949, 4.4 million.

SIRT discontinued passenger service on the lines to Arlington and South Beach on March 31, 1953 because of city-operated bus competition; the South Beach branch was abandoned shortly thereafter while the Arlington branch continued to carry freight.

In October 1957, four years after North Shore Branch passenger trains ended, a train from Washington crossed the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge carrying Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to the Staten Island Ferry for a state visit.

The last railroad crossings were eliminated by 1966, but SIRT continued to lose money.  On January 1, 1970, New York City's lease of the St. George-Tottenville line was terminated; after that date the city reimbursed the railroad for its passenger deficits.  On July 1, 1971 operation of the Tottenville line was turned over to the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, a division of the state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the line itself was purchased by the city of New York. In March 1973 new R44 cars -- the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs -- were pressed into service on the Staten Island line, replacing the PS Standard rolling stock that had been inherited from the B&O and had remained in continuous service since 1925.

Passenger Service

Today, only the north-south Main Line is in passenger service.  The terminal station at St. George provides a direct connection to the Staten Island Ferry.  At St. George there are twelve tracks, only ten of which are presently used for service.  At Tottenville there is a three track yard, with two tracks on either side of a concrete station platform. 

Schedules are made by NYCT's Operations Planning unit. 

The last passenger trains on both the North Shore and South Beach Branches ran on March 31, 1953.  The right-of-way of the South Beach Branch was eventually de-mapped and the tracks have been removed. 

The North Shore and Travis Branches saw freight service temporarily suspended beginning in 1991.  Freight service along the Travis Branch and the westernmost portion of the North Shore Branch was restored by 2007.  Along the remainder of the North Shore Branch, tracks and rail overpasses still exist in some places.  In 2001, a small section of the easternmost portion of the North Shore Branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to provide passenger service to the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees minor-league baseball team; however, this service was discontinued in 2009. 

Plans to reopen the remainder of the North Shore Branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Arlington or Port Ivory, with even the possibility of through service between Arlington/Port Ivory and Tottenville, which the aforementioned Ballpark wye makes feasible (this did not exist prior to the 1953 discontinuance of passenger service on the North Shore Branch).

Freight Service

The railroad was changed to Staten Island Railroad Corporation in 1971.  In 1985 Staten Island Railroad was purchased by the Delaware Otsego Corporation.   Freight traffic dropped off considerably, and the operation ceased in 1991.  The freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway was restored in late 2006, and is operated in part by the Morristown and Erie Railway under contract with the State of New Jersey and other companies.  The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge which transports trains from Staten Island to New Jersey over the Arthur Kill waterway was renovated in 2006 and began regular service on April 2, 2007, 16 years after the bridge closed.  A portion of the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway was rehabilitated, the Arlington Yard was expanded, and 6,500 feet (1,981 m) of new track was laid along the Travis Branch to Fresh Kills.  Soon after service restarted on the line Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007.  On behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation formed an agreement with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Conrail to provide service over the reactivated line to haul waste from the Staten Island Transfer Station and ship container freight from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and other industrial businesses.

FRA Oversight

Unlike PATH, SIR is not under FRA oversight, except for the separate restored freight service.

Physical Plant

In general appearance, the current operating line of SIR looks somewhat like an outdoor line of the New York City Subway.  Since the 1960s it has been grade separated from all roads, but it runs more or less at street level for a brief stretch north of Clifton, between the Grasmere and Old Town stations, and from south of the Pleasant Plains station to Tottenville, the end of the line.  It uses NYC Transit-standard 600 V DC third rail power.  Its equipment is specially modified subway vehicles, purchased at the same time as nearly identical cars for NYCT.  Heavy maintenance of the equipment is performed at the NYCT's Clifton Shops.  Any work that cannot be performed at Clifton requires the cars to be trucked over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to the subway's Coney Island Complex shops in Brooklyn.

The right-of-way also includes elevated, embankment and open-cut portions, and a tunnel near St. George.

Over the years there have been several proposals for connecting the SIR with the subway system (including the incomplete Staten Island Tunnel and a possible line along the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge), as it uses B Division-sized cars and loading gauge, but various economic, political, and engineering difficulties have prevented this from happening.

 


Disclaimers:

I love trains, and I love signals.  I am not an expert.  My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page.  This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.  My webpages are an attempt at putting everything I can find of the subject in one convenient place.  There are plenty of other good websites to help me in this effort, and they are listed in the links section on my indexa page, or as needed on individual pages.  Please do not write to me about something that may be incorrect, and then hound the heck out of me if I do not respond to you in the manner you would like.  I operate on the "Golden Rule Principle", and if you are not familiar with it, please acquaint yourself with how to treat people by reading Mathew 7:12 (among others, the principle exists in almost every religion).  If you contact me (like some do, hi Paul) and try to make it a "non-fun" thing and start with the name calling, your name will go into my spambox list! :-)

Please Note:  Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.

If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct.  Once in a while, an error may creep in, especially if restaurants or gas stations open, close, or change names.  Most of my maps are a result of personal observation after visiting these locations.  I have always felt that a picture is worth a thousand words", and I feel annotated maps such as the ones I work up do the same justice for the railfan over a simple text description of the area.  Since the main focus of my website is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them.  Since most of us railheads don't have just trains as a hobby, I have also tried to point out where other interesting sites of the area are.... things like fire stations, neat bridges, or other significant historical or geographical feature.  While some may feel they shouldn't be included, these other things tend to make MY trips a lot more interesting.... stuff like where the C&O Canal has a bridge going over a river (the Monocacy Aqueduct) between Point of Rocks and Gaithersburg MD, it's way cool to realize this bridge to support a water "road" over a river was built in the 1830's!!!  

My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning.  Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented.  Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost!  I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches.  ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them.  If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads.  Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! BE NICE!!! Contact info is here

Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.

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