Mineola-Garden City Yard in the 70s, 80s and early 90's

[Teutobergerwald]

This yard in the 70s, 80s and early 90s and it's nearby LIRR freight customers are fascinating. The light industry in the area was dying. If anyone has pictures or anecdotes, please share. Most of you have probably seen my anecdote of seeing the Alco C420 228 in the yard, during a snowstorm, with a cut of Penn Central gondolas and El Rexene, WR Grace and American Hoescht covered hoppers, along with a yellow & blue LIRR caboose, during a snowstorm in the mid-80's. There were a few boxcars and reefers spotted on the other yard tracks, too.
I remember, also, seeing MP-15ac #158 sitting in the yard over a matter of days in the late 1991-early 1992 time period, on the closest track parallel to Quentin Roosevelt Blvd., long-hood right by the bumper at Stewart Ave., with its windshield wipers left going. Over the course of a couple of days, with no rain, the wipers melted on the windshields from the friction.

Again, please share anything you guys have on the yard and surrounding LIRR customers BEFORE the somewhat recent castrating of the yard and remaking it into a supply dump for the Signal Department, and the earlier Pataki Administration edict in 1997 that prohibited the New York & Atlantic Railway from trying to obtain business on the Secondary and at the Yard at the behest of the $$$$$$$$$ Garden City $$$$$$$$$$ interests who were appalled by it.

[vince]

A few pics >>===> https://www.trainsim.com/vbts/album.php?albumid=248
and a video I made when I completed the LB Branch >>==> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkJzw0MwL1k
Fresh Pond Video Coal up the hill. >>===> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq8UjULESpk&t=2
Presently I'm working up the OB Branch for the first update to the presently released route. . .

regards,
vince

[RGlueck]

Always interested in sims of the LIRR. Thanks for taking the time to make it happen.

[Sir Ray]

So Vince, virtual reality counts? Ah, what the heck, why not.

Some previous relevant RR.Net threads Thread 1 and Thread 2 (I had to search for them, so they don't quite start at the first post).

For me, I often passed by the yard post 1988 or so, well after it's heyday. I saw covered hoppers for Continental, and recall a short (1 bay?) Airslide covered hopper parked in the yard near the corner of Steward and Quentin Roosevelt for what seemed a few months, but probably was much shorted. A co-worker at a part-time job I had at the time mis-identified this Airslide as a "lonely caboose" (I just told him it wasn't a caboose, and not to wax poetically).
I recall that occasionally boxcars would be spotted along the wall of the brick building on the west of the yard (was that Ethan Allen in the late 1980s? Hampton?).
And I recall in 1990 sitting in the Garden City library when the (American RenFuel at the time then I think) intermodal ash train "thundered" past (I don't think it was going fast, it was just rather loud). Can't recall when the container loader was finally moved from the yard.

[tj48]

For apx 5 yrs in the late '80's I worked in the large white office building just west of the intersection of Stewart and Quentin Roosevelt. I can remember every so often driving up to that intersection and seeing a LIRR C420 with 1 or 2 Reefers in tow coming back from the White Rose warehouse (now a LOWES I believe) waiting for the light to change so it could cross Stewart and enter the yard. I as well can also remember the brief intermodal loading operation using a Piggy Packer of ash containers in the yard.
The only other memory I have of that yard was when I believe the Oyster Bay Railroad museum had a few pieces of it collection (a caboose or 2, a Baggage car and a box car I believe) stored there.

[cr9617]

there's some pictures on this site:

http://www.polar.sunynassau.edu/~fanellis/lirr.html

and

http://www.polar.sunynassau.edu/~fanellis/circus.html

[nyandw]

Sir Ray: Real nice to reference the links and bring this back to life! Here's were I left off on the webpage: http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/centralbranch/lirrcentralbranch.htm to update the industry locations.

I'm sure some updates/corrections are needed...

[vince]

Sir Ray,
When I lived in Rosedale then Elmont I first had S gauge then HO but there was not enough room to build model so in 2001 I started.
It's a real treat to be able to take a heavy coal drag down the grade at Horseshoe working real world train handling physics.

I started the modelling of the Long Island Rail Road 10 years ago slowly adding high detail and (pretty much) exact track work. Everything West of a Mineola - Long Beach line is completed and is freely available at the Trainsim.com file library.
Work is presently in East Williston and progressing north up the OB branch using a brand new Train Simulator Route Editor.
I swear the guy writing this is a frikkin' genius! I worked at IBM 32 yrs and I can say this guy is top of the line.
His new editor ( TSRE5 it's called & freeware by the way ) is a joy to use after suffering 16 years with what was probably the worst software Miscosoft ever released, bar none!

The route is driveable with over 500 track miles installed, using the freeware community developed Open Rails Train Simulator http://www.openrails.org/ ( A Dual Core cpu + high end video needed)

So for me, no space for HO got me into modelling an entire RR. No smashed thumbs or paint under fingernails but the work of virtual modelling is as hard, maybe harder that building the physical HO model. I DID love the feel of holding a favorite engine but laka space rules & so virtual it is.

Best Regards,
vince

[nyandw]

LIRR #156 Central Branch c.1980 Photo: William Madden

1. Help to ID the exact location?


RS1 #463 A&P Garden City Central Extension View E 11/73 Photo/Archive: Art Huneke

It's at the A&P warehouse south of Stewart Ave. and north of the Oak St./Commercial Ave. intersection.
Map: http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/centralbranch/centralextensionMP20USAFXing-MitchelField.jpg



Yes, I know, it's old... Baldwin DS4-4-1000 #450 with a westbound local freight working Garden Secondary Mitchel Field at Washington St., Garden City 7/29/53 (George E. Votava-Mike Boland) Just wanted you all to see one of these Baldwin's in action. The early diesels from the post WW II era steam faze-out.

[Teutobergerwald]

Anybody have pics of the Alco C420's, 222-229, in the yard or on the line????? They were a catch anywhere they were seen outside of Queens prior to 1989. Also, anybody remember when the 224 derailed at the Zeckendorf Blvd. crossing in the mid-'80s? There was a picture and blurb in Newsday, the day after. 224 was headed short-hood first in the picture. Can't find the pic or reference to the incident anywhere.

[freightguy]

I think Servoli foods was the last attempt at freight down there before LIRR threw in the towel. There was a promotional LIRR leaflet about LIRR trying to bring back freight in the early 90's and that was one of the places mentioned. Newsday actually ran a few articles on LIRR attempting to revive rail freight around that time. When NYA took over they showed on News 12 LIRR Nassau freight office in Garden City. Suffolk's was 1633 New highway Farmingdale which is now Coastal. A lot of people think the attempt to boost rail freight was to make it more appealing for a sale. Gallo wines in Syosset came online during that era also around 1994 or so.

[MADDOG]

I think Servoli foods was the last attempt at freight down there before LIRR threw in the towel. There was a promotional LIRR leaflet about LIRR trying to bring back freight in the early 90's and that was one of the places mentioned. Newsday actually ran a few articles on LIRR attempting to revive rail freight around that time. When NYA took over they showed on News 12 LIRR Nassau freight office in Garden City. Suffolk's was 1633 New highway Farmingdale which is now Coastal. A lot of people think the attempt to boost rail freight was to make it more appealing for a sale. Gallo wines in Syosset came online during that era also around 1994 or so.

Gallo wines on Underhill Blvd became Premier wine merchants, then they sold the building to Southern wine and spirits (now Southern Glazer wine & spirits-SGWS). Before it was Premier, it was Star/Major/Selected wines and Spirits who still maintain an office there. I understand that SGWS extended the sidings.
Also, I believe that it is Severoli foods off of the MF secondary, They are still there producing great pasta.
MADDOG

[Norton]

Anybody have pics of the Alco C420's, 222-229, in the yard or on the line????? They were a catch anywhere they were seen outside of Queens prior to 1989. Also, anybody remember when the 224 derailed at the Zeckendorf Blvd. crossing in the mid-'80s? There was a picture and blurb in Newsday, the day after. 224 was headed short-hood first in the picture. Can't find the pic or reference to the incident anywhere.

A search of Newsday's archives yields a reference to a photo of a derailment that fits this description, published on 3/19/86. Unfortunately, the photo is behind a pay wall.

[SwingMan]

I think Servoli foods was the last attempt at freight down there before LIRR threw in the towel. There was a promotional LIRR leaflet about LIRR trying to bring back freight in the early 90's and that was one of the places mentioned. Newsday actually ran a few articles on LIRR attempting to revive rail freight around that time. When NYA took over they showed on News 12 LIRR Nassau freight office in Garden City. Suffolk's was 1633 New highway Farmingdale which is now Coastal. A lot of people think the attempt to boost rail freight was to make it more appealing for a sale. Gallo wines in Syosset came online during that era also around 1994 or so.

Gallo wines on Underhill Blvd became Premier wine merchants, then they sold the building to Southern wine and spirits (now Southern Glazer wine & spirits-SGWS). Before it was Premier, it was Star/Major/Selected wines and Spirits who still maintain an office there. I understand that SGWS extended the sidings.
Also, I believe that it is Severoli foods off of the MF secondary, They are still there producing great pasta.
MADDOG

Just to bring things up to date, the switch to Gallo/Southern was taken out in the Winter/Spring 2016.

[BuddR32]

What part, if any does/did the single track trestle over the Meadowbrook play into this? If that is in fact a railroad trestle.