Electrified tracks to LIC?

Been going in and out of Long Island City lately, and taking Borden Ave past the yards/station, etc...

I can't help but notice though, that the tracks coming in from Hunterspoint Ave across Borden, and that go along the southern end of the LIC yard, are electrified. The third rail looks rusty though, as if a train hasn't utilized it in a while. None of the electrified tracks make the LIC platforms.

Why are these there? Obviously all revenue service to LIC and HPA are bi-levels. Was there something that needed to be moved there and stored at some point?

There were some trains that used Hunterspoint as their terminal that were made up with M-1's and M-3's
and would layup at LIC yard. Some of the sets would Deadhead back to Jamaica or to Hillside.

An MU comes to LIC twice daily . One in the AM rush and one in the PM rush. And sometimes it does come in on track 9 which does have a platform.

And let's remember that there was a time when all of LIC and the entire Lower Montauk Branch, both tracks, were electrified.

Why was it removed?

After the construction of Penn Station, the Lower Montauk was relegated to mostly freight traffic and that traffic was very heavy. Since the LIRR formerly used DD1 electric engines on its freights, virtually all freight lines and sidings in electric territory were equipped for third rail. With the replacing of the DD1s with steam and diesel power, the third rail was no longer needed for freight operation. It was removed from sidings and the Lower Montauk and the supplies used elsewhere by the then-bankrupt carrier.

See: http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirrhi ... ssonJr.pdf for more electrification routes and info.

Hmm, weird - I remember trying to follow the third rails best I could (as best I could while driving along Borden anyway) and thought they followed the southernmost parts of the yard (track 1-2 perhaps)

Which rush hour trains are electric? I've only ever seen bi-levels in LIC, especially at the platforms. Bonus was I was over there early Friday afternoon and was treated to a full yard

I'm out that way again on Wednesday night so I'll sneak another peek in the yard.

9 thru 12 Track in the yard are electrified (southernmost)

The 1935 timetable shows DC third rail on the Montauk from Fresh Pond to Babylon; the 1938 says no third rail west of Jay. Anyone seen a pic of third rail west of Jay?

Comb Arrt's Archives, if anyone has it, his site would. I kinda sorta remember a page from his site about the Glendale Cut-off, where the Lower Montauk intersected with the Rockaway Beach Branch. That would have pics of the third rail in that area. What they call "10 Extension" at Jay has third rail now, I remember a co-worker saying they pulled the third rail that went west a train length and also on the Westbound Montauk ("Old Montauk" across from the Yard Office) back in '82. This was to facilitate MU lay-ups when they stashed equipment all over Jamaica in the pre-Westside days.

For anyone else looking...

http://arrts-arrchives.com/glendale1.html about half way down the page shows newly installed third rail at Glendale Station circa 1928

#1621, the 06:50 Huntington to Hunters Point is M7's
#2068, the 17:29 Hunters Point to Ronkonkoma is M-7's, and begins its trip in LIC.
Neither has a passenger stop at LIC.

When I lived in LIC, they would occasionally use the same set of equipment for both runs, and lay it up in LIC yard for the day. More often, the EMU set would head back east in the morning, and the equipment for KO would arrive in the afternoon around 16:30-17:00 or so.

There were two or three times that "incident" cars that were diverted to LIC and the pair would spent 3 or 4 days there while they got CSI'd, or whatever is done in such cases.
Then there was the night when #2068 derailed and blocked the entire yard from that point on, that was bad times, bad times...