Wheel Spur Yard

Being laid for a week or so, I'm doing alot of 'surfing'! While on Arthur Huneke great LIRR site, I came upon some photos showing Wheel Spur Yard in Long Island City. Seems to be near the Montauk Cut Off. Next to the Dutch Kills swing bridge. The photos are from 1955, so the area has changed a real lot! But, still I can't put the location, though I think on the spot is a junk yard now. Can't find a map with the yard on it and also why was it called "Wheel Spur Yard"? Maintenance of passenger equipment? I 'm asking for some help with this. Dave? Thanks.

Mike

can you post a link to those photos?

i've seen that yard on old maps. present day it is where the fresh direct warehouse and several other businesses are. I forget offhand what it was used for.

A few years back I was in the lot west of the draw bridge. the warehouse there was abandoned at the time and lettered as 'montauk steel'. between that warehouse and the one to the left you could still see what I believe was an old track that was part of the yard, which dead ended at either building, running east/west.

I hope nobody caught my error in grammer, I'm laid UP for awhile. anyway here's a link:


http://arrts-arrchives.com/101655.html

Mike:

I was gonna say . . . . . . you lucky devil you!



Well . . . . . back to REAL stuff!

Let’s see what I can do for you.

Why was it called Wheelspur Yard? No idea. Perhaps someone’s name, such as the Ringhouse Siding at Patchogue. Ringhouse had nothing to do with a ring or a house, but was named after a foreman on the LIRR named Ringhouse.

Wheelspur Yard was located south of Borden Avenue and west of Dutch Kills Creek and Montauk Iron & Steel Co. One of the yard’s tracks went into the steel warehouse.

The lead to the yard curved northeastwards off the Montauk branch just east of the Manhattan Avenue bridge and the Yardmaster’s office.

The yard was in use from 1939 until 1955 to store PRR and Pullman equipment.

“WS” block limit station opened in June, 1939 and was out of service by 1943. It was placed back in service at a later date, then moved 100’ east of its former location on 6/22/53. It was place permanently out of service on 8/12/58.

The yard consisted of a number of tracks with platforms and a number of Pullman Co. yard buildings south of Borden Avenue and north of the tracks as well as four (4) old Pullman cars used as crew lockers and parked on two dead-ended tracks.

Four (4) tracks curved to the north beyond Montauk Iron & Steel, somewhat paralleling the creek, dead-ending on the west side of the creek at the Montauk Cutoff tracks. These were used to park Pennsy steam locomotives used to provide steam heat to the cars stored in the Wheelspur Yard. The last of the Pennsy steam (K4s) was returned to the parent road late in 1951.

The yard was no longer used after 1955 and the yard buildings, etc. were removed.

The yard itself was removed in 1958.

Dave Keller

(Laid for a WEEK???) ~8-O

The L1s in the photo from 1955 on Art Huneke's website were no longer used for active train service, only steam heat.

The last of the PRR-leased train service locomotives were returned to the PRR in late 1951.

Dave Keller

I picked up on it. My first reaction was "Damn...A whole week!!!"

Jay

I said the same thing..wow! All week!

The last of the few remaining tracks were torn up in the last year or two.

When I ride up with the Change of Engines on this branch I think of it as the "land that the time forgot". It is amazing what LIRR history is in this figurativly small rundown area.

The LIRR lore in this entire area from my yard to the freight operations is fascinating. From Bliss Tower to Arch Street and everywhere in between.

LIC was once THE major terminal of the LIRR (with a connection to our ferries) bigger than Penn and Jamaica. I feel like I'm walking around history every day.

Yeah, you're right. I should be so lucky, glad my wife doesn't read this stuff!
Thanks, Dave!!! I know you'd have the answer. I thought it was a Pennsy yard. I agree, this area just won't let time erase it. I try to explore more and more of it when I can usually bringing young Joe with me. I now know where it was, Fresh Direct now parks their trucks in the lot. The history bug has bitten me again big time. I'll go back there when I get better, but I still can't walk all over, that's why I have Joe with me! Just kidding, pal. I search, he photographs. We're a great team. Thanks all for the input.

Mike

Mike,

It seems as if every time we visit that area, we find something new. Like last week, the track that would have went around the curved building next to Hunterspoint Avenue station. That was pretty interesting invisioning a steam engine or an RS1 shoving a car back down there. It's stuff like this that keeps me interested. Gotta love it!

Joe

You're welcome, Mike.

Glad I could be of help.

I can't imagine how the area must have changed from years past!

Can you just imagine the hustle and bustle when that yard was full of passenger cars and Pullmans; when those trains were being pulled in and out of the yard, intermingling with all the other LIRR LIC passenger rail traffic and freight moves to all the sidings in the area?

Then there were those Pennsy locomotives chuffing away to provide steam heat to the stored cars.

Wow! I just can't visualize it!

Dave

Dave,

As you can't imagine today's view, I can't imagine yesterday's. Just past the Montauk Cutoff trestle on Borden Ave., Fresh Direct has a billboard that is one huge TV screen for their products! Everywhere I look around there I see some part of the past. It saddens me to think of what was. I am so gratefull for people like yourself, Art and others who have saved pictures and share them and memories with us.

Mike

Mike, The commercials tell you to see a doctor if that Viagra alternative keeps you up for four hours.
A whole week. WOW!!
Meanwhile, back to basics.
From what I had heard about the wheel spur, the yard was used to make up long distance PRR trains.
LIRR crews made up these trains and when needed would take them into Sunnyside and turn them over to the Penn crew.
Emfinite, I think that you are referring to the lead into Murer’s siding.
That track led off the wash track, next to HP station and I don’t believe that an RS1 would have been permitted into the area. We always had an S1 or later EMD 1000 class.
I don’t know what class of steam would have serviced the sidings back there.
I don't know if the C51, 0-8-0, could have handled that curve.

JJ. Nice to hear from you and I wish I had THAT problem. Amazing there is no mention of the workings of this yard in any book. I thought all PRR passenger cars were handled only in Sunnyside. Looks like this was a job of many moves to get the cars into Penn Station. Where the steam engines still there when you worked there? If so, I guess they were coal burners, so did they get refueled by crane or were they towed to Morris Park? Thanks.

Mike

Now, ladies and gentlemen ... JJ Earl was a BIG part of the LIRR-LIC history. As a brand new wet behind the ears Yardmaster I can't tell you how much I learned from him the few times I was able to work down here.

Well JJ , I made it to #2 on the roster, and guess what job I own? Why don't you come down and visit the boys sometime soon, we'd love to see you.

I correspond with Harry O. from time to time to let him know how it's going here in LIC/HPA.