Central question?

What daily traffic is seen on the Central? Is it electrified? Back in the 60's, before they electrified the main past Mineola, were the diesels (like the Cannonball) mainly routed via Mineola, Hicksville, Babylon, and Montauk? If not, what was the reason they kept the Central when they picked up the tracks from Bethpage west? Thanks for the knowledge....

equipment trains, freight, occasional scheduled diesel runs... no third rail...

Until 1925, when electrification reached Babylon, the Central branch between Bethpage Jct. and Babylon was relegated to freight service only.

The last passenger service to run between Floral Park and Babylon thru Hempstead Crossing was 1892.

The Central branch between Bethpage Junction and 200 feet west thereof (track connecting to Central branch) was removed in 1925.

The same year, the entire Central Branch between Bethpage Jct and Babylon was rebuilt, with new rails, new ties, reballasted ROW and new signals. It was placed in service on 5/21/25, the same day the first electric train ran into Babylon.

As of that date, passenger trains were again routed along that stretch of track as an alternative to using the Manorville-Eastport branch or routing them along the electrified Montauk branch.

Dave Keller

One note to Daves comments:

The RR fully inteneded to electrify the Central Br. Third rail ties were installed when rebuilt but it never panned out.

Very interesting fact!

Dave Keller

Thank-you Oracle. Flying Tigers Dave, though fighting works pretty good to....

That branch will be most frequently used for freight in the future (Amco Plastics, the bakery off the Wellwood Ave siding, the COD place in Lindenhurst), although you do see the occasional passenger. You usually see 2 trains between 7-8am, one at 11:50am, 1:40pm, 3:30pm, 5:20pm, 6pm, and one around 6:45pm. Times may shift a little due to new schedules, but I live literally 500ft from where the central and the main split off, so I hear what goes on.

The Wellwood siding is also used for storage of equipment (rail trains, the leaf crusher, etc) so sometimes you get the occasional engine, or two, or three, or four laid up there.

thrdkilr:

Oops . . . . .there goes the brain fart again!

I MEANT to write "Flying" Tigers.

Dave Keller

They should electrify it and reopen the South Farmingdale and North Lindenhurst/Breslau stations.

Hey, I used to work for Flying Tigers. They were an all cargo airline bought out by FedEx.

Mike

THESE "Flying Tigers" were a little before your time!

The correction by thrdkilr to my posting was posted under the wrong topic. See: "Jaws (W83) Question" for the correct topic regarding the "Flying Tigers" response.

Dave Keller

Actually Oracle, your both right, the Flying Tigers air cargo company was founded by Bob Prescott, along with several of his flying buddies who all flew in China (over the hump) with the original Flying Tigers....

thrdkilr:

Now that you mention it, I remember reading about that sometime back.

Dave Keller

Some of the 747 freighters were named after the founders with Prescott one of them. I left in 1989 just before the takeover. There was talk once of transloading freight onto rail and of loading trailers to do the same thing. All they needed was a line into JFK!

Mike

well now they got that line with no connections LOL

it woulf be too dangerous to run NYA to jfk unless they get there own ROW.

Macauther can definatly see rail service