LIRR Freight on the Buswick Branch

Can anyone tell me what was the regular motive power used on the Bushwick Branch in the 80's and 90's? number of cars in average consist??

Was every crossing protected by gates up till 90-91?

And were the gates connected to a track circuit or knife switch operated?

I saw the remains of a shanty at the entrance to Bushwick Yard, and the silver boxes at Morgan and Varyck, but am curious as to how things were done before the branch was condemned and then handed over to NYAR.

Thanks

Switch..I remember track circuit activated bells on the crossings. The time period you are reffering to..the motive power was like now, SW's and 1500's. Their major customer was Star Recycling which is now yours too I suppose. It's been awhile but I think it was once a day sometimes twice depending on the moves needed. The track was in horrible condition but they rehabilitated it somewhat in the early 90's under the direction of Dan Cleary because they wanted to expand the garbage move from Star.

Does that old lady who lived in the house next to the tracks still come out and wave to the guys?

Unfortunately "Grandma" was put in a home in 2004. I believe Alztheimer's got the better of her.

That crossing is known on our property as Grandma's House. I had seen her wave from the front door and off the back porch on several occasions. I believe she lived there all her life as she had spoken to coworkers about remembering Steam on the branch.

Nowadays we have nightly run-ins not literally...yet, with trucks from Featherstone Bakery, the building next door to her house. These guys like to park fouling or sometimes completely across the grade crossing. Its amazing how they are all attitude till the moment you take out a pen and paper to copy their plate #'s, then they amazingly realize they are in the wrong and become apologetic!!

Did the LIRR ever use the last group of Alco C420's on the Bushwick Branch?

I first worked the branch in daylight in 1973 when I could choose to revert back to brakeman whenever I chose.
The first time I went down with the crew, I asked the conductor who the woman was that was out in the street.
Flushing Ave. had a circuit about ten feet from the crossing making it necessary to come to a stop before moving across.
The short circuit allowed us to switch the old Welbilt siding with the switch right AT the crossing.
At the time, crossing watchmen were employeed to operate the manual crossing gates but they were advised of traffic coming with track circuits and a bell ringing in thier shanty.
Several years later, the watchmen were replaced with automatic gates.
Flushing Ave gates went down as did the next crossing so we didn't want to foul the circuit for too long.
The circuit for Metropolitan Ave was seperated.
If we were rolling right through, the circuit was back by the switch that led to Standard Paper Bag.
If we were to stop for coffee on Met Ave, or on the way back had to switch "The Bag", we could key a device at the clearance point of "The Bag" and the gates would go up.
We could then approach Met. Ave. and stop or set cars out towards Met. Ave.
To cross Met. Ave. another circuit was about five feet from the street so we could put the gates down when we wanted to cross.
Woodward Ave. was on the same circuit, so if we had to switch the lumber yard (Feldman?) we had to drop our train east of Metropolitan to clear the circuit up the hill.
Varick had no gates.
The crossing was protected by the crew as were the crossings leading to the old Evergreen.
Morgan Ave had a circuit and a runaround track that held nine (40') cars.
I left the extra list around 1983 to work in the Jamaica and LIC areas before I settled down in Holban Yard in 1988, so I don't know much that happened down there after that.