LIRR to the beach?

Noel Weaver wrote:You will get what you pay for, the best is far east. Montauk has a
beautiful beach maybe a twenty minute walk or a little more from the
station or you can probably get a taxi too. I am not sure about the
Hamptons, I have been to the beach at Montauk many years ago but I
have not been to the beaches in the Hamptons in season.
It appears that the fare to/from Montauk is just slightly more than double
the fare to Long Beach but the distance is way more than twice the
distance to Long Beach. Approximate distance New York - Long Beach
25 or 26 miles, New York - Montauk 116 miles. If you are going to ride
the LIRR, get your money's worth, ride to Montauk, you won't be sorry.
Noel Weaver

Noel you are correct Montuak has excellent public beaches, but Jones Beach and Long Beach are excellent as well. Keep in mind that if you starting from Penn Station
and want to spend the day at the beach you will spend approximately six hours of that day on the train if you decide to go to Montauk (approx 3hrs each way). If you choose decide to go to Long Beach or Jones Beach instead you will spend about 2 hrs on the train for the round trip. Which is why my family and I go to Long Beach. The only time we go to Montauk is if we are to staying 2-3 days.

NIMBYkiller wrote:I would do it the reverse. Take the Long Beach train that goes non-stop from NYP to Long Beach, and then going home, take the A

There's a 1-stop train (Stops at Jamaica/Train #6861) that leaves Long Beach at 5:05 and arrives Penn Station at 5:50. It makes 1 stop but is that really gonna kill you? But that train might be a little extra crowded because it has a connection to Flatbush Ave. (Which was this lines main terminus until a couple of years ago. But if you want to get a seat arrive at the station a little early. But a thing I didn't like about the Long Beach station when I went (1998) was that there was like this really loud horn thing & it was annoying but I dunno if it still exists today.

Didn't realize he was intending on heading back late. And 9:55 is VERY good for LIB. Most routes end around 8. Still, I see what you're saying.


Guest, do you mean a siren? Lots of towns on LI have them. A certain number of blasts on that horn gives a certain message. Something like 4 shorts means a fire and all volunteers are needed. Another number means no school....the list goes on and on. That's the closest thing I can guess to a horn at the train station without actually going there.

Or do you mean the trains? I know in Port Washington, the trains sometimes blow the horn.

IIRC NIMBY Killer is right, that was a siren you probably heard.

Fire dept sirens are still all over LI. They generally blow once at high noon to test the systems.

I'm guessing some were salvaged from Civil Defense uses. I wonder if any of the Shoreham sirens were ever recycled into fire dept use (nuclear power plants in the US have to have a system of emergency warning sirens around them.)?

the Shoreham sirens were larger and a bit louder than the normal sirens used around here. like the railroad horns and airports, public outcry has reduced the usage of sirens in many fire departments. most dont use it after 8 or 9pm unless half the town is burning. people who buy houses near train tracks, and complain about train noise, who buy houses near airports and complain about jet noise, also buy near fire stations, and complain about sirens. Montauk is probably the nicest beach you will see, and the train ride is awesome. I would do that if it were my choice.

by the way, the sirens evolved from bells, and prior to the use of radio pagers. they live on due in part to tradition, and in part because it does bring more firefighters out to alarms.

Not to get too far off topic here. Most fire sirens sound for 3 types of alarms: fire, rescue and 12 noon test. Most sirens were turned off when we (firefighters) recieved personal pagers. Then insurance reasons made the sirens go back on.

Mike

My favorite siren was eight short blasts at 7 a.m. - NO SCHOOL

i know mike Off topic... but our sirens went back when the guys in my department complained they werent hearing calls. It lives on... my neighbors complain... its music to me.. it makes me my namesake...

I just took one of the LIRR's One Day Getaway trips. It was great!
Go to the MTA/LIRR website and look at the One Day Getaway packages.

Which one did you do?


And a side note...I love having the horns. It reminds me of what time it is. Atleast in Port Washington, we have horns at noon and 6pm. Then there's the favorite but EXTREMELY rare no school horn, which here is at about 6. It's perfect for me cuz that's when I'd have to get up for school.

So yeah, njgrptfan...which trip did you do?

NIMBY - I did the Montauk Lighthouse trip with a buddy of mine.
Train left Penn @ 7:48AM, change at Jamacia to a Diesel, pulled into Montauk @ 10:52. There was about 50 or so of us on the tour. Switch to an air conditioned bus @ Montauk. They gave us about 2 hrs. to walk around the village, meet back @ 1:15, busses then take you to the lighthouse for 2 hrs. Then around 3:30 the busses left for Gosman's dock for an awesome seafood dinner. Meet back @ 5pm for the ride back to Montauk Station. Train left @5:39PM, arrived 8:37 Penn.
It was like $44. dollars which included the round trip fare, all busses and lighthouse admission. The railroad provides you with a tour guide that meets you @ Jamacia and stays with the group the whole trip.
It was well worth it. I totally reccomend it. Hope to go on another one, I would even do that same one again.

I've always heard good things about Gosman's, but I like going Fluke Fishing, getting my catch filleted, then bringing it down to the Chinese restaurant in town where they cook it for ya. MMMMM.

Sounds like an increadible deal though. I might do the one for Splish Splash. LIRR to Ronkonkoma, North Fork Express shuttle to Splish Splash.

Sounds like fun, Will probably do one with the family after the NY Bar exams at the end of the month.