Pictures from Riverhead (4-06-06)

Uh Oh...the beating of the dead horse is coming back. Some think there is a huge demand for East End train service again.

Jitney bought Sunrise Coach because there was a demand...for busses. The busses can stop where people actually want to get off. The busses can do more than 40MPH all the way out, and can stop at more than a few stops.

Sure, they can build more station platforms, improve the track speed, install signals, for those few weeks a year when the tourists come out.

Here's the question...where's the money coming from?

Jay

Here's the latest update to my LIRR Telegraphic Call Letters Listing which has not yet been posted on my website:

“LD” BLOCK LIMIT STATION RIVERHEAD (S. OF MAIN TRACK, 100’ E.
OF GRIFFING AVE. NAMED IN HON-
OR OF FORMER SUPT. OF TRANSPOR-
TATION LARRY DIXON. IN SVC: 7/1/81)

Dave

A few years back when Riverhead station had its renovation, the waiting room was open during the daytime.
Is this still the case?

Not from what I saw.

While the Riverhead station restoration was a good idea at the time, local dim-witted politics has reared its ugly head.

The station was restored using Federal funds. The restoration was overseen by the LIRR (as the recipient of the funding). Once the station was refurbished, it was to be transferred to the Town of Riverhead (via a lease).

This is where the politics comes in. The station was supposed to be used as the new office of the Riverhead BID (Business Improvement District). I think they were in there less than a week, and grandstanded in the local press that the area was unsafe to work in and subsequently moved out, leaving the building vacant and not accessible to the public, except of course for the drunks and lowlifes that loiter in the area, using the station building as their own personal urinal. It's cleaned up a little from the past, but not much.

Sadly, unless something is done, the building will slowly return to it's pre $800,000 restoration.

Jay

Jay, What can be done with the town of Riverhead leasing or giveing the useage rights to the station to RMLI, I would be an improvement? Has this ever been looked at or discussed?

Not to jump the gun, but come operation wount it make a complete sceen to use the station to buy RMLI tickets and wait for the RMLI and even LIRR trains while the meuseum is open, waiting room hrs are meuseum hrs only?

Maybe you know something more then I in this issue?

I'd like nothing better than to see that wonderful depot building, which, BTW is approaching 100 years old in 2010, be used again as a ticket office, only in the private hands of the RMLI.

What a wonderful picture it paints: Active rides behind a G5s, loading passengers at the depot. Tickets purchased inside. LIRR memorabilia in frames decorating the walls inside. Perhaps turn the old baggage room or signal maintainer's room into a fixed display of sorts.

P.S. I still have the key to the signal maintainer's room, but don't tell anyone!

Dave

Jitney bought Sunrise Coach because there was a demand...for busses. The busses can stop where people actually want to get off. The busses can do more than 40MPH all the way out, and can stop at more than a few stops.

Jay et al, let me set you straight on the Sunrise Coach purchase by the folks at HJ.. As I am quite well connected to Sunrise. (I can confirm that with you offline or ask n2qhvRMLI). Mr. Brown passed away last year. His wife, looking to get out of the business sold the company to the highest bidder (her own family members were not part of this transaction it seems) The rest of the drivers and support staff were left with the choice of working for Hampton Jitney or hit the road.. Literally.

Essentially you have one outfit who as cornered the market for the short-term. Who knows what the lont-term rammifications will be. I can tell you that HJ's operations are in SH and they have no interest in the GY yard that Sunrise has. All buses now run to GY and then deadhead to SH. HJ may move to the crotch of LI.. But that remains to be seen. Maybe NF Express will jump in? who knows.

Did you know that every American Business is socialist? Whenever there is a problem they want Uncle Sam to bail their asses out. Railroads did it with Amtrak, Airlines did it with security (although that took an act of unbelievable sh%&^t to cause that to happen) what's next? Maybe the government will takeover the government?

Now. I grew up around Sunrise bus..I've washed buses, fueled, oiled, cleaned buses, swept, dumped toilets, read instruction manuals, mopped, played hostess with the mostess, handled bags etc anything short of driving the actual bus. Thanks to my close connection, i can tell you that the majority of the passengers on those buses went straight to Greenport and went to SI to eat at the Pequat or something and.. in most cases arrived around the same time that the 40-mph bus did. Mr. Brown was also subsidized by the MTA to provide the NY line in leu of the real sh**ty train service that the State has been providing since 1968. Now whatever your feelings maybe for working for a "corporation" making a modest or meager living from its franchise it has from Uncle Pataki, or the current social ills of our time, or the lack of investment in the MOW plant east of KO is.. there is a market for east end rail service. just the other day my best friend and his wife came to my house to meet me in Manhattan to see the John Stewart show. Guess what.. they had to drive to KO, park in a muddy field and then take the RR to Penn.

My connection now drives the S92 and daily has packed buses heading to Hamptons so that all those Hamptonites whether they be native or foreign can have green grass on their lawns or pretty flowers in their driveways. I live in Woodside now and hate using my car to head east but thanks to the "no east end market" i am forced to take my life (and my wife's) into my own hands (literally).. All I ask for is that the LIRR get its head out of its ass and get some RDC's (hey NJT has got them on the RiverLine another route that has no market for 40mph trains)and provide some Goddamn decent rail service and quit jerking us NY'ers off. I'm sick of Duh "not in our core market" Moody telling me there isn't enough equipment either. That's his problem.. not ours. They run the trains. If I told my boss that I couldn't get to work 'cause there were not enough subway cars for me to get on to get to work, my ass would be fired.

As Stan Lee says.. Nuff Said!

Just to followup on a few issues brought up.

The issue of "beating the dead horse" over poor east end service will NEVER stop, until we finally get a common sence level of service, PERIOD!

As far was where the money for this would come from, HELLO, we the residents of the 5 east ends towns pay the same extra mortgage recording tax to fund MTA operations, just like all home buyers in Nassau and Suffolk. We are not getting back anywhere near what we put in.

The Riverhead Station building was SUPPOSED to be leased by now to the Long Island Wine Council for it's headquarters. The LIWC wanted this site in part since folks could take the train out, detrain at Riverhead, and take winery tour vans from the center. The latest word from thr wine council is the whole thing is a red tape nightmare, and the LIRR has commented that having the LIWC at the Riverhead station would put pressure on them to improve service.

Yes, ridership on the S-92 Bus continues to set records and the busses are SRO during the morning and evening peak. I guess this is something that "in-islanders" can't seem to fathom.

The North Fork Express bus service from NYC, Ronkonkoma to Greenport and Orient, starts up for '06 on April 15. With Sunrise gone, this year more people will no doubt use NFE, as the loyalty to Sunrise is gone.

Hampton Jitney is set to redo the entire schedule effective 5/4/06 (right now they are following the Sunrise schedule to the letter), it will be interesting to see what they come up with.

Meanwhile as the last poster commennted the LIRR continues to have it's head up it's butt when it comes to East End service.

Ken

Hi Ken,

Didn't know there was a town called Peconic. But, you reminded me of a major issue that is perpetually rolling around in deep Suffolk County. And, that is whatever happened to the bid to make a Peconic County ??? Is that running into the same problems that the bid out here to make a San Fernando Valley County, from the huge Los Angeles County ??? Is the issue still alive ???

Yes, there is a hamlet called Peconic, we are part of Southold Town located between Cuthogue hamlet and Southold village. Peconic WAS a station along the main line until the 1970's.

The Peconic County intiative comes up from time to time (after a big push the late 70's). One problem is that many of the 2nd home owners, and newer full time residents never heard of it. I do have a Peconic County bumper sticker on my car.

I personally would love to see it happen.

Ken

well Jay, how much do you think it will take for the MTA to start the "abandon LD-east" talk again?

As far as the station, it would make a terrific point to buy tickets and look at memorabilia from the history of LIRR. The whole area would benefit, my only reservation would be that vandals would terrorize the building and its contents.

Abandon "east of LD" will never happen. It's just a political bargaining chip to get more money from the state or elsewhere. It's a hollow threat...but Snewsday will pick up on any mention of it right away.

The Peconic County initiative has close to the same mentaility that the "adding more service to the East End" has. This isn't meant to be a slight on anybody, but essentially it's the same.

Many on the East End feel that they are not getting their fair share of their tax money. There is a perception that all of the funding goes to Western Suffolk, and they're left holding the bag.

What they don't realize is the majority of the population in the county lives in Western Suffolk, which is where most of the resources wind up being spent - the same that can be said about LIRR train service. The money has to be spent where it can do the most public good. If you had $50 million to spend, would it be worthwhile to work on a project that benefits 50,000+ riders (like a third track on the Main Line to Hicksville), or spend it on improving the Greenport Scoot, which might impact a few hundred people?

Every time the Peconic County issue comes up, people realize what is involved in building a new layer of government....more government buildings, more government employees, more government services. This equals more taxes. When it's phrased like that, the answer is always no.

Let's put a ballot initiative up next year for the people to vote on:

Do you support a project to improve train service east of Ronkonkoma? If you check yes, you vote to spend $30 million to improve service and agree to raise your property taxes by $8,000 per year to cover the cost.

Put like this, I (and most residents) would drive or take the bus.

Jay

That is a shame about the station building. I never got to go inside of it. Riverhead and Greenport are the only real station buildings left on that line.

Do the train crews use the Riverhead Station building when the midday train lays up at Riverhead?
I know they do at Greenport. The railroad maintains a crew lounge for the trains at Greenport in the station building. I was wondering if it's the same at Riverhead? Do the train crews have keys to go inside? Do they use the building?

Because of RMLI there, something should be done to keep the condition of the station building in good condition. Yes, it is a shame to see those loiterers there. It just doesn't make the area look good.