Richmond Hill Disaster

I can see this in my head, how ever elabrate more on the trolly, where did it ecatly corss the west hempstead branch? was the west hempstead branch further west then it is today? im missing something with that, I know franklin ave, and Hicks st.

the curretn station is between thoes 2 streets today, with the team yard as you said West of rockaway ave. so i can see the origional station was where the ramp is going up to the team yard or therebouts.

I need to draw this out interesting facts.

There's quite a bit much here to try to explain verbally and attempt to visualize it. All I can say is that Valley Stream was one helluva busy place when at grade and I wish I was there with a camera!!!!!!!!!!

I can send you a photocopy of each map showing before elimination with trolley (2 maps) and after elimination (2 maps)

Contact me off-forum at: [email protected]

Dave

learning a lot in this thread!


I love learning about hte way things were. That explanation about hte gauntlet track is amazing. Is it used anywhere else today in the world?

Dave, loved reading about the troley that went down rte 110. I still cant believe it!

sorry about that tangent!

Cross Island Railroad: Curved into Amityville Station, over the trestle over the LIRR tracks then along Rt. 110, with a spur along Conklin St. into Farmingdale Station (with power plant attached), and a spur into Huntington station. Then on to end of track at the Halesite car barn.

I have a negative of the trolley ROW (gone) viewed under the Long Island Motor Parkway trestle (gone) crossing Rt. 110 when it was a one lane road in each direction. You can see the trolley wire connections in the bridge.

Dave

P.S. Before the Amityville grade elimination, the pedestrian crossover at the station was the trestle portion of the Cross Island's trolley trestle with the approaches removed and stairs added! Tracks were still visible in the nearby streets in the mid-1970s! How 'bout that trivia! DK

gaunt·let also gant·let
n.
1. A form of punishment or torture in which people armed with sticks or other weapons arrange themselves in two lines facing each other and beat the person forced to run between them.
2. The lines of people so arranged.
3. An onslaught or attack from all sides: “The hostages... ran the gauntlet of insult on their way to the airport”
4. A severe trial; an ordeal.

gant·let
n.
A section of double railroad tracks formed by the temporary convergence of two parallel tracks in such a way that each set remains independent while traversing the same ground, affording passage at a narrow place without need of switching.

I guess a gauntlet can be a gantlet, but a gantlet can't be a gauntlet. Or some such.

Though your dictionary is most probably correct, every railroad man I have ever known has called it a "gauntlet" track.

Sometimes calling it correctly does not make it "right."

Old steam locomotive engineers would tell you they kept a wad of "cotton batten" under the fireman's seat to assist in starting the coal fire.

It's really called "cotton batting". Correct an old time engineer about THAT and he'd throw you off the deck along with the spilled coal! (And not sign off on your apprentice card.)

Dave

Click on the link to see a Gauntlet track.

www.lnps.info/m16_1.htm

John 61 wrote:Click on the link to see a Gauntlet track.

www.lnps.info/m16_1.htm

Wow, that's exactly the picture I had in my mind when someone mentioned gauntlet (gantlet?) track! BTW, the L&PS is a great route. I highly recommend anyone with MS Train Simulator to download it. The attention to detail is fantastic.