Which branch: Far Rock, Hempstead, West Hempstead, or OB?

Got Wednesday off so I'm gonna take advantage of the weekday schedule and my zone 4 monthly and do some railfanning/photographing.

I don't want to pay any extra, so I'm limiting myself to zone 4. I live on the PW line so that's out. That leaves the other 3 branches listed in the topic and the OB branch up until East Williston. I have never ridden the diesel equipment, so that's one thing in favor of the OB branch. I do remember passing by the Hempstead branch around Stewart Manor and Nassau Blvd. and I remember liking the area around there. I have no experience whatsoever with Far Rock and West Hempstead. Any recommendations? I don't mind walking reasonable distances from stations to areas along the right of way.

Things that I'm looking for in no particular order
-Interesting rail infrastructure
-Equipment variety
-Suburban scenic beauty/appeal (if applicable)
-Urban scenic beauty/appeal (if applicable)
-Unobstructed views (for photography)

On the Long Beach line, take a ride to Lynbrook (zone 4). You will pass through Valley, one of the larger interlockings in the system, which is very interesting. Just east of the Valley Stream station, on the south side of the tracks is a small maintenance facility which may have some track equipment parked. Lynbrook is 5 minutes beyond Valley Stream. You can get off there and double back to Valley, where you can catch a Far Rockaway or a West Hempstead train. The West Hempstead branch is single track with some scenic stations at Westwood and Malverne. There is even a pedestrian-only railroad crossing near Westwood. At the end of the line, if time permits, you can follow the old right of way across Hempstead Turnpike towards Country Life Press. The Far Rockaway Branch isn't as interesting as the West Hempstead Branch, but you can also access it from Valley Stream.

wednesday?? you picked the worst day to railfan, lol. the day before Thanksgiving is the WORST travel day of the year, you'll be on the train but you'll be pressed up against the glass by hoards of travelers and their 900LB suit cases. have some fun though, when someone asks you where the train is going just make up something.

The off-season version of The Cannonball, which normally runs Fridays only, also runs on Wednesday this week.

You can easily get a picture of it from the platform at Hunterspoint Avenue, and it is not uncommon for it to pull in and allow
boarding, 30 to 20 minutes early.

No drumhead this time of the year, but it will be a very busy train.

Ken

commuterjoe wrote:On the Long Beach line, take a ride to Lynbrook (zone 4). You will pass through Valley, one of the larger interlockings in the system, which is very interesting. Just east of the Valley Stream station, on the south side of the tracks is a small maintenance facility which may have some track equipment parked. Lynbrook is 5 minutes beyond Valley Stream. You can get off there and double back to Valley, where you can catch a Far Rockaway or a West Hempstead train. The West Hempstead branch is single track with some scenic stations at Westwood and Malverne. There is even a pedestrian-only railroad crossing near Westwood. At the end of the line, if time permits, you can follow the old right of way across Hempstead Turnpike towards Country Life Press. The Far Rockaway Branch isn't as interesting as the West Hempstead Branch, but you can also access it from Valley Stream.

Yeah, the new Valley Interlocking is definitely something worth checking out. I think I will do what you said and go back and forth between Valley armed with google map printouts near the stations of the other branches. I'll look into those West Hempstead stations that you mentioned. Hempstead will have to wait for another day I suppose.

LIRailfan79 wrote:wednesday?? you picked the worst day to railfan, lol. the day before Thanksgiving is the WORST travel day of the year, you'll be on the train but you'll be pressed up against the glass by hoards of travelers and their 900LB suit cases. have some fun though, when someone asks you where the train is going just make up something.

lol I think I will be fine going eastbound during the morning. I'll only have to deal with my usual peak westbound travel on the PW line. This is more of a photography trip though, so I don't plan on riding the trains too much.

peconicstation wrote:The off-season version of The Cannonball, which normally runs Fridays only, also runs on Wednesday this week.

You can easily get a picture of it from the platform at Hunterspoint Avenue, and it is not uncommon for it to pull in and allow
boarding, 30 to 20 minutes early.

No drumhead this time of the year, but it will be a very busy train.

Ken

Thanks, will make a note of that.

Did a little scouting on the West Hempstead branch with google satellite maps, and I saw an interesting spot near Lakeview. It's when it goes under the Southern State Parkway. There appears to be an empty plot of land next to the intersection of the parkway and ROW. I circled the area in question and highlighted the ROW. I think that would be a nice composition with two modes of transport heading in different directions.



Any West Hempstead riders know if that's a publicly accessible area with an unobstructed view of the ROW? I don't want to trespass nor spend time walking to an area with no good photo opportunity. :o

Actually just did a street view (which I had forgotten about). It doesn't look so appealing after all.

Maybe you can ride the W. Hempstead to the last stop, catch a MTA LI Bus to Hempstead station of the Hempstead branch and then take that back that line to Woodside, and then switch to the PW, or even better, there are probably NYCTA buses linking Jamaica station with one on the PW.
BE VERY CAREFUL in the City of Hempstead because it has a lot of crime. DON'T walk between both W. Hempstead and Hempstead because a lot of those neighborhoods look sketchy. Use the bus or take a cab. The area around W. Hempstead station is not that good. The Hempstead Train station, is in an okay, area, but be very careful in Hempstead.

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Maybe you can ride the W. Hempstead to the last stop, catch a MTA LI Bus to Hempstead station of the Hempstead branch and then take that back that line to Woodside, and then switch to the PW, or even better, there are probably NYCTA buses linking Jamaica station with one on the PW.
BE VERY CAREFUL in the City of Hempstead because it has a lot of crime. DON'T walk between both W. Hempstead and Hempstead because a lot of those neighborhoods look sketchy. Use the bus or take a cab. The area around W. Hempstead station is not that good. The Hempstead Train station, is in an okay, area, but be very careful in Hempstead.

so many worry worts here, its perfectly safe to walk between Hempstead and West Hempstead in the middle of the afternoon, there are no gangs of thugs just waiting to jump you.....

Used to live in Far Rockaway, and the LIRR line going to it was always somewhat interesting. The really expensive homes along the route going through the five towns area always caught my interest and wonder if I ever could have such a home. Most of the time all you see is the back yard of someone's home. Didn't mind the change of trains at Lynbrook since the trains coming through, often at speed, caught my interest.

If you're going to do the suggested Lynbrook stop, you could also take certain Babylon bound trains there, maybe hang out for a little bit and watch trains go through.

Each branch is relatively quiet as far as rail traffic goes once you get off the mainlines. My favorite's always been the Oyster Bay Branch though, so my vote would go to that trip. Take the trip all the way. With your monthly, they won't charge you the onboard penalty, they will just extend your ride. I know it used to be $2.25 each way, but might have gone up slightly since the fare increases over the past 2 years....so maybe it's $2.50 each way now. Worth the ride, especially up through Mill Neck, and then going eastbound I always enjoy all of a sudden seeing the bay jump into view after being buried in the wooded areas. Then if the weather's nice, it's always nice to walk around town, and the park by the water.

(edit) Hehe, just read the dates, I'm a lil late I guess. Maybe next time keep it in mind. Anyway, since this is after the fact, which branch did you end up taking that day? Get any good shots?

RPM2Night wrote:If you're going to do the suggested Lynbrook stop, you could also take certain Babylon bound trains there, maybe hang out for a little bit and watch trains go through.

Each branch is relatively quiet as far as rail traffic goes once you get off the mainlines. My favorite's always been the Oyster Bay Branch though, so my vote would go to that trip. Take the trip all the way. With your monthly, they won't charge you the onboard penalty, they will just extend your ride. I know it used to be $2.25 each way, but might have gone up slightly since the fare increases over the past 2 years....so maybe it's $2.50 each way now. Worth the ride, especially up through Mill Neck, and then going eastbound I always enjoy all of a sudden seeing the bay jump into view after being buried in the wooded areas. Then if the weather's nice, it's always nice to walk around town, and the park by the water.

(edit) Hehe, just read the dates, I'm a lil late I guess. Maybe next time keep it in mind. Anyway, since this is after the fact, which branch did you end up taking that day? Get any good shots?

I ended up skipping the trip that day because of the constant light drizzle. I didn't want to take any chances with my DSLR and water damage. I will strongly consider the full OB trip based on your suggestion though.

LIRailfan79 wrote:

njt/mnrrbuff wrote:Maybe you can ride the W. Hempstead to the last stop, catch a MTA LI Bus to Hempstead station of the Hempstead branch and then take that back that line to Woodside, and then switch to the PW, or even better, there are probably NYCTA buses linking Jamaica station with one on the PW.
BE VERY CAREFUL in the City of Hempstead because it has a lot of crime. DON'T walk between both W. Hempstead and Hempstead because a lot of those neighborhoods look sketchy. Use the bus or take a cab. The area around W. Hempstead station is not that good. The Hempstead Train station, is in an okay, area, but be very careful in Hempstead.

so many worry worts here, its perfectly safe to walk between Hempstead and West Hempstead in the middle of the afternoon, there are no gangs of thugs just waiting to jump you.....

just stay away from 100 terrace! rofl