Hempstead Branch

This article is about the current LIRR service and original branch from Mineola. For the defunct line operated in the 1870s, see Southern Hempstead Branch. For the current form of the Southern Hempstead, see West Hempstead Branch. For the Pennsylvania Railroad line near Dayton, Ohio, see Hempstead Branch (Pennsylvania Railroad).

Hempstead Branch
Hempstead Branch train #757 enters Stewart Manor, due west to Brooklyn.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Queens and Nassau County, New York, USA
Termini	Jamaica Hempstead
Stations	9
Services	Hempstead Branch
Operation
Opened	1873 (as part of the Central Railroad of Long Island)
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750V (DC) Third rail
Route map Legend Main Line (west) 16.2 Bellerose 16.9 Floral Park Main Line (east) 18.1 Stewart Manor 19.1 Nassau Boulevard 20.2 Garden City Mitchel Field Secondary Former Oyster Bay Branch 20.8 Country Life Press Former West Hempstead Branch 21.6 Hempstead Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station.

The Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Queens Village station. It parallels the Main Line past Bellerose to Floral Park, where it splits southward and continues east via the village of Garden City to Hempstead Crossing. There it turns south to the final two stations, Country Life Press and Hempstead. LIRR maps and schedules show Hempstead Branch service continuing west along the Main Line to Jamaica. (In other words, Queens Village and Hollis are actually on Main Line track, but the only trains stopping there are bound to/from the Hempstead Branch).

History

The original Hempstead Branch of the LIRR ran south from Mineola, ending just west of the current terminal in Hempstead. It opened on July 4, 1839 as the first branch of the LIRR.

The Central Railroad of Long Island opened from Flushing east to Hempstead Crossing and south to Hempstead on January 8, 1873; the main line east from Hempstead Crossing opened later that year on May 26. The Central Railroad's successor, the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad, was leased to the LIRR on May 3, 1876, and in June a connection at Hempstead Crossing was built, allowing trains from Mineola to use the ex-Central's Hempstead Branch; the original LIRR Hempstead Branch was abandoned south of Hempstead Crossing.

Covert Avenue grade crossing

The old Central main line through Hempstead was named the Central Branch by the LIRR, while the line from Mineola on the LIRR's Main Line south past Hempstead Crossing to Hempstead was the Hempstead Branch. The New York Bay Extension Railroad opened the current West Hempstead Branch in 1893, resulting in a realignment of the Hempstead Branch from Hempstead Crossing south to Meadow Street to better connect to the new line.

The current route of the Hempstead Branch, from Queens Village east along the Main Line and Central Branch and south along the Hempstead Branch to Hempstead, was electrified on May 26, 1908. The then-Hempstead Branch north to Mineola was electrified on October 20, 1926, along with the West Hempstead Branch. The line north of Hempstead Crossing last saw passenger service on September 14, 1935, and was abandoned for freight in 1965. Park Interlocking at Floral Park was taken out in the circa-1960 grade crossing elimination; since then Hempstead Branch trains switch off the Main Line at Queens Village and continue next to it to Floral Park. At some point the old Central Branch west of Hempstead Crossing was renamed as part of the Hempstead Branch.^{[citation needed]}

Stations

Station/location	Station link	Miles to Penn Station	Connections/notes
For continuing service to Jamaica and points west, see City Terminal Zone
Union Hall Street Union Hall Street at York College (New York), Jamaica			closed 1976
Hillside Jamaica			closed 1966
Hillside Facility	[1]		Employees-only station
Hollis 193rd Street and Woodhull Avenue, Hollis	[2]	13.5	Bus (New York City Transit Bus):Q2, Q3
Bellaire Bellaire			Named Interstate Park 1900 — 1907 closed 1972
Queens Village Springfield Boulevard and Amboy Lane, Queens Village	[3]	15.1	Bus (New York City Transit Bus):Q1, Q27, Q36, Q83 (Late Night Only),Q88 Bus (Nassau Inter-County Express): n24
Belmont Park Branch diverges
New York City / Nassau County border
Main Line diverges
Bellerose Commonwealth Boulevard and Superior Road, Bellerose	[4]	16.2
Floral Park Tulip Avenue and Atlantic Avenue, Floral Park	[5]	16.8	LIRR: Oyster Bay Branch and Port Jefferson Branch trains
Stewart Manor New Hyde Park Road and Manor Road, Garden City	[6]	18.2	Bus (Nassau Inter-County Express): n25
Nassau Boulevard Nassau Boulevard and South Avenue, Garden City	[7]	19.2
Garden City 7th Street between Hilton and Cathedral Avenues, Garden City	[8]	20.3	Bus (Nassau Inter-County Express): n40, n41
Garden City-Mitchel Field Secondary diverges
Country Life Press Damson Street and Saint James Street South, Garden City	[9]	20.9
Hempstead West Columbia Street, East of Main Street and Fulton Avenue, Hempstead	[10]	21.7	Bus (Nassau Inter-County Express) at Hempstead Transit Center: n6, n15, n16, n27, n31, n32, n35, n40, n41, n46, n47, n48, n49, n54, n55, n70, n71, n72

External links

• Hempstead Branch Stations (Unofficial LIRR History web site)
• NYCSubway.org: Hempstead Branch