Oyster Bay Branch

Oyster Bay Branch
Double-decker Train #6506 to Oyster Bay at Mineola
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	Long Island Rail Road
Status	Operational
Locale	Nassau County, New York, USA
Termini	Jamaica Oyster Bay
Stations	10 (2 others closed)
Services	Oyster Bay Branch
Daily ridership	6,000
Operation
Opened	1865-1889
Owner	Long Island Rail Road
Operator(s)	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	750 V (DC) third rail (to East Williston)
Route map Oyster Bay Yard Oyster Bay Turntable 34.7 mi 55.8 km Oyster Bay Mill Neck closed 1998 30.8 mi 49.6 km Locust Valley 29.7 mi 47.8 km Glen Cove 29.1 mi 46.8 km Glen Street 28.5 mi 45.9 km Sea Cliff 27.2 mi 43.8 km Glen Head 26.0 mi 41.8 km Greenvale North Roslyn closed 1924 24.0 mi 38.6 km Roslyn 22.6 mi 36.4 km Albertson Zone 4/Zone 7 End of electrification 21.6 mi 34.8 km East Williston Former spur to West Hempstead Branch Main Line 20.3 mi 32.7 km Mineola Intervening stations served mostly by Port Jefferson and Hempstead Branch trains Zone 4 Zone 3 10.8 mi 17.4 km Jamaica AirTrain JFK Main Line continues Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station. This diagram:

Distances shown in miles from Pennsylvania Station.

The Oyster Bay Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch splits from the Main Line just east of Mineola station, and runs north and east to Oyster Bay.

The first phase of what is now known as the Oyster Bay Branch opened in January 23, 1865 as a branch of the Long Island Rail Road to Glen Head known as the Glen Cove Branch Rail Road. Two years later the railway was extended to Glen Cove and on April 19, 1869 the line was extended further to Locust Valley.

By the early 1880s, there had been pressure to expand rail service eastward. At this time another railroad, the Northern Railroad of Long Island threatened the Long island Rail Road's monopoly. The Northern Railroad was incorporated on March 23, 1881, and it planned to build a road from Astoria to Northport via Flushing, Great Neck, Glen Cove, Oyster Bay and Huntington. By June 1881, construction plans were authorized and in mid-July the building contract was signed, with work set to begin in August. The Long Island Rail Road attempted to undermine the Northern Railroad's project before it could sell stock and acquire a roadbed. It was going to link its north side branches together as a continuous railroad to Northport. Construction cost from Great Neck to Roslyn and from Locust Valley to Northport was approximately $400,000.

In February 1883, Austin Corbin, president of the Long Island Rail Road, offered to supply iron and rolling stock for the extension to Oyster Bay if local residents provided the right-of-way. While citizens considered the offer, the Northern Railroad folded since not enough money was raised. With the threat eliminated, the extension of rail service to Oyster Bay was temporarily delayed. The project was revived in 1886 when some citizens offered to secure a right-of-way. In June 1886, a public meeting was held and a committee of fifteen was appointed to secure land. Although officials were still contemplating a through line to Northport, the LIRR organized the Oyster Bay Extension Railroad on August 31, 1886, which authorized a five-mile road from Locust Valley to Oyster Bay. Ground was broken for the project on August 15, 1887. One phase of construction was the building of a bridge over what is now Tunnel Street in Locust Valley. The masonry project began in October 1888 and the arch was finished on April 13, 1889. The entire bridge was completed by September.