STREET patterns can tell you a great deal about the characteristics of a neighborhood. For one thing, they call out the spirits of railroads past. We have already seen the ghost of the Central Railroad of Long Island, which stopped running in 1879, in Kissena Corridor Park. Similarly, the long lost spirit of the Creedmoor Spur, originally part of the CRLI, can be detected in Bellerose.
There’s a third long lost railroad line detectable in Rosedale, in the southeast corner of Queens. If you stumble down to the south end of Huxley Street, at the kayak launch at Hook Creek at the Idlewild Park Preserve separating Queens from Nassau. you’ll see some wood pilings sticking up from the water; you can see more at low tide, less at high.
The so-called Cedarhurst Cutoff branched off the LIRR main line in Laurelton and ran southeast to the Five Towns community. According to Bob Andersen in (now defunct) LIRRHistory, the line was built in 1872, saw service only until 1876, but was electrified in advance of planned service in 1918 that was never seen, due to America’s entry into WWI. It was once again rebuilt in 1928, but again, service never got restarted because of the Great Depression. The tracks were removed, but the street pattern still makes way for it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As this Open Street Map shows, for a long-defunct railroad, it still effectively controls street patterns and traffic. Rosedale, formerly called Fosters Meadows, was developed after trains stopped running on the line but the LIRR still reserved the grade-running spur in case it ever wanted to reactivate it. Hence, Landing and Edgewood Avenues and Huxley Street form diagonals against the grid. Homes were built in the old right of way, but few roads were ever built crossing it. Thus, 147th Avenue became a well-traveled Rosedale route.
The estimable Art Huneke will keep you occupied for hours on this branch and the rest of the LIRR.
As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site. Take a look at the new JOBS link in the red toolbar at the top of the page on the desktop version, as I also get a small payment when you view a job via that link.
9/17/24