Bushwick Branch
Brooklyn-Queens, NY

On a gray day in May, I set out to explore the Bushwick Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. The Branch is now used by the LIRR's spin-off freight carrier, the New York and Atlantic Railway. I left my apartment in lower Manahttan and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, around the Navy Yard and over to Bushwick Av. where these photos begin. I followed the right-of-way to Fresh Pond and then continued past the abandoned Glendale and Richmond Hill Stations. I ended my walk right before Jamaica Yards and boarded a J train back to Manahttan.

Accordining to www.lirrhistory.com, the LIRR built the Bushwick Branch in 1868. It served a mix of both passenger and freight traffic from Bushwick to Jamaica. In 1920, passenger service ended and the branch became freight-only. The LIRR operated all freight operations until 1997 when it sold it's freight service to the new New York and Atlantic Railroad, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anacostia and Pacific Railway. Today, the branch still serves a handful of businesses, but much of the trackage remains in disrepair. Trains are limited to 10 mph, but they often travel slower. There are no gats or lights at any of the numerous grade crossings, so a flagman usually dismounts the locomotive and signals vehicles to stop to make way for the train. Although it appears abandoned, the line is used almost every day by the NYA and is still maintained by LIRR crews as I have photographed in this virtual tour. To view historical track maps of the Bushwick branch, visit www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/bushwick/bushwick.htm.