Hammels (LIRR station)
Encyclopedia
Hammels was a Long Island Rail Road
station on the Rockaway Beach Branch
in Hammels, Queens
. It was located at what is today Beach 84th Street at the west leg of the Hammels Wye.
. Eldert House was located on the east side of what is today Beach 85th Street, and had a separate station built by the former South Side Railroad of Long Island's Far Rockaway Branch
called Eldert's Grove Station(see below).
In 1887, the NYW&R went bankrupt and was reestablished by Long Island Rail Road
president Austin Corbin
as the New York and Rockaway Beach Railway. Hammels station survived the takeover. That year a connection was made between the former Far Rockaway Branch and the NY&RB, thus creating what is known today as "Hammels Wye." The SSRRLI abandoned the line west of Hammels after that. Hammels station was rebuilt during the Spring of 1888. In 1898, Ocean Electric Railway
trolleys connected the Far Rockaway Branch
to the NY&RB and used Hammels station as a stop. The year Hammel died was also the year the station officially became part of the LIRR's Rockaway Beach Branch
. When Beach Channel Station closed on May 31, 1905, Hammels became the last station on the Rockaway Beach Branch before crossing the Beach Channel Drawbridge. On April 19, 1907, the LIRR installed the "FX Tower" in an effort to control movements between regular trains and trolleys. Trolley services ended east of the station in 1926 and west of the station in 1928, but the southern leg of Hammels Wye continued to serve LIRR trains.
By the early-1940's the LIRR was getting ready to reconstruct the Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches as an elevated lines. From 1941 to 1942 both lines were closed and rebuilt with newly elevated stations. Hammels station would not be one of the ones replaced during the reconstruction, and it was discontinued in 1941.
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
station on the Rockaway Beach Branch
Rockaway Beach Branch
The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica Bay to Hammels in the Rockaways turning west there to a...
in Hammels, Queens
Hammels, Queens
Hammels is a section of Rockaway Beach on the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It is located west of Arverne and east of Seaside, and is centered on Beach 84th Street. Its main thoroughfare is Beach Channel Drive. The train passes through the neighborhood...
. It was located at what is today Beach 84th Street at the west leg of the Hammels Wye.
History
Hammels station was originally built in June 1880 by the New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad. The station and the summer resort community it served were named after local landowner, Louis Hammel (1836-1904), who leased the Eldert House hotel from Garret Eldert in August 1869, even though he also had his own hotel along the coast of Jamaica BayJamaica Bay
Jamaica Bay is located on the southwestern tip of Long Island in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, and the town of Hempstead, New York/hamlet of Inwood...
. Eldert House was located on the east side of what is today Beach 85th Street, and had a separate station built by the former South Side Railroad of Long Island's Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch
The Far Rockaway 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 Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station; the Long Beach Branch also begins there, heading east and south to Long Beach,...
called Eldert's Grove Station(see below).
In 1887, the NYW&R went bankrupt and was reestablished by Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
president Austin Corbin
Austin Corbin
Austin Corbin was a 19th-century American railroad executive and robber baron. He consolidated the rail lines on Long Island bringing them under the profitable umbrella of the Long Island Rail Road....
as the New York and Rockaway Beach Railway. Hammels station survived the takeover. That year a connection was made between the former Far Rockaway Branch and the NY&RB, thus creating what is known today as "Hammels Wye." The SSRRLI abandoned the line west of Hammels after that. Hammels station was rebuilt during the Spring of 1888. In 1898, Ocean Electric Railway
Ocean Electric Railway
The Ocean Electric Railway was a street car line that operated on The Rockaways. It ran parallel to parts of the Rockaway Beach Branch and Far Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Rail Road...
trolleys connected the Far Rockaway Branch
Far Rockaway Branch
The Far Rockaway 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 Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station; the Long Beach Branch also begins there, heading east and south to Long Beach,...
to the NY&RB and used Hammels station as a stop. The year Hammel died was also the year the station officially became part of the LIRR's Rockaway Beach Branch
Rockaway Beach Branch
The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica Bay to Hammels in the Rockaways turning west there to a...
. When Beach Channel Station closed on May 31, 1905, Hammels became the last station on the Rockaway Beach Branch before crossing the Beach Channel Drawbridge. On April 19, 1907, the LIRR installed the "FX Tower" in an effort to control movements between regular trains and trolleys. Trolley services ended east of the station in 1926 and west of the station in 1928, but the southern leg of Hammels Wye continued to serve LIRR trains.
By the early-1940's the LIRR was getting ready to reconstruct the Far Rockaway and Rockaway Beach Branches as an elevated lines. From 1941 to 1942 both lines were closed and rebuilt with newly elevated stations. Hammels station would not be one of the ones replaced during the reconstruction, and it was discontinued in 1941.
Eldert's Grove station
Eight years before the NY&RB built Hammels station on their line, the SSRRLI built a station on the Far Rockaway Branch called Eldert's Grove station. It was designed to serve patrons of the Elderts House, but was abandoned when the connection between the Far Rockaway Branch and Rockaway Beach Branch was made in 1887.External links
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