Gary Owen's S.I.R.T. North Shore Line Page Part 2

Gary Owen's North Shore Line Page Part 2!

Welcome to part two!

As the journey continues, we are pulling into...

Elm Park

The Elm Park station (3.9 miles) was/is located at Morningstar Road.

A view facing north on Morningstar Road.

The original wooden Elm Park station is barely

visible next to the smaller building at right (June 15, 1927).

A pre-electrification and Bayonne Bridge

photo of the original Elm Park station.

Such a quaint notion to see Morningstar Road so quiet.

Then again, this photo was taken in 1928.

1929.

By 1935, there was suddenly a

big old Bayonne Bridge standing proudly behind the station.

Again, Morningstar Road with no traffic? Sigh...

A 1935 view of the original Elm Park station

from the Bayonne Bridge pedestrian walk.

This photo was taken shortly before

grade crossing elimination began.

Railroad crossing sign at John Street beneath the

youthful Bayonne Bridge. Photo taken in 1935.

The temporary Elm Park station during

grade crossing elimination in October,1935.

The construction of the new Elm Park station with the

temporary platforms above in December, 1936.

The Elm Park station ticket office in July, 1937.

The Bayonne Bridge hovers high above the

Elm Park Station as seen from

the Morningstar Road overpass in 1937.

Work continues on the new Elm Park station

during grade crossing elimination.

A view from the newly upgraded

John Avenue and it's overpass entrance in February, 1937.

S.I.R.T. workers place the temporary shoo-fly

tracks (left) during grade crossing elimination.

Photo taken from the Bayonne Bridge facing St. George in 1935-36.

The same scene shows Newark Avenue and the John Street overpass facing east from the Bayonne Bridge on July 21, 1937.

Two trains at the near complete

Elm Park station on April 29, 1937. Photo taken from

the pedestrian walkway of the Bayonne Bridge (facing west).

The "new and improved" Elm Park station as

seen from Morningstar Road on June 7, 1937.

And again from the Bayonne Bridge on July 21, 1937.

In April 2005, I ventured to the

silent Elm Park station and took some photos...

...and just like the little critter who comes out on my birthday,

I see my shadow. Therefore we will have six more weeks of winter.

As our sojourn continues, we pull into our next station...

Lake Avenue

The Lake Avenue station (4.3 miles) was/is located at Lake Avenue.

This station was added in 1937 during grade crossing elimination.

A view of Lake Avenue on September 28, 1934.

A year- or so- before grade crossing began.

The site of the future Lake Avenue station

during grade crossing elimination on June 12, 1936

The construction of the Lake Avenue station (facing west).

The yet-to-be-finished Lake Avenue station

as seen from the Van Name Avenue overpass on June 7, 1937.

The abandoned Lake Avenue station

in 1964 and again in July, 1968.

The abandoned Lake Avenue station staircase

in July, 1968. All the stairways which led to these

depressed grade stations have been removed.

In 1999, "Forgotten New York's" Kevin Walsh found his way onto the ROW and snapped this photo of the dead Lake Avenue station.

In April, 2007, my brother Brian and I

ventured to the ghostly Lake Avenue station.

Van Name Avenue on October 3, 1934.

Continuing westward, we now pull into...

Mariners Harbor

The Mariners Harbor station (4.6 miles) was/is

located at Van Pelt Avenue.

At the left, we see the original wooden

Mariners Harbor station on June 21, 1927.

The "new and improved"

Mariners Harbor station on June 7, 1937.

And again on July 20, 1937.

The abandonded Mariners Harbor station

in 1964 and June, 1973.

Kids playing on the deteriorating pedestrian overpass at the abandoned Mariners Harbor station in the early 1980's.

From the same day in April 2007 that

my brother Brian and I went on a North Shore Line adventure.

Two views from the Van Name Avenue

Overpass in Mariners Harbor on July 20, 1937:

Looking east...

...and west.

A view from the Union Avenue overpass

facing east in Mariners Harbor on July 20, 1937.

In 2005-2006- just beyond the silent Mariners Harbor station- the ROW has been restored and is now being used for freight service. However, that is jumping the gun a bit...

As we roll down the line, we see that our next stop is...

Harbor Road

The Harbor Road station (4.9 miles) was located at (you guessed it!) Harbor Road. This intermediate station was added during the S.I.R.T. grade crossing elimination of 1935-37. With the restoration of the right of way in 2005, the remnants of the Harbor Road station were finally demolished.

A rather quaint Harbor Road a few months

before grade crossing elimination began (October 5, 1934).

The new Harbor Road station in 1937.

The dead Harbor Road station in 1984.

We are coming to the end of our journey...or so we think...

We are now rolling into...

Arlington

The Arlington station (5.2 miles) was located at South Avenue.

It was the terminus for the S.I.R.T. north shore line.

The station was razed sometime during the mid-late 1950's.

Here is the Arlington station about 1920, before electrification. The grade crossing is South Avenue. When the South Avenue overpass was built in 1925, SIRT built a wooden center island platform and station between the tracks here, with a waiting room and ticket agent's office.

A St. George bound train begins it's journey at

the Arlington station in June, 1936.

A St. George bound train stopped at

the Arlington station around 1950.

For a train to make the return trip from Arlington to St. George, it would travel a bit further west down the ROW and use a switch track to the other side. This is a photo of a train making the crossover.

Gearing up for the journey back

to St. George in October, 1952.

At Arlington, a train is ready to depart for St. George.

Note the apartments being built in the background.

Two similar views at the Arlington station.

Staircase leads to South Avenue.

Arriving at the Arlington station in the early 1950's. Notice the progress of the Arlington Houses on the right. The coal silo in

the background (at Harbor Road) still stands today.

A freight engine at Arlington in 1946.

Two more views at Arlington.

But wasn't this the end of the line?

Not quite!

At certain times of the day, the S.I.R.T. would make one

extra stop which takes us to...

Port Ivory

The Port Ivory station (6.1 miles) was provided for the workers at the Proctor & Gamble plant which manufactured Ivory Soap products. It was only used during morning and evening rush hour. The station may have closed around 1950- a few years before the S.I.R.T. suspended service on the north shore line on Tuesday, March 31,1953.

A Rail-Fan train arrives at Western Avenue across from

The Port Ivory complex (circa 1947).

A westbound train approaches

the Port Ivory factory complex.

At the Western Avenue grade crossing.

Crossing Western Avenue.

And a view of the Port Ivory complex.

Here is a rare photo of an S.I.R.T. train with an"Arlington"designation stopped at the Port Ivory station sometime about 1947. Notice it has two cars. Rush hour would demand that, wouldn't it?

The brick building to the left still stands today.

A St. George bound train awaits it's

departure from the Port Ivory station.

A train leaving the Proctor & Gamble plant.

And so, a few hours after the sun set over Port Ivory and Arlington, the final North Shore train (#327) pulls into

St. George at 11:53 PM on Tuesday, March 31, 1953.

The last passengers wave goodbye to sixty seven years of service.

End of the line!

So there you have it.

My little tribute to the Staten Island Rapid Transit North Shore line. Now read it in reverse and you'll end up back at the St. George ferry. But our journey back in time does not have to end there. You can simply run across the platform and hop on a train bound for South Beach!

Just click on the link and we will be on our way:

Gary Owen's S.I.R.T. South Beach Line Page

Thanks to the following generous people and sites:

Kevin Walsh's Forgotten New York

Joseph D. Korman

St. George Library (NYPL)

nycsubway.org

Staten Island Railway

The Staten Island Advance

The Third Rail

Staten Island Historical Society

Ed Bommer