Posts Tagged ‘Long Island Railroad’
unfrequented moor
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My plan for avoiding a series of thunderstorms on June 1st involved placing myself in areas which host some sort of structure above. The Pulaski Bridge just happens to be one of those structures. While waiting for a Long Island Railroad train to pass by, some bloke struck up a conversation with me. Turns out he was a homeless veteran who is residing at the Borden Avenue Men’s Shelter a few blocks away, and he described conditions there as being fairly grim. He was the kind of Vet who still dresses in his army uniform – khaki BDU’s and a boonie hat, long hair and a beard. Nice enough guy.
We seriously have to do better by our veterans.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Vet guy offered aid to a different homeless fellow that suddenly appeared, and agreed to walk him to another homeless shelter which is found in Greenpoint at Clay Street on the other side of the bridge, and they set off for Brooklyn together. I bid them good luck, and continued to use the Pulaski Bridge as a grandiose umbrella while photographing LIRR trains transiting to and from along the siding found under the bridge.
This is an “at street grade crossing,” which is fairly rare in NYC. Robert Moses spent a lot of time and treasure reducing the number of these during his decades in power.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The rain began to intensify, and a humble narrator deployed his actual umbrella while beginning to head back towards “civilization.” Once again, I took up station on a foot bridge over the tracks, and this time around it was the Long Island Expressway which offered me a “rain shadow” to shoot from. Rain shadows are caused by structures. If you know your zone well enough, you know exactly where to walk to stay mostly dry. There’s also wind shadows. Dry patch of pavement during a thunderstorm? Rain Shadow.
One of the problems with “modern design” construction, the sort that sends mirror box rhombuses thrusting rudely at the sky, is that they create strong wind currents at sidewalk level and they rob pedestrians of comfort. I’m of the belief that this is part of their design – to make the urban environment around them hostile so as to discourage loitering, and to encourage you to buy a luxury condo just to get out of the turbulence.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The rain I was experiencing was just the leading edge of a stronger system of storms heading into the area, so after a few more shots of passing LIRR trains, I shot back under the LIE and started heading back towards the subway in case I need to duck and cover.
As it turned out, just as I got back to Hunters Point Avenue and the 7 stop found there, it stopped raining. Hooray.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As long as I was there, and it was now right about the height of what used to be called rush hour, it would have been silly not to get some shots of the trains heading out of Sunnyside Yards and towards the City.
That’s a New Jersey Transit train, for the curious. They spend their days in Queens at Sunnyside Yards, in between rush hours.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An Amtrak unit or two came rolling by as well, and I decided that I was pushing my luck – weather wise. The scuttling continued, and rather than getting on the 7 (which I would have taken to Jackson Heights and then transferred onto an R or M) I’d instead take the chance and walk over towards Queens Plaza for a connection to the R at the downstairs IND station.
More on that tomorrow.
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“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
cavern eyed
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the 1st of June, two things were annoying me. Well… lots of things were annoying me, but leading the parade were an ominous weather forecast and a bit of lower back pain. I had stupidly deleted an entire folder of photos by accident the day before, and lost several nice shots so I was also really annoyed at myself. I decided on a pathway for the day’s effort which would involve constant access to areas that could offer me shelter from the prophesied thunderstorms and rain when they arrived.
Luckily, half of Western Queens is located underneath a highway overpass or an elevated subway line. Off to 31st street did I scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A quick walk to the N line at 31st street saw me boarding a train and heading towards Queensboro Plaza. The N is an IND train, like the R and M, but it operates out of the IRT station at Queensboro Plaza.
Queensboro Plaza (IRT) is the one “upstairs,” whereas Queens Plaza (IND) is the one “downstairs.” How dysfunctional is the MTA? They still maintain an inter operational distinction between the two systems after nearly six decades of operating them.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Moving through the transit system and seamlessly transferring from line to line is what makes you a New Yorker. My “don’t get wet” plan involved – as stated – staying close to areas of cover for when the sky broke open and rain started pissing down. Yeah, I could’ve just stayed home, but after accidentally deleting an entire “roll” of shots I had a fire in my belly to do some work.
Exultant, that’s how I felt when the 7 line arrived. One boarded the train and set off for my next destination.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Hunters Point Avenue 7 Station was where I debarked, and where the plan for my day continued. I got a couple of shots of a Flushing bound 7 on the other side of the station heading towards Court Square before scuttling up the stairs to the street.
I love the esthetics of this particular station, and will reiterate my statement that the 7 is the most photogenic of all the subway lines.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Up on the sidewalk, there’s a hole in the fence I like to use when passing by, and luckily for me – the 7 line service is so frequent after its painfully long to install CBTC upgrades – another Manhattan bound train was already on its way into the Hunters Point Avenue station on the truss bridge over Sunnyside Yards which connects to the Court Square Station after traveling over Davis Street.
Yes. Nerd. Me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My next stop was a few blocks away, in DUPBO – Down Under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp. There’s a Long Island Railroad siding hereabouts. If you’re in the neighborhood – usually weekdays between 4 and 6 – there’s a very, very good chance you’ll get to see something like the shot above playing out.
More tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
cacodaemonical ghastliness
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
May 21st and I was out for a short/long walk which ended up being fairly productive. I was heading towards Newtown Creek’s Dutch Kills tributary, and along the way I stopped off at “Hole Reliable,” which is found along the fencelines of the Sunnyside Yards.
The reason this hole is so reliable is that it overlooks the Harold Interlocking, a rail junction used by both Long Island Railroad and Amtrak which is the busiest such bit of infrastructure in the entire country. You don’t have to hang around Long before something rolls by.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The powers that be have been busy spending your taxes on improving the Harold Interlocking, which is part of the larger “East Side Access” project that will be bringing LIRR service to Grand Central Station, and there’s a couple of new sidings which have recently been completed and brought into usage – like the one pictured above.
Y’know, I’ve spent something like 15 years watching them do all the construction on this, and it’s kind of cool to see it being used.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Nothing new to report from Dutch Kills. Nobody cares, nothing matters, and 29th street continues to subside and sag into the collapsing bulkhead at the water’s edge. Turns out that the reason there’s always a puddle there is that the undermined street has broken a water line pipe. That’s great, as now it’s also a DEP problem – in addition to being an EPA, DEC, DOT, and MTA problem. Eventually, the entire alphabet will be involved.
Sigh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My tree of paradise seems to be embracing the warmer weather, and at the time this photo was taken, had just become clothed in foliage.
I didn’t plan on walking directly home on this particular evening, as I was desirous of getting a few low light shots of the 7 train. Accordingly, over to the Hunters Point Avenue stop did I scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My 7 line plan was to take advantage of how frequently the service arrives – usually in about ten minute intervals – to hop on and hop off at the various stations that I don’t frequent.
As a note, I’m a fan of that new OMNY fare control scheme of theirs. Here’s a tip – the OMNY system lets you use your phone to pay for your fare. The credit card you thereby designate for transit use (I’m on an iPhone, can’t speak to how Google Pay works on Android) should therefore be one where you receive some sort of benefit for using it. Some cards have cash back rewards, others have airline miles that accrue with use, others send a few cents to a charity you support – you get the idea. I’ve tied all of my transit charges into a single card account – LYFT/Uber, Amtrak, Subway and Bus, Ferry. This also makes talking to my accountant about transit spending rather simple.
I have a friend who has all his monthly bills flow through benefits/rewards cards. This way he’s never late with a payment, and manages to get some benefit out of his outlandishly high electric bills.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I traveled on the 7 for a bit, following my plan to hop on and hop off. The shot above is from the 33rd Rawson stop, and it’s a Manhattan bound train rounding the elevated curve nearby the former Swingline Stapler building on Queens Boulevard. One night soon I’m going to doing this sort of night time excursion on every stop of the 7 all the way out to Flushing and back.
Keeps me out of the bars. Back next week with more, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
were well
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
April 26th brought one of those “I told you so” moments to Astoria. For literally ten years, I’ve been sounding the alarms about the ridiculous amount of dead wiring overhead – and the horrendous condition of often century old utility poles which carry them. Assemblymember Brian Barnwell heard my cry and his office tried shaking the tree at the NYS Utility commission, but just like every other part of New York State – that patronage mill called “Albany” saw no political gain in even conducting an inspection of the situation here in Queens.
A line of thunderstorms crashed through Astoria earlier in the evening, and shortly after the wind and rain stopped, the FDNY arrived on Astoria’s Broadway and began arranging caution tape.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
To no one’s surprise, the storm had caused a series of live wires to crack down onto the puddle choked street and yet another Astoria hullabaloo was underway. The 46th street Subway Station was right in the middle of this municipal chaos, as a note.
You ever get the sense that the people who run this City and State would make terrible roommates?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the 27th, after having completed all of my “have to’s” it was decided to take a fairly short walk. Recent habit has seen me circumnavigating the 183 square acres of the Sunnyside Yards on these short walks. I’ll leave Astoria and walk over to Skillman Avenue, which will be followed to its terminus at Hunters Point Avenue and 21st street, whereupon I’ll head over to Jackson Avenue and then follow it through Queens Plaza where it transmogrifies into Northern Blvd. at 31st street and scuttle back to HQ.
Along the way, there’s lots and lots of fence holes to poke the camera lens into, and observe what wonders there might be hidden within the colossal rairlroad coach yard. That’s the IRT Flushing 7 line train exiting Queens Plaza heading for points east.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
All winter and spring, I’ve been seeing the Long Island Railroad’s newest acquisitions being put through their paces. I don’t know if these trains have entered “revenue service” yet or if they’re still being tested out.
I’ve had a horrible realization recently… good lord, have I been rail fanning? Has it really come to this?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 7 line exits Court Square Station on an elevated track, and this right of way descends down into the Hunters Point Station. Occasionally, on this particular route, I’ll actually hop on the 7 and take it back to Sunnyside or Woodside and walk home from there.
I stand on the assertion that the 7 is the most photogenic of all the subway lines.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
At Hunters Point Avenue, you’ve got an absolutely incredible eastward looking view of the Sunnyside Yards. That Long Island Railroad train was heading into Manhattan, and the entrance to the East River Tunnels is nearby.
Wonders, I tell you, wonders.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
lute dancer
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The tunnels leading into Manhattan that are used by the Long Island Railroad are found within the Sunnyside Yards. On the south shore of Queens along Newtown Creek, however, you’ll find the LIRR’s Lower Montauk tracks which lead east. Used to be that the Lower Montauk could connect to the Yards via the Montauk Cutoff, but those tracks are now “abandoned,” and my friends and I have been working for a few years now to turn the cutoff into an “official” public open space – so no bueno for connecting anymore. The Montauk Cutoff is de facto “unofficial” public open space right now, but that’s another story.
Lower Montauk line starts at the LIRR’s Hunters Point Yard in Long Island City, found along Borden Avenue, which has been an active rail yard since the 1860’s.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A siding leaves the Lower Montauk and crosses Borden Avenue at street grade, after traveling under the Pulaski Bridge. This siding first enters the Hunters Point Avenue LIRR station about two blocks from the spot pictured above, and those tracks then offer connection to the Main Line and the tracks heading to Woodside, and Jamaica. These latter connections are beyond that which I can speak intelligently about, so if you think you know more about this than I do – you’re right, you do.
LIC, though, that’s my jam.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Lower Montauk tracks almost always have a couple of idling engines sitting on them, which I’m told are kept ready to roll in case of an emergency or if a non functioning train on the busier parts of the system needs a rescue. They also tow work trains and “maintenance of way” equipment about.
That’s LIRR engine 105 pictured above, which was built sometime between 1968 and 1981. It’s a 1,000 HP locomotive engine.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Engine 164 is pictured above, which I can’t tell you much about. It’s gloriously rusty, and can really use a paint job – that’s all I’ve got.
The tracks they’re sitting on are on the Lower Montauk line. Eastwards, these engines can connect first to the Wheelspur Yard, or travel over the DB Cabin bridge spanning Newtown Creek’s Dutch Kills tributary leading into the Blissville Yard, on their way eastwards to the interlocking at Haberman or all the way to the Fresh Pond yard. Along the way, in Ridgewood, the LIRR Bushwick Branch intersects and connects.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
MTA stores their “rolling stock” in between rush hours at the Hunters Point Yard, and twice a day there’s an absolutely terrific amount of activity down here in DUPBO, Down under the Pulaski Bridge Onramp.
This is one of the most infrastructure heavy areas I know. The draw bridge above, rail and vehicles traffic on the surface, and the Long Island Expressway is feeding traffic into the Queens Midtown Tunnel below.
In my experience, between 4 & 6 in the afternoons, you’re almost guaranteed to see something LIRR related happening here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Saying all that, my very productive day wasn’t over by a long shot, and I decided to crack out a “long shot” while climbing the Pulaski’s stairs and heading over towards Brooklyn’s Greenpoint section.
Wonders, I tell you, wonders.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 