Montauk Cutoff
{{Short description|Abandoned rail line in New York City}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox rail line
|name = Montauk Cutoff
|image = Montauk Cutoff flyover east of Hunterspoint Avenue station, September 2018.JPG
|caption = Montauk Cutoff overpass between Skillman Avenue and Sunnyside Yard
|owner = Metropolitan Transportation Authority
|status = Abandoned
|start = Sunnyside Yard
|end = Blissville Yard
|stations = 0
|tracks = 2–3
|gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}
}}
The Montauk Cutoff is an abandoned railway in Long Island City, Queens, New York City, that connected the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line and Lower Montauk Branch.
File:Aerial Photo of East River Tunnel Portals.jpg
File:Dutch Kill LIRR bridges 2008 jeh.jpg
The Montauk Cutoff is a cutoff approximately one-third of a mile in length{{cite web |url=https://livinglotsnyc.org/media/files/Montauk_Cutoff_Request_for_Expressions_of_Interest_dD60En7.pdf |title=Requests for Expressions of Interest: Adaptive Reuse of the LIRR Montauk Cutoff |access-date=June 16, 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190709184657/https://livinglotsnyc.org/media/files/Montauk_Cutoff_Request_for_Expressions_of_Interest_dD60En7.pdf |archive-date=July 9, 2019}} and was double-tracked for its entire length.{{rp|1}} It begins just west of Sunnyside and Arch Street Yards ({{Coord|40.744|-73.943|scale:5000}}), after which it runs west parallel to Skillman Avenue and passes over the tracks leading to the East River Tunnels and Hunterspoint Avenue.{{cite web |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2015/12/3/9894666/in-long-island-city-a-community-seeks-to-reclaim-an-urban-wilderness |title=In Long Island City, a Community Seeks to Reclaim an Urban Wilderness |date=December 3, 2015 |last=Kensinger |first=Nathan |website=ny.curbed.com |access-date=June 16, 2022}} It then runs elevated across several blocks in an industrial section of Long Island City,{{cite news |last=Parry |first=Bill |title=MTA offers old railway bridge |work=TimesLedger |year=2015 |volume=3 |number=39 |url=https://qns.com/assets/pdf/2015_39tl.pdf |pages=1,42}}{{rp|1}} before crossing the Cabin M Bridge ({{Coord|40.739|-73.9442|scale:5000}})—a swing bridge over Dutch Kills—and meeting the Montauk Branch immediately to the east of Dutch Kills Bridge at Blissville Yard ({{Coord|40.737|-73.942|scale:5000}}).{{cite web |url= http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/montaukcutoff/montaukcutoff.htm |title=LIRR Montauk Cutoff |date=2007 |last=Gregory |first=Joseph |website=trainsarefun.com |access-date=June 16, 2022}}{{Cite web |last=AECOM USA |date=January 2018 |title=Lower Montauk Branch Passenger Rail Study |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/lower-montauk-final-report-jan2018.pdf |page=4}}{{cite web |url=http://arrts-arrchives.com/MCO.html |title=MONTAUK CUT OFF |date=2006 |access-date=June 16, 2022}}
History of operation
The Montauk Cutoff was first proposed in early 1906{{cite news |title=The Importance of the Connecting Railroad |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=January 22, 1906 |p=22 |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/53937992/ |access-date=March 18, 2024}} and received a charter for construction in 1907,{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=jslXAAAAYAAJ&dq=lirr+%22montauk+cutoff%22+long+island+city&pg=PA17-IA24 |title=Annual Report of the Comptroller |date=1921 |author=New York Department of Finance |page=17 |access-date=June 16, 2022}}{{cite news |title=L.I.R.R. Franchise Granted {{!}} Board of Estimate Gives Authority to Build Montauk and Glendale Cut-Offs in Queens |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=June 8, 1907 |p=7 |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/57647329/ |access-date=March 18, 2024}} and was opened in July 1910 at a cost of $1,000,000 ({{Inflation|US|1000000|1910|fmt=eq}}).{{cite news |title=New Cut-Off in Operation |work=The Buffalo Commercial |date=July 16, 1910 |p=9 |via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/279086764/ |access-date=March 18, 2024}} It was originally constructed to allow trains from the Montauk Branch to directly access Sunnyside Yard, which was opened by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1910.{{cite book |last=Panchyk |first=Richard |title=Hidden History of Queens |date=2018 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=9781467138536 |lccn=2018936079}}{{rp|161}} As a flying junction, the Montauk Cutoff also allowed efficient transport of freight by separating it from the tracks leading to the also newly-constructed East River Tunnels, which carry passenger trains to and from Manhattan. Following its opening, the Montauk Cutoff was primarily used by freight trains.{{cite web |url= https://www.qchron.com/editions/western/mta-requests-ideas-for-rail-line-in-lic/article_b5fc3831-47bd-5ba9-bb1c-b71abee52051.html |title=MTA requests ideas for rail line in LIC |last=Douglas |first=Hannah |date=December 10, 2015 |work=Queens Chronicle |access-date=June 16, 2022}} It was constructed contemporaneously with other freight connections in Queens, including the Hell Gate Line (which now also sees Amtrak passenger service){{cite web |url= https://derekstadler.wordpress.com/portfolio-2/collections-photography/maspeth-from-small-dutch-community-to-part-of-the-great-metropolis-final/the-history-of-long-island-city-details-of-its-short-lived-days-as-both-an-incorporated-municipality-and-the-major-western-terminus-of-the-long-island-rail-road/ |title=The History of Long Island City: Details of its Short-Lived Days as Both an Incorporated Municipality and the Major Western Terminus of the Long Island Rail Road |last=Stadler |first=Derek |website=derekstadler.wordpress.com |access-date=June 16, 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007022914/https://derekstadler.wordpress.com/portfolio-2/collections-photography/maspeth-from-small-dutch-community-to-part-of-the-great-metropolis-final/the-history-of-long-island-city-details-of-its-short-lived-days-as-both-an-incorporated-municipality-and-the-major-western-terminus-of-the-long-island-rail-road/ |archive-date=October 7, 2021}} and Glendale Cutoff. On weekdays, the Montauk Cutoff was also used in lieu of a turntable (in essence, as a wye track) to turn diesel locomotives in Long Island City – then the main terminus for non-electric trains, which are not allowed to enter the East River Tunnels and Penn Station. As there was no turntable at Long Island City, west-facing locomotives from westbound trains would run around the cutoff after the trains discharged their passengers; the turned locomotives could then pull eastbound trains later in the day.{{cite web |url= https://untappedcities.com/2018/10/30/walk-the-abandoned-tracks-of-the-montauk-cutoff-at-sunnyside-yard-in-long-island-city/ |title=The Abandoned Tracks of the Montauk Cutoff at Sunnyside Yard in New York City |date=October 30, 2018 |last=Frederick |first=Tamatha |website=untappedcities.com |access-date=June 16, 2022}}
In the late 1990s, this practice was discontinued, as the LIRR's new diesel equipment (EMD DE30AC and DM30AC locomotives and C3 coaches) included cab cars, which enable remote control of the locomotive from the opposite end of the train and eliminate the need to turn locomotives in daily operations.{{cite web |url= https://ltvsquad.com/2015/12/14/the-montauk-cutoff/ |title=The Montauk Cutoff |last=Anastasio |first=Joseph |date=December 14, 2015 |website=ltvsquad.com |access-date=June 16, 2022}} Between the 1970s and 1990s, freight traffic into Long Island City also decreased, and in the 1990s, the MTA ceased freight operations with the sale of the LIRR's freight division to the New York and Atlantic Railway.{{cite web |url=https://www.railway-technology.com/analysis/long-island-rail-road-history/ |title=Timeline: 185 years of the Long Island Rail Road |last=Berti |first=Adele |date=November 26, 2019 |website=railway-technology.com |access-date=June 16, 2022}} As a result, the Montauk Cutoff saw less use and began to fall into disrepair.
Abandonment and possible reuse
File:Demolition and removal of a concrete and steel structure known as the Montauk Cutoff 2.jpg
The MTA has not used the Montauk Cutoff since its freight operations ended and the replacement of its diesel fleet—between 1989{{cite news |url= https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/guerilla-gardeners-legit-article-1.1514689 |title=Guerilla Garden on abandoned Long Island City train tracks to go legit |last=Trapasso |first=Clare |date=November 12, 2013 |work=New York Daily News |access-date=June 16, 2022}} and the late 1990s.{{rp|1}} Since then, the right-of-way has been overgrown and has seen graffiti, trespassers, homeless camps, and guerrilla gardening. In 2013, some local residents obtained a lease from the MTA to use a part of the abandoned right-of-way as a community garden known as the Smiling Hogshead Ranch. The garden was first conceived in 2011 as a guerrilla garden on the Degnon Terminal tracks, which split from the Montauk Cutoff.{{cite web |url=https://www.brownstoner.com/queens/long-island-city/introducing-the-smiling-hogshead-ranch-lic/ |title=Introducing: The Smiling Hogshead Ranch, LLC |work=Brownstoner |last=Waxman |first=Mitch |date=September 8, 2014 |access-date=March 16, 2024}} {{as of|2024}}, it is still operative.{{cite web |url=https://untappedcities.com/2022/02/07/secrets-long-island-city-queens/5/ |title=Top 10 Secrets of Long Island City, Queens |last=Madrigal |first=Irene |date=February 7, 2022 |website=untappedcities.com |access-date=June 17, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://newsletters.nycgovparks.org/index.php?action=social&c=df1ccc80d7dc6b6c0eb5ba69bced9c8a.101061 |title=March Monthly Newsletter |publisher=NYC Parks |date=March 2024 |access-date=March 16, 2024}}
In 2015, the MTA announced that it was decommissioning the Montauk Cutoff. It also announced that it was seeking concepts for reuse of the right-of-way. Some potential uses include an expanded garden, urban farm, or a park resembling the High Line in Manhattan, though the MTA announced that it does not want to sell the structure, as it wants to keep open the possibility of reuse as transportation infrastructure.{{rp|42}} A part of the Montauk Cutoff was later demolished to expand yard space for the East Side Access project.{{cite web |url=https://www.amodernli.com/future-mid-day-train-storage-yard-will-support-lirr-service-to-new-east-side-terminal/ |title=Future Mid-Day Train Storage Yard Will Support LIRR Service to New East Side Terminal |author=MTA Construction & Development |date=March 27, 2019 |website=amodernli.com |access-date=June 16, 2022}}
See also
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References
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{{coord|40.74129|-73.94452|scale:10000|display=title}}
{{Long Island Rail Road}}
Category:Closed railway lines in the United States
Category:Long Island Rail Road
Category:Rail freight transportation in New York City