![]() ![]() LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD TRIP PLANNER SERIESThe company’s declining reputation was further hit when a series of accidents on its line killed 115 people. In the 1950s, the growing lack of funds and separation for the PRR had a particularly damaging impact on the service’s ageing equipment and infrastructure. 1950s-1980s: the LIRR becomes state-owned These issues culminated in 1946, when the PRR posted losses for the first time in its history and, having let go of the LIRR, left it to deal with a new bankruptcy. This period of prosperity eventually came to an end, as a number of factors – from a decline in services during the Second World War to an increase in taxes between the 1920s and 1940s –damaged the service, which was also facing toughening competition with New York’s new subway system. Its brand new all-steel cars carried over 800 passengers a day during the summer and just under 750 during the winter season. Under the PRR, nearly 30% of the Long Island Rail Road’s network was electrified. The construction of Pennsylvania (Penn) Station, in Manhattan, in 1901, was a key factor in achieving this purpose. The move was part of the PRR’s expansion bid, which meant to improve commuter services across New York and the nearby region. The turn of the century brought a new owner to the LIRR, which was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) for $6m. 1900-1949: welcoming the new century and a new owner ![]() Under his leadership, a second line reaching the southern shore of the Atlantic Ocean was completed, while the network further expanded to destinations including Manhattan Beach, Long Beach and Port Washington.Ĭorbin also managed to buy out all of the line’s main competitors, making the LIRR the only rail service on Long Island. The year 1880 was marked by the arrival of Austin Corbin, a robber baron from New Hampshire, whose takeover of the LIRR started a year of great prosperity for the service. 1880s-1900: prosperity under Austin Corbin After years of friction over its ban on the use of steam engines, the route eventually became part of the LIRR’s services. In addition, new business opportunities came from the City of Brooklyn. Incapable of competing with New York and New Haven Railroad, the LIRR was forced to declare bankruptcy.īut this wasn’t the end of the line, which managed to survive the crisis by turning its focus to local passenger services and expanding its reach to the island’s more densely populated areas.īetween the 1850s and 1870s, this was made possible through the acquisition of several smaller franchises, including the New York & Flushing Railroad and prime competitor the Central Railroad of Long Island. ![]() 1850s-1870s: bankruptcy and a refocus on local services The first problem had to do with the line’s structure, which stretched towards the centre of Long Island, a scarcely populated area that offered far fewer opportunities than the coastline in terms of both passengers and freight.Īdding to that, the LIRR suffered a substantial blow in 1848, when the opening of a rail route connecting New York and Boston through Connecticut (also known as the New York and New Haven Railroad) challenged the LIRR’s very reason for existence. ![]() 1840s: early troubles for the new networkĭespite an auspicious start, problems rose quite quickly for the line, which found itself in trouble shortly after becoming operational.Īt the core of the LIRR’s miseries, the company’s owners overestimated ridership and competition from other lines throughout the 1840s. Yet the B&J didn’t live long enough to operate the line in 1834, a host of New York and Boston investors formed the Long Island Rail Road Company to lease the B&J and extend services towards mainland US. ![]()
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