Staten Island Railway Marking 150 Years

[M II A II R II K]

Staten Island Railway Marking 150 Years


June 02, 2010

By Maura Yates



Read More: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/railway_marking_150_years.html

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One of the few constants throughout decades of massive change in the borough celebrated a milestone this spring, as the Staten Island Railway marked 150 years of service. The official date of the anniversary was April 23, but New York City Transit is commemorating the event this summer with MetroCard deals offered at several Island cultural institutions and other venues through June and July.

For details, visit http://www.mta.info/metrocard/promos/StatenIsland/index.html.

A poster from the seven-and-a-half-mile-long rail line's opening day in 1860 boasted three daily trains between "Vanderbilt Landing," now Clifton, and Eltingville. Four trains ran on Sundays. The stops back then were "Toad Hill," New Dorp, "Harrison's Club House" and Gifford's Lane. The rail line was extended later that year, first to Annadale and then to Tottenville. Over the years, it grew to include the Atlantic and Nassau stations, named for what once were bustling industrial hubs.

Atlantic was named after the former Atlantic Terra Cotta Works, a main supplier of much of the tiles and ornaments adorning the walls of the original IRT subway stations. Nassau was named after the former Nassau Smelting and Refining Co., later renamed AT&T Nassau Metals. On July 1, 1971, New York City acquired the line from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority commenced operation for the city under a lease agreement. The name was changed to the Staten Island Railway in 1994.

Things have changed since 1924 when this photo of Seguine Avenue station for the then-Staten Island Rapid Transit was taken.