History of the Staten Island Railway

The Staten Island Railway (SIR), the only rapid transit line in the New York City borough of Staten Island, is operated by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and is considered a standard railroad line, but only freight service which runs along the western portion of the North Shore Branch is connected to the national railway system.

Railways on Staten Island date back to 1836 and have been used for both passenger and freight service. At the apex of rail service, passenger lines went to the southern, eastern, and northern shores of Staten Island. Many of these lines were demolished in the mid-20th century. Today, one passenger line operates between Saint George and Tottenville along the east side of the borough. There is currently no passenger service offered for those residents living on the western or northern sides of the borough, but Staten Island light rail is planned for these corridors. Freight service in northwestern Staten Island was withdrawn in the 1970s, but was restored in the 2000s.

First line: 1836–1885

SIRT timetable, circa 1867

The railway's predecessor, a line between present-day Clifton and Tottenville,^[1] was incorporated in 1836.^[1][2][3] The 13-mile (21 km) route had an estimated price of $300,000.^[4] However, since the railroad was not built within two years after it was incorporated, it lost its charter in 1838. Attempts started again in 1851, when Perth Amboy and Staten Island residents petitioned for a Tottenville-to-Stapleton rail line. This led to the incorporation of the Staten Island Railway on August 2, 1851, soon after which construction for the railroad commenced.^[1][3]

Since the residents did not have the money to fund their own railroad, they asked Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, the sole Staten Island-to-Manhattan ferry operator, for a loan.^[3] Vanderbilt, who agreed to finance the railroad,^[2] tried to prevent competitors who had previously owned the railroad's lease. Vanderbilt appointed James R. Robinson, to build a structure to block his competitors, but on July 28, 1851, people tried to take apart the almost-finished structure, threatening to hurt Robinson if he tried to block them.^[3] In 1858, Cornelius's son William was inducted onto the railway's board of directors.^[1] Stockholders and officials took an inaugural ride on the line between Vanderbilt's Landing and Eltingville on February 1, 1860, and passenger operations began on April 23 of that year.^[2][3][5]

Nearby Vanderbilt's Landing there were ferry slips providing service to Manhattan. The first locomotive's name was the "Albert Journeay", named after the railroad's president.^[3] A second locomotive was added to the line on May 5, 1860, and it was named the E. Bancker.^[3] The line was extended to Annadale on May 14, 1860,^[3] and the line completed to Tottenville on June 2, 1860, with a formal opening of the railroad.^[1][2] The completion of the line to Tottenville allowed passengers to transfer to a ferry, which crossed the Arthur Kill, and allowed passengers to go to Perth Amboy, New Jersey.^[1][2][6] When the Staten Island Railroad was built in 1860, it was common to have stations at or near large farms, leading to station names such as Garretson's or Gifford's. There were more elaborate structures put in place at Eltingville and Annadale, as the Eltings and Anna Seguine, for whom the stations were named after, were influential in financing the construction of the Staten Island Railway.^[7] The arrival of the railroad gave dignity to some locations on Staten Island without any of it. The area between Annadale and Pleasant Plains was marshy, and mosquito infested, was named "Skunk's Misery". "Poverty Hollow" was renamed Rosebank, Heights was added to Oakwood, and various other places were renamed with the coming of the railroad.^[8]

In August 1860, the railroad was extended from the depot at Vanderbilt's Landing to the wharf, which allowed passengers to walk directly to the boat from the train instead of walking one hundred feet along the sand. At this point there were eleven stops along the Staten Island Railroad.^[9] At the time it took one and a half hours to get to Tottenville from Manhattan.^[9] On February 27, 1861, the New Jersey Locomotive Works gave notice of foreclosure on the two locomotives. Cornelius Vanderbilt stepped in again, and on September 4, 1861, the Staten Island Railway was placed into receivership with William Henry Vanderbilt to prevent the loss of the locomotives and rolling stock to creditors.^[1][2][3] The two locomotives were named for the president and the vice president of the Staten Island Rail Road at the time.^[7]

It was necessary for trains to have a direct connect with the infrequent ferries to and from Manhattan, which turned out to be difficult during the beginning of operation. The ferries serving Vanderbilt's Landing were owned by George Law. Afterwards, Vanderbilt tried to operate a ferry service between Manhattan and Staten Island that would compete with the ferry service owned by George Law. Vanderbilt eventually had to sell his ferry service to his competitor, George Law after a franchise battle.^[2] After the commencement of the war, Commodore Vanderbilt lost interest in the transit operations on Staten Island and handed the operations of the ferry and railroad over to his brother, Captain Jacob H. Vanderbilt, who was the president of the company until 1885.^[1][7][10] In March 1864, the ferries of George Law were bought by Vanderbilt, bringing both the railroad and the ferries under the same company.^[2] In 1865, the railway took over the operation of the NY & Richmond Ferry Company and would later assume direct responsibility for operating the ferry service to Manhattan too.^[1] The Staten Island Railway Company was reorganized at this time.^[1] Under the leadership of Jacob Vanderbilt, the Staten Island Rail Road took over the Perth Amboy Ferry and the Staten Island Ferry, and train service was increased.^[7]

The Staten Island Railway and ferry line were making a modest profit until the explosion of the "Westfield" at Whitehall Street Terminal on July 30, 1871.^[1][2][6] Mr. L. H. Meyer became the receiver, and took charge of the affairs of the company.^[10] The Westfield disaster had a dramatic effect on the finances of both the Staten Island Ferry and the Staten Island Railroad, which owned the ferry company. By July 1872, the railroad and the ferry were in receivership.^[2] On September 7, 1872, the property of the company was sold to George Law,^[2] with the exception of the ferry boat "Westfield", which was purchased by Horace Theall.^[3][10] After operating the railroad and the ferry for some time Law and Theall sold out to a company largely of shareholders, Mr. Law threatening to form a company of his own, if they did not come to his terms promptly.^[10] Some of the smaller stockholders neglected to join in the purchase.^[10] On March 20, 1873, the Staten Island Railway was created by George Law to acquire the property of the Staten Island Rail Road.^[7][10]

Many years earlier Commodore Vanderbilt planned a scheme for building a central dock on Staten Island, for freighting and distributing passengers, somewhat of a similar plan that was later worked out by Erastus Wiman; but a storm broke up and scattered the timber-work, and the scheme was abandoned, leaving only the stone foundation which is still visible at low tide, near St. George. During the Civil War, a boat connected with the Staten Island Railway, the "Southfield" was sold to the government, and was converted into a gunboat. It was destroyed during a bombardment on Mississippi. In 1876, a ferry war broke out on the North Shore of Staten Island. Commodore Garner obtained possession of the ferry against the old company, and ran the "D. R. Martin" on the East Shore, in opposition to the regular line. Garner's death put a sudden end to this enterprise. Garner's boats were purchased by John H. Starin, who paid $5,000 for each of them, and he obtained a franchise, operating them until it fell into the hands of the SIRT in 1884.^[10]

SIRT/B&O operation: 1880–1900

Organization: 1880–1884

In 1867, Erastus Wiman, a Canadian, arrived in New York to oversee the main office of Dun, Barlow, and Company in New York.^[2][6] Wiman became one of the most prominent residents of Staten Island after locating his residence in a mansion on the island. Wiman was dubbed the "Duke of Staten Island," and was interested in developing Staten Island, and recognized that in order to so successfully he would need to build a coordinated transportation hub with connections to New York City and New Jersey.^[2]

By mid-1880 the Staten Island Railroad Company was barely operational, and as a result New York State sued through Attorney General Ward to have the company dissolved in May of the same year. The suit said that the Company had become "insolvent in September 1872, to have then surrendered its rights to others, and have failed to exercise those rights." The legal proceedings proceeded for a while after an injunction was obtained, which restrained the creditors of the railway company from proceeding against it until after the determination of the suit of the people.^[2][11]

The Staten Island Rapid Transit Company (SIRT) was organized on March 25, 1880, by Wiman in order to help develop the island as he wished to do.^[1][2][6] Wiman's plan included a belt system using the old two-mile Staten Island Railroad, which ran between Vanderbilt's Landing and Tompkinsville, and the coordination of all ferries from one terminal, there were previously six to eight of them, located near Saint George.^[1][2] Wiman sought to expand the line and approached Robert Garrett, president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, to back the idea of a large rail terminal on the island and centralize the ferry landings, who agreed.^[1] The SIRT began to seek legislation to acquire various rights-of-way that would be needed to implement Wiman's plan. This was done when the company, didn't own or control a railroad. If the company gained charter to build connections, it would have had nothing to which to connect. The company then began surveying for the proposed routes. In April 1881, the company acquired 1.5 miles of critical right-of-way directly from George Law.^[2] At first when Wiman explained his plan he was able to secure a water front option from him. When the option had to be renewed a second time, Law refused. In order to get Law to side with him, Wiman offered to "canonize" him by naming the place "St. George." Law, humored by this, granted Wiman yet another option.^[12] In October 1882, Wiman made an application for a wharf to land passengers from the company's planned new ferry service to Manhattan.^[2]

Clarence T. Barrett, Henry P. Judah, and Theodore C. Vermilyen were appointed as commissioners to appraise the value of the land required by the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company to extend the Staten Island Railroad from Vanderbilt's Landing to Tompkinsville. Work on the line was not set to begin until the commissioners made their report.^[13] The SIRT filed a map of the proposed route in the office of the clerk of Richmond County, with the line passing through the lawn of Ms. Post on the North Shore of the island. On February 26, 1883, Mr. Franklin Bartlett and Mr. Clifford Bartlett, whom appear for Ms. Post, notified the court that a change of route would be demanded.^[14] The new line, after leaving Vanderbilt's Landing, crossed the property formerly occupied by the Seaman's Retreat, but since acquired by the state by the Marine Society, then through the property of the New York Coast Wrecking Company, the lumber yards of C. C. Eddy & Sons, the carriage factory of J. Scott, the Schaeffer grounds, property represented by Coudert brothers, the grounds of George Bechtel, Rubsnin & Horrman, the brewers; S. L. Mulford & Co.'s coal and wood yard, and lands of Samuel Barton and W. Butler Duncan. The only other building upon the line besides Scott's carriage factory is a small barn on the Schaeffer grounds. The cost of the extension was estimated to be $150,000.^[13]

On April 3, 1883, the Staten Island Railroad Company gained control of the Staten Island Railroad and its boats.^[15] On the same date at the annual meeting of the Staten Island Railroad company, Erasmus Wiman gained control of the railroad by being elected to the board of Directors of the Railroad and becoming the railroad's president.^[2][15] At the meeting Wiman laid out his proposals for rail lines on Staten Island.^[6][15] Wiman proposed extending the old Staten Island Railroad to Hyatt Street in what is today Saint George. From there a line would run through New Brighton, and Snug Harbor along the North Shore of Staten Island. The line would then go toward the interior of the island, going parallel to the Kill Van Kull. Based on the settling of the interior of Staten Island, additional spur lines would have been built. Wiman also proposed a bridge across the Arthur Kill from Tottenville to Perth Amboy, which would have replaced the ferry that operated there. This would have been part of a direct route between New York City and Philadelphia by connections at Perth Amboy and South Amboy, with a new bridge over the Rartian River.^[15] In the days before the meeting he had gained 7,450 out of the 11,800 shareholders to elect him, surprising many of the directors of the railroad.^[2][15] By the end of the month, Wiman resigned from the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company in order to avoid any conflict of interest.^[2] On June 27, 1883, a meeting of the directors of both companies formally ratified the merger of the two companies under the leadership of Erastus Wiman, who was named president.^[2]

Construction on the line began on March 17, 1884 for the North Shore Branch after a number of legal proceedings, when a party of surveyors marked out the grades and broke ground for the road bed of the line.^[2][6][16] The completion of the extension to Tompkinsville was necessary before the lease which the rapid transit company secured from the old Staten Island Railroad Company can become effective. The contract for the line was given to Smith & Ripley of this city.^[13] The work of grading began, and during the spring of 1884 was pushed forward with such energy that by the end of July the road was graded and the track laid between Vanderbilt's Landing and Tompkinsville.^[4] The line was expected to be open on September 1, 1884.^[13]

While the control of the railroad included control of Vanderbilt's ferry, the North Shore Ferry was leased separately and was operated by John H. Starin. His lease, was set to expire on May 1, 1884. On July 18, 1884, the SIRT was awarded a new lease on the North Shore operation.^[2][17] As part of the purchase, ferry service would have been operated every forty minutes instead of an hour. The fare for the railroad and the ferry would have been ten cents, except between the hours of five and seven in the morning, and between five and seven in the evening when the fare would have been seven cents. Mr. Starin continued to fight the lease in the courts for several years.^[2][17]

Expansion: 1884–1900

The line opened one month earlier than expected, when the first Staten Island Rapid Transit locomotive and train ran over this stretch of track on July 31, 1884.^[1][2] It contained the managers and officers of the railroad, a few invited guests, and several passengers who had come up on the train as it came on its regular time from Tottenville. The ride took three and a half minutes.^[4] The extension opened for passenger service on August 1, 1884.^[18] On July 31, 1884, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company was given a 99 years' lease of the Staten Island Railway, and under this agreement, the railroad to Tottenville, and all of its properties became a part of the rapid transit system,^[4] which resulted in the consolidation of the railroad and ferry terminals in Saint George.^[12] On November 16, 1884, Wiman, James M. Davis, Sir Roderick Cameron, Herman Clark, and Louis de Jonge incorporated the Saint George Improvement Company in order to handle the land and waterfront, which was recently purchased from the estate of George Law. The new company was to handle the building of a new terminal for ferries at Saint George.^[2][19] Construction of a branch along Staten Island's North Shore began in 1884. The SIRT wanted to have the line extend to Saint George, however there was a problem. Over most of the course of the line, it had followed the shore, along the bluffs, where ground had to be made upon to build the road.^[4] State laws were not able to grant the right to run a railroad through the property of the United States, and as a result, construction was hindered by the grounds of the lighthouse department just above Tompkinsville. The company, however, secured an act of congress permitting them to push a tunnel through the hill a short distance back from the shore. The grant for the tunnel was surrounded with restrictions that made slow progress inevitable.^[4] Construction of the tunnel began in 1885.^[1] The tunnel was five hundred and eighty five feet long, and was protected by massive walls of masonry on the sides, and an arch of brick two feet in thickness overhead. It was wide enough to fit two trains side by side at a time. The cost of the project was $190,000.^[4]

Proposed Staten Island Transit route map. "Existing Ferry Routes are indicated by blue lines." Issued c. 1884 by E.C. Bridgman, NY, Map Publisher.

A controlling interest in the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company was obtained in 1885 by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through purchases of stock. On November 21, 1885, Robert Garrett, of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad leased the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) for 99 years, which allowed the B&O to have access to New York.^{[1][2][6][20]} The lease company guaranteed the principal and interest of $2,500,000 5 per cent, 40 year bonds of the Staten Island Company; these bonds were up for renegotiation. The proceeds of the sale were needed by Wiman to complete the terminal facilities at Saint George, and to pay for waterfront property extending along the Staten Island shore for two miles, in completing the Rapid Transit Railroad, building a bridge over the Kill Van Kull at Elizabethport, and in the construction of coal piers, round houses, and other terminal facilities.^[21] In order to celebrate the sale, there was a dinner by Erastus Wiman and his associates of the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company to the President and Executives of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on December 16, 1885.^[22] In 1885, "Captain Jake" retired as President and General Ticket Agent of the Staten Island Railway. By 1886, the operations of the Staten Island Railway was taken over by the Staten Island Rapid Transit, but the Staten Island Railway was kept as a separate corporation even under Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ownership.^[7]

A Map of the Staten Island Rapid Transit Company from 1885

The rights to a horse car line operating in Richmond Terrace were bought in order to build a rail line across Staten Island’s north shore to reach New Jersey. The right of way for the North Shore Branch followed the North Shore of Staten Island and reached a ferry to Elizabeth, NJ, which since the mid-1700s had been in operation.^[23] The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad built about two miles of rock fill out from shore as well as along the Kill Van Kull to deal with opposition from property owners in the neighborhood of Sailor's Snug Harbor. This additional expendature cost $25,000.^[1][4] In order to get property for the line to pass over the cove at Palmer's run, the company had to undergo a contest in litigation.^[4] In Port Richmond, some property was acquired, displacing a number of home and business owners. A farm was purchased on the northwestern corner of Staten Island at a location called Old Place, which was renamed "Arlington" by the B&O railroad.^[23]

The North Shore Branch was completed in 1885. The North Shore Branch opened for service on February 23, 1886, with trains terminating at Elm Park. The time between Manhattan and Elm Park was reduced from 90 minutes with the old ferry system to 39 minutes with the North Shore Branch open.^[4] On March 7, 1886, the key piece of Wiman's plan opened when the Saint George Terminal opened, with North Shore trains operating between Elm Park and Saint George, and East Shore trains operating between Saint George and Tottenville.^[2][6][12] On March 8, 1886, the South Beach Branch opened for passenger service to Arrochar.^{[2][3][10][24]} In 1886, the former Staten Island Railway stations were upgraded from low-level platforms to high-level platforms, as all of the new Staten Island Rapid Transit stations had high-level platforms.^[7] The remainder of the North Shore Branch was opened in the summer of 1886 to its terminus at Erastina.^[1] The new lines opened by the B&O railroad were called the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway, while the original line from Clifton to Tottenville was called the Staten Island Railway.^[25][26]

Baltimore & Ohio Viaduct Under Construction Over the Arthur Kill Connecting Staten Island and New Jersey

Various proposals were made by the B&O for a railroad between Staten Island and New Jersey. The accepted proposal consisted of a five and one quarter line from the Arthur Kill to meet the Jersey Central at Cranford, through Union County and the communities of Roselle Park and Linden.^[23] To construct this line, the B&O created a subsidiary, the Baltimore & New York Railway, in October 1888. The B&NY was created for charter rights, and it was operated by the SIRT. Construction on this road started in 1889,^[23] and the line was finished in the latter part of that year.^[1] Congress passed a law on June 16, 1886 authorizing the construction of a 500-foot (150 m) swing bridge over the Arthur Kill, after three years of effort by Erastus Wiman.^[6][27] The start of construction was delayed for nine months by the need for approval of the Secretary of War,^[1][27] and another six months due to an injunction from the State of New Jersey.^[27] This required construction to continue through the brutal winter of 1888^[6][27] because Congress had set a completion deadline of June 16, 1888, two years after signing the bill.^[27] The bridge was completed three days early on June 13, 1888, at 3 p.m.^{[10][27][28][29]} At the time of its opening, the Arthur Kill Bridge was the largest drawbridge ever constructed in the world. There were no fatalities in the construction of the bridge.^[27] The overall cost of the bridge was $450,000. The bridge consisted of five pieces of masonry, the center one being midstream, and on it resting was the draw. There was 208 feet on each side of the draw, and the draw span for the bridge was 500 feet, and the fixed spans 150 feet each, making the bridge 800 feet in length, to span the Arthur Kill, which was 600 feet wide. The height of the bridge was 30 feet above the low water mark. The approach for the bridge on the Staten Island side was still under construction at the time. It required four weeks to erect the draw span and put it together, and two weeks longer to put the machinery in order. Six-hundred and fifty-six tons of iron were required to construct the draw and 85 tons for each of the approaches.^[27] Trains were planned to start running on the Arthur Kill Bridge by September 1,^[27] but due to the fact that the approaches to the Arthur Kill Bridge were not finished, trains started running on January 1, 1890,^[1] when the first train operated from Saint George Terminal to Cranford Junction.^[30] Six-thousand feet of trestle was built on the Staten Island side, and four-thousand feet of trestle was built on the New Jersey as a result of the fact that the land for the approaches was low and swampy. Altogether there was two miles of elevated structure.^[30] The North Shore Branch was opened to freight traffic in March 1890. Once the Arthur Kill Bridge was completed, pressure was brought upon the United States War Department by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad to have the newly built bridge torn down and replaced with a bridge with a different design, claiming that it was an obstruction for the navigation of the large numbers of coal barges past Holland Hook on the Arthur Kill. They were however not successful in these efforts.^[6][23]

In 1889, the South Beach Branch was extended from Arrochar to a new terminal at South Beach. As evidenced by a map from 1884, the South Beach Branch was originally supposed to run to Primard Street in Oakwood Beach.^[31][32] However, the Staten Island Rapid Transit could not get the approval from the Vanderbilt family for crossing their large family farm at New Dorp Beach. In 1889, the Southfield Beach Electric Railway, a non-Staten Island Rapid Transit service was built for one mile from the SIRT's South Beach to Midland Beach, which during this time was a popular resort, with hotels and a gambling casino.^[7] In 1893, the line from Clifton to Tottenville was double tracked.^[33] The B&O railroad was bankrupt by February 1896. In attempting to reach the New York market, the B&O railroad has let its western lines fall into disrepair. J.P. Morgan replaced the railroad's top management in order to refinance the railroad.^[23] In 1897, the terminal at Saint George, which served the railroad and the ferry to Manhattan was completed.^[2] The SIRT and all of its real and personal property held in the company, was sold at auction, at the First National Bank at Saint George, on April 20, 1899.^[34] The sale was in foreclosure proceedings in the name of Charles E. Lewis, as trustee for the holders of the secured mortgaged bonds, and for $2,000,000 the property was purchased by representatives of the B&O railroad company.^[10][34] The bid for the B&O was made by Harold Bronner, R. H. Minzer, and Frank Geary.^[34] The railroad had already owned the line from Elizabethport, New Jersey to South Beach including the Arthur Kill Bridge. At the time, it was rumored that the trains of the B&O railroad would be rerouted from Communipow station to Saint George. There was no change in management of the Staten Island Rapid Transit after the purchase.^[34]

1900–1925

In 1900, the B&O was put under the control of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which made a number of improvements to the line.^[23] The PRR allowed the newly developed New Jersey, New York and Staten Island properties to remain intact. For a short while in 1900, the SIRT operated a B&O connection passenger train from St. George to Plainfield, NJ.^[23][35] Within a few years the B&O was profitable again and emerged from PRR control as a stronger railroad.^[23] As of 1903, there were almost 50 daily trips on both the North Shore Branch and the South Beach Branch, and 22 daily trips on the Tottenville Branch. There were also two daily express trains to Tottenville.^[36]

Whitlock station was built in the early 1900s, due to the growth of the surrounding area.^[8] Later on, it was renamed Bay Terrace. One of the main goals of Staten Island was municipal acquisition of the Ferry and replacement of the fleet, which came to fruition on October 25, 1905, in which the city took ownership of the ferry and terminals, and ejected the B&O from Whitehall Street terminal. A new Saint George Terminal was then built by the city for $2,318,720.^[12] The two main freight yards on Staten Island, Arlington and Saint George, were at capacity, and to ease the congestion the B&O began running freight into Jersey City on the Jersey Central in 1912. The B&O profited from the heavy coal trade that operated via the lines on Staten Island.^[23] In 1920, 4,000,000 tons of freight had been handled on the railway. In 1920, 65 trains ran daily on the North Shore Branch, 60 trains ran daily on the South Beach Branch, and 34 trains ran daily on the Main Line or Tottenville Branch. A majority of the passengers of the railway used the North Shore and South Beach branches. In 1920, 8,000,000 passengers used the North Shore and South Beach branches, while 5,000,000 passengers used the main line.^[37] Up until the year 1921, 3,369,400 trains had been operated on the SIRT and there had been no fatalities.^[38]

Modernization: 1925–1947

In anticipation of a tunnel under the Narrows to Brooklyn and a connection there with the New York subway system at the Bay Ridge – 95th Street station, the SIRT electrified its lines using third rail power distribution and cars similar to those of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT).^[39][40][41] The first electric train was operated on the South Beach Branch between South Beach and Fort Wadsworth at 9:45 P. M. on May 30, 1925.^[39][42] As part of the electrification project, the South Beach Branch was extended one stop to Wentworth Avenue from the previous terminus at South Beach.^[8][43] Wentworth Avenue had a short, wooden half-car platform, and shelter built there. That location had previously been used as a turning point for the steam-powered SIRT trains. Minor servicing was done for the locomotives there.^[7] This sub-division was put into regular operation at 12:01 A.M. June 5, 1925.^[42] As part of the electrification project, thirteen engines were retired, four new wholly automatic substations opened at South Beach, Old Town Road, Eltingville, and Tottenville. In addition, a modern signaling system was put into place in the Saint George Yards allowing one dispatcher to do all the work. The Clifton Junction Shops were updated to take care of electric equipment instead of steam equipment, and the yard was electrified to the most part. Grade crossing elimination began between Prince's Bay and Pleasant Plains.^[39] The Tottenville Branch was put into regular operation as an electrified line on July 1, 1925 at 2:30 P.M.^[42] For the first time since its opening, the railroad's trains stopped having the first car reserved for smokers on July 2, 1925. As a result, a petition was sent to the railroad to reverse this decision.^[44] The other branches were electrified by November 1925.^[41][45] Arlington and Saint George Yards, along with the Mount Loretto Spur, and the Travis Branch^[46] were not electrified due to the high cost of electrification.^[1] The electrification brought no big increase in traffic, and the tunnel was never built.^[47] The Baltimore & Ohio owned both the railway and the Staten Island Ferry.^[48]

On June 25, 1926, the Transit Commission ordered that four grade crossings on Staten Island – at Bay Street in Clifton, and at Hope Avenue, Belair Road, and Tompkins Avenue in Fort Wadsworth, be eliminated. The cost of the project was to be $1 Million, with half of the cost going to the railroad, and a fourth each to the city and state. At the time, the grade crossing at Bay Street, was though of as the most dangerous grade crossing on Staten Island.^[49] In the 1920s, a branch was built to haul materials to construct the Outerbridge Crossing. The branch was built along the West Shore of Staten Island from the Richmond Valley station, and originally extended to the village of Charleston at Allentown Lane, which was past the end of Drumgoole Boulevard. The branch was cut back south of the bridge after the bridge was built.^[50] The Gulf Oil Corporation opened a dock and tank farm along the Arthur Kill in 1928 and in order to serve it, the Travis Branch was built south from Arlington Yard into the marshes of the island's western shore to Gulfport.^[1][7][50] At this time, the two West Shore branches were mapped to be joined together by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The West Shore Line between Arlington and Tottenville, would have allowed rail freight headed to Nassau Smelting and other freight customers on the Main Line to avoid the congestion of Saint George Yard and the frequent passenger train service on the North Shore, East Shore and Perth Amboy sub-divisions. This proposal was killed by the Great Depression.^[50]

This map from 1922 shows the proposed connected West Shore Line.

In the 1930s there was a proposal for rapid transit expansion in Staten Island with an Interborough Loop joining the Perth Amboy sub-division at Grasmere with the North Shore Branch at Port Richmond. There also was a proposal to join the North Shore Branch to Tottenville, however not utilizing the existing West Shore tracks.^[50] On February 4, 1932, the headway on trains was decreased to 15 minutes from 20 minutes between 9:29 p.m. and 10:29 p.m. and was decreased to 30 minutes from 40 minutes between 10:29 p.m. and 1:29 a.m. on the Perth Amboy Division.^[51] Staten Island Borough President Joseph A. Palma proposed in 1936 to extend the Staten Island Rapid Transit to Manhattan. He proposed extending the tracks across the Bayonne Bridge, using two available lanes, then going three miles, then connecting to the Jersey Central, and then via the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad (today's PATH) to Manhattan.^[52][53] The Port of New York Authority endorsed the same plan in 1937, with the utilization of the Erie Railroad main line to Patterson, NJ also part of the plan. There would be a terminal at 51st Street in Manhattan near Rockefeller Center to serve the trains of Erie, West Shore, Lackawanna, Jersey Central, and trains from Staten Island, with these services terminating at 51st instead of in Jersey City.^[54] This original proposal was brought back in 1950, by Edward Corsi, a Republican candidate for mayor.^[55]

On February 25, 1937, the Port Richmond–Tower Hill viaduct was completed, becoming the largest grade crossing elimination project in the United States. The viaduct was more than a mile long, and spanned eight grade crossings on the North Shore Branch of the SIRT. The opening of the viaduct marked the final part of a $6,000,000 grade crossing elimination project on Staten Island, which eliminated thirty-four grade crossings on the north and south shores of Staten Island. A two-car special train, which carried Federal, state, and borough officials made a run over the viaduct and the seven mile project. Stations closed for the viaduct project at Tower Hill and Port Richmond were reopened on this date as well.^[56] In 1936–1937, the South Beach Branch was elevated to remove several grade crossings.^[57][58] The timetable from October 15, 1940, shows 248 trains leaving Saint George each weekday with 80 to Tottenville 4 to Great Kills, 82 to Wentworth Avenue, 79 to Arlington and 3 to Port Ivory.

Freight and World War II traffic, helped pay off some of the debt the SIRT had accumulated. This additional revenue briefly made the SIRT profitable. During this time, the B&O ran freight trains to Jersey City as well as to Staten Island. Around this time, B&O crews began running through without changing at different junctions. Regular B&O crews, and Staten Island crews were separated, meaning that the crews had to change before they could get into Staten Island. The Staten Island Rapid Transit crews handled all the traffic to and from Cranford Junction in New Jersey. During the second World War, all of the east coast military hospital trains were handled by the SIRT. The hospital trains ran through to their inland connections via Cranford Junction, with some trains stopping at Arlington on Staten Island to transfer wounded soldiers to a large military hospital on Staten Island. The Baltimore & New York Railway line become extremely busy between Cranford Junction and the Arthur Kill, with troop movements, POW trains and war material operating over this stretch to get to their appointed destinations. Two B&O subsidiaries, the B&NY and the Staten Island Rapid Transit, were merged in 1945.^[59] Since the Baltimore & New York Railway opened in 1890, the SIRT had worked this line with its own as well as assigned B&O locomotives. Around the time of the second World War, the B&O operated special trains for important officials. One such special was for Winston Churchill, taking him to a ship at Stapleton, Staten Island for one of his many Atlantic crossings. For this special a shined-up locomotive with sporting polished rods, white tires, and a white-uniformed engine crew was provided by the SIRT for this trip.^[23]

On May 18, 1946, a strike of engineers and trainmen that had affected many other railroads in the region, such as the Hudson & Manhattan and the Long Island Rail Road, also affected the SIRT, but service returned by the end of the evening. Crews had remained on their trains in terminals awaiting from their leaders of official notification of the truce.^[60] On June 25, 1946, a fire wrecked the terminal at Saint George killing three people and causing damage worth $22,000,000.^[6] The fire destroyed the ferry terminal and the four slips used for Manhattan service, the terminal for Staten Island Rapid Transit trains, and a small building and slip owned by the city and used by the Army and Navy in transporting their men from Staten Island to the United States Naval Depot at Bayonne, New Jersey.^[61] Two days after the fire, the city voted $3,000,000 to start work on building a new $12,000,000 terminal, that would be opened in 1948.^[62]

Service scaledowns: 1947–1953

On October 28, 1947, Mayor John A. Delaney and the City Commission created a plan to fight the SIRT's proposal to abandon service between the city and Tottenville. The Mayor criticized the railroad for the failing to notify the city of its intentions.^[63] On the same date, the SIRT filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission to get permission to discontinue ferry service between Tottenville and Perth Amboy, NJ. The SIRT said that the abandonment should be permitted because of "the substantial deficits being incurred in operation of the service, which covers a distance of 3,600 feet".^[64]

On May 3, 1948, the House approved a bill to permit the SIRT to widen its railroad tunnel at the Saint George Ferry Terminal. The tunnel, which was constructed under Federally-owned land would be widened 19 feet for a distance of 456 feet.^[65] The tunnel would allow the laying of a third track and permit the operation of more trains from Saint George to Tottenville and South Beach. The extra track would also facilitate better handling of trains at the ferry terminal at Saint George. The bill passed the Senate on June 1, 1948,^[66] and it was signed by President Truman on June 14, 1948.^[67]

In 1948, the city Board of Transportation took over all of the bus lines on Staten Island,^[1] and on July 1, 1948 the bus fare on Staten Island dropped from 5 cents per zone (20 cents Tottenville to the ferry) to 7 cents for the whole island, or 12 cents including a Manhattan subway ride. In 1947, SIRT carried 12.3 million passengers and the number started decreasing with 8.7 million in 1948 and 4.4 million in 1949, as a result of rapid transit customers switching from SIRT to the buses.^[68] As a result of the 7 cent fare, the SIRT announced on August 28, 1948, that it would reduce service on all three branches on September 5, 1948. Service would be reduced from 15 minute intervals in non-rush hours to 30 minutes during that time, and from 5 to 10 minutes in rush hours to 10 to 15 minutes during rush hours.^[69] The reducing of the bus fare meant that in July passenger traffic dropped 32% on the Tottenville Division and 40% on the other two divisions. The day afterwards, Borough President Cornelius A. Hall of Richmond and Staten Island civic organizations announced that they would oppose the cuts that were proposed in service.^[70] On September 2, 1948, the PSC failed to prevent the cut in SIRT service. 237 of its present 492 weekday trains would be cut and the schedule of its expresses would be reduced during rush hours. Thirty percent of the company's personnel were laid off.^[71] The cuts became effective at 3:01 A. M. on September 5, 1948, and at the same hour schedules calling for a reduction in rush hour service and the cancellation of all night trains after 1:29 A. M.^[72] On September 7, 1948, Borough President Hall of Richmond continued to rally against the cuts made by the SIRT at a Public Service Commission hearing in Manhattan. Commuters testified that trains were missing connections to ferry boats and that some trains were being held at the Saint George Terminal in the rush hour to wait for two boatloads of passengers. Previously, they said, the trains pulled out with only one boatload of passengers.^[73] On September 13, 1948, the SIRT agreed to add four trains, and to extend the schedule of four others.^[74] Bus riders were up 25% after fare cut, and passengers on the SIRT dropped.^[75]

On September 22, 1948, the Interstate Commerce Commission allowed the SIRT to abandon the ferry it had operated for 88 years between Tottenville and Perth Amboy, New Jersey. The ferry operation was transferred to Sunrise Ferries, Inc of Elizabeth, New Jersey, which had reached an agreement to lease the railway's ferry facilities at Tottenville, and to lease from Perth Amboy wharf and dock properties there. The lease with the railway was for five years and gives it the right to renew for three five year periods.^[76] The service was transferred on October 16.^[77] The schedules and the 5 cent fare for the ferry stayed the same.^[78]

Completion of the grade elimination projects at Grant City, New Dorp, Oakwood Heights, Bay Terrace involving thirteen crossings, and was projected to cost $7,400,000. The project was set to begin in 1949.^[79]

On January 5, 1949, the Public Service Commission recommended that the SIRT restore the trains cut in September 1948. If the SIRT refused to restore the trains, the Public Service Commission would order the SIRT to restore the service, as then the SIRT would go on a path toward the discontinuance of service. Borough President Hall of Richmond suggested lowering the fare to 10 cents or a 20 cent round trip in order to make up the lost money.^[80] On January 29, 1949, the Public Service Commission ordered the SIRT to restore five trains and to reschedule seven other trains for public convenience. The PSC gave the SIRT until February 13 to carry out the order.^[81] On May 20, 1949, it was announced that the SIRT wanted to discontinue service on all of its three branches, and that it would soon ask for permission from the PSC to do so. A major reason for the discontinuance of service was the loss of $1,061,716 in 1948. Three options would be given by the PSC; that the railway must continue its operations, have the service substituted by buses, or have the city take over the railway service as part of the municipal transit system.^[82]

On August 30, 1950, the Public Service Commission announced a $6,500,000 plan to eliminate grade crossings of the SIRT. The plan was only approved with the assurance from the city that if passenger service was discontinued, the city would guarantee that residents of the area would not be neglected as to some form of transportation. A bridge was also proposed as part of the plan to go over the never built Willowbrook Expressway.^[83] On June 8, 1951, a modern replacement terminal for Saint George opened, although portions of the terminal were phased into service at earlier dates.^[84]

Staten Island Rapid Transit, 1952

On June 3, 1952, the SIRT asked again to discontinue its passenger service on July 7, 1952. On June 16, 1952, the PSC ordered the SIRT to continue all of its passenger service pending a hearing before the state agency and a decision on the line's request to abandon its service.^[85] On July 9, 1952, hearings began concerning the proposed abandonment of the road.^[86] On July 16, 1952, in the hearings, the PSC counsel stated that had the operating deficits that have been charged to the passenger service of the SIRT would disappear had the operations were included with the freight profits of the B&O Railroad in the New York area.^[87] After some hearings, the SIRT changed its planned abandonment date as September 12, 1952. The commissioner of the commission, adjourned meetings until September 17. The commissioner council, John T. Ryan, said that a provision needed to be made for an additional two months of service, that would extend service to November 12, 1952.^[88]

After a lot of community opposition, SIRT discontinued passenger service on the North Shore Branch to Arlington and the South Beach Branch to Wentworth Avenue at midnight on March 31, 1953 because of city-operated bus competition; the South Beach Branch was abandoned shortly thereafter, while the North Shore Branch continued to carry freight.^[1][89][90] By 1955, the third rail on both of the lines were removed.^[1]

B&O's final years of ownership: 1954–1971

On September 7, 1954, SIRT made an application to discontinue all passenger service on the Tottenville Branch on October 7, 1954.^[3][91] The Public Service Commission warned that if the SIRT discontinued its passenger service, action would be taken to kick the SIRT's parent company, the B&O Railroad, off of Staten Island, which would have meant the end of the prospering freight operation. A large city subsidy allowed passenger service on the Tottenville Branch to continue.^[3] Since the Tottenville line did not need the additional trains cars left over from the closure of the North Shore and South Beach lines, the SIRT sold 30 of its train cars to the New York City Transit Authority in the years 1953–1954, for $10,000 each.^[3][92]

On October 21, 1957, four years after North Shore Branch passenger trains ended, the very last SIRT special, a train from Washington crossed the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge carrying Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip to the Staten Island Ferry for a state meeting with President Eisenhower in Washington D.C.^[1][23][93] During the evening of October 20, 1957, their trains, both press and royal, left Washington DC for Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, traveling over B&O and Reading Company lines. There was extremely high security and secrecy during this movement. In order to reach Camp Kilmer, the trains operated via the Reading’s Port Reading Branch. The trains were reconfigured at the camp by dropping the two leading diesel units of each, leaving one unit each for the next part of the trip to Staten Island. The purpose of this maneuver was to pass over the Arthur Kill swing bridge, which had a limited load capacity. In order to await the return of the equipment from Staten Island, the two lead diesel sets were then taken to Cranford Junction via the Reading and Jersey Central. The ten-car press train left the Camp over the Lehigh Valley line to Staten Island Junction and the SIRT on Monday, October 21 at 6 AM. The eleven-car heavy-weight Pullman-equipped royal train followed the press train an hour afterwards.^[23] Both trains went non-stop into a freight yard at Stapleton on Staten Island.^[1][23] The tracks along the route were cleared specifically for this occasion. Once the motorcade of the Queens left the yard, the trains were hauled in reverse, being brought by a SIRT switcher to Cranford Junction. Both trains dead-headed early the same afternoon.^[23]

In 1957, the aging Arthur Kill swing bridge was knocked off its center pier foundation by a passing Esso oil tanker, rendering the bridge useless. This ended up requiring freight to be rerouted through float bridges, with most of the freight traffic for the New York area of the B&O to be forwarded through the yards of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. A state-of-the-art, 558 foot vertical lift bridge replace the old swing bridge in 1959.^[1][23] The 2,000 ton lift span was prefabricated, then floated into place.^[1] The new bridge was raised 135 feet and since the new bridge aided navigation on the Arthur Kill, the United States government assumed 90 percent of the $11 million cost of the project.^[94] Freight trains started crossing the bridge when it opened on August 25, 1959. The new bridge had space for one track.^[95] The industrial track on the West Shore of Staten Island, the Travis Branch, which was built in the 1930s to Gulfport, was extended to serve a new Consolidated Edison power plant in Travis, along Staten Island's west shore. This allowed for long-unit coal trains from West Virginia to serve the plant.^[1][23] The B&O continued to invest in its New Jersey and Staten Island holdings during the late 1950s.^[23]

On April 5, 1962, a fire at the Clifton Shops destroyed seven train cars, adding to 13 lost in two previous fires and two that were scrapped, leaving the SIRT with only 48 cars to operate regular service with. This car shortage meant that 44 of its 48 train cars were in service during rush hours, which left a small margin for errors. In order to maintain the previous level of service, the SIRT had carefully scheduled maintenance for their train cars. A number of trains were rushed back to Saint George as passenger-free expresses, after dropping their loads in the evening rush, helping make up for the lack of train cars. The Transit Authority set aside nine BMT Standards for a possible transfer to the SIRT due to the car shortage. The SIRT also looked at a proposal to transfer some D type cars. Neither of the proposals came to pass.^[3] In 1963, ferry service between Tottenville and Perth Amboy Ferry Slip at Perth Amboy, New Jersey was discontinued by the railroad.^[96] Until the completion of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, Staten Island's only direct connection to the rest of the city and state of New York was via ferries from St. George, at the north end of the island.^[97] During the years 1965–1966, the final grade railroad crossings were eliminated between the Jefferson Avenue and Grant City stations. In order to avoid interfering with train service, a shoo-fly track was constructed to the east of the original line, while a new crossing free line was constructed upon the original right of way.^[3] The SIRT continued to lose money even as they rebuilt stations between Jefferson Avenue and New Dorp almost into the 1970s. Rail traffic via the Arthur Kill Bridge dropped dramatically with the closing of Bethlehem Steel in 1960, and of U.S. Gypsum in 1972.^[95] Some traffic remained for B&O operations into the 1970s on Staten Island, and car floats were still reasonably busy.^[23]

City control, 1971–present

Passenger service

On January 1, 1970, New York City's lease of the St. George-Tottenville line was terminated; after that date the city reimbursed the railroad for its passenger deficits. On July 1, 1971, operation of the Tottenville line was turned over to the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, a division of the state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and the line itself was purchased by the city of New York. As part of the agreement, freight along the line was to be continued to be handled by the B&O. Grade crossings had to be eliminated along the Tottenville line by the B&O in order to make the deal with the city final. These final grade crossings were supposed to have been eliminated various times since the 1930s, but were held back in part because of the Depression, World War II and declining finances.^[23] On June 15, 1972, five 1955 air conditioned coaches on loan from the Long Island Rail Road went into service on the SIRT. One three car train made one round trip during the morning, and operated again during the afternoon peak.^[98] As a result of previous tests, the edges of the platforms at the Saint George Terminal were trimmed for extra clearance required for the 85 foot cars. The cars were only 15 feet longer than the 45 cars in operation, but the LIRR cars' seating capacity of 123 passengers, was almost double the limit of the other coaches.^[99]

For the first time since 1958, the fare on the SIRT was increased on September 1, 1972 to 35 cents. The increase was from an average fare of 22 cents. The fare increase applied to the whole system, and was accompanied by the elimination of commutation tickets and student tickets. Previously, fares ranged from 20 to 35 cents. 16 per cent of riders of the 17,000 daily riders had no change in fare. There was a 10 per cent increase for 51 per cent of passengers and a 15 per cent increase for the remaining 33 per cent. The fare increase was expected to bring in an extra $400,000 a year. At the time, the line was operating at a deficit of $2.9 Million a year, with $2.5 Million of it offset by a subsidy from the city. The MTA, at the time, had plans for a $25 Million improvement program for the line, including 52 new cars, the R44s. The R44s were planned to go into service by the end of 1973. Improvements were also planned for the tower and signal systems, for the roadbed and for the stations.^[100] Increased power, 8,000 feet of new rails, and mercury-vapor lighting at 14 of the 22 stations were also part of the plan.^[101] Three quarters of the $25 Million were to be provided by 1967 state transportation bond issue. The remaining $6.25 Million was to be paid by the city.^[100] On February 28, 1973,^[98][101] six new R44 cars — the same as the newest cars then in use on the subway lines in the other boroughs — were put into service on the Staten Island Rapid Transit, replacing the PS Standard rolling stock that had been inherited from the B&O and had remained in continuous service since 1925.^{[102][103][104]}

In 1994, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reinstituted the line's original name; the passenger portion of the line is called MTA Staten Island Railway.^[1] On June 24, 2001, a small section of the easternmost portion of the North Shore Branch (a few hundred feet) was reopened to provide passenger service to the new Richmond County Bank Ballpark, home of the Staten Island Yankees minor-league baseball team; however, this service was discontinued on June 18, 2010.^[105] Plans to reopen the remainder of the North Shore Branch, to both freight and passenger service, are being studied, with one plan calling for the line to resume full operations between St. George and Arlington or Port Ivory,^[106] with even the possibility of through service between Arlington/Port Ivory and Tottenville, which the aforementioned Ballpark wye makes feasible.^[107] In an 2006 report, Staten Island Advance explored the restoration of passenger services on 5.1-mile (8.2 km) of the North Shore Branch between St. George Ferry Terminal and Arlington station. Completion of the study is necessary to qualify the project for the estimated $360 million. A preliminary study found that ridership could hit 15,000 daily.^[106] $4 million of federal funding was requested for a detailed feasibility study by senator Chuck Schumer from New York.^[108] In 2012, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released an analysis of transportation solutions for the North Shore, which included proposals for the reintroduction of heavy rail, light rail, or bus rapid transit using the North Shore line's right-of-way. Other options included transportation systems management which would improve existing bus service, and the possibility of future ferry and water taxi services. Bus rapid transit was the preferred for its cost and relative ease of implementation, which would require $352 million in capital investment. The analysis evaluated the alternatives according to their ability to "Improve Mobility", "Preserve and Enhance the Environment, Natural Resources and Open Space", and "Maximize Limited Financial Resources for the Greater Public Benefit". The project has yet to receive funding.^[109]

The MTA broke ground on a new, $15.3 million, ADA compliant station named Arthur Kill, near the southern terminus of the present line on October 18, 2013.^[110] The constructor is John P. Picone, Inc., which was awarded the contract on July 31, 2013.^[111] It is sited between, and will replace both the Atlantic and Nassau stations, which are in the poorest condition of all the stations on the line.^[112] The new station, which can platform a four-car train, is expected to open in April 2016 after numerous delays.^[113] MTA will also provide parking for 150 automobiles across the street.^[110] There is also discussion of rebuilding a Rosebank station, which will bridge the longest gap between two stations (Grasmere and Clifton). A Rosebank station once existed on the now-defunct South Beach Branch of the railway.^[114]

Freight

Decline: 1971–2000

The B&O became part of the larger C&O system through a merger with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The freight operation on the island was renamed the Staten Island Railroad Corporation in 1971.^[1][23] The B&O and C&O became isolated from their other properties in New Jersey and Staten Island, with the creation of Conrail on April 1, 1976, by merger of bankrupt lines in the northeast United States.^[1] As a result, their freight service was truncated to Philadelphia, however, for several years afterward, one B&O freight train a day ran to Cranford Junction, with B&O locomotives running through as well.^[23] By the year 1973, the Jersey Central's car float yard at Jersey Central was closed. Afterwards, the car float operation of the B&O was brought back to Staten Island at Saint George Yard. This car float operation was taken over by the New York Dock Railway in September 1979, and was ended the following year. Only a few isolated industries on Staten Island were using rail service for freight, meaning that the yard at Saint George was essentially abandoned.^[1][23]

The C&O system was forced to sell the Staten Island Railroad to the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad, which was owned by the Delaware Otsego Corporation in April 1985, due to a lack of business.^[1][89] The Susquehanna then embargoed the track east of Elm Park on the North Shore Branch, ending rail freight traffic to Saint George. In 1990, Procter & Gamble, the line's largest customer closed,^[1] leading to a large drop in freight traffic. The last freight train over the bridge came in 1990,^[95] and the operation ended on July 25, 1991, when the Arthur Kill bridge was taken out of service.^[1][115] Afterwards, the North Shore Branch and the Arthur Kill Bridge were taken over by CSX. The line as well as the bridge were purchased again in 1994, this time by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), whose purchase was followed by a decade of false starts.^[95] The break-up of Conrail in 1998 allowed parts of lines once operated by the competitors of the B&O to become a part of CSX. The railroad line was still intact from Cranford Junction to Arlington. At this time, CSX started operating the former Reading, Lehigh Valley and New York Central lines.^[23]

Reactivation: 2000–present

During the early 2000s, plans for reopening the Staten Island Rapid Transit line in New Jersey were announced by the New York Port Authority. Since the Central Railroad of New Jersey became a New Jersey Transit line, a new junction would be built to the former Lehigh Valley Railroad. In order to allow New England and southern freight to pass through the New York metropolitan area, a rail tunnel from Brooklyn to Staten Island, and a rail tunnel from Brooklyn to Greenville, New Jersey were planned.^[23] On December 15, 2004, a $72 million project to reactivate freight service on Staten Island and to repair the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge was announced by the NYCEDC and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Specific projects on the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge included repainting the steel superstructure and rehabilitating the lift mechanism.^[95] In June 2006, the freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway was completed, and became operated in part by the Morristown and Erie Railway under contract with the State of New Jersey and other companies.^[116]

The Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge was renovated in 2006 and began regular service on April 2, 2007, sixteen years after the bridge closed.^[117] As part of the project, a portion of the North Shore Line was rehabilitated, the Arlington Yard was expanded, and 6,500 feet (1,981 m) of new track was laid along the Travis Branch to Fresh Kills.^[118] Soon after service restarted on the line, Mayor Michael Bloomberg officially commemorated the reactivation on April 17, 2007.^[119] On behalf of the City of New York, the New York City Economic Development Corporation formed an agreement with CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Conrail to provide service over the reactivated line to haul waste from the Staten Island Transfer Station at Fresh Kills and ship container freight from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and other industrial businesses. Along the remainder of the North Shore Branch, there are still tracks and rail overpasses in some places.^{[120][121][122][123][124]} See also Rail freight transportation in New York City and Long Island.

References

Staten Island Railway
Lines	Bachmann's Spur Mount Loretto Spur North Shore Branch South Beach Branch West Shore Line Travis Branch
Stations	Main Line Stations Tottenville Atlantic Arthur Kill Nassau Richmond Valley Pleasant Plains Prince's Bay Huguenot Annadale Woods of Arden Eltingville Great Kills Bay Terrace Oakwood Heights New Dorp Grant City Jefferson Avenue Dongan Hills Old Town Grasmere Clifton Stapleton Tompkinsville St. George North Shore Branch Stations Port Ivory Arlington Harbor Road Mariners' Harbor Lake Avenue Elm Park Tower Hill Port Richmond West New Brighton Livingston Sailors' Snug Harbor New Brighton RCB Ballpark South Beach Branch Stations Bachmann Rosebank Belair Road Fort Wadsworth Arrochar Cedar Avenue South Beach Wentworth Avenue
Infrastructure	Unused/Never Built: Robin Road Trestle Staten Island Tunnel North Shore Branch (freight) Arlington Yard Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge ExpressRail Howland Hook Marine Terminal Linden Yard
Rolling Stock	ME-1 R44
Other	History
Related Staten Island light rail Cornelius Vanderbilt