- The far-end of this well-known Subway route was among the lines we explored on our epic June 25, 2015 tour of New York City rail-transit.Jack May, Walter Zullig, my father and I, walked from the Long Island Rail Road station at Far Rockaway to the nearby New York City Subway station (located on an elevated structure).
- At one time this had all been part of the same route, but now there’s several blocks between rail-heads.
The A Line Deli at Far Rockaway, amidst the sounds of sirens. Fujifilm X-T1 photo. Elaborately decorated glass bricks are a feature of the stations on the A Train route.
The NYCTA Station at Far Rockaway is decorated with colored glass. Panoramic composite exposed with Fujifilm X-T1. 
Far Rockaway. Fujifilm X-T1 photo. As we rolled westward, my father recalled visiting Rockaway Beach decades earlier when there were rows of beach-side bungalows and city streets.
Once west of the Far Rockaway the scene changes.We got off at 44th Street and took a look around.
- Much of Rockaway beach seems devoid of structures, with old streets vanishing into the encroaching sand. The Bungalows are just a memory. Yet, massive multistory apartments loom in the distance above the railway structure, like something out of a doomsday film.
A concrete elevated structure keeps the tracks above the sand covered streets. 
An inbound A Train from Far Rockaway. Fujifilm X-T1 photo. 
This place, is largely devoid of people (except for visiting photographers) and features a mixture of urban decay and encroaching beach. Panoramic composite exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1. 
An outbound A train rattles along on the elevated. Fujifilm X-T1 photo. 
Fujifilm X-T1 photo looking toward Far Rockaway. 
Nice place for a car chase! Fujifilm X-T1 photo. 
Outbound train as seen from the inbound platform at 44th Street. Fujifilm X-T1 photo. 
Inbound A train at 44th Street. Fujifilm X-T1 photo. 
Colored glass at 44th Street. It’s a strange place to be. And a stranger place to make photos. This is not the New York City visited by most tourists! Yet the A train continues to JFK Airport and beyond to lower Manhattan and ultimately up-town.
How long, I wonder, would it take to ride from one end to the other?
Tomorrow: Broadway Junction in East New York.
-
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
Please share Tracking the Light!
Tag Archives: Far Rockaway
Take a Ride on the LIRR!
-
On the side of a LIRR multiple unit. - The Long Island Rail Road (two words) is one of America’s most intensive heavy-rail commuter operations.My late friend ‘Uncle’ Harry Vallas—a locomotive engineer on the line—affectionately called it the ‘Wrong Island Fail Road.’On the morning of June 25, 2015, my father, Jack May, Walter Zullig and I, took a trip from New York Penn Station to Far Rockaway. We changed at Jamaica (cross platform, no stairs). Our trains were air conditioned. The tracks were smooth and welded. And we arrived on time.
- I made these photos with my digital cameras.
-
Exposed with a Fujifilm X-T1. 
Tickets to ride. Lumix LX7 photo. 
The back of a paper ticked shows a schematic map of the network. Jack May gave me this as a souvenir. LX7 Photo. 
Inside the train on the way to Jamaica. LX7 photo. 
Changing trains at Jamaica didn’t allow much time to take in the sights. LX7 grab shot on the platform. 
Recalling old times on the LIRR on the way to Far Rockaway. It was really different back in the day (so I learned). 
Interior panoramic composite of a Long Island Rail Road car. Exposed with a Fuji X-T1. 
Fuji X-T1 view. 
Far Rockaway is a functional facility. Shortly after our arrival an in-bound train departed. Fuji X-T1 photo. -
Tracking the Light posts new material every morning.
Please share Tracking the Light!
Tomorrow: We Take the A Train