Scenic routes on LIRR to the far east end of Long Island?

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dadonatrain

dadonatrain

Service Attendant
Joined
Feb 17, 2022
Messages
195
Location
Easley, SC
I have a trip to NYC scheduled in November with a few free days when I can take scenic day train rides. I’ve never been anywhere on Long Island beyond Jamaica. Is either of the long routes to the east end of the island especially scenic? I love watching the world go by out a train window and I’m curious is this would be one decent way to do that.
 
My wife is from Long Island and my in-laws still live there in northern Suffolk county. To me there isn’t anything particularly scenic along the Main Line to Greenport but I’m not sure about the line to Montauk. I will caution you to check the train schedules before you head out as service is very limited once you leave the electrified portions of the system with the exception of the Port Jefferson Branch.
 
blueman271 said:
My wife is from Long Island and my in-laws still live there in northern Suffolk county. To me there isn’t anything particularly scenic along the Main Line to Greenport but I’m not sure about the line to Montauk. I will caution you to check the train schedules before you head out as service is very limited once you leave the electrified portions of the system with the exception of the Port Jefferson Branch.
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In general I agree, except that now there is pretty regular service upto Speonk beyond the end of electrified territory at Babylon.

I like the scenery in the Hamptons, but that may just be me. Port Jeff branch beyond Huntington is a nice mildly hilly ride and Port Jeff is a nice place to visit, or it used to be, I don't know how it is now.

Stony Brook used to be my stomping grounds on the Port Jeff Branch as I went to graduate school at what is now called Stony Brook University, and back then was called SUNY at Stony Brook, for five years. This was before the rebuilding of the branch with high level platforms and all that and before the Setauket Station was discontinued, and before double tracking was completed beyond Syosset to Huntington.
 
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dadonatrain said:
Thx. I also asked elsewhere about up the Hudson and got good responses about the walkway at Poughkeepsie. I may try that instead of LI.
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IMHO Hudson Valley is hands down way more scenic in general when compared to Long Island. I used to love to go to Cold Spring and just sit by the river and watch various water craft go by with Storm King Mountain in the background, and also watching freight trains on the west coast and passenger trains on the east coast of the river pass by. Lots of fond memories.
 
dadonatrain said:
Thx. I also asked elsewhere about up the Hudson and got good responses about the walkway at Poughkeepsie. I may try that instead of LI.
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The trip up to Poughkeepsie is a nice ride from Grand Central.

During the last Gathering we took this route, and it was a really great Day Trip!

Jis' idea is also a good one!😉
 
jis said:
IMHO Hudson Valley is hands down way more scenic in general when compared to Long Island. I used to love to go to Cold Spring and just sit by the river and watch various water craft go by with Storm King Mountain in the background, and also watching freight trains on the west coast and passenger trains on the east coast of the river pass by. Lots of fond memories.
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I agree. I went to college at Marist in Poughkeepsie and rode the Hudson line many many times. It is very scenic along its entire route once it meets the river just north of the city.
 
I offer a roundtrip:
- Grand Central Terminal - Bridgeport by train;
- Ferry to Port Jefferson;
- Train back to Jamaica.
You have to walk a bit, so dry wetter would be nice.
I did that once to get from Manhattan to JFK the time-killing-way and I'd do it again.
 
For a great day trip, take a round trip from Penn Station to Montauk (change at Jamaica), it's a long ride (117 miles), and does offer some scenic highlights including the crossing at Shinnecock Canal, and the section of the line between Amagansett and Montauk.
Montauk Village is about a 10/15 minute walk from the station, and has some pubs that are open year round.
The historic Montauk Lighthouse is worth the cab ride.
There is more service on weekends, but on weekdays there is a morning trip to Montauk, and a mid-afternoon return.

Enjoy !

https://new.mta.info/document/85016
 
PeeweeTM said:
I offer a roundtrip:
- Grand Central Terminal - Bridgeport by train;
- Ferry to Port Jefferson;
- Train back to Jamaica.
You have to walk a bit, so dry wetter would be nice.
I did that once to get from Manhattan to JFK the time-killing-way and I'd do it again.
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I've done that trip, but in the opposite direction. NYP to Port Jefferson (change in Hicksville.) Ferry to Bridgeport, then Metro Nort from Bridgeport to Grand Central. There's a mile and a half walk from the ferry to the train station, and it's uphill if you are going from terry to the train station.

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/nec-herring-run-plus-a-ferry-ride.75881/
I've also done the New London Ferry and returned to New York on the Greenport Line.. The bus connection between Greenport and Orient Point can be a little flaky, but if you're starting in New York City, you may have more flexibility than I did. There aren't many trains a day on the Greenport Line, though it's kind of scenic, too.

https://www.amtraktrains.com/thread...of-long-island-sound-with-more-ferries.75985/
 
PeeweeTM said:
I offer a roundtrip:
- Grand Central Terminal - Bridgeport by train;
- Ferry to Port Jefferson;
- Train back to Jamaica.
You have to walk a bit, so dry wetter would be nice.
I did that once to get from Manhattan to JFK the time-killing-way and I'd do it again.
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If you wish to avoid an uphill walk from Port Jeff Harbor to Port Jeff Station, you might consider doing this trip in the opposite direction. In that case it is a pleasant downhill walk from Port Jeff Station to Port Jeff Harbor.
 
Thx again for continuing to give me good ideas.

I checked the Port Jeff Bridgeport ferry schedule and could not find anything in November which is when I’d do it. Is it OOS by then? Weather wise that wouldn’t surprise me. Not sure I’d do Long Island sound in a boat in November anyway. Well, maybe in the QE2?
 
dadonatrain said:
Thx again for continuing to give me good ideas.

I checked the Port Jeff Bridgeport ferry schedule and could not find anything in November which is when I’d do it. Is it OOS by then? Weather wise that wouldn’t surprise me. Not sure I’d do Long Island sound in a boat in November anyway. Well, maybe in the QE2?
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Whatever they say their schedule is. If they say they are not sailing in November they are not. Things change from year to year. I have done it only in the summer.
 
Definitely the ride up the Hudson is way more scenic than either of the routes out to the eastern tip of Long Island. I took an early morning run yesterday from Albany down to Poughkeepsie and then to Beacon on Metro North and was still wowed by it, even though I've ridden that line hundreds of times in my life. At certain times of day -- just after sunrise and at sunset, the lighting of the river and the cliffs is just really dramatic.

Another commuter run I'd recommend for scenery is the run out to Port Jervis, which on the 65 miles west of Suffern has some great mountain railroading (at least by eastern standards), including the tunnel at Otisville and a long, high trestle (Moodna Viaduct) just south (railroad east) of the Salisbury Mills station.

If you've never covered them, the lines out to Montauk and Greenport are kind of interesting, and the east end of the island seems almost rural after all the dense suburbia of the first 60 miles. There are still a few potato farms out there. But you don't really see much of the shore from the rail line. The station at Greenport is near the center of town, unlike the Montauk station which is well outside the town center. There is a ferry from Greenport to Shelter Island, which I'd like to visit someday.
 
Well, here I am again. Making this trip up as I go, one trip at a time (like Indy told Salah when they watched the ***** load the ark on the truck and Indy said “I’m going after that truck!” And Salah said “How!?”)

I did the Port Jervis train ride today and I loved it. Great scenery once I reached NY state. Very much like my home in the foothills of upstate SC. I loved the viaduct and I had forgotten about the tunnel. And in Port Jervis I saw the old Erie RR turntable which is still operable, the sign says! Great collection of vintage rolling stock set out on several of the spokes (is that the right term in this context?). So far, the advice you all have given me has been spot on!

Now I’m working on the “great circle” trip to Port Jefferson-Bridgeport-Grand Central via LIRR, ferry, and MNRR.

I’ve scoped it all out and it all looks doable for tomorrow Nov 14, but I have a couple detailed questions some of you locals maybe can answer.

I’m 79, pushing 80. I can walk a couple miles but I’d like to know in advance if I can find a cab or Uber, etc., btwn the Port Jeff LIRR and ferry. Also, I looked at Google maps of the Bridgeport RR and ferry and even though they appear only a couple hundred yards apart they’re on opposite sides of the tracks! It’s not clear at all from the aerial map how would I get across the tracks?! Again, is there a cab or Uber etc in Bridgeport? I’d bet there is in both places, but I’d rather know for sure before I set out.
 
In Bridgeport there are staircases up to the platforms (it's at all clear from the arial map), that are a very short distance down the warf from the dock (this sign greats you shortly after you get off the ferry) See the Bridgeport Page of my website, these photos: 15, 16 do a good job showing the short distance to this staircase up to the end of the Metro-North paltform. I don't have reason to think anything has changed here in 10 years.

Cabs an Uber should be avalible in Port Jefferson I think (I don't have any experience), your doing it in the right direction in my opinon so the walk can be downhill from Port Jefferson Station into town and the fact that the New Haven Line runs much more frequently (basically half-hourly) compared to the poor Port Jefferson Line schedule.
 
There are buses in Port Jefferson between the Ferry and the LIRR. Suffolk County Transit is not on Google maps. Senior fare is 75 cents. Don't waste your money on car services.

https://sctbus.org/
https://sctbus.org/portals/32/maps/Suffolk County_Detailed Map 12x36 20230908.pdf
https://sctbus.org/portals/32/Schedules/Route 51.pdf
https://sctbus.org/Plan-Your-Trip
I was in Bridgeport in late September and found the elevators on the eastbound side out of order. Metro North no longer staffs that ticket oiffce.
 

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