Gary Owen’s S.I.R.T. North Shore Line Page

Welcome to my S.I.R.T. north shore line page! I can recall- around 1975- my brother Michael, his friend “Renaud”, myself and a few others ventured down to the Port Richmond section of Staten Island . We found our way onto the ROW and explored the deteriorating tracks and the long concrete trestle. I remember it was a bright Saturday afternoon. We were playing some kind of man hunt game. The entire time we were there I was more interested in the S.I.R.T. ROW and could care less if I was captured. I kept wondering what this railroad bed was and became completely enamored with the abandoned stations along the path. Years later I attended Port Richmond High School . Alongside the sports field, the ROW runs at grade. There were many times while playing in softball class, I’d see small freight engines traveling along the line. Naturally- for me- the game stopped and I just had to watch the trains roll by. Anyway, that’s that! Now let’s take a trip on the line that was once used by both the Queen of England and Winston Churchill!

There were once three separate S.I.R.T. lines:

South Shore : St. George to Tottenville

(still in use)

North Shore : St. George to Arlington / Port Ivory

(closed 3/31/53 )

East Shore ( South Beach ): St. George to Wentworth Avenue

(closed 3/31/53 )

We can blame the smelly bus companies and their reduced fares for the closing of both the North Shore and South Beach lines. In fact, buses ruined everything for the trolleys and trains of Staten Island . At midnight on Tuesday, March 31, 1953 , the last passenger trains on the North Shore and South Beach branches ended their runs. This left only the Tottenville line in service. It still serves Staten Island residents today and at certain times is quite the cozy ride.

I asked S.I.R.T. enthusiast Ed Bommer how the public reacted to the closing of both lines and what it was like during the final days of service:

The SIRT East Shore ( South Beach ) and North Shore passenger service went out with a whimper. No uproar or loud complaints. It was rather expected by the public. I also have some documentation that the B&O/SIRT wanted to drop ALL passenger service in 1953. But the city- in settling the issue- allowed the North and East shore service dropped but not Tottenville service.

The close of service was well advertised in advance. SIRT trains had printed notices about the discontinuance pasted on car windows and at stations from January 1, 1953. The Staten Island Advance kept everyone informed as well. The trains kept to their schedules up to midnight of the very last day ( Tuesday, March 31, 1953 ).

The following AM, SIRT maintenance crews chained off all the station entrances and locked the waiting rooms. They later put steel fences across the station steps and entries, then removed the station signs.

Train rider ship on those sub-divisions had been low since WW II ended, except for the AM and PM rush hours. I can remember being the only mid-day passenger between Port Richmond and Harbor Road more than once! I used to go and visit my grandmother and mow my aunt's yard on Saturdays.

Bus fare at the time was 7 cents. That was cheaper than the train fare at 10 cents. Also back then, a bus ride was reasonably quick, although not as fast as the train. A lot less traffic on Island streets back then. Nobody seemed to complain much about the loss of train service.

But it did seem odd to me because the City was just finishing a huge, new low income housing project at Arlington . It could have been a potential source of more riders since the nearest bus stops then were for the R107 at Forest Avenue or the R1 at Richmond Terrace, each a mile or so away from the project. The city would not get a bus route close to it until the 1960's

To sort of push along the end of the SIRT’s north and east shore services, the City expanded the Island's bus fleet and also the frequency of service on certain routes that paralleled the SIRT.

The above article from the Staten Island Advance reads:

Staten Island Advance Tuesday, March 31, 1953