Abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch

On Sunday my dude and I made the trek out to Queens to take advantage of the beautiful weather and hike through Forest Park. Neither of us had been through the park before, but I had heard that it was a great place to see the fall leaves. The leaves are definitely past their peak—one that wasn't great this year anyway—but we had an excellent day and the park did not disappoint.

Almost immediately upon entering the park we quite unexpectedly stumbled upon abandoned tracks running through the woods, and I was beside myself with joy. I thought they were subway tracks due to the configuration (they have a covered third rail), but they belonged to the Rockaway Beach Branch of the Long Island Railroad, and were abandoned when the LIRR went bankrupt in 1962.

The tracks are visible from a main park trail, and accessible by climbing down a slight embankment. We climbed down near an overpass that is covered in colorful graffiti and the ground was littered with spray paint cans. It didn't necessarily feel as if we shouldn't be walking around the tracks, but we did eventually come to the edge of the park and were stopped by a fence and some gnarly-looking razor wire.

The tracks actually look to be in pretty good shape for being exposed to the elements for more than 50 years. Some stretches seem as if a train could pass by any moment until you realize that there are very large trees sprouting up from in between the rails. Apparently there have been plans to turn this abandoned line into a park à la the High Line, which neighboring communities don't seem to be too into. I'm all for revitalization and preservation, but I don't think that every single thing in this city needs to be shiny and new. I love that these tracks are abandoned, but accessible, decaying but not excessively dangerous, a glimpse into the past—or our dystopian future—and a really great place to take a Sunday stroll.