When was the Long Island Rail Road established?
History of the Long Island Rail Road
In June 1879, under a mortgage foreclosure, what was left of the South Side Railroad was sold, and it was conveyed to the newly organized Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad, which was immediately leased as the Montauk Division to the LIRR. In 1881, the line was extended east from Patchogue to Eastport by the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad, connecting it to the Sag Harbor Branch, opening on July 17, 1881.[70] This created a continuous rail line along the South Shore to Sag Harbor.[30] It was thought that the line connecting the Main Line to Sag Harbor via Eastport could be abandoned, but residents got the LIRR to use the line as a cutoff for trains between the Main Line and the Montauk Division, and as a way for passengers to travel between the North and South Forks. This service was termed as a "scoot". These trains ran from Greenport to Sag Harbor, and later to Montauk.[30] In October 1889, the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad merged into the LIRR.[60]