BL BH

While dark territory makes up about 25% of the LIRR's total route miles, only 2.7% of train ever venture off into dark territory.  The LIRR only operates 21 weekday trains that go east of Speonk or Ronkonkoma, and that results in service that is pretty infrequent for those travelers.  While Manual Block signalling allows trains to run without the need for signals or other complex systems, running lots and lots of trains under a Manual Block system can be a pain.  If the LIRR's Mainline between Hicksville and Jamaica were operated as dark territory, each and every rush hour would be a huge disadvantage.

One of the major drawbacks with train operations in dark territory is that meets between trains can become complicated--especially if those meets need to be moved to a different location.  As we continue our quick tour of the LIRR's dark territory, we visit the one and only location where a meet between two trains happens every single weekday.  Each night, trains 2711 and 2720 meet near BL BH in Bridgehampton.  Also, more often than not, train 2716 will meet the equipment from train 2712, which deadheads back to Speonk in the evening, sneaking back early here at Bridgehampton.


Passenger trains that meet a Bridgehampton use the main Montauk Branch track and the BH Siding to pass each other.  There is a third track through Bridgehampton, the Bridgehampton North Freight Track, but that track does not allow trains to stop at the platform, so it is used almost exclusively as its name would lead you to believe it is used as...a freight track.

Tank cars on the siding by Pulver Gas.
(Photo credit: Mike McDermet/Trains Are Fun.com)

But unlike many freight tracks and small spurs that lie adjacent to LIRR tracks, the Bridgehampton North Freight Track used to be home to an active freight customer, that is, until not too long ago.  Pulver Gas used to receive tank cars here as the NY&AR's easternmost customer, however, they stopped using NY&AR back in January.  Now the freight siding here sits dormant.

And the passenger siding at Bridgehampton might also have its useful days numbered.  As part of the Speonk to Montauk Signalization Project, the LIRR will signalize and interlocking the passing sidings at Hampton Bays and Southampton, not Bridghampton.  The switches here will be converted to electric lock switches, but there will be no interlocking here, so trains that will need to pass each other here will have to do it the old-fashioned way, adding time to trains that are probably already delayed.

But for the next few years at least, trains 2720 and 2711 will continue to meet here nightly (and trains 2716 and MYSK920 on other occasions) in traditional, manual block/dark territory fashion.