Vincent Francis Seyfried

“ To expedite construction on the west end at Flushing, it was necessary to resolve the thorny question of route. Those property owners who were opposed to the direct route applied to the Supreme Court for a commission, and three men were appointed with authority to decide on the route and to assess damages. Many in Flushing deplored this appeal to law and felt that the property owners should have bowed to the opinion of a majority of the villagers. ”

“ At the beginning only one train ran per day in each direction, leaving Great Neck at 7:30 A.M. and Hunter's Point at 4 P.M. The maiden trip was made so quietly that the conductor had to dismount from the cars in the vicinity of 207th Street, Bayside, and let down the bars in the fence separating the Thomas C. Bell and Robert M. Bell farms, an action which moved the local paper to comment embarrassedly: "To get out and let down the bars must not be considered a characteristic of railroading on Long Island. As soon as the trains run regularly, the bars will be kept down." ”

“ The initial meeting of the Board of Directors was held on July 16, and at a subsequent meeting held August 29, 1863, a committee was appointed with power to obtain a new survey of the route with maps of the same, and estimates of the cost of the proposed road. The legal organization of the company was perfected on September 23, 1863. The road was to be known as the "North Shore R. R. Company" and its backers included many of the most prominent names in North Hempstead Town, such as Messenger, Mitchell, Willets, Bell, Mott and Udall. ”