Vincent Francis Seyfried

“ Possession of a completed, operating railroad would mean that only three miles of their own road would need to be built, namely, from a point on the Flushing meadows to Whitestone. At the Hunter's Point end there was already a terminal, although the New York & Flushing was presently using the Long Island R.R.'s depot under a lease. ”

“ Workmen put the finishing touches to the western end of the route, and the route east of the disputed Fashion Course in February and March. Meantime, the rails and wheels for the cars, ordered in May of 1864, arrived on the scene, and were stocked at a dump near the present Willett's Point Boulevard on the meadows edge.
With the spring of 1867the directors of the Woodside & Flushing R.R. energetically renewed the struggle to get the road completed and opened. On February 11, at a directors' meeting, it was resolved to adopt the Fashion Race Course route as confirmed by the courts. ”

“ By the end of June, 100 laborers were already at work in the vicinity of Sunnyside, and 200 to 300 more were to be put on the following week. In July the contract to build the pile work on the Newtown side of the Flushing meadows was awarded to Zachariah Roe, a well-known Flushing contractor. On July 15 an enthusiastic public meeting was held at College Point and liberal subscriptions were made toward the road. Ten acres of the colonial Lawrence estate were purchased by Conrad Poppenhusen or a track yard and depot. ”

“ It was necessary to secure permission from the Legislature to cross a navigable waterway, and when the hearings opened, certain unidentified interests hiding behind the names of other persons and corporate bodies campaigned against the project. ”