The Cannonball is a seasonal named train operated by the Long Island Rail Road between Penn Station in New York City and Montauk on the east end of Long Island, New York. The train operates weekly between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend, operating eastbound on Fridays and westbound on Sundays, with westbound service also being offered through Columbus Day weekend. The train utilizes dual-mode DM30AC locomotives and C3 coaches – the same rolling stock as other LIRR diesel and dual-mode trains – and takes slightly less than three hours to travel the route.
The Cannonball first ran in 1899 between Long Island City and Montauk, running express along the Main Line to Manorville, where its consist was split to also provide service to Greenport. It was one of several named trains providing express service between New York and eastern Long Island. Direct service from Manhattan began in 1911 after Penn Station was opened, and by 1934, the train permanently adopted its present-day route along the Montauk Branch. The Cannonball was briefly eliminated in 1949 due to budget cuts, though was reinstated the following year and began operating with diesel locomotives. The train's western terminus was changed to Jamaica in 1951 and to Hunterspoint Avenue in 1961.
In the 1960s, parlor car service was expanded, and for several years, the Cannonball comprised exclusively parlor cars. The train operated with parlor cars for much of its history, and earned a reputation for its party scene and affluent customers. The train has also been known for its speed and quicker travel time compared to other trains on the branch, though its popularity has often resulted in overcrowding. Parlor cars were retired after 1999 and most special service aboard the train was discontinued after 2019, though the train remains one of the MTA's premier services, especially on holiday weekends. Since 2013, the Cannonball has had a western terminus of Penn Station, and the eastbound train has run nonstop between Penn Station and Westhampton. The Cannonball is the only LIRR train to retain its historic name to the present day.
History Cannon Ball and Sunrise Special (1899–1930)
Seasonal express trains from New York City to the South Fork began operation in the 1870s, with service to Sag Harbor commencing shortly after the now-abandoned Sag Harbor Branch was completed in 1870. Railroad entrepreneur Austin Corbin thereafter sought to expand train service to Montauk as part of a plan to establish Fort Pond Bay as a port of entry for New York, from which passengers could travel to the city by train in two hours; he was among the first to conceive of express trains between the city and Montauk. Although Corbin's plan ultimately did not come to fruition, the railroad extension between Bridgehampton and Montauk was completed in 1895. The name Cannon ball – which has been attributed to Corbin – was first used informally for a South Fork-bound express train, which was officially known as the Shelter Island and Hamptons Express, around 1893. It also described an express train to Greenport by 1895, in addition to other limited-stop trains.
Four years later, on June 9, 1899, the Cannon Ball Express was officially inaugurated. It ran between Long Island City and either Montauk or Greenport. This service pattern had the train's consist split at the now-closed Manorville station: one section would continue via the Main Line to Greenport, while the other would travel via the Manorville Branch to join the Montauk Branch at Eastport, thereafter continuing to Montauk. Under its original service pattern, the train operated eastbound on Friday and Saturday afternoons and westbound on Saturday and Monday mornings. The Montauk-bound train ran nonstop between Long Island City and Westhampton, skipping Jamaica and all other intermediate stops as it does today. By 1905, trains in both directions added stops at Jamaica, and by 1909, also added stops at Speonk. The Greenport-bound Cannonball ran nonstop between Jamaica and Riverhead.
The Cannonball western terminal was shifted to New York Penn Station in summer 1911, following the station's inauguration in late 1910, to provide a one-seat ride between Manhattan and the Hamptons. It operated with a DD1 electric locomotive through the East River Tunnels, which was swapped with a steam locomotive east of the tunnel portals, as steam exhaust was prohibited in the tunnels. Beginning in 1927, the locomotive swap was instead done at Jamaica, reducing travel times by 5–8 minutes.
In summer 1922, the LIRR renamed the train as the Sunrise Special. Between Memorial Day and Columbus Day, service was operated eastbound from Penn Station to Montauk on Friday afternoons and westbound on Monday mornings, with bidirectional Monday–Saturday service during July and August. At this time, the train consisted entirely of Pullman cars. By 1927, the name Cannon Ball was again used for the train departing late Friday afternoons and serving both Montauk and Greenport, while the name Sunrise Special was given to a newly-inaugurated early afternoon Montauk Branch train.
LIRR decline and regrowth (1930–1965) Beginning in 1934, the Cannonball was operated as a single train between New York City and Montauk via the Montauk Branch; the consist was no longer split at Manorville and service to Greenport was instead provided on a separate train. At this time, the railroad also introduced full dining car service on the Monday morning Cannonball, an upgrade over buffet parlor car service, which was believed to be inadequate service for customers leaving the Hamptons early Monday mornings. With the train's new routing, several stops were added to the Cannonball run in response to requests from town officials, including Patchogue and Center Moriches. The same groups also opposed the addition of stops further west, as they felt the train would lose its value as an express service.
During and after World War II, the LIRR faced financial troubles; it declared bankruptcy and implemented a number of service cuts in 1949, including elimination of the Cannonball express service later that year. In place of the westbound train, the railroad ran a train making additional stops and without special coaches, and no alternative service was provided to replace the eastbound train. The removal of the Cannonball sparked outcry and protests from commuters, who highlighted that it was the only express train – a "crack train" – to and from the East End. After several hearings following commuters' complaints, the Cannonball was reinstated on January 30, 1950; it began utilizing diesel locomotives instead of steam locomotives to comply with an order from the Interstate Commerce Commission to reduce coal usage. Later that year, on June 12, 1950, the first of the railroad's new C-liner locomotives made its maiden run on the Cannonball.
One year later, the railroad retired its electric locomotives as a cost-saving measure, thereby eliminating direct service between Penn Station and non-electrified territory that utilized locomotive swaps, as steam and diesel locomotives were not allowed into Penn Station due to ventilation concerns. The Cannonball was cut back to Jamaica, requiring passengers traveling from Penn Station to transfer at Jamaica from a connecting electric multiple unit train to the diesel-powered Cannonball. Additionally, the Cannonball – then the only evening train running east past Speonk – no longer made stops between Jamaica and Westhampton beginning in 1952, obliging Hamptons-bound travelers from intermediate communities to seek alternate means of transportation.
In February 1953, amid bankruptcy, the LIRR sought to cease operations on the Montauk Branch east of Patchogue and operate bus service in its place. It cited low, predominantly non-commuter ridership, proximity to the Main Line (at least as far east as Riverhead), and potential savings of $450,000 per year, which included track maintenance costs to run trains such as the Cannonball. The Town of East Hampton protested this proposed closure, highlighting the potential for increased vehicular traffic due to lack of alternative means of travel. The railroad began to recover from bankruptcy in 1954 and the Montauk Branch remained operational. During the subsequent revitalization of the railroad, new rolling stock was acquired, including air-conditioned coaches, to replace its decades-old predecessors.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the name Cannonball also referred to the sole off-season express train between New York City and the Hamptons, which was also rumored to be threatened with service cuts. Beginning in summer 1961, the western terminus of the Cannonball was changed from Jamaica to Hunterspoint Avenue, eliminating the need for some passengers traveling to or from Manhattan to change at Jamaica. The following year, the train was operated entirely with parlor cars, which offered roomettes and full dining car service. Parlor car tickets were more expensive than standard railroad fares, favoring a wealthier demographic. Previously, the train had operated with both standard-fare coaches and parlor cars. Historically, the train has been known for its parlor car service and party scene (in which cocktails were served); ridership on the train has been accordingly perceived as a status symbol. The train's popularity, which grew considerably during the 1960s, also meant that it would frequently draw in larger crowds than it could seat.
MTA takeover (1965–2013)
The Cannonball began utilizing new equipment acquired from Kansas City Southern Railway, and introduced advanced reservations for seats for an additional fee, in the late 1960s. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Cannonball continued to utilize exclusively parlor cars in its consist, including an observation car – the last such car on any regularly scheduled train in North America. The Cannonball operated with as many as 18 cars, requiring it to make two or even three stops at each station because only eight cars could platform at a time. Railroad Director of Special Services Walter McNamara stated in 1972 that the Cannonball was the only all-parlor car train in the United States. Within the next few years, the railroad reinstated regular coach seating on the Cannonball, while continuing to provide parlor car service for an additional fee. During the late 1970s, the segment of the Montauk Branch between Speonk and Montauk was rehabilitated, which allowed the Cannonball to offer a total Manhattan–Montauk travel time of less than three hours, a 40-minute reduction compared to previous timetables. This enabled the railroad to remain competitive with the newly-established Hampton Jitney bus service, which began operations in 1974 to provide an alternative means of transportation to and from the Hamptons, and by the 1980s, expanded operations into New York City. Four seasonal Friday trains, including the Cannonball, continued operating with parlor cars – which were growing in popularity – alongside regular coaches through the 1990s. The Cannonball was the most popular train for weekend getaways to the East End.