In 1889, the Long Island City & Flushing Railroad Company and the Brooklyn & Montauk Railroad Company, which had up to this time been operated under lease by the Long Island Railroad Company, were merged with it by their joint owner, President Austin Corbin. In the same year the Oyster Bay Extension was built from Locust Valley, which had been the terminus of that branch ever since its construction in 1865, to Oyster Bay.
     The New York Bay Extension Railroad Company, organized in 1892, built from Garden City (Hempstead Crossing) to Valley Stream the following year. This line, at no place, coincided with the old New York & Hempstead line from Valley Stream to Hempstead. It intersects the old route of the New York & Hempstead Railroad just north of Lake View Station. From here to Valley Stream it runs considerably south of the older line. An extension of this line from Valley Stream to a connection with the New York, Brooklyn & Manhattan Beach Railway at New Lots Road was planned, but never built, The line commenced operation as a branch of the Long Island Railroad, steam trains being run in a shuttle service from Mineola to Valley Stream, as well as excursion trains twice weekly from Oyster Bay to Far Rockaway. The trains from Hempstead Crossing to Mineola run over the old Hempstead Branch, built in 1839.
     The Long Island Railroad extended its North Shore Branch from Port Jefferson to Wading River in 1895. This same year the Montauk Division was extended from Bridgehampton through Amagansett to Montauk, by the Montauk Extension Railroad Company.

Improvements in Rolling Stock, Rails and Signals
--During the regime of Austin Corbin great improvements were made in the rolling stock. Many new wooden passenger coaches were bought, which comprise, to a large extent, the wooden equipment of the present day. The old light coaches, with small high windows, heated with stoves, with open platforms and hand brakes, were replaced with steam-heated coaches, many of them vestibuled, and equipped with vacuum brakes and lighted by Pintsch gas.

There were at this time three junctions within a distance of only a few miles, none of them at important stations nor centers of population, which are very likely to be confused. The first one to be met coming out from Long Island City was Bushwick junction, from which the old South Side Railroad, built in 1868, went south to Bushwick. The next is Fresh Pond Junction, from which the Long Island City & Manhattan Beach Railroad built south in 1883, connecting with the line to Manhattan Beach. Next came Glendale junction, whence the New York, Woodhaven & Rockaway Railroad built south to Rockaway Park, in 1880. This railroad also double-tracked the Long Island Railroad from Glendale junction to Long Island City, in 1881, under an agreement made with Receiver Sharp. There was also another junction a few miles out of Long Island City, at Laurel Hill, known as New York and Flushing junction, where the Flushing Railroad, in 1854, went across to Winfield and Flushing, but as that line was torn up before 1880, it had ceased to be a junction.
     In 1889 the North Side Division from Winfield to Whitestone junction was double tracked, and in 1883 the extension from Whitestone to Whitestone Landing had been completed. By 1888 practically all the decayed trestle work on the North Side lines had been filled in. The Main Line was double tracked as far as Hicksville by 1890. The only station between Winfield and Jamaica was Maple Grove (now Kew). The old New York & Jamaica, between these points, was little used, the steam trains from Long Island City all running over the Montauk Division. In 1884 part of it from Long Island City to Winfield, that had been abandoned, was rebuilt. The original Brushville Station had been near the crossing of the Hempstead & Jarnaica Turnpike, but at this time the Queens station was at its present location. Hinsdale became known as Floral Park in 1890. A station had been established at Westbury. A station was also established at Central Park, and at West Deer Park (now Wyandanch).

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