Originally conceived as a branch of the Flushing and North Side Railroad that was intended to lead into Westchester County, New York (a connection that never materialized) in 1869, it was consolidated into the Long Island Rail Road in 1876 when its owners, the Poppenhusen family, took over the bankrupt LIRR.

It later became part of a subsidiary called the Long Island City and Flushing Railroad.

[3][4] In the 1920s, the branch began to lose patronage and the LIRR sought to rid itself of the line.

The deal was not successful, most likely due to the numerous grade crossings that would have been extremely costly to remove.

Most of the branch was removed, except a small section of the line leading to the Corona Yard which remained well into the 1970s when the LIRR closed the Corona Yard and turned it over to the New York City Transit Authority for subway use.