It was first owned by the Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad, chartered December 24, 1863, and opened October 21, 1865, from the Long Island Rail Road in East New York to a pier at Canarsie Landing, very close to the current junction of Rockaway Parkway and the Belt Parkway, where ferries continued on to Rockaway.
This early railway was initially owned by the Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad, which received its charter on December 24, 1863, and opened its operations on October 21, 1865. The line began in East New York, courtesy of the Long Island Rail Road, and ended at a pier in Canarsie Landing, near where the current intersection of Rockaway Parkway and Belt Parkway is located, with ferries continuing to Rockaway.