During his presidency, many extensions had been built, among them being that from Syosset to Port Jefferson, the branch from Mineola to Locust Valley, the "White. Line" from Winfield to Flushing, the Sag Harbor branch from Manor to Sag Harbor, and the branch to Far Rockaway. Charlick was always a hard man in his bargains. If a rrian with a more liberal policy had been in charge of the railroad at this time, it' is incalculable what benefits might have been derived. The mass of competing lines would probably never have come into existence, nor the final ruin of them all come about.

Poppenhusen in Control--With the accession of Conrad Poppenhusen to the presidency of the Long Island Railroad, for the first time in the history of the island, since the building of the Flushing Railroad in 1854, had all the railroad lines been under one head.
     The old Long Island Railroad Company was made the backbone of a new and unified system. Trains on the "White Line" from Winfield to Flushing were discontinued. The north side terminal at Hunter's Point was used for freight only, in which use it continues to this day, and the north side trains ran into the Long Island Railroad terminal. The south side trains were also run into this terminal, the operation of dummy engines through the streets of Brooklyn being abandoned and the line from Bushwick to Bushwick junction becoming a branch.
     By the construction of a curve at Springfield junction, arrangements were made to run the south side trains over the New York & Rockaway to Rockaway junction and Jamaica. The New York & Rockaway across the meadows to Cedarhurst was abandoned and destroyed. The old line of the South Side Railroad to Beaver Street, Jamaica, was but little used. The old branch of the Long Island Railroad from Hempstead to Hempstead Crossing was also abandoned. A curve at Hinsdale permitted trains to be run from Jamaica over the Long Island Railroad and from Hinsdale to Hempstead over the Stewart line. When this curve was built the Stewart line was rebuilt for about a mile east of Hinsdale some few hundred feet south of the old line. The embankment may be seen to this day just north of the tracks between Floral Park and Stewart Manor. These arrangements eliminated stations in Hempstead, Flushing and Jamaica that were not needed at that time.

The routes included in this consolidation were the line from Hunter's Point to Winfield, Flushing and Great Neck, the route from Woodside to Flushing and Whitestone, and the route from Flushing to Hempstead, Bethpage and Babylon.
     The Southern Railroad Company of Long Island included the line from South Eighth Street, Brooklyn, through Bushwick to Jamaica and Patchogue, with branches from Bushwick junction to Hunter's Point and from Valley Stream to Rockaway Beach. It also operated the line of the New York and Hempstead Railroad from Valley Stream to Hempstead. A few changes were made in the system at this time in order to eliminate the competing lines and make for economical operation. The Central Extension from Belmont junction south to the Fire Island Dock was torn up, and a curve put in connecting with the Southern Railroad's tracks. The fast trains from Babylon and Patchogue were run over the Central Extension to Garden City, Flushing and Hunter's Point, as this line had a better roadbed and was more direct.
     In April, 1875, Henry Havemeyer beat Oliver Charlick for the Presidency of the Long Island Railroad. The Havemeyer interests began selling out to the Poppenhusen interests, which owned the North and South Side systems. This aroused the antagonism of the minority stockholders, who made vigorous objections, but to no avail. Finally Conrad Poppenhusen, the wealthy manufacturer of College Point, and owner of the North and South Side systems, became President of the Long Island Railroad which made him the head of all the railroads on Long Island. He was a man of most sanguine temperament, of very large means, but with little experience in railroad matters. For several years he was the dominating figure in railroad affairs on Long Island, until he came to financial grief.
     Oliver Charlick, the man whom Poppenhusen forced out of the Long Island Railroad, had been President of the Company for twelve years longer than any of his predecessors, and with the exception of Austin Corbin and Ralph Peters, longer than any of his successors.

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