Little Neck (LIRR station)

For the station known as Little Neck from 1866 to 1870, see Douglaston (LIRR station).
Little Neck

Looking east
Location Little Neck Parkway & 39th Road
Little Neck, New York
Coordinates 40°46′30″N 73°44′27″W / 40.775°N 73.740744°W / 40.775; -73.740744Coordinates: 40°46′30″N 73°44′27″W / 40.775°N 73.740744°W / 40.775; -73.740744
Owned by Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)
  Port Washington Branch
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections NYCT Bus: Q12, Q36
MTA Bus: QM3
NICE Bus: n20G
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Fare zone 3
History
Opened July 1870 (F&NS)[1]
Rebuilt 1890
Electrified October 21, 1913
750 V (DC) third rail
Traffic
Passengers (2006) 2,886[2]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station
toward Penn Station
Port Washington Branch

Little Neck is a station in the Little Neck section of Queens, the last station on the branch in New York City on the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. The station is at Little Neck Parkway and 39th Road, about half a mile (800 m) north of Northern Boulevard, and is 14.5 miles (23.3 km) from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. The station house is unusual for this line in standing on the south (eastbound) side. The station is part of the CityTicket program and is in Zone 3. The Little Neck train station has been colloquially referred to as "Raccoon Junction" by locals and raccoon aficionados since the early 1930s.[3]

Little Neck Parkway at the west end of the station crosses the line at the only at-grade railroad crossing on the Port Washington Branch, and one of the few remaining in New York City. It is also the only "quiet" grade crossing in the LIRR system. Trains do not need to blow their horns here, because trains are coming to a complete stop here, and Little Neck Parkway is not a high-traffic road. It is regarded as the most dangerous crossing in the city,[4] as the other crossings carry few trains, usually only freight trains late in the night (such as on the Montauk Branch and Bushwick Branch west of Jamaica station, where the line is non-electrified).

A pedestrian overpass at mid-platform links the eastbound and westbound platforms. The original station house was built in February–May 1870 by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, and is one of only two built by the F&NS along the Port Washington Branch. The depot was built between February and May, 1870, on the south side of the tracks and east of Little Neck Parkway. The station building was erected by Benjamin Wooley, and was 16 by 26 feet, two stories high, with a high platform in front, and 75 feet long. The station cost $1,500. The station opened in July 1870 as Little Neck, superseding earlier Little Neck station, which reverted to the name of Douglaston. It was replaced by the Long Island City and Flushing Railroad in 1890 with a second station house. The former F&NS depot is now located on a local street off Northern Boulevard.[5]

Platforms and tracks

1 ■ Port Washington Branch toward Penn Station (Douglaston)
2 ■ Port Washington Branch toward Port Washington (Great Neck)

The station has two high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long. The north platform next to Track 1, is generally used by westbound or Manhattan-bound trains. The south platform next to Track 2, is generally used by eastbound or Nassau County-bound trains. The branch has two tracks here.

References

  1. ↑ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad, © 1963
  2. ↑ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
  3. ↑ David Selig, Federal Tax Practitioner and local historian
  4. ↑ "Perilous Crossings".
  5. ↑ Original Little Neck Station today (ForgottenNY.com)

External links

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