East Williston station

East Williston is the first station along the Oyster Bay Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, at Hillside Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue in East Williston, New York. Electric third rail territory ends just north of the station, so most trains are diesel bi-level trains, but one electric train a day, Train #1501, originates here, during the morning rush hour. This is the only Oyster Bay Branch station located in fare zone 4.[2]

East Williston
The decorative shelter for East Williston station
LocationNY 25B & Pennsylvania Avenue
East Williston, NY
Coordinates40.75614°N 73.639426°W / 40.75614; -73.639426
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections Nassau Inter-County Express: n27
(n27 stops three blocks east on Roslyn Road)
Construction
ParkingYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone4
History
OpenedFebruary 1880
Rebuilt1965–66
ElectrifiedJune 1934
750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
2006859[1]
Services
Preceding station LIRR Following station
Mineola
towards Jamaica, Long Island City or Penn Station
 Oyster Bay Branch Albertson
towards Oyster Bay
Former services
Country Life Press   West Hempstead Branch   Albertson

History

East Williston's station house opened in February 1880[3] by the Glen Cove Branch Rail Road.[4] It originally contained a freight house and wooden platform shelters that were closed during the mid-20th Century. The third rail was installed from Mineola to East Williston in June 1934 because there were originally plans to electrify the entire Oyster Bay Branch, however this did not occur.[4] It was also a convenient, less-busy location to turn back electric trains to Mineola, a service since made redundant by subsequent extensions of the electrification to Hicksville and beyond.

The canopies surrounding the station house began to sag by 1960, and the LIRR considered closing it along with Albertson station, and combining the two stations in between the current existing ones. However, after a great deal of community opposition, those plans were shelved,[5] and East Williston's canopies were restored between 1965 and 1966. High level platforms were added in December 1982.[6] These projects did little to keep the station house in stable condition, and it was closed on December 10, 1996. Since then, it has operated as little more than a pair of sheltered high-level platforms with ticket vending machines and handicapped access ramps. Efforts to preserve the original station house failed when it was found to be too structurally unstable, and it was razed on December 11, 2004. Some in the community[7] have been considering building a whole new version of the original station house, but have instead opted for a decorative open-air shelter.[8]

Station layout

The station has two high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long.

Platform A, side platform
Track 1 ←      Oyster Bay Branch toward Jamaica, Long Island City, or Penn Station (Mineola)
Track 2 ←      Oyster Bay Branch toward Oyster Bay (Albertson) →
Platform B, side platform

References
  1. Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
  2. "LIRR stations and Fare Zones; Direct Fares Only; Effective Date: March 22, 2015" (PDF). web.mta.info. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 30, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  3. The Long Island Rail Road: The age of expansion, 1863-1880 Vincent Seyfried Page 203 Archived December 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Morrison, David D.; Pakaluk, Valerie (2003). Long Island Rail Road Stations. Chicago: Arcadia. p. 57. ISBN 0-7385-1180-3. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  5. "2 L.I. Stations Kept: Railroad Blows to Opponents of Single One in Between," (New York Times; May 19, 1960)
  6. East Williston Station History (Arrt's Arrchives)
  7. East Williston Train Station Project: Report of the Historic Committee (Incorporated Village of East Williston)
  8. East Williston Station Shelter (TheSubwayNut)

Media related to East Williston (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons

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