Elm Park station (Staten Island Railway)

Elm Park is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway (SIR). The station is located in an open cut under the Bayonne Bridge approach in Elm Park, Staten Island, at Morningstar Road between Innis Street and Newark Avenue. It has two tracks and two side platforms.[1][2] The station is approximately 3.9 miles (6.3 km) from the Saint George terminal of the SIR.[3]

 Elm Park
 
Former Staten Island Railway station
Western part of Elm Park station, 2010
Station statistics
BoroughStaten Island
Coordinates40.6351°N 74.1456°W / 40.6351; -74.1456 (Elm Park station)
LineSIR North Shore Branch
Servicesnone
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Other information
OpenedFebruary 23, 1886 (1886-02-23)
ClosedMarch 31, 1953 (1953-03-31)
Former/other namesElm Park−Morningstar Road[1][2]
Station succession
Next northLake Avenue
Next southTower Hill

History

The station opened on February 23, 1886 as a surface station.[4][5] In the early 1930s as part of a grade crossing elimination project, the station was depressed into the current open-cut below grade level, and rebuilt with concrete platforms.[2][4][5][6][7] The platforms are slightly offset due to the right-of-way crossing at a diagonal with the streets in the neighborhood;[1][5] each measures about 240 feet (73 m) in length, which would fit three cars of the former ME-1 rolling stock (67 feet in length) or of the current R44 SIR cars (75 feet in length).[1] Exit stairs were located at the west end of the station towards Morningstar Road. An overpass from Eaton Place to Newark Avenue over the line (not connected to the station) was located at the station's east end under the Bayonne Bridge.[5] East of the station past John Street, the line rises onto a concrete trestle built in 1935.[2][4][5][7][8] Elm Park was closed on March 31, 1953, along with the South Beach Branch and the rest of the North Shore Branch.[4][5]

Elm Park is one of several stations along the North Shore line still standing today, although the street staircases have been taken up and the former platforms are severely dilapidated, while the line's open cut is overgrown with vegetation. Only a single track — the St. George-bound track — remains, unelectrified and in ruins.[1][2][9][10] It is one of the stations to be returned to operation under the proposals for reactivation of the North Shore branch for rapid transit, light rail, or bus rapid transit service.[1][2][6]

Station layout
G Street Level -
P
Former platform level		 Side platform, not in use
Northbound Trackbed
Southbound Trackbed
Side platform, not in use

References
  1. "North Shore Alternatives Analysis: Rail Alignment Drawings Arlington-St. George" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  2. "NYCT NORTH SHORE ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS: Alternatives Analysis Report" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. Office of Diane J. Savino (2013). "State Senator Diane J. Savino's 2013 Staten Island Railway Rider Report" (PDF). nysenate.gov. New York State Senate. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  4. Leigh, Irvin; Matus, Paul (January 2002). "State Island Rapid Transit: The Essential History". thethirdrail.net. The Third Rail Online. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  5. Pitanza, Marc (2015). Staten Island Rapid Transit Images of Rail. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-2338-9.
  6. "6.5: TRANSIT AND RAILROAD OPEN CUTS: STATEN ISLAND" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  7. "Staten Island Opens Mile-Long Viaduct: Thirty-four Grade Crossings Are Eliminated" (PDF). nytimes.com. The New York Times. February 26, 1937. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  8. "Open S.I. Viaduct: Longest in Nation". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 26, 1937. Retrieved July 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "North Shore Alternatives Analysis: Public Meeting THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010 7:00 p.m." (PDF). zetlin.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 22, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  10. Minn, Michael (December 18, 2009). "History and Future of the North Shore Rail Line on Staten Island" (PDF). michaelminn.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
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