Re: (rshsdepot) MTA Is Correcting Its Neglect of New York City LIRR Stations

["Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie_@_pipeline.com>]

The East Rockaway station is indeed pretty new. Originally, it was located
at Davison Plaza, just west of the Ocean Avenue crossing; The tracks then
crossed a long stretch of open marsh, with a bridge across the "River" and
then another station at Atlantic Avenue just south of that crossing. Around
1950, the "new" East Rockaway station was built -- and the platforms
extended all the way from Ocean Avenue to Atlantic Avenue. IIRC, they were
something like 15 car lengths long. The "official" distance between stations
was about 2/10 of a mile.

This length was cut when the high level platforms were installed c1970. The
areas of the marsh is all filled in and has been a shopping center in
various forms since the early 1960s.

The crossings were both still operated by gatemen when I was a kid hanging
out (as was the crossing at Centre Avenue). later, when I worked for the
LIRR, Centre Avenue (and Malverne) had Monday-only ticket clerks, working
out of Lynbrook with a suitcase of stock. Centre Avenue was the pits -- and
smelled like a sewer. Malverne was decent -- shared with the taxi company.
East Rockaway was still new, but smelled like a urinal even then. I sold
tickets at all those stations.

Oceanside was hit by a fire around 1959, and was demolished. I have a LI
Press newspaper clip of the station being torn down.

"Queenswater, next!"

Cheers,
Jim



From: "Paul Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>

> Here they knocked down the East Rockaway station a few years ago (nothing
> special but it did have a pot belly stove inside, it must have been a 50's
> structure though...
>
> Yet they just built a new station at Oceanside next down the line where
> there hasn't been one since I lived here (about 25 years)  and not that
bad
> looking either...
>
> No station replaced the one in East Rockaway..seems inconsistent..maybe
> because the Oceanside stop is near other businesses...
>



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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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