Little Neck is a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

Port Washington Branch The Port Washington Branch is an electrified, mostly double-tracked rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction stat ...

, in the Little Neck neighborhood of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The station is located at

Little Neck Parkway Little Neck Parkway (formerly Little Neck Road) is the easternmost, major north–south route in the northern portion of the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Queens, traveling between the neighborhoods of Little Neck and Bell ...

and 39th Road, about half a mile (800 m) north of Northern Boulevard (NY 25A). It is 14.5 miles (23.3 km) from

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may refer to: Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * New York Penn Station ** Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963), the predecessor to the present New York City station * Newark Penn Station Trai ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

, and is the easternmost station located within New York City served by the Port Washington Branch. The station is part of the

CityTicket The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. The railroad currently operates a public commuter rail s ...

program and is in Zone 3.

History

The original station house was built between February and May 1870 by the

Flushing and North Side Railroad The Flushing and North Side Railroad was a former railroad on Long Island built by Conrad Poppenhusen as a replacement for the former New York and Flushing Railroad. The railroad was established in 1868, was merged with the Central Railroad of Lo ...

, and is one of only two built by the F&NS along the Port Washington Branch. The depot was built 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 . The station cost $1,500. The station opened in June 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 New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running ...

. Electric lights were installed in the station in February 1910. Automatic gates and high level platforms were installed by 1978. There is a pedestrian overpass at mid-platform links the eastbound and westbound platforms. The original overpass was refurbished in 1989 and was closed and demolished in September 2016. It was replaced by a prefabricated span in December 2016, about the same time as the execution of other renovations station-wide.

Station layout

The station has two at-grade high-level

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

s, each 10 cars long, with a crossover staircase connecting them. Unlike most station houses on the Port Washington Branch, Little Neck's station house is located on the south (eastbound) side of the station.

Grade crossing

, located at the west end of the station, crosses the line at the only at-grade

railroad crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The ...

on the Port Washington Branch, and one of the few remaining in New York City. It is regarded as one of the most dangerous railroad crossings in the city, as the other crossings carry few trains – usually only freight trains (such as on the Lower Montauk Branch west of Jamaica station and the

Bushwick Branch The Bushwick Branch, also called the Bushwick Lead Track, is a freight railroad branch in New York City. It runs from the East Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn to Fresh Pond Junction in the Glendale neighborhood of Queens, where it connec ...

; neither of those branches are electrified).

References

External links

* (Unofficial LIRR History Website)
Little Neck Parkway & Sandhill Road Railroad Crossing (Forgotten NY.com)

Station House from Google Maps Street ViewPlatforms from Google Maps Street View (Daytime)Platforms from Google Maps Street View (Night)

Inside station house/ waiting room from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox Railway stations in Queens, New York Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Railway stations in the United States opened in 1870 1870 establishments in New York (state) Douglaston–Little Neck, Queens