Patchogue 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 ...

of the

Montauk Branch The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City to Montauk. However, in LIRR maps and sche ...

of 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 ...

in the Village of Patchogue, Suffolk County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. It is on Division Street between West Avenue (CR 19) and South Ocean Avenue. The station is the eastern terminus for some trains on the branch.

Ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

board from a port near the station.

History

Between 1869 and 1879 Patchogue station was the east end of the

South Side Railroad of Long Island The South Side Railroad of Long Island was a railroad company in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Chartered in 1860 and first opened in 1867 as a competitor to the Long Island Rail Road, it was reorganized in 1874 as the Southern Rai ...

. It even had spurs and roundhouses between West and Railroad Avenues, as well as another spur between River Avenue and West Avenue for the textile plant that more recently has served as the former Patchogue Campus of

Briarcliffe College Briarcliffe College was a private for-profit college with two campuses on Long Island, New York. It was owned by Career Education Corporation. The Bethpage campus served Nassau County, New York, and the Patchogue campus was in Suffolk Count ...

. Prior to acquisition by the

there was a proposal by the SSRRLI to extend the main line southeast towards Bellport, then northeast to Brookhaven and

Southaven Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making it the 3rd most populous city in Mississippi and the largest suburb of Memp ...

. The station in Brookhaven was to be named "Fireplace" after Fireplace Neck.Craige & Company's 1870 Southside Railroad of Long Island Map (Arrt's Arrchive)
/ref> The station was rebuilt in 1889 and again on July 30, 1963.
As part of the 1963 reconstruction, Railroad Avenue was terminated at Sephton Street, along the north side of the tracks, and the baggage and express house was torn down for additional parking. When the nearby Blue Point station was closed by the Long Island Rail Road in 1980, former Blue Point commuters opted to use Patchogue station. A high-level platform was constructed at the station in the late 1990s, in order to serve the LIRR's then-new C3 bilevel railcars, which require high-level platforms. The renovations also made the station compliant with the

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

PD Tower

In 1912, the Long Island Rail Road added a

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled a ...

to the Patchogue Station on South Ocean Avenue, for use by both the Montauk Branch and the former trolley line owned by the

Suffolk Traction Company The Suffolk Traction Company is a former streetcar system in Suffolk County, New York. It operated primarily between Patchogue and Holtsville, New York, Holtsville, but also included a route that served Blue Point, New York, Blue Point, Bayport, ...

. This control tower was designated by the LIRR as the "PD Tower" and was also used for hooping. In 1970, all switches and crossings once controlled by the tower were automated, but hooping continued. At this point, the tower's structure began to decline and deteriorate. Residents began referring to it as the " Leaning Tower of Patchogue," and it ultimately fell into a state of disrepair. On August 23, 2006, PD Tower was ultimately torn down. Today, a flower garden can be found where PD Tower used to stand.

Station layout

The station has one six-car-long high-level platform on the south side of the two tracks; the north track – not next to the platform – is a siding track.

Connections

Suffolk County Transit Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus services in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private con ...

buses 2, 6, 51, 53, 55, 66, 77, and 77Y (77Y runs on weekday rush hours only). * Patchogue-Village Transit bus routes * Fire Island Ferries to Davis Park and Watch Hill on

References

External links

*
Older Patchogue Station(Newsday)
(Arrt's Arrchives)

an

More PD Tower Pics (May 1, 2006)
*Unofficial LIRR Photography Site (lirrpics.com)

an

Station from Ocean Avenue from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Suffolk County, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1869 Patchogue, New York 1869 establishments in New York (state)