Penny Bridge was a station along 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 ...

's Lower Montauk Branch that runs from

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, St Albans, and Cambria Heights to the ea ...

, in the state of

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 * ...

. During its existence, the station served local industry as well as the Calvary Cemetery. Before the

Kosciuszko Bridge The Kosciuszko Bridge ( ), originally known as the Meeker Avenue Bridge, is a cable-stayed bridge over Newtown Creek in New York City, connecting Greenpoint in Brooklyn to Maspeth in Queens. The bridge consists of a pair of cable-stayed brid ...

was built, it also served businesses on the Brooklyn side of

Newtown Creek Newtown Creek, a long tributary of the East River, is an estuary that forms part of the border between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, in New York City. River engineering#Channelization, Channelization made it one of the most heavily-use ...

(the name referring to the bridge that formerly connected Laurel Hill Boulevard to Meeker Avenue before it was closed in 1939) prior to the closure and removal of the bridge.

History

This station first opened on June 26, 1854, by the Flushing Railroad to serve Calvary Cemetery. The Flushing Railroad was purchased by the New York and Flushing Railroad in April 1859. The station, in June 1859, was renamed Calvary Cemetery. The station closed on November 14, 1869. After the line was acquired by 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 ...

in 1869 the station reopened on August 6, 1870. The

purchased the line in 1874 and consolidated the line into its system in 1876. The station was closed on July 30, 1880, before reopening on June 2, 1883. The station would close permanently on March 16, 1998, along with Haberman, Glendale, Fresh Pond and Richmond Hill stations due to very low ridership and incompatibility with the C3 cars that were to be introduced into service around the time of closure. Around that time, the station served an average of one passenger per day.

Station layout

The station had two low-level side platforms beside each track, both consisted merely of long areas of

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

marked as platforms. The eastbound platform had a small blue wooden shelter with signs to indicate the name and location of the station.

References

Former Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Railway stations in Queens, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1854 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1870 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1883 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1869 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1998 Long Island City 1854 establishments in New York (state) 1870 establishments in New York (state) 1883 establishments in New York (state) 1869 disestablishments in New York (state) 1880 disestablishments in New York (state) 1998 disestablishments in New York City Railway stations in the United States closed in 1880 {{QueensNY-railstation-stub