Bethpage is a station along the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system 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 Co ...

. It is located at Stewart Avenue and Jackson Avenue, in

Bethpage, New York Bethpage (formerly known as Central Park) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 16,429 at the 2010 United States Cen ...

, and serves

Ronkonkoma Branch The Ronkonkoma Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in the U.S. state of New York. On LIRR maps and printed schedules, the "Ronkonkoma Branch" includes trains running along the railroad's Main Line from Hicksvill ...

trains. Trains that travel along the Central Branch also use these tracks, but none stop here.

History

(LIRR) tracks were completed on the present line in 1841. At first trains did not stop here, Bethpage appearing only as a notation ("late Bethpage") associated with the Farmingdale station to the east. By 1854, the LIRR stopped at a local station called Jerusalem. A local post office opened January 29, 1857, with the name Jerusalem Station. In 1867, the residents voted to change the name of the local post office to Central Park, and both that and Jerusalem appeared on LIRR schedules until 1936. The station and the post office were renamed Bethpage on October 1, 1936. In 1959, the station burned down and was replaced. Electrified service through the station was inaugurated in 1987. Two nearby stations also had Bethpage in their name: *Bethpage Junction was a connection to the east of the present station where the LIRR crossed with the

Central Railroad of Long Island Central Railroad of Long Island was built on Long Island, New York (state), New York, by Alexander Turney Stewart, who was also the founder of Garden City, New York, Garden City. The railroad was established in 1871, then merged with the Flushing ...

, which was built in 1873. A platform was built to enable passengers to transfer. This is the location where the present Central Branch splits from the Main Line at Beth Interlocking one mile southeast of the Bethpage station on the way to

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

station and 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 branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. How ...

. The LIRR built the B-Tower at Beth Interlocking in 1925 to replace hand-operated switching between the tracks. *Bethpage was also the name of the northern terminus of the former

Bethpage Branch The Bethpage Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), running from the present-day split between the Ronkonkoma Branch and Central Branch (then called the ''Bethpage Junction'' and now called ''Bethpage Interlocking'') north abo ...

from Bethpage Junction to the former Bethpage Brickworks in the community now called

Old Bethpage Old Bethpage is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located on Long Island in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population of the CDP was 5,283 at the 2020 United States Census. It is served by the Old Be ...

, but which was called Bethpage until 1936. From 1873 until 1876, the Central Railroad of Long Island had a regularly scheduled stop also named ''Central Park'' near Stewart Avenue and Motor Lane in

Plainedge Plainedge is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,817 at the 2010 census. The area was once known as Turkeyville. Geography Acco ...

, approximately south of the present station. Service was continued by the LIRR at that location until about 1924.

Station layout

There are 2 tracks at this station with two 12-car 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 ...

History

Station layout

References

External links