East Williston is the first station along the

Oyster Bay Branch The Oyster Bay Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch splits from the Main Line just east of Mineola station, and runs north and east to Oyster Bay. The bran ...

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 ...

, at

Hillside Avenue Hillside may refer to the side of a hill. Places Australia *Hillside mine, a proposed mine on the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia * Hillside, New South Wales *Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne Canada * Hillside, Nova Scotia United Kin ...

and Pennsylvania Avenue in

East Williston, New York East Williston is an incorporated village in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 2,556 at the 2010 census. History Most of the farmland was owned by the Willis family in t ...

. Electric third rail territory ends just north of the station, but all service is provided by diesel bi-level trains. This is the only Oyster Bay Branch station located in fare zone 4.

History

East Williston's station house opened in February 1880 by the

Glen Cove Branch Rail Road A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

. It originally contained a freight house and wooden platform shelters that were closed during the mid-20th Century. The third rail was installed from Mineola to East Williston in June 1934 because there were originally plans to electrify the entire Oyster Bay Branch, however this did not occur. It was also a convenient, less-busy location to turn back electric trains to Mineola, a service since made redundant by subsequent extensions of the electrification to Hicksville and beyond. The canopies surrounding the station house began to sag by 1960, and the LIRR considered closing it along with Albertson station, and combining the two stations in between the current existing ones. However, after a great deal of community opposition, those plans were shelved, and East Williston's canopies were restored between 1965 and 1966. High level platforms were added in December 1982. These projects did little to keep the station house in stable condition, and it was closed on December 10, 1996. Since then, it has operated as little more than a pair of sheltered high-level platforms with ticket vending machines and handicapped access ramps. Efforts to preserve the original station house failed when it was found to be too structurally unstable, and it was razed on December 11, 2004. Some in the communityEast Williston Train Station Project: Report of the Historic Committee (Incorporated Village of East Williston)
/ref> have been considering building a whole new version of the original station house, but have instead opted for a decorative open-air shelter.

Station layout

The station has two 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.

References

External links

*Unofficial LIRR History Website
July 1993 Photo

June 2006: What currently passes for East Williston Station
*Sam Berliner III's Long Island Railroad page

(Victorian Stations of the LIRR)

Station from Google Maps Street ViewPlatforms from Google Maps Street ViewThe decorative shelter from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Nassau County, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1880 1880 establishments in New York (state)