Floral Park is a

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 ...

train station in

Floral Park, New York Floral Park is an incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, United States, on Long Island. The population as of the US Census of 2010 is 15,863. The Incorporated Village of Floral Park is at the western border of Nassau County, and is ...

, at Tulip and Atlantic Avenues, on 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 ...

and

Hempstead Branch The Hempstead Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at the Main Line at Queens Interlocking, just east of Queens Village station. It para ...

just west of their split. Most trains serving this station run to or from Hempstead, but limited

trains stop here on weekday mornings. The station is ADA accessible as of July 16, 2021.

History

The first Floral Park station was built between October and November 1878 as "Stewart Junction," for the junction between the LIRR Main Line and 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 ...

built by

Alexander Turney Stewart Alexander Turney Stewart (October 12, 1803 – April 10, 1876) was an American entrepreneur who moved to New York and made his multimillion-dollar fortune in the most extensive and lucrative dry goods store in the world. Stewart was born in L ...

. Five years earlier the CRRLI had bridged the LIRR, and the station served as a connection between both lines. Connecting tracks were available at the southwest corner of the bridge at the station, and on the northwest corner of the bridge west of the station. It was renamed "Hinsdale" in 1879 with the closing of the CRRLI depot of the same name along the

Creedmoor Branch The Creedmoor Branch was the name of a short branch that the Long Island Rail Road gave to the right of way of tracks between its Floral Park station and Creedmoor State Hospital in Queens, New York. The branch existed from 1879 to 1966 finally ...

, then renamed "East Hinsdale" in 1887. That same year, the station gained a control tower known as "Tower #47." Apparently due to the presence of the florist

John Lewis Childs John Lewis Childs (May 13, 1856 – March 6, 1921)Weidman, B.S. and Martin, L.B. (1981) Nassau County, Long Island, in Early Photographs, 1869-1940: In early photographs 1869-1940'' Courier Dover Publications. p 49. was a horticultural businessma ...

, the station was renamed "Floral Park" by 1890. Tower #47 was replaced with the "FK Tower" in 1904, the station itself was razed in 1909, and a second station was rebuilt and relocated the same year in July. In 1924, the LIRR replaced the FK Tower with the Park Tower, and rebuilt it again in 1946. The third and current elevated structure was built in 1960, as the second one was razed on October 20 of that same year. The ticket office at this station was staffed until August 19, 2009, when it was closed during cost-cutting measures across the MTA. As part of the LIRR third track project, the Floral Park station was renovated starting in spring 2019 and three vehicular crossings east of the station were rebuilt starting that year. This station was rebuilt and received elevators, making it

ADA-accessible 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, ...

. On August 15, 2022 the track designations at Floral Park were changed.

Station layout

This station has three high-level platforms serving four tracks. Platform A is eight cars long, while Platforms B and C are 10 cars long.

trains (the

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

, Oyster Bay, Ronkonkoma, and

Branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually ...

) use the three northern tracks while Hempstead Branch trains use the two southern tracks. Besides a few morning rush hour trains, all Main Line trains bypass this station.

References

External links

Floral Park Station History (TrainsAreFun)

Carnation Avenue entrance (west) from Google Maps Street View

Station House and entrance (middle) from Google Maps Street View

Tulip Avenue entrance (east) from Google Maps Street ViewPlatforms from Google Maps Street ViewPlatform waiting room from Google Maps Street
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Nassau County, New York Long Island Rail Road Station Railway stations in the United States opened in 1878