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

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 ...

, as well as the easternmost

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and in

New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. The station is located on Edgemere Street ( Suffolk County Route 49) and Fort Pond Road west of Montauk Harbor, New York.

History

Originally built in 1895 by the

Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, it was demolished in 1907, then rebuilt twenty years later, only to be relocated by the US Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

along with a great deal of Montauk itself. The Navy confiscated the property along

Fort Pond Bay Fort Pond Bay is a bay off Long Island Sound at Montauk, New York that was site of the first port on the end of Long Island. The bay has a long naval and civilian history. History New-York Province and the American Revolution Fort Pond Bay wa ...

in order to transform it into a sea plane base, and moved the LIRR property to the south with a third station built in 1942. The station was built in a similar style to the second station, but not the same design. Both the second and third stations still survive to this day, and for a while the second one was owned by the New York Ocean Science Laboratory. Today the second station is on the property of the Roughrider Landing Condominiums. The third station house also contained a freight house that was moved to Industrial Road in the late-1960s, and is now a private residence. The current and fourth Montauk station is an unoccupied high-level center platform for two of the seven tracks. The platform from the old station leads to the current station. A wye exists west of the station that leads to a short spur across Industrial Road to Fort Pond, and was used to turn around engines. It also once had another spur on the opposite side of the tracks leading to a fishing dock on Fort Pond Bay. The previous station house is now known as the Depot Art Gallery. Montauk Station was one of the settings for the 2004 movie ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. P ...

'' starring

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

and

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, incl ...

. The noise of train engines left idling for long periods in the Montauk Yard has been a recent cause of concern for local residents, who formed a group called the Montauk Anti-Pollution Coalition in 2003. The LIRR began shutting engines off in 2009.

Station layout

This station has one six-car-long high-level

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

. There are seven tracks at this location. The five southern tracks, not adjacent to the platform, comprise a train storage yard. When the LIRR provides extra service to

the Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

during the summer, on weekends the yard is typically filled with passenger trains that terminate at Montauk, including the Friday afternoon ''Cannonball'' express train from

Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals. Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to Current train stations * Baltimore Penn Station * Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...

References

External links

*Unofficial LIRR History Website
Babylon-Montauk Branch Stations

1942-style Montauk StationLIRR Train 2704 on the approach to Montauk (YouTube)
*Unofficial LIRR Photography Site

old Station House from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Suffolk County, New York East Hampton (town), New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1895

History

Station layout

See also

References

External links