Port Jefferson is the

terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...

for the

Port Jefferson Branch The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The branch splits from the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line just east of Hicksville ...

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 ...

. The station is located on

New York State Route 25A New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at the ...

(Main Street), on the north side of the tracks, but is also accessible from Oakland Avenue (both of which are in the Village of Port Jefferson), as well as Railroad Avenue and Union Street on the south side of the tracks in

Port Jefferson Station Port Jefferson Station is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, in New York, United States. The population was 7,838 as of the 2010 census. History The area now known as Port Jefferson Station ...

. All service is diesel-only, and most off-peak trains are shuttles requiring a transfer to an electric train at Huntington or Hicksville. The station also serves Suffolk County Transit buses and occasionally the Village of Port Jefferson's own local jitney buses. One Suffolk County Transit bus, (Route S61) leads to the

Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, commonly referred to as the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry is a ferry company that operates ferry service across Long Island Sound, between the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut and the Long Isl ...

, approximately one mile to the north. It features service to

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, hence the reason for some station name signs being adjacent to "Bridgeport Ferries" signs.

History

Port Jefferson station was originally opened on January 13, 1873 by the

Smithtown and Port Jefferson Railroad The Port Jefferson 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 Hicksville and runs northeast and east to Port Jefferson. Sev ...

, but was burned on February 1, 1874. The second station was completed in June 1875. In 1895, the Port Jefferson Branch was extended to Wading River. The second Port Jefferson station was closed in 1903, and was used as a yard building, while the third station was built across Main Street. Designed by

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

and funded by the residents of the nearby Village of Belle Terre, it opened on July 29, 1903. Port Jefferson Station resumed its status as the terminus of the line on October 9, 1938, when the line was abandoned between Port Jefferson and Wading River. The "yard building" was abandoned in April 1963. The station was remodeled in 1968, but restored in 2001 based on its previous 1903 design. Port Jefferson is from Penn Station and travel time varies between 1 hour, 40 minutes and 2 hours, depending on if one has to transfer to an electric train to reach the city. In 2019, the LIRR completed an extensive renovation of the station building, restoring it to its prototypical appearance at the turn of the twentieth century. New signage and brick-paver walkways were also installed.

Station layout

This station has one 10-car-long 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 ...

north of the tracks. To the east of the station is the Port Jefferson Yard, which provides additional storage tracks.

Gallery

File:PJSta2.jpg, Parking lot and station building, as seen in 1999. File:PJSta4.jpg, 2007 image of station after the 2001 restoration project. File:PJSta3.JPG, One of the signs at the station to complement the station name sign, showing the connection to the ferry to Bridgeport.

References

External links

Old Port Jefferson Station Photo (Newsday)Bridgeport - Port Jefferson Ferry website
*TrainsAreFun.com

** ttp://trainsarefun.com/lirr/lirr%20freight/freight%20photos/elboxcarPJ78.jpg Erie-Lackawanna boxcar @ Port Jefferson Station (1978)
Train #161 about to cross Main Street (August, 1979)

Station from Main Street from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Suffolk County, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1873 1873 establishments in New York (state) Brookhaven, New York