Willow Tree was a

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 ...

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 ...

station that was opened on the north side of the tracks and the west side of 183rd Street, then known as Hamilton Street. It was located in what is today the

Hollis Hollis may refer to: *Hollis (singer) *Hollis (name) Places * Hollis, Alaska * Hollis, Kansas * Hollis, Maine * Hollis, Missouri * Hollis, New Hampshire * Hollis, Oklahoma * Hollis, Queens, neighborhood in New York **Hollis (LIRR station), its Lon ...

section of

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

History

Willow Tree station opened on March 1, 1837, when Long Island Rail Road service opened to Hicksville. The land for the Willow Tree station was and was purchased on April 18, 1836. Willow Tree can be found in timetables as early as October 1, 1852, and as late as November 4, 1867. In the year ending June 30, 1861, 75,650 quarts of milk were received from the Willow Tree station. An 1868 book says that only the Sunday excursion trains, and the North Islip and Hempstead passenger trains regularly stop there. On Friday April 23, 1869, on the eve of the Long Island Rail Road's 35th anniversary, a three car train, pulled by ''Thurlow Weed'', hit a broken rail and derailed just east of Willow Tree at 187th Street, Hollis. Six people died and 14 people were seriously injured. There was no depot building, but there was a dwelling house located close to the track which was fitted with a seat fixed on the outside for the use of waiting passengers. An African-American family occupied the house in the late 1860s and early 1870s, and when several came down with smallpox in 1873, the place was quarantined. In September 1871, President Charlick of the Long Island Rail Road decided to abandon the station, and the station is last listed in June 1872. However, on a track map its closure is listed as 1880. After its closure it was superseded by the Rockaway Junction station. Since 1991, the site of the Willow Tree station has been occupied by the present site of the platforms for the

Hillside Facility The Hillside Facility, also called the Hillside Support Facility or the Hillside Maintenance Complex, is a maintenance facility of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. The Hillside facility was built between 1984 an ...

over the 183rd Street bridge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willow Tree (Lirr Station) Former Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City Railway stations in Queens, New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1837 Railway stations closed in 1872