Woodhaven Junction was a station complex on the

Atlantic Branch The Atlantic Branch is an railway electrification, electrified Track (rail transport), rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the only LIRR line with revenue passenger serv ...

and

Rockaway Beach Branch The Rockaway Beach Branch was a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, New York City, United States. The line left the Main Line at Whitepot Junction in Rego Park heading south via Ozone Park and across Jamaica B ...

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 ...

, located at Atlantic Avenue between 98th and 100th Streets in Woodhaven,

Queens 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The elevated Rockaway Beach station was closed in 1962 along with the rest of the branch, while the underground Atlantic Branch station was closed and abandoned on January 7, 1977.

History

Early history

The station was first opened by the LIRR in the 1880s for the Rockaway Beach Branch (then known as the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad), and in 1893 for the Atlantic Branch.

Renovation

Beginning in May 1940, both stations were rebuilt when the Atlantic Branch was grade separated and placed in a tunnel. The elevated Rockaway Beach station opened in September 1941, while the underground Atlantic Branch station opened for service on December 28, 1942.

Decline and closing

In the early expansion plans of the city's

Independent Subway System The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...

in the 1930s, the Rockaway Beach Branch was planned to be absorbed into the new subway, which would have turned the Woodhaven elevated station into a stop on the

IND Queens Boulevard Line The IND Queens Boulevard Line, sometimes abbreviated as QBL, is a line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line, which is underground throughout its entire route, contains 23 s ...

or a new Queens crosstown line. In 1950, the

south of the Howard Beach station had closed after the trestle on

Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lower New York Bay to the west, ...

between The Raunt and Broad Channel Stations was destroyed by a fire. The city purchased the entire line in 1955, but only the portion south of Liberty Avenue was reactivated for subway service. Ridership declined on the remaining portion of the LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch, and fewer trains were scheduled to stop at Woodhaven on the Atlantic Branch. Passengers who would normally use the station had to ride buses to the next nearest stations. The elevated station of the Rockaway Beach Branch closed first on June 8, 1962, along with the rest of the Rockaway Beach Branch. The underground station of the Atlantic Branch closed on January 7, 1977 due to vandalism and declining ridership. At the time, only two trains, one in each direction, stopped at Woodhaven. Most lights at the station had been broken by thrown beer bottles and rocks, and the walls were covered with graffiti and were filthy. LIRR President Robert Pattison said the station was a popular hangout spot for neighborhood vandals.

Station layout

The elevated station, located on a trestle adjacent to 100th Street, was built with two concrete high-level side platforms, with staircases down to the street and the Atlantic Branch on either side of Atlantic Avenue. The underground station's design resembled an

Independent Subway The Independent Subway System (IND or ISS), formerly known as the Independent City-Owned Subway System (ICOSS) or the Independent City-Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (ICORTR), was a rapid transit rail system in New York City that is now part of th ...

station, with tile work of the same design; the name mosaic reads "Woodhaven." South of the elevated station was a two-track wye, curving northwest from the Rockaway branch to merge with the Atlantic branch west of its station at about 96th Street. Woodhaven Junction is one of two stations on the abandoned Rockaway Beach Branch still standing (the other being Ozone Park), while the underground Atlantic Branch station is still visible from passing trains. The now-abandoned LIRR substation is present on the south side of Atlantic Avenue west of the elevated line. The northern staircases to the elevated station are still visible. The former track junction and part of the Rockaway Branch right-of-way south to 97th Avenue has been paved over and is used as a

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

depot for the Logan Bus Company; the ramp and tunnel portal of the wye have been filled in.

References

External links

Abandoned Stations - Woodhaven (Joseph Brennan)Former Rockaway Beach Branch, including Woodhaven Station (Forgotten New York)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodhaven Junction (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 1886 Railway stations closed in 1977 1886 establishments in New York (state) 1976 disestablishments in New York (state) Railway stations located underground in New York (state) Woodhaven, Queens