Great River is a

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 ...

on 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 ...

, at Connetquot Avenue and Hawthorne Avenue in

Great River, New York Great River is a suburban hamlet and CDP in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is situated approximately (55 mi driving) east of New York City on the South Shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay ...

. The station opened in 1897.

History

Prior to the establishment of passenger service, the site of Great River station was occupied by a freight-only station built by the

South Side Railroad of Long Island The South Side Railroad of Long Island was a railroad company in the U.S. state of New York. Chartered in 1860 and first opened in 1867 as a competitor to the Long Island Rail Road, it was reorganized in 1874 as the Southern Railroad of Long Isla ...

(SSRRLI) known as Youngsport station. The station opened in 1897, and the original station building burned down in 1943. Between that time, a sheltered-platform was added to the other side of the tracks. In 1945, a modernist station designed by architect

Antonin Raymond Antonin Raymond (or cs, Antonín Raymond), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976)"Deaths Elsewhere", ''Miami Herald'', 30 October 1976, p. 10 was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part ...

replaced it, but it was burned down in 2000. The third station with high-level platforms was built in the late 1990s. The original shelter, however was restored by the East Islip Historical Society, and remains within one of the parking lots along the eastbound platform.

Club House station

East of Great River Station, the South Side Railroad built a private station called Club House station in 1869 to serve the

South Side Sportsmen's Club South Side Sportsmen's Club was a recreational club that catered to the wealthy businessmen of Long Island during the gold coast era from the 1870s through the 1960s. Its main clubhouse and other facilities were added to the National Register o ...

. This station was located between Mileposts 45 and 46 inside today's

Bayard Cutting Arboretum Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park is a state park located in the hamlet of Great River, New York, on Long Island. The park includes an arboretum designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for William Bayard Cutting in 1886, as well as a mansion designe ...

, and was among a number of privately-owned stations along the SSRRLI, which were not so uncommon during the 19th Century. It was closed in 1897.Image of the old Club House Station; 1870-1897 (Arrt's Arrchives)
/ref>

Station layout

The station has two tracks and two four-car long high-level side platforms.

Notable places nearby

Connetquot River State Park Connetquot River State Park Preserve is a state park and conservation area in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York in the United States. The park contains the Long Island Environmental Interpretive Center as well as the Southside Spo ...

Heckscher State Park Heckscher State Park is a state park on the shore of the Great South Bay at East Islip in Suffolk County, New York, USA. History The park includes that was once the 19th-century estates of George C. Taylor and J. Neal Plum. Islip's found ...

References

External links

Great River Station (East Islip Historic Society)Westbound train approaching Great River Station (YouTube)

Station from Connetquot Avenue from Google Maps Street View
{{LIRR stations navbox Long Island Rail Road stations in Suffolk County, New York Islip (town), New York Railway stations in the United States opened in 1897