Bethpage (LIRR station)
Bethpage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A westbound train arrives at the Bethpage station in September 2014. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°44′35″N 73°29′00″W / 40.742994°N 73.483359°WCoordinates: 40°44′35″N 73°29′00″W / 40.742994°N 73.483359°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Long Island Rail Road | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parking | Yes; Free, and Town of Oyster Bay permits | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1856 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1959 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified |
1987 750 V (DC) third rail | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Previous names |
Jerusalem Station (1854-1936) Jerusalem (1863-1936) Central Park (1867-1936) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traffic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers (2006) | 4,963[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bethpage Station is a station along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located at Stewart Avenue and Jackson Avenue, in Bethpage, New York, and serves Ronkonkoma Branch trains. Trains that travel along the Central Branch also use these tracks, but none stop here.
History
Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) tracks were completed on the present line in 1841.[2] At first trains did not stop here, Bethpage appearing only as a notation ("late Bethpage") associated with the Farmingdale station to the east.[3] By 1854, the LIRR stopped at a local station called Jerusalem Station.[4] A local post office opened January 29, 1857, with the name Jerusalem Station.[5] LIRR schedules also referred to the station as simply Jerusalem.[6] In 1867, the residents voted to change the name of the local post office to Central Park, and both that and Jerusalem appeared on LIRR schedules until 1936. The station and the post office were renamed Bethpage on October 1, 1936. In 1959, the station burned down and was replaced. Service was electrified in 1987.[7]
Two nearby stations also had Bethpage in their name:
- Bethpage Junction was a connection to the east of the present station where the LIRR crossed with the Central Railroad of Long Island, which was built in 1873. A platform was built to enable passengers to transfer. This is the location where the present Central Branch splits from the Main Line at Beth Interlocking one mile southeast of the Bethpage station on the way to Babylon station and the Montauk Branch. The LIRR built the B-Tower at Beth Interlocking in 1925 to replace hand-operated switching between the tracks.
- Bethpage was also the name of the northern terminus of the former Bethpage Branch from Bethpage Junction to the former Bethpage Brickworks in the community now called Old Bethpage, but which was called Bethpage until 1936.
From 1873 until 1876, the Central Railroad of Long Island had a regularly scheduled stop also named Central Park near Stewart Avenue and Motor Lane in Plainedge, approximately 0.75 miles south of the present station.[8][9][10] Service was continued by the LIRR at that location until about 1924.
Platforms and tracks
| 1 | ■ Ronkonkoma Branch | toward New York (Hicksville) |
| ■ Montauk Branch | no stop | |
| 2 | ■ Ronkonkoma Branch | toward Ronkonkoma (Farmingdale) |
| ■ Montauk Branch | no stop |
There are 2 tracks at this station, with two high-level side platforms, each the length of 12 cars. The north platform, next to Track 1, is generally used by westbound or New York City-bound trains. The south platform, next to Track 2, is generally used by eastbound trains.
References
- ↑ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
- ↑ "Early LIRR History".
- ↑ "1841 Brooklyn Eagle : LIRR timetable". Brooklyn Eagle. 1841-10-26. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ↑ "Railroads". The New York Times. April 13, 1854. p. 7. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
- ↑ David Roberts. "Nassau County Post Offices 1794-1879". Retrieved 2007-12-23. John L. Kay; Chester M. Smith, Jr. (1982). New York Postal History: The Post Offices & First Postmasters from 1775 to 1980. American Philatelic Society.
- ↑ "1863 LIRR timetable". Retrieved 2011-12-31. The schedule shows the stop is 2 miles from Farmingdale and 3 miles from Hicksville, the same distances as of 2016.
- ↑ Schmitt, Eric (December 31, 1987). "Electric Service Extended by L.I.R.R.". The New York Times. Section B, p. 3. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
- ↑ "The Central RR of Long Island".
- ↑ "c1884 map of LI showing rail lines".
- ↑ "The Stewart Line" (1874 & 1875 timetables show separate stations for Bethpage (now Old Bethpage), Bethpage Junction, and Central Park/Jerusalem).
External links
Works related to Bethpage (LIRR station) at Wikisource
- Official LIRR station information page for Bethpage
- Station timetable for Bethpage
- Unofficial LIRR History Website
- 1873 map showing railways on Long Island
- Bethpage Junction History (Arrt's Arrchives)
- Trains Are Fun
- NYCSubways.org
- BETH Interlocking (The LIRR Today)
- Station from Stewart Avenue from Google Maps Street View
