Little Neck station

For the station known as Little Neck from 1866 to 1870, see Douglaston (LIRR station).
Little Neck
The station, as seen from Little Neck Parkway
General information
LocationLittle Neck Parkway and 39th Road
Little Neck, Queens, New York
Coordinates40°46′30″N 73°44′27″W / 40.775°N 73.740744°W / 40.775; -73.740744
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Line(s)Port Washington Branch
Distance12.7 mi (20.4 km) from Long Island City[1]
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsLocal Transit NYCT Bus: Q36
Local Transit MTA Bus: QM3
Local Transit Nassau Inter-County Express: n20G, n20X
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeLNK
Fare zone3
History
OpenedJune 1870 (F&NS)
Rebuilt1890
ElectrifiedOctober 21, 1913
750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
2012—20143,354[2]
Rank35 of 125
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station
Douglaston
toward Penn Station or Grand Central
 Port Washington Branch Great Neck
toward Port Washington
Location
Map

Little Neck is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch, in the Little Neck neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The station is located at Little Neck Parkway and 39th Road, about half a mile (800 m) north of Northern Boulevard (NY 25A). It is 14.5 miles (23.3 km) from Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan, and is the easternmost station located within New York City served by the Port Washington Branch. The station is part of the CityTicket program and is in Zone 3.

History

The original station house was built between February and May 1870 by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, and is one of only two built by the F&NS along the Port Washington Branch. The depot was built on the south side of the tracks and east of Little Neck Parkway. The station building was erected by Benjamin Wooley, and was 16 by 26 feet, two stories high, with a high platform in front, and 75 feet (23 m). The station cost $1,500. The station opened in June 1870 as Little Neck, superseding earlier Little Neck station, which reverted to the name of Douglaston.[3] It was replaced by the Long Island City and Flushing Railroad in 1890 with a second station house. The former F&NS depot is now located on a local street off Northern Boulevard.[4][5] Electric lights were installed in the station in February 1910.[6]

Automatic gates and high level platforms were installed by 1978.[7]

There is a pedestrian overpass at mid-platform links the eastbound and westbound platforms. The original overpass was refurbished in 1989 and was closed and demolished in September 2016.[8][9][10] It was replaced by a prefabricated span in December 2016, about the same time as the execution of other renovations station-wide.[10][11]

Station layout

Little Neck station platforms (March 2019)

The station has two at-grade high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long, with a crossover staircase connecting them.

Unlike most station houses on the Port Washington Branch, Little Neck's station house is located on the south (eastbound) side of the station.[12][13]

Platform A, side platform Disabled access
Track 1 ←      Port Washington Branch toward Penn Station or Grand Central Madison (Douglaston)
Track 2      Port Washington Branch toward Great Neck or Port Washington (Great Neck) →
Platform B, side platform Disabled access

Grade crossing

Little Neck Parkway, located at the west end of the station, crosses the line at the only at-grade railroad crossing on the Port Washington Branch, and one of the few remaining in New York City.[12][13] It is regarded as one of the most dangerous railroad crossings in the city, as the other crossings carry few trains – usually only freight trains (such as on the Lower Montauk Branch west of Jamaica station and the Bushwick Branch; neither of those branches are electrified).[12][13]

References

  1. ^ Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. VI. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 197. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020. Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014. .... 2012-2014 LIRR O[rigin and ]D[estination] COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order ... Little Neck
  3. ^ "Local News In Brief". The New York Times. June 6, 1870. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "PORT WASHINGTON BRANCH Part 2 Auburndale to Port Washington - Forgotten New York". forgotten-ny.com. May 16, 2002. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  5. ^ Morrison, David D.; Pakaluk, Valerie (2003). Long Island Rail Road Stations. Arcadia Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-7385-1180-1.
  6. ^ "Little Neck". Brooklyn Times Union. February 5, 1910. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "LITTLE NECK". www.arrts-arrchives.com. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "MTA LIRR - Little Neck". lirr42.mta.info. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  9. ^ Pozarycki, Robert (September 16, 2016). "Don't get towed! Parking lot at Little Neck LIRR station closes early today". qns.com. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Rehab Includes Refurbished Waiting Room & Larger Restrooms". www.mta.info. July 10, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Hallum, Mark (December 1, 2016). "LIRR to replace Little Neck foot bridge this week". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Perilous Crossings". Forgotten NY. Archived from the original on June 15, 2004. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Rhoades, Liz (November 26, 2003). "Pedestrians Crossing At LIRR In Little Neck Still Problematic". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved March 12, 2019.

Media related to Little Neck (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons