Richmond Hill station (LIRR)
Richmond Hill | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hillside Avenue and Babbage Street Richmond Hill, Queens, New York | |||||||||||
Coordinates | 40°42′02″N 73°49′56″W / 40.70056°N 73.83222°W | ||||||||||
Owned by | Long Island Rail Road | ||||||||||
Line(s) | Montauk Branch | ||||||||||
Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | 1869 | ||||||||||
Closed | March 16, 1998 | ||||||||||
Rebuilt | 1923 | ||||||||||
Electrified | August 29, 1905 | ||||||||||
Previous names | Clarenceville (1869–1871) | ||||||||||
Former services | |||||||||||
|
The Richmond Hill station is a closed station on the
The Richmond Hill station was originally built by the South Side Railroad of Long Island in 1869 as the Clarenceville station. After New York City and the Long Island Rail Road began negotiating the elimination of numerous at-grade crossings within Queens in the 1910s, the current station was opened on a viaduct in 1923. The station was closed on March 16, 1998, along with nine others due to low ridership and the potential cost of upgrading the stations to modern standards; at the time of its closure, the station averaged one passenger per day.
History
Richmond Hill station was originally built by the
In 1911, New York City and the Long Island Rail Road began negotiating the elimination of numerous at-grade crossings within Queens.
The station was closed on March 16, 1998, along with nine others, including the other four on the Lower Montauk branch, due to low ridership and the potential cost of upgrading the stations to modern standards.
Station layout
3F | BMT Jamaica Line | |
2F Platform level |
Westbound | No passenger service |
Island platform, not in use | ||
Eastbound | No passenger service | |
G | Street level | - |
The station has two tracks and an island platform. Richmond Hill was the only station on the Lower Montauk Branch that was elevated with a high-level platform for passengers to wait for trains (the other four stations only had strips of pavement beside the tracks, requiring passengers to wait on track level and climb aboard trains).[15][16] The station sits on a concrete trestle, supported by pairs of concrete arches.[7][12][17] The station's island platform has a small shelter in the center, and two stairways down to the street. One staircase goes down from the shelter to Hillside Avenue. The other is at the south (railroad east) end that goes down to the three-way intersection of Myrtle Avenue, Lefferts Boulevard and Jamaica Avenue. The southern staircase is blocked by a security gate.[7][12][15] The platform could accommodate trains of six 85-foot (26 m) cars.[16]
Most of the space underneath the trestle between Lefferts Boulevard and Hillside Avenue is gated off by green fencing, installed in 2003.[13] The area has been used as parking space in the past.[10][11][13]
The
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7385-1180-1.
- ^ See:
- "(untitled)". Queens County Sentinel. Fultonhistory.com. April 29, 1869. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
The frame of the new depot building at Clarenceville is now up, and will be inclosed next week. A platform some 300 feet in length is to be laid. It is to be of Gothic style, 20x60 feet, 15 feet posts.
- "South Side Railroad". New York Evening Post. Fultonhistory.com. June 1, 1869. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- "(untitled)". Queens County Sentinel. Fultonhistory.com. April 29, 1869. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b Orman, John (October 27, 1972). "Historical Notes on Richmond Hill". Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-7426-4. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b "Remove Grade Crossings; The City of New York and the Long Island Railroad Execute a Contract to Spend Two Millions; The City Will Pay $575,000". The Daily Long Island Farmer. Fultonhistory.com. July 29, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b "One Crossing Is Going". Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. March 1, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "To Elevate L.I. Tracks at Richmond Hill: Company Promises To Soon Eliminate Grade Crossings; System May Be Electrified". Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. February 22, 1917. p. 8. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ See:
- "Calls Atlantic Division Grade Crossings Most Dangerous In City". Leader-Observer. Fultonhistory.com. November 1, 1923. p. 1. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Fultonhistory.com. p. 2. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b Sengupta, Somini (March 15, 1998). "End of the Line for L.I.R.R.'s 10 Loneliest Stops". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c Simon, David (January 30, 2003). "Rundown Rich. Hill LIRR Station To Receive $75,000 Overhaul". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c Davidson, Alex (October 17, 2002). "Abandoned railroad station mars face of Richmond Hill". Times Ledger. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c Walsh, Kevin (March 7, 2010). "MYRTLE AVENUE Part 4, Glendale, Forest Park, Richmond Hill". Forgotten New York. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b c d See:
- Davidson, Alex (January 16, 2003). "Richmond Hill LIRR site to get $75,000 overhaul". Times Ledger. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- Joiner, Bryan (July 31, 2003). "Richmond Hill LIRR Station Gets Taller And Stronger Fence". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ a b See:
- Serant, Claire (October 7, 1998). "LIRR Underpass Stinks, Say Locals". Daily News (New York). Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- O’Reilly, Anthony (February 11, 2016). "LIRR blight presents a chance 'for crime': CB 9 member calls for proper agency to clean Richmond Hill site". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- Serant, Claire (October 7, 1998). "LIRR Underpass Stinks, Say Locals".
- ^ a b Walsh, Kevin (April 2000). "LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD RETIRED FLEET". Forgotten New York. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ Urban Mass Transit Administration. May 1984. Retrieved July 10, 2016.
- ^ Cohen, Joyce (April 13, 1997). "Working-Class, With Touch of Nostalgia". The New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ See:
- "TO OPEN JAMAICA AV. LINE.; Nearly Two and a Half Miles Ready for Operation Tonight". No. May 27, 1917. New York Times Company. May 27, 1917. p. 24. Retrieved April 21, 2015.
- "Jamaica Avenue 'L' is an Old Story Already" (PDF). No. May 31, 1917. Leader Observer (Queens/Brooklyn, NY). May 31, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York, Volume 1. New York State Public Service Commission. January 15, 1918. pp. 73, 81, 312–314. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: neighborhood". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.