Pinelawn station

Pinelawn
Exterior of station, prior to the Double Track Project
Location	Wellwood Avenue (Suffolk CR 3) & Long Island Avenue Wyandanch, NY
Coordinates	40°44′43″N 73°23′58″W / 40.745339°N 73.399572°W / 40.745339; -73.399572Coordinates: 40°44′43″N 73°23′58″W / 40.745339°N 73.399572°W / 40.745339; -73.399572
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Main Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	Suffolk County Transit: S31
Construction
Parking	Yes; Free
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	9
History
Opened	1895
Rebuilt	1915, 1925, 1979, 2018
Electrified	1987 750 V (DC) third rail
Previous names	Melville (1895–1897) Pinelawn (Melville) (1897–1899)
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	50[1]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Farmingdale toward Penn Station, Long Island City, or Atlantic Terminal Ronkonkoma Branch Wyandanch toward Greenport Former services Republic   Ronkonkoma Branch   Wyandanch

Pinelawn is a railroad station along the Main Line (Ronkonkoma Branch) of the Long Island Rail Road. It is on Long Island Avenue, east of the Suffolk County Road 3 (Wellwood Avenue) grade crossing, in Wyandanch, New York.

History

The Pinelawn station originally had two different station houses with their own histories. Both were created to serve Pinelawn Cemetery, Wellwood Cemetery, and other cemeteries in the vicinity. The first station opened as a flag stop on the northeast corner of Wellwood Avenue in 1895 as Melville, a name it maintained until 1897. From there it would be named Pinelawn (Melville) and finally Pinelawn in 1899.

The second station was built in 1915, and moved to the southeast side of Wellwood Avenue in 1925. It was remodeled again in June, 1979, but only as a shelter. Despite nearly being eliminated as part of the Long Island Rail Road's electrification of the main line towards Ronkonkoma, along with Wyandanch, and Brentwood, the station was saved as part of a bipartisan effort by New York State Senator Owen Johnson (R-West Babylon) and Assemblyman Patrick Halpin (D-Lindenhurst), and given a high-level platform in 1986.

As part of the Main Line Second Track Project which built a second track between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, the LIRR constructed two new platforms at Pinelawn. The existing station building was demolished, allowing construction of a second platform.^[2]

Service

Pinelawn serves mostly off-peak local trains daily. Approximately 36 trains currently stop at the station every week. This station sees no late night or peak service.

Station layout

This station has two tracks and two 2-car-long side platforms. Platform A serves the front cars of westbound trains while Platform B uses the rear cars of eastbound trains. The old platform along with an old station house was demolished for the Double Track Project.

Ground/platform level Exit/entrance	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Track 1	← Ronkonkoma Branch limited service toward Jamaica, Atlantic or Penn Station (Farmingdale)
	Track 2	Ronkonkoma Branch limited service toward Ronkonkoma (Wyandanch) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right.

A Jamaica-bound M7 departing the station, with it's old layout.

Pinelawn Cemetery Station

Despite the presence of the shack-sized station, a much more elaborate station was built across Wellwood Avenue on August 30, 1904. The station had a tall clock tower, a cemetery office, a chapel, and a fancy ticket office in the main lobby, however it is widely believed never to have been used by the public. Pinelawn Cemetery Station remained in service for a business located within the cemetery, until it was destroyed by a fire in April 1928. The walls of the station were still standing in 1960, and the arched entrance to this station remained intact until 1985,^[3] when the Long Island Rail Road was beginning its electrification of the main line.

References

External links

• Official LIRR station information page for Pinelawn

• Station timetable for Pinelawn

• LIRR Pinelawn (TrainsAreFun.com)
• Station from Google Maps Street View