Woodside station (LIRR)

Woodside
The station looking SE from the IRT Flushing Line platforms overhead
Location	61st Street and Roosevelt Avenue Woodside, Queens, New York
Coordinates	40°44′46″N 73°54′12″W / 40.746072°N 73.903201°W / 40.746072; -73.903201Coordinates: 40°44′46″N 73°54′12″W / 40.746072°N 73.903201°W / 40.746072; -73.903201
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Main Line Port Washington Branch
Platforms	2 side platforms 1 island platform
Tracks	6
Connections	New York City Subway  ​ at 61st Street–Woodside NYCT Bus: Q32 MTA Bus: Q18, Q53 SBS, Q70 SBS to LGA
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	November 15, 1869 (F&NS)[1]
Closed	1914
Rebuilt	1915, 1999
Electrified	June 16, 1910 750 V (DC) third rail
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	5,728[2]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Penn Station Terminus City Terminal Zone Forest Hills toward Long Island Port Washington Branch rush-hour express Great Neck toward Port Washington Port Washington Branch regular service Flushing–Main Street toward Port Washington or Great Neck Port Washington Branch seasonal service Mets–Willets Point toward Port Washington or Great Neck Former services Penn Station   Main Line   Winfield Junction

Woodside is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens, New York City. It is the first station passed by eastward trains from Penn Station, and it is the only station in Queens shared by the Port Washington Branch and other LIRR branches. East of Woodside the two-track Port Washington Branch turns eastward, while the four-track Main Line continues southeast to Jamaica station.

Woodside has six tracks and three platforms. The four southernmost tracks passing through the station are the Main Line tracks; the two center tracks on the Main Line are through (express) tracks and do not have platform faces at Woodside. The two northernmost tracks are the Port Washington branch tracks, both of which have platforms. West of the station, the line merges with Amtrak's Hell Gate Bridge access tracks (part of the Northeast Corridor) at Harold Interlocking before entering the East River Tunnels to Manhattan. The 61st Street–Woodside (7 and <7>​ trains) station is above Woodside station, on a viaduct high above Roosevelt Avenue. The station is ADA wheelchair accessible via elevators and ramps.

History

Woodside originally had two railroad stations. One was built in 1861 on 60th Street by the LIRR subsidiary New York and Jamaica Railroad; the other, larger station was built by the Flushing and North Side Railroad on November 15, 1869, and was the first to be built by the F&NS after acquiring the troubled New York and Flushing Railroad.

For a short period during the 1870s, it served not only the Port Washington Branch but also the Woodside Branch. The Woodside Branch ran across northwestern Queens, had one station at Junction Boulevard and 35th Avenue, and took commuters either to the former Whitestone Branch or to what is today Corona Yard. Like all other stations on Long Island, it was acquired by the Long Island Railroad in 1876, but in this case the former LIRR-built station was abandoned.

Though the line was electrified on June 16, 1910, the station was closed in 1914 due to a grade elimination project and razed on November 17, 1915. The existing elevated station was opened on October 17, 1915. When Winfield station was closed in 1929, Woodside became the station for Main Line and Port Washington Branch trains before the split at Winfield Junction. A restoration project took place in 1999.

Station layout

This station has three 12-car long high-level platforms. The northern one, a side platform (Platform C) next to Track 1 of the Port Washington Branch, is generally used by westbound or Manhattan-bound trains. The central one, an island platform (Platform B) between Track 2 of the Port Washington Branch and Track 3 of the Main Line, is generally used by eastbound or outbound Port Washington trains and westbound or Manhattan-bound Main Line trains. The southern one, a side platform (Platform A) next to Track 4 of the Main Line, is generally used by outbound or eastbound Main Line trains.^[3]

There are six tracks. Tracks 1 and 2 of the Main Line, which are not adjacent to any platform, are used by non-stopping trains.

3F Subway platforms	Southbound local	← toward 34th Street–Hudson Yards (52nd Street)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Peak-direction express	← toward 34th Street–Hudson Yards (AM rush) (Queensboro Plaza) → toward Flushing–Main Street (PM rush) (Junction Boulevard) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Northbound local	→ toward Flushing–Main Street (69th Street) →
2F	Mezzanine	Connection between and LIRR, station agent, MetroCard machines
1F LIRR platforms	Platform C, doors will open on the right
	PW Track 1	← Port Washington Branch toward Penn Station (Terminus)
	PW Track 2	→ Port Washington Branch toward Great Neck or Port Washington (Great Neck, Mets–Willets Point, or Flushing–Main Street) →
	Platform B, doors will open on the left or right
	ML Track 3	← Main Line toward Penn Station (Terminus)
	ML Track 1	← Main Line does not stop here →
	ML Track 2	← Main Line does not stop here →
	ML Track 4	→ Main Line toward Long Island destinations via Jamaica (Forest Hills) →
	Platform A, doors will open on the right
G	Street level	Entrances/exits

References

External links

• Media related to Woodside (LIRR station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Official LIRR station information page for Woodside

• Station timetable for Woodside

• Woodside LIRR station (TheSubwayNut)
• Unofficial LIRR History website
  • Woodside Station and IRT Flushing Line view
  • Port Washington Branch with Main Line in the background
• 61st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View

The platform at Woodside station