Bellmore (LIRR station)
Encyclopedia
Bellmore is a station
on the Babylon Branch
of the Long Island Rail Road
. It is located on the north side of Sunrise Highway between Bedford and Centre Avenues in Bellmore, New York, however the actual land area occupied by the station's several parking lots begins west of Centre Avenue and continues east of Bellmore Avenue.
, temporary facilities containing a ticket window and a waiting room opened on December 4, 1970, but the elevated station wasn't completed until June 28, 1975.
between the two tracks.
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
on the Babylon Branch
Babylon Branch
The Babylon Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The term refers to the trains serving Montauk Branch stations from Valley Stream east to Babylon. The Babylon Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of...
of the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
. It is located on the north side of Sunrise Highway between Bedford and Centre Avenues in Bellmore, New York, however the actual land area occupied by the station's several parking lots begins west of Centre Avenue and continues east of Bellmore Avenue.
History
Bellmore Station was established by the South Side Railroad of Long Island in October, 1869, and the original structure was replaced sometime in the early-20th Century. As with many other ground-level stations along the Babylon Branch in Nassau and Western Suffolk Counties which had been elevated during the 1950s and 1960s, preliminary work began on February 18, 1968, to raise the tracks in Bellmore. Like Merrick StationMerrick (LIRR station)
Merrick is a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located on Sunrise Highway, between Hewlett Avenue and Merrick Avenue, in Merrick, New York...
, temporary facilities containing a ticket window and a waiting room opened on December 4, 1970, but the elevated station wasn't completed until June 28, 1975.
The station today
The small structure occupying the grassy island on the north side of the station's waiting room began as an open shelter for LIRR customers waiting for eastbound trains. Constructed at the same time as the early-1900s station, it had been located on the south side of the grade-level tracks, just west of Bedford Avenue. At one point, it was partially enclosed, and became the dispatch office for Bellmore Taxi. When the tracks were elevated, the cab company moved its facilities to a storefront on Pettit Avenue, and the shelter was relocated to preserve it from the destruction which saw the demise of the old station itself. After many years of neglect, it was renovated and further enclosed to its present condition. The Bellmore Historical Society has occupied the small building for the past, several years, making its treasury of antique photographs and historical artifacts available to school groups as well as to visitors to the annual Bellmore Family Street Festival hosted each fall by the Bellmore Chamber of Commerce.Platform & Tracks
The station has one 14-car-long high-level island platformIsland platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
between the two tracks.
