Pinelawn (LIRR station)
Encyclopedia
Pinelawn Station is a small 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, south of Melville, New York
.
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 station, 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. A high-level platform was added in 1986 as part of the Long Island Rail Road's electrification of the main line towards Ronkonkoma
.
south of the track, east of the station house, serving only passengers in the westernmost two cars of arriving trains. The Main Line has one track at this location.
, 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, when the Long Island Rail Road was beginning its electrification of the main line, as mentioned above.
Main Line (Long Island Rail Road)
The Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It begins in Long Island City and runs along the middle of Long Island about 95 miles to Greenport...
(Ronkonkoma Branch
Ronkonkoma Branch
The Ronkonkoma Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. On LIRR maps and printed schedules, "Ronkonkoma Branch" refers to trains running along the railroad's Main Line from Hicksville east to the line's terminus at Greenport.The section of the...
) 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 on Long Island Avenue, east of the Suffolk County Road 3 (Wellwood Avenue) grade crossing, south of Melville, New York
Melville, New York
Melville is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, 14,533 people resided there.-Location:...
.
Pinelawn Station originally had two different station houses with their own histories. Both were created to serve Pinelawn Cemetery
Long Island National Cemetery
Long Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Suffolk County, New York. Its mailing address is Farmingdale. It is within the CDPS of Wyandanch, in the Town of Babylon, and Melville in the Town of Huntington...
, Wellwood Cemetery
Wellwood Cemetery
Wellwood Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in Pinelawn, New York. The cemetery comprises many sections, each under the auspices of a synagogue, landsmanschaft, or group such as the Brooklyn Jewish Postal Workers Union. Each of these is marked, most commonly by a stone arch or a pair of stone columns...
, 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 station, 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. A high-level platform was added in 1986 as part of the Long Island Rail Road's electrification of the main line towards Ronkonkoma
Ronkonkoma (LIRR station)
Ronkonkoma is a major railroad station and transportation hub along the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road in Ronkonkoma, New York. The station is the eastern terminus of the Ronkonkoma Branch and the western terminus of the Greenport Branch....
.
Platform and track configuration
This station has one two-car-long side platformSide platform
A Side platform is a platform positioned to the side of a pair of tracks at a railway station, a tram stop or a transitway. A pair of side platforms are often provided on a dual track line with a single side platform being sufficient for a single track line...
south of the track, east of the station house, serving only passengers in the westernmost two cars of arriving trains. The Main Line has one track at this location.
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 towerClock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
, 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, when the Long Island Rail Road was beginning its electrification of the main line, as mentioned above.