Great Neck station

Great Neck is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch in Great Neck Plaza, New York. It is the first station on the branch (heading from Manhattan) in Nassau County. The station is at Middle Neck Road and Station Plaza at Great Neck Road, 0.25 miles (0.40 km) north of Northern Boulevard, and is 15.9 miles (25.6 km) from Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. From this point on, the line becomes single track to Port Washington.

Great Neck
View from the overpass, looking east.
LocationMiddle Neck Road & Station Plaza
Great Neck, New York
Coordinates40.787235°N 73.725986°W / 40.787235; -73.725986
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Line(s)Port Washington Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections Nassau Inter-County Express: n20G, n20H, n21, n25, n26, n57, n58
Construction
ParkingYes (local permit required)
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Fare zone4
History
OpenedOctober 27, 1866 (NY&F)[1]
Closed1883, 1924
Rebuilt1883, 1893, 1925–1934, 1990s
ElectrifiedOctober 21, 1913
750 V (DC) third rail
Previous namesBrookdale (1869–1872)
Traffic
Passengers (2012—2014)9,772[2]
Rank9 of 125
Services
Preceding station LIRR Following station
Little Neck
towards Penn Station
 Port Washington Branch Terminus
Manhasset
towards Port Washington

History

Great Neck was originally the terminus of the New York and Flushing Railroad when it was built in 1866 by a subsidiary called the North Shore Railroad, and called Brookdale Station. The NY&F was acquired by the Flushing and North Side Railroad in 1869, and the name was changed to Great Neck in 1872. The F&NS was consolidated into the Flushing, North Shore and Central Railroad in 1874 through a merger with the Central Railroad of Long Island, only to be leased in 1876 by the LIRR.

Though Great Neck station served as a terminal station for much of the 19th Century, it was never intended to stay this way. An attempt to extend the line east from the station toward Roslyn failed in 1882. Thirteen years later, wealthy Port Washington residents persuaded the LIRR to bring the terminus to their hometown. This required the construction of the Manhasset Viaduct over the marshes at the southern end of Manhasset Bay, which was authorized by an LIRR subsidiary called the Great Neck and Port Washington Railroad.[3] On June 23, 1898, the first LIRR train passed through Great Neck to cross the Manhasset Viaduct, Long Island's highest railroad bridge to extend the line through Manhasset, Plandome and Port Washington. In 1924, the station was closed and moved to its current location on February 26, 1925, as a grade crossing elimination project brought the tracks below ground by June 8, 1934. Elevators are on both sides. The wall along the southeastern platform has an aluminum sculpture by artist David Saunders that was installed in 2001.

The station recently received enhancements and modernizations, including Wi-Fi, new bike racks, and charging stations amongst other things, as part of a greater, systemwide initiative to upgrade stations and infrastructure.[4]

Service

Off-peak hours

During non-rush hours, Port Washington Branch trains generally run every 30 minutes in both directions.

Peak hours

During rush hours, when express service is provided, Great Neck is an express station. Local trains terminate here during rush hours. Terminating trains depart east on Track 2 and return via crossovers to Track 1.

Overnight hours

Trains run every two hours or so overnight, but there are more trains at New Hyde Park to the south as an alternative during the overnight hours.

Station layout

The station has two high-level side platforms, each 10 cars long.

G Ground level Exit/entrance, crossover, parking, buses
P
Platform level		 Platform A, side platform
Track 1 ←      Port Washington Branch toward Penn Station (Little Neck)
Track 2 ←      Port Washington Branch toward Port Washington (Manhasset) →
Platform B, side platform

Pocket track

Track 2 extends approximately one-train length beyond the station before merging with Track 1. As part of the LIRR's East Side Access extension project to Grand Central Terminal, the MTA is extending Track 2 an additional 1,200 feet (370 m) east, making it long enough to store two trainsets.[5][6][7][8] This will allow the LIRR to increase the number of peak-hour trips between Great Neck and Penn Station/Grand Central. It also included replacement of the original Colonial Road Bridge, built in 1897, which passes over the area of the expanded pocket track, with a new bridge with wider lanes and built to reduce noise. Also included in the project are drainage improvements to the right of way to alleviate flooding on the tracks during storms. In 2010, several homeowners in the area opposed the project, arguing that construction would harm their quality of life. Representatives from the MTA stated that the expanded pocket track would not be used for overnight train storage or maintenance.[5] The project was initially scheduled for completion in December 2015.[9] Because of delays, the new bridge was installed in April 2016; construction of the pocket track is scheduled for completion in December 2018, at a total cost of $45.2 million.[10]

The Great Neck station was referenced in The Great Gatsby as "West Egg".[11]

  • Great Neck LIRR station
  • Platform level at Great Neck.
  • A Port Washington-bound train at the station, as seen from a staircase to Platform B.
  • The station's parking lot, looking towards the station house.
  • One of the elevators, as seen from street level.
  • A plaque commemorating the grade crossing elimination in the Great Neck area.
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References
  1. Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part Two: The Flushing, North Shore & Central Railroad, © 1963
  2. "2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 197. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020. Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014. .... 2012-2014 LIRR O[rigin and ]D[estination] COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order ... Great Neck
  3. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-81, "Long Island Railroad, Manhasset Bridge, Manhasset Shore Road Vicinity, Flower Hill, Nassau County, NY", 1 photo, 1 data page, 1 photo caption page
  4. "Great Neck Station Enhancement (Completed 04/2019)". A Modern LI. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  5. Wendy Karpel Kreitzman (November 19, 2010). "MTA Announces Second Pocket Track Proposed for LIRR in Great Neck". Great Neck Record. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  6. "MTA LIRR Proposed Colonial Road Improvement Project". MTA Long Island Rail Road. March 23, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  7. "MTA LIRR - Colonial Road Improvement Project". web.mta.info. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  8. Sam Zambuto; Salvatore Arena (March 28, 2011). "LIRR Opens Info Center at Great Neck Station for Proposed Colonial Road Improvement Project". MTA Long Island Rail Road. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  9. "MTA Capital Program Oversight Meeting" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. January 2013. p. 8. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  10. "MTA Long Island Rail Road Committee Meeting" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 2017. p. 35. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  11. Lyons, Patrick J. (April 10, 2005). "A Fleeting Era's Timeless Chronicle". New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2010.

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