Riverhead station

Riverhead is a station along the Main Line (Greenport Branch) of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Osborne Avenue and Railroad Street in Riverhead, New York, north of NY 25 (West Main Street) and the Suffolk County Court House.

Riverhead
View of old Riverhead Railroad station from Railroad & Cedar Streets (July 1, 2007)
Location	Osborne Avenue & Railroad Street Riverhead, NY
Coordinates	40.919763°N 72.6669°W / 40.919763; -72.6669
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road, Town of Riverhead
Line(s)	Main Line
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	5
Connections	Suffolk County Transit: 8A, S58, S62, S92
Construction
Parking	Yes; Free
Bicycle facilities	Yes; bike racks
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	14
History
Opened	July 29, 1844
Rebuilt	1870, 1910
Previous names	River Head
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	52[1]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Yaphank toward Penn Station, Long Island City, or Atlantic Terminal Ronkonkoma Branch Mattituck toward Greenport Former services Calverton   Main Line   Aquebogue   Proposed services   East Yaphank toward Penn Station, Long Island City, or Atlantic Terminal Ronkonkoma Branch Mattituck toward Greenport

History

Riverhead station was opened on July 29, 1844.[2][3] The station is listed as River Head in the 1852 timetable.[4] The original station house was moved for use as a railroad bunkhouse in March 1870 and the second depot was opened the same month. Between 1891 and 1969, it contained a turntable, water tower, and pump house. The third depot was opened on June 2, 1910, but the agency was closed on November 13, 1972. The station house was used for signal maintainers until the end of the 20th Century.

Riverhead station was restored in 2000-2001 with a high-level side platform and a fourth station house similar to 1910-built one, and it was sold to the Town of Riverhead in 2001. But the station house has been closed to the public in response to a rash of vandalism, theft, and even misuse as a bathroom. The station house is owned by the Town of Riverhead and the MTA uses a high level platform and other amenities instead. The station is also near the west end of the Riverhead Restoration Site of the Railroad Museum of Long Island. A collection of historic Long Island Rail Road cars and maintenance equipment can be found near the station.[5]

Station layout

This station has one high-level side platform south of the tracks that is long enough for one and a half cars to receive and discharge passengers. The Main Line has two tracks at this location and a small yard with three tracks.

Track 1	←      Ronkonkoma Branch toward Ronkonkoma (Yaphank) ←      Ronkonkoma Branch toward Greenport (Mattituck) →
Side platform, doors will open on the left or right

Nearby attractions

• Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center

References

1. Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
2. "Long Island Railroad Company; Completion and Opening of Road to Greenport; 96 Miles (1844)". TrainsAreFun.com.
3. "American Railroad Journal, and General Advertiser for Railroads, Canals, Steamboats, Machinery, and Mines". D.K. Minor. 1 January 1845 – via Google Books.
4. "BROOKLYN & JAMAICA RAIL ROAD, LONG ISLAND R. R. 1852 TIMETABLE". arrts-arrchives.com.
5. "LIRR Riverhead RMLI Museum". trainsarefun.com.

External links

• Riverhead – LIRR

• Riverhead LIRR timetable

• Old Riverhead Station (Ron Ziel collection -- LIRR Unofficial History Website)
• Riverhead Freight Sidings (TrainsAreFun.com)
• Railroad Museum of Long Island (Riverhead)
• Station entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Old Station House from Google Maps Street View