The LIRR has abandoned many, many stations in their 175+ year history. However, of the hundreds of station stops they've shuttered, only two still have their platforms in tact to this day. The first one is Richmond Hill along the
now-unused Lower Montauk Branch, and the other is Woodhaven station along the Atlantic Branch.
Here's a photo of Woodhaven station today, seen the only way somebody can see it nowadays, through the front window of a speeding train:
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| (Photo Credit: Joseph Brennan/Colombia University) |
And here's a photo of Woodhaven station "back in the day" when it was in service.
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| (Photo Credit: Art Huneke/Art's Archives) |
Woodhaven was a station along the Atlantic Branch between Jamaica and East New York. And this station has a confusing history. Apparently there were multiple Woodhaven stations over the course of history. There was a Woodhaven station many, many years ago at this location when the tracks used to be above ground, and then there was another Woodhaven station opened when the tracks were put underground. Then there was a Woodhaven Junction station above ground along the now-abandoned Rocakway Branch.
I'm not the biggest LIRR history guy, which is why my knowledge on this station is quite limited, but if you are interested in learning more about this station, check out some of the great LIRR history websites on our
Historical Sources page.
