Bellmore station

Bellmore
The south side of Bellmore station from the parking lot
General information
LocationSunrise Highway between Bedford & Center Avenues
Bellmore, New York
Coordinates40°40′08″N 73°31′44″W / 40.668766°N 73.528833°W / 40.668766; -73.528833
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Line(s)Montauk Branch
Distance25.6 mi (41.2 km) from Long Island City[1]
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsLocal Transit Nassau Inter-County Express: n19 (at Merrick Road)
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone7
History
OpenedOctober 1869; 155 years ago (1869-10) (SSRRLI)
Rebuilt1968–1975
ElectrifiedMay 20, 1925
750 V (DC) third rail
Passengers
2012—20146,964[2]
Rank16 of 125
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station
Merrick Babylon Branch Wantagh
toward Babylon
     Montauk Branch does not stop here
Former services
Preceding station Long Island
Rail Road
Following station
Merrick Montauk Division Wantagh
toward Montauk
Location
Map

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.

History

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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 station, 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

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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.

Station layout

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The station has one 14-car-long high-level island platform between the two tracks.

See also

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Bellmore Cinema

References

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  1. ^ Long Island Rail Road (May 14, 2012). "TIMETABLE No. 4" (PDF). p. IV. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  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
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