Roslyn station (LIRR) explained

Roslyn
Style:Long Island Rail Road
Address:Lincoln Avenue & Railroad Avenue
Roslyn Heights, NY
Coordinates:40.7907°N -73.6433°W
Line:Oyster Bay Branch
Distance:22.2miles from [1]
Other: Nassau Inter-County Express:
OurBus
Platform:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Parking:Yes
Bicycle:Yes
Passengers:823[2]
Pass Year:2006
Opened:January 23, 1865
Rebuilt:1887, 1988, 1997
Accessible:yes
Code:RSN
Owned:Long Island Rail Road
Zone:7
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail
Zoom:14

Roslyn is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Oyster Bay Branch. It is located at Lincoln Avenue and Railroad Avenue, west of Roslyn Road (CR 7) and south of Warner Avenue, in Roslyn Heights, Nassau County, New York.

History

Roslyn station opened on January 23, 1865 by the Glen Cove Branch Rail Road – a subsidiary of the Long Island Rail Road, upon the completion of the line between Mineola and Glen Head.[3] [4] The land for the railroad station was donated by Samuel Adams Warner – a prominent architect and Roslyn resident for whom Warner Avenue is named.[5]

In 1882, the LIRR attempted to extend the former Flushing and North Side Railroad main line from the Great Neck station to the Roslyn station. This proposal dates back to an F&NS subsidiary, called the "Roslyn and Huntington Railroad". The proposal ultimately failed, and that line was instead extended to Port Washington in 1898.[6] In the meantime, the Roslyn station was moved in 1885, in order to accommodate a new freight station; the station was rebuilt between June and July 1887.[7] [8]

In 1905, a second track along the Oyster Bay Branch was added between Albertson and Roslyn – and in 1909, the second track was extended from Roslyn to Glen Cove; the second track was constructed in anticipation of the Oyster Bay Branch being electrified past East Williston, north and east to the branch's terminus in Oyster Bay.[9] [10]

From the 1900s until the system's closure in 1920, the New York & North Shore Traction Company's Port Washington Line stopped at and served the station; the n23 bus follows much this former trolley line's route.[11] [12] [13]

On the evening of July 15, 1927, an Oyster Bay-bound express train struck a vehicle which had stalled in the middle of the former Orchard Street grade crossing, in front of the station. The collision led to the vehicle being knocked into a telephone pole, and the two occupants of the vehicle were ejected from the impact. The driver, identified as Jacob Bolzicot, sustained critical injuries and was taken to Nassau County Hospital in Mineola. The other occupant, Catherine – Bolzicot's 4-year-old daughter, was uninjured.

In 1940, the Long Island Rail Road remodeled the exterior of the station house, covering the brick façade with stucco, which resulted in public outcry.[14] Roslyn Estates resident Christopher Morley, who frequently used the station, called for the Long Island Rail Road remove the stucco and re-expose the brickwork. The Long Island Rail Road, which was looking to improve the station due to increasing ridership, soon agreed to remove the layer of stucco and re-expose the bricks – a process which was completed early that November.

On the evening of May 5, 1967, a man was struck and critically injured by an oncoming, Oyster Bay-bound train at the Roslyn station when he was crossing the tracks. The victim, identified as Greenvale resident Hugh O'Rourke, had been on his way home at the time of the incident. O'Rourke was transported to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he was pronounced deceased from his injuries.

The station house was restored to its 19th-century origins in 1981, during a major restoration project.[15] The Roslyn Landmark Society assisted in the restoration project, and donated many of the materials used.

Between the 1960s and the 1980s, the area surrounding the station underwent a large-scale urban renewal project.[16] [17] [18] [19] As part of the project, a number of derelict buildings – in addition to portions of the abandoned freight yard – were demolished and replaced with a 250-car parking lot for the station. The project also saw the station be moved to the south side of Lincoln Avenue; the historic station house was moved to this new location in 1988, where it continues to stand today.[20] When the station was moved to its current location, the Village of Roslyn expressed interest in moving the station's historic platform shelter into Roslyn's downtown to ensure its preservation; the structure, by that time, was used as a taxi stand.[21] The shelter, built in 1928, was moved in 1987 to the site of the Captain Jacob M. Kirby Storehouse on Main Street, where it remains standing as a garden house.

In 1997, in anticipation of the LIRR's fleet of C3 bilevel railcars entering service, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority once again reconstructed the station by replacing the low-level platforms with high-level ones, allowing for level boarding and making the station ADA-compliant.[22]

Between 2016 and 2017, the station's parking lot was re-striped and received additional parking spaces. The project was carried out by the Town of North Hempstead, which owns and maintains the parking lot.[23] [24]

In 2020, the Town of North Hempstead received a $150,000 grant from Nassau County to construct a pathway connecting the station's east end to the residential area adjacent to it; as no connection had existed despite being adjacent to the Oyster Bay-bound platform, residents were required to walk north to access the station at its north end.[25]

In 2021, approval was given by the Village of Roslyn to construct a mixed-use, transit-oriented development on Warner Avenue, adjacent to the station.[26]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TIMETABLE No. 4 . Long Island Rail Road . May 14, 2012 . August 7, 2022 . VI.
  2. Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
  3. Book: Morrison . David D. . Long Island Rail Road Stations . Pakaluk . Valerie . Arcadia . 2003 . 0-7385-1180-3 . Chicago . 57 . November 20, 2011.
  4. Web site: Seyfried . Vincent . The Long Island Rail Road: The Age of Expansion, 1863-1880 . 2023-05-01 . digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org . 203.
  5. News: March 10, 1972 . Trying to Save Roslyn Station . 32 . . ProQuest.
  6. Web site: Walsh . Kevin . 2002-05-16 . PORT WASHINGTON BRANCH Part 2 Auburndale to Port Washington . 2023-05-01 . Forgotten New York . en-US.
  7. Web site: Roslyn Railroad Station Profiles Roslyn Landmark Society . 2023-12-16 . www.roslynlandmarks.org.
  8. http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirrphotos/stations/Station-Roslyn-1937.jpg 1937 Image of Roslyn station with freight house on the opposite side of the tracks
  9. Book: Morrison, David D. . Long Island Rail Road: Oyster Bay Branch . March 5, 2018 . Arcadia Publishing . 9781467128544 . en.
  10. The Long Island Railroad Twenty-Eighth Annual Report For The Year Ending December 31st, 1909 . Report of ..., Trustee[S] of the Property of the Debtor, for the Year Ended ...1949-1953 . Long Island Railroad Company.
  11. Book: Seyfried, Vincent F. . New York & North Shore Traction Company; Trolleys in: Whitestone, Flushing, Bayside, Roslyn, Pt. Washington, Mineola [and] Hicksville. ]. F. E. Reifschneider . 1956 . .
  12. Web site: Nassau Inter-County Express - Maps and Schedules . 2022-12-21 . nicebus.com.
  13. Web site: Long Island Index: Interactive Map . 2022-12-21 . www.longislandindexmaps.org.
  14. News: November 13, 1940 . Morley Wins Fight For Oldtime Deoot . 21 . . ProQuest.
  15. News: Philips . Evelyn . 1981-10-25 . LANDMARK STATION REPAIRED . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-12-21 . 0362-4331.
  16. News: Philips . Evelyn . 1988-11-20 . A 'New' Roslyn Is Emerging . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-12-16 . 0362-4331.
  17. News: 1966-10-16 . L.I. TOWN SEEKING RENEWAL GRANT; U.S. Is Asked for $263,389 by North Hempstead . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-12-16 . 0362-4331.
  18. News: February 8, 1966 . School Board Fears Decay Of the Roslyn Station Plaza . 27 . . ProQuest.
  19. News: March 23, 1966 . Remodeling Job Coming . 13C . . ProQuest.
  20. http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirrphotos/lirrstationshistory.htm LIRR Station History (TrainsAreFun.com)
  21. Web site: Roslyn Railroad Station Passenger Shelter Profiles Roslyn Landmark Society . 2023-12-16 . www.roslynlandmarks.org.
  22. Web site: Staff . Roslyn News . 2023-08-14 . Riding The Rails of Roslyn Roslyn News . 2023-12-16 . en-US.
  23. Web site: Now . The Island . 2016-12-31 . North Hempstead adds 25 more spaces to Roslyn LIRR parking lot . 2023-12-16 . The Island Now . en-US.
  24. Web site: Camurati . Amelia . 2017-11-14 . Roslyn LIRR station gains 34 new parking spots . 2023-12-16 . The Island Now . en-US.
  25. Web site: Adams . Mike . 2020-02-12 . County Grants $150,000 For Train Station Walkway . Roslyn News . 2023-12-16 . en-US . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20231216194551/https://roslyn-news.com/county-grants-150000-for-train-station-walkway/ . 2023-12-16.
  26. Web site: Winzelberg . David . 2021-04-12 . Roslyn mixed-use project gets approval from village
    url=https://libn.com/2021/04/12/roslyn-mixed-use-project-gets-approval-from-village/ access-date=2023-12-16 language=en-US
    .