Long Island Rail Road: Port Jefferson Branch (Images of Rail) by David D. Morrison

Author:David D. Morrison [Morrison, David D.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: unknown
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-10-28T00:00:00+00:00

Four

GREENLAWN

AND NORTHPORT

Upon the 1868 expansion of service east of Syosset to Northport, a station was opened at Centerport. A simple wood frame building was constructed, and the name of the station was changed to Greenlawn in 1870. The building was destroyed by fire in 1909, and a new structure was opened in September 1911. That building exists today.

The 1868 expansion terminated at Northport station, which was located north of the present Route 25A and west of Laurel Road, within a mile of the center of the village. Once train service reached Northport, communities farther east, such as Smithtown and Port Jefferson, petitioned the LIRR to extend service to their communities. By 1870, the Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad had been formed for the purpose of constructing an extension of the LIRR from Northport to Port Jefferson.

The LIRR decided that extending the tracks from the existing Northport station eastward would involve an immense amount of grading and an excessive number of curves. Accordingly, the railroad decided to tap into the Northport Branch just east of Greenlawn and continue the line eastward. A station would be established at East Northport, from which the line would proceed east. The line to Port Jefferson was completed in 1873, and East Northport received a wood frame station building. Thus, for a period of time, Northport had two train stations, which became known as Old Northport and East Northport (now Northport).

Passenger service to Old Northport was abandoned on October 17, 1899, and the line was used for freight service until the late 1970s. Track was torn up a few years later, and today, few traces remain of this old branch.

In 1927, the East Northport wooden building was replaced with a two-story Dutch Colonial building that serves to this day. The old 1873 building was moved and was used as a shop by a local sign company until it was demolished in 1959.

Between 1902 and 1924, the East Northport station was served by a trolley that ran from the station to the downtown area.

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