#97 - Proximity of LIRR Stations to All Garden City Residents

Okay, so we don’t have the luxury of old-fashioned parlor cars or full bar service cars from Long Island Rail Road’s past, and sometimes we complain about poor service and high prices.

However, Garden City residents are lucky to have five stations within the village and two additional ones conveniently located on the border, with all seven easy to walk to.

In regard to the benefits for commuters who live in Garden City, "We can't think of any other villages that are as centrally located as Garden City when it comes to LIRR service," said Susan McGowan from the LIRR Public Affairs Department.

Here are the stations we use:

Commuters on the north side of town use the Main Line Port Jefferson branch, which does not usually require a change at Jamaica Station:

New Hyde Park Station- Westernmost station our commuters use. Commute to Penn Station takes 30-35 minutes. The station was originally built in 1870. The third and current one was built in 2003.

Merillon Avenue Station - Commute to Penn takes approximately 35 minutes. This station was originally built in 1837 with the name of Clowesville, named after a judge who owned land in the area, also close to the original courthouse. There is dispute as to whether this was the correct location of the station, or whether it was on Herricks Road to the east a few blocks. This station was also the site of the massacre by Colin Ferguson in 1993. The current location was built in 1912, and rebuilt in 1958, although there is no sitting area.

Mineola Station - Commute to Penn takes 35-40 minutes. The station was originally built in 1837, with the third one built in 1923.

Commuters in the middle and south side of town use the Hempstead Line, which usually requires a change at Jamaica Station:

Stewart Manor Station – Westernmost station our commuters use on the Hempstead Line. Commute to Penn is approximately 40 minutes. It’s called Stewart Manor, but technically, Stewart Manor is a few blocks to the west. The station was built in 1873.

Nassau Boulevard Station – Commute to Penn is 40-45 minutes. The station was built in 1907.

Garden City Station – Commute to Penn is approximately 45 minutes. The original station was the showpiece of the line, but it was torn down. The present one was built in 1898.

Country Life Press – Commute to Penn is approximately 50 minutes. It was built to accommodate Doubleday Publishers and named after a magazine that was printed there. It was built in 1911, however the tiny station is no longer open inside.

Looking into railroad history, especially Garden City resident Vincent Seyfried’s book, A Comprehensive History of the Long Island Railroad, there once was an additional train station for Camp Black located at Clinton Road and Brook Street.  It is now the firehouse in the east side of town. The first one was built in 1897.  Now, that spur is only used once a year for the Ringling Brothers Circus when it comes to the Coliseum.

The Long Island Rail Road serves approximately 75 million passengers per year and is the busiest commuter railroad in North America with 124 stations and 700 miles of track. For those interested in additional information about the LIRR, visit the Transit Museum located in Brooklyn at the corner of Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street. Call 718-694-1600 or visit www.mta.info/museum.

Category: Outdoors, LIRR

Price: Free, unless you’re going to go for a train ride

Season: Year-round

Note: Dress appropriately

Click here if you missed #98 and come back next Tuesday at 10 a.m. for #96.