Dunton (LIRR station)

Dunton
Dunton station on an 1891 map, halfway between 134th Street and Van Wyck Avenue
Station statistics
Address	Dunton, Queens
Lines	Main Line (City Terminal Zone)   Montauk Branch (City Terminal Zone)   Atlantic Branch (City Terminal Zone)
Other information
Opened	June 1869 (original) by 1890 (re-opening)
Closed	June 1876 (first closing) November 1939 (second closing)
Electrified	August 29, 1905
Formerly	Van Wyck Avenue (pre-1876) Berlin (pre-1876)
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Boland's Landing station Atlantic Branch (current and former locations) Jamaica station

Dunton was a ground-level station on the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line, Montauk Branch, and Atlantic Branch in Dunton, Queens, New York City, United States. It was closed in 1939 when the Atlantic Branch was placed in a tunnel east of East New York.^[1]

History

The South Side Railroad of Long Island, which crossed the LIRR's Atlantic Branch at 130th Street, opened Van Wyck Avenue (pronounced Van Wike) station on the south side of its line in June 1869, almost a year after the line opened. A depot was added in July 1870, and in May 1871 the name was changed to Berlin. The LIRR leased the South Side on May 3, 1876, and effective Sunday, June 25, 1876, the Berlin station was closed, with all South Side passenger trains from the west (Lower Montauk Branch) switching to the Atlantic Branch where they crossed.^[2][3] The depot was moved west to the Lefferts Boulevard crossing on the Atlantic Branch in 1878 and named Morris Grove.^{[1][citation needed]}

Frederick W. Dunton, developer of Dunton, donated a station building to the LIRR.^[4] Local Atlantic Avenue rapid transit trains began to stop there, at the same place as the old Berlin station, by mid-1890.^[5] In April or May 1897, the depot was moved to the north side of the Atlantic and Montauk tracks, and a stop was established on the Main Line.^[6][7] With the sinking of the Atlantic Branch into a tunnel, the station closed on November 1, 1939.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} LIRR Station History
2. ^ Vincent F. Seyfried, The Long Island Rail Road: A Comprehensive History, Part One: South Side R.R. of L.I., © 1961
3. ^ "Railroad Changes". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 2. June 27, 1876. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1876/06/27&Page=2&skin=BE. 
4. ^ "Fewer Trains and More Red Tape". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 6. October 9, 1892. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1892/10/09&Page=6&skin=BE. 
5. ^ Timetable, June 24, 1890
6. ^ "Dunton Depot Change". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 5. April 10, 1897. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1897/04/10&Page=5&skin=BE. 
7. ^ "Railroad Station Moved". Brooklyn Daily Eagle: p. 20. May 30, 1897. http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1897/05/30&Page=20&skin=BE.