Yaphank (LIRR station)

Yaphank
Looking west on the Yaphank station platform at night (October 28, 2006).
Station statistics
Address	Park Street Yaphank, NY
Coordinates	40°49′32″N 72°54′57″W / 40.825656°N 72.915841°W / 40.825656; -72.915841Coordinates: 40°49′32″N 72°54′57″W / 40.825656°N 72.915841°W / 40.825656; -72.915841
Lines	Greenport Branch
Connections	Suffolk County Transit: S71 McRide's Taxi
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Parking	Yes; Free
Other information
Accessible
Owned by	MTA
Fare zone	12
Formerly	Milleville(1845-1846)
Traffic
Passengers (2006)	9[1]
Services
Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Medford toward New York terminals Main Line (Ronkonkoma Branch) Riverhead toward Greenport Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Bellport station Main Line (current and former locations) Manorville station

Yaphank is a station in the hamlet of Yaphank, New York on the Main Line (Greenport Branch) of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Park Street near Suffolk County Road 21 (Yaphank Avenue). It is also accessible from streets in and around Suffolk County. The distance between Yaphank and the next station, Riverhead, is the longest distance between stations in the LIRR at 14.7 miles. Government Buildings on the north side of the tracks at the bottom of the Yaphank Avenue overpass.

The two sites that are closest to the station are the Suffolk County Police Department auto mechanics shop (a.k.a. "Vector Center") as well as a Georgia-Pacific railroad lumber yard. The historic Suffolk County Almshouse Barn and the former Suffolk County Sanitorium can be found northwest of the station, as well as the Yaphank Avenue bridge over the tracks.

History

Yaphank Station was originally built as Milleville Station in 1845, and was spelled both as Millville or Milleville on LIRR timetables. It was renamed Yaphank a year later, and has kept that name ever since. Yaphank station was replaced by a second station building in 1875 that contained elaborate gingerbread woodwork. Before World War II, Yaphank Station was known as the stop for the "Camp Siegfried Special", a train that took members of the German American Bund from parts of New York City to an infamous Hitler Youth camp known as Camp Siegfried.^[2] The decorative features were reduced considerably in June 1941,^[3] and then the station house was closed in 1958 and burned down in 1961. After this, it was little more than a sheltered platform surrounded by concrete. High-level platforms replaced this configuration during the 1990s.

Carman's River Station

Just east of Yaphank Station, another station in Yaphank Carman's River Station, was built in 1844. It served as the temporary terminus of the LIRR main line until Manorville and Riverhead stations were built in 1845.

Platform and track configuration

This station has one high-level side platform north of the track that is long enough for one and a half cars to receive and discharge passengers. The Main Line has one track at this location.

References

1. ^ Average weekday, 2006 LIRR Origin and Destination Study
2. ^ Small photo of German-American Bund at Yaphank Station (Blogger News Network, formerly in Newsday: Long Island; Our Story)
3. ^ Images of Rail: Long Island Rail Road Stations, by David D. Morrison and Valerie Palaluk (Page 87)

External links

• Official LIRR station information page for Yaphank
• Station timetable for Yaphank
• Unofficial LIRR History Website
  • Yaphank Station, 1973 and July 1992 Photos
• NYA & LIRR at YAPHANK STATION (Webshots.com)
• Unofficial LIRR Photography Site (lirrpics.com)
  • Yaphank Station
• Station from Yaphank Avenue from Google Maps Street View