The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is the oldest railroad in the country still operating under its original name. Of the 126 LIRR railroad stations, two are located on the island of Manhattan, with the Long Beach Station being the only other that is not located on geographic Long Island. Situated on the barrier island of Long Beach, New York, trains must travel over a drawbridge over the Reynolds Channel waterway to reach the terminal.

Train service began in 1880 at Long Beach as a means for city dwellers to get to a beach resort. When the island started to become heavily residential in the early 1900s, the existing station building was erected in 1909. A short walk from the world-renowned boardwalk and the Atlantic ocean, this station has an annual ridership of over three million. The ridership spikes during summer months, when the LIRR heavily promotes “Take the Train to the Beach.” The station building is an architectural gem, with three huge brick archways on the front, a Spanish-style roof, and Moravian tiles imbedded in the exterior stucco walls on all four sides.

About the Author
David D. Morrison is a retired Long Island Rail Road Branch Line Manager, having been in charge of 39 train stations on the Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay and Montauk branches. He was founder and first president of the Long Island Rail Road Historical Society, an organization comprised of LIRR employees and retirees whose interest is in promoting the rich heritage of the railroad. He is a member of numerous railroad historical groups on Long Island, including the LI Sunrise Trail Chapter of the NRHS, the Railroad Museum of Long Island and the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum. His two books published by Arcadia Publishing are “Long Island Rail Road Stations” and “Jamaica Station.” He also wrote “Long Island Rail Road Steam Locomotive Pictorial” and “The Cast Iron Eagles of Grand Central Station” – both self-published books.