Speonk
Speonk station in May 2015.
General information
LocationPhillips Avenue & Depot Road
Speonk, New York
Coordinates40°49′16″N 72°42′17″W / 40.821224°N 72.704853°W / 40.821224; -72.704853
Owned byLong Island Rail Road
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
Construction
ParkingYes (free)
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zone12
History
Opened1870
Rebuilt1901, 1958, 2001
Previous namesRemsenburg (1895–1897)
Passengers
2012—2014180[1]
Rank108 of 125
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station
Mastic–Shirley
toward Penn Station or Long Island City
 Montauk Branch
limited service
 Westhampton
toward Montauk
Former services
Preceding station Long Island
Rail Road		 Following station
Eastport
toward Long Island City
 Montauk Division Westhampton
toward Montauk
Eastport
toward Manorville
 Sag Harbor Branch Westhampton
toward Sag Harbor

Speonk is an unmanned railroad station on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located on Phillips Avenue at Depot Road in Speonk, New York, just north of Montauk Highway (CR 80). The station has two parking lots, one operated by the Long Island Rail Road, and the other operated by the Town of Southampton, both of which are free. It also lies adjacent to one of the largest railroad yards on Long Island's East End. This yard is mostly used to hold passenger consists, as a handful of trains terminate at Speonk rather than continue all the way to Montauk.

History

The Speonk Trackside Cafe, which operates out of the former station house.
Speonk Yard, just east of the station

Speonk station was originally built in February 1870 along what was then the Sag Harbor Branch. From 1895 to 1897 it was known as "Remsenburg station", acknowledging the hamlet of Remsenburg, New York, which lies just south of Speonk. The station was struck by lightning and burned on June 22, 1901,[2] and a second depot opened in December 1901. Railroad conductors frequently accentuated the name when calling it out as the next station. This latter agency and depot were closed in 1958, and the station has been unmanned ever since. The former station was converted into a snack bar that is still operating as Little Gull cafe.[3]

When Eastport and East Moriches stations were closed by the LIRR on October 6, 1958, due to lack of usage, commuters were told to transfer either to this station or to Center Moriches station. The elimination of the latter on March 16, 1998, makes Speonk the next choice for commuters east of Mastic–Shirley station, almost ten miles away by road. The traffic from all three intervening stations which have been eliminated since 1950 has been transferred to these two stations.[4]

As part of its program to upgrade all stations to high-level platforms, the LIRR relocated the functional portion of Speonk station between 1996 and 1997. A new platform was built on the west side of North Phillips Avenue, along with a new parking lot; the aforementioned station house and former low-level platform were located to the east. The new platform includes an outdoor enclosure, but no new station building was constructed. The new station includes ticket vending machines and elegant lighting in the parking lots. The former station house and current cafe is across the tracks from the yard.

The yard east of the station features a wye to turn locomotives around.

Station layout

The station has one four-car-long high-level platform on the south side of the single track. There are two large parking lots nearby.

Track 1 ←      Montauk Branch limited service toward Long Island City or Penn Station (Mastic–Shirley)
     Montauk Branch limited service toward Montauk (Westhampton) →
Side platform, doors will open on the left or right Disabled access

References

  1. ↑ "2012-2014 LIRR Origin and Destination Report : Volume I: Travel Behavior Among All LIRR Passengers" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 23, 2016. PDF pp. 15, 199. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2020. Data collection took place after the pretest determinations, starting in September 2012 and concluding in May 2014. .... 2012-2014 LIRR O[rigin and ]D[estination] COUNTS: WEEKDAY East/West Total By Station in Numerical Order ... Speonk
  2. ↑ ""A History of the Speonk Station," by George Wybenga" (PDF). The Postboy; The official publication of the Railroad Museum of Long Island (Summer 2010).
  3. ↑ "LIRR Trackside Business". TrainsAreFun.com.
  4. ↑ Stadler, Derek. "Discontinued Station Stops: The History of the Moriches and the Termination of Railroad Service". derekstadler.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
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