The original 1870 depot as it looked in 1879 amidst the wilderness of Westhampton (Brainerd-Keller)

WESTHAMPTON: BUILT: FEB-MAR/1870, MOVED TO PRIVATE LOCATION E. OF CENTRE MORICHES STATION SITE AND N. SIDE OF TRACKS: 1905. 
(Robert Emery data)

2ND DEPOT BUILT: 1905. SUFFERED EXTENSIVE INTERIOR DAMAGE IN A FIRE SET IN FRONT OF THE TICKET OFFICE IN 1986. OFFICE CLOSED FOR 4-5 MONTHS DURING RENOVATION OF THE TICKET OFFICE AND WAITING ROOM. UPPER LEVEL DAMAGE WAS NOT REPAIRED. (Read retired agent Fred Allen's account of the fire at the end of this listing.) AGAIN BURNED, BUT ONLY SLIGHTLY DAMAGED IN A WILDFIRE THRU THE AREA: 8/24/95 (Read David M. Morrison's account of the fire at the end of this listing) AND REPAIRED. FULL-TIME AGENCY CLOSED: 9/7/96.

HI-LEVEL PLATFORMS AND SHELTER INSTALLED: BETWEEN LATE 1996 AND SUMMER, 1997. (Derek Stadler info) SUNDAY AGENCY ONLY: 2006

Emery Westhampton - MP73-74  6/1958

LIRR Westhampton map 1966

Emery Westhampton - MP74-75  6/1958

LIRR Westhampton map 1986

The Westhampton freight/express house looking northeast in 1915.  Besides a huge ridership back in the day, it appears that there was quite a bit of express handled at this station!  It also appears that the original express house was about 1/3 the size seen here, with a 2/3 additional portion added on, judging by the line in the roof shingles. (Thomas R. Bayles photo, Dave Keller archive)  

Two early-era Autocar trucks of the Adams Express Co. are backed against the high level express platform in this 1915 view looking NW.  Note the solid rubber tires providing one seriously uncomfortable ride. . .but no chance of getting a flat!  (Thomas R. Bayles photo, Dave Keller archive)

Westhampton - N. B. Rogers & Sons coal elevator and silos View SW at Old Riverhead Rd.  8/29/87 Photo: Edward Hand

 
Westhampton - A trio of  C420s eastbound to Montauk
9/21/1969  Photo/Archive: Brad Phillips

"WH" block limit signal with "T" box at the west end of the Westhampton station platform.  View is looking west in April, 1970 (Photo/Archive: Dave Keller)

Westhampton Station Waiting Room  5/24/2015
Photo: Derek Stadler

Westhampton High Level Platform -View W

Westhampton track tie replacement - View W

Westhampton Platform - Track tie replacement - View E

FIRE AT WESTHAMPTON STATION - 1986  Here is an account from Fred Allen, retired LIRR ticket agent:

If I remember right, the fire in '86 was caused by someone (homeless?, vandal?) starting a fire with newspapers outside the ticket office windows. It did extensive damage; the apartment upstairs (whose tenants were Anne Mahon, who worked in the print shop, and her sister) was gutted, as was the ticket office. Richie Hilsenbeck was the agent at the time.

The railroad decided to make the repairs to the first floor (ticket office and waiting room), but not the apartment. The office was closed for 4 or 5 months during the reconstruction. Richie ended up with a sweet job, as he just traveled around the East End until the work was done!
               
The biggest benefit was the bathroom for the agent, which was now inside the ticket office! Prior to the fire we had to walk out of the office and all the way to the bathroom in the waiting room! 

Note: The following photo caption is incorrect based on the information provided by LIRR employees at the time.

Caption: "Old style station- The station building at Westhampton, NY, seen July 16, 2017, is a replacement  for an older building that 
burned down in 1986..."  Westhampton Fire: RAILPACE 9/2017 Archive: Dave Morrison

WESTHAMPTON STATION AREA FIRE - 1995

Westhampton Wildfire NY Times 8/25/1995
Archive: Dave Morrison

Thomas Collins, ex-chief of the Eastport Fire Department recollects:

As the Sunrise Wildfires started in the Eastport Fire District, near the Suffolk County Community College, Eastern Campus (also known as the Riverhead Campus), I was at home when my fire department got notified of the fire.

I responded to the fire house, and myself and a probationary firefighter took the first engine, and responded to south of the starting point, about a 6 minute ride. We attempted to knock the fire down; we had an fire hose and 1000 gallons of water, but had to back up at least 2 times, to avoid being overtaken by the fire. The fire went across Speonk-Riverhead Road , like there was no road there.

Later in the afternoon, we were dispatched to the Westhampton train station, to make a stand there. As there was no available water supply in the area, we dumped our 1000 gallons of water, along with other fire departments, and stopped the fire along the tracks. Embers were blowing around, and one caught one of the old N. B. Rogers lumber buildings. We managed to knock the fire down with a couple of fire extinguishers. It was a long few days!

WILDFIRE AT WESTHAMPTON STATION - 08/24/1995

Here is an account that Dave Morrison, retired LIRR branch manager, recollects of the fire:

I was sent to the Westhampton station during the wildfire that night to see if I could get the tickets and tour book out of the station building because it was anticipated that the building might be lost in the fire. I tried contacting the Agent, who had the keys, but was unable to do so.

When I got to the building, I could see the fire approaching from the north.  With the help of the LIRR police, we entered the waiting room, through a window that we broke.  We broke the door to get into the ticket office and, with the help of the police, I carried the locked ticket case to the truck, along with the tour book.  The money was in a locked safe and I did not have the combination, so that safe was left untouched.

When I left the building, numerous railroad ties were on fire in front of the building and there was a spot of fire on the roof. I remember calling my boss on the cell phone and telling him, "We ain't gonna see this building in the morning." Maybe it was my words that gave the impression that the building was lost in the fire LOL.

Anyway, I went to the station the next day and the building was okay.  A house and several vehicles were burned up nearby, as we'll as lots of woods, but the volunteer fire department saved the station building.

I got a $500.00 bonus and a nice letter from the LIRR Police Dept for my auctions that evening. When the ticket case was audited, one subway token was all that was missing.  The auditor didn't even report that.

The NY Times could have easily contacted the 24/7 Public Affairs number and confirmed the status of the station building. I guess that they chose "fake news" instead.  (The New York Times reported on 8/25/95 that the station building was destroyed in the fire.  Dave  Keller)