LIRR  Express/Baggage Houses
 

LIRR Express Service Chronology The Penny Post January 2020 Author: Bruce Mosher

Baggage house/Express House s were one structure. The freight house was a separate, independent structure. All stations that had agencies had baggage/Express House s.  Baggage was considered what riders carried . . i.e. suitcases, steamer trunks, etc. Express was like what UPS delivers today. Today's "Brown" was yesterday's "Green". Not all stations handled freight.  If they did not handle freight, they did not have a freight house.

Also, the baggage/Express House s were located at the extreme ends of the platforms, as the baggage/express/combine cars were located directly behind the tender of the locomotive or were the lead car behind the diesel and when the train made the station stop, these cars were able to be spotted exactly in front of the baggage/Express House s or elevated platforms.

The freight houses, while they COULD be near the depot as in the case of Patchogue (west of Railroad Ave, north of the tracks), they were usually located some distance away, where the team tracks were located.  Some freight houses were quite a distance away from the depot, as was Lynbrook, Babylon, Floral Park, Oakdale and Huntington for examples.

MU Train at Express House  Babylon 3/22/1959

The express business was handled by the LIRR's representative a.k.a. "Agent" at small stations, such as Medford, Central Islip, Ronkonkoma, Centre Moriches, Speonk, etc., etc.  These men were paid a little extra per hour for handling the express business. All LIRR agencies handled passenger's baggage.  Again, baggage defined as luggage, suitcases, steamer trunks, etc.

The express business at larger locations, such as Patchogue, Westhampton, etc. had their own express company representatives to handle the express as it was a full-time job at those locations with items coming in and being loaded on the trucks for town delivery and people coming in to ship stuff out. The express business was initially operated by the LIRR and by the private roads as well, such as the Flushing and North Side RR., South Side RR, etc.  (Dave Keller info)

The following was written by Mr. Reifschneider in 1925, prior to the advent of the 
American Railway Express and the Railway Express Agency:

The Long Island Railroad had always conducted its own express business under the name of the Long Island Express Company. In 1913, it surrendered this privilege to the Adams Express Company, which has recently been absorbed by the American Railway Express Company. This gave the Long Island advantages of through express service, which it had previously been impossible to obtain with the local express company. From Felix Reifschneider's LIRR history - 1925

Other structures were unique to the railroad architecture. Express House s were usually open platforms.  Later a roof was added but it was still an open, windswept platform.  Still later, walls and a sliding door were added and a conventional "box" structure was now in place at the eastern and western ends of the platforms albeit some structures were larger than others and some had larger westbound structures than they had eastbound, because more stuff was shipped off the island rather than on.

While many of these looked the same, there were those that were unique, such as at Patchogue, Huntington (which had a Dutch Colonial/gambrel roof to match the 1910 station), Speonk, Oyster Bay, to name but a few. Research: Dave Keller

Note: Bayside's freight house, for example, was at grade east of the station plaza where the team tracks were located.  Ditto for Lynbrook, Valley Stream, etc. Ditto for Lynbrook, Valley Stream, etc. Freight needed a means to be off-loaded which meant at structure at grade and nearby the team tracks.

The brick structure shown at Bayside with elevator accessing the sub-grade station platform was for lowering and raising customer's baggage to and from trains.  Perhaps express items as well.  Ditto for the elevator shaft visible for many years above the elevated Valley Stream station . . . used for baggage and some express.  
(Dave Keller info)  

Farmingdale Station Area Express House  view E 10/06/1948 Photo: F. Weber, Archive: Dave Morrison

There is an express car spotted in front of the freight house and an open Express House  is clearly visible in front of it along the westbound track.  Sign on the end of the freight house at the left begins to spell "Railway Express Agency" and  further down on the same track, a boxcar is spotted.  It  would appear that the REA occupied the west end of the structure and the freight department utilized the remainder of the building. Info: Dave Keller

Under construction westbound Express House  foreground and Huntington Station at "UN" block 
crossover 08/28/1951 View E

Notice it was too small and becoming ramshackle as you can see (right photo), so it was torn down and replaced with a cement block structure.
Info: Dave Keller

This concrete structure was built as an addition to the Express House  and not as a replacement to it. It appears that it's butted up against the west side, with the cement blocks tight against the track, allowing no loading platform. 

This prior to the newly built structure to the high-level express platform , thus this is the old Express House  with the platform in front of it, but it's truncated by the newer block structure on its west side and in the front part of the photo.

I understand that the blocks were covered with clapboard siding, making it look like it's wood and a match to the existing structure. Info: Dave Keller

Manhattan Beach station and Express House  in distance through the entrance for the Manhattan Beach Coaster ride. 
Archive: Art Huneke

Oyster Bay Express House  view SW 
Photo: R. Emery <1961
Collection: SUNY Stony Brook

Freight-Express House  Rosedale 
c. 1935 Archive: Dave Keller Photo source unknown