LIRR Freight Stations

Sign for the Vanderveer Park freight station and team yard at street level along Flatbush Avenue - 1954.  Steps led down to the freight facilities.  (Rolf Schneider photo, Dave Keller archive)

Babylon
Port Jefferson
Riverhead
Long Beach
Far Rockaway (at grade)

Westbound tracks usually had the larger platform or facility because more express was shipped westbound from a way station than eastbound. Patchogue is a good example of that. There were exceptions to that rule, though, as there were a number of express houses that had larger facilities for eastbound service: Amityville, Mastic, Speonk, West Hampton, Hampton Bays, Riverhead and Huntington to name a few. It varied on an individual basis, depending upon individual station volume. Info: Dave Keller

Amagansett 2000 vacant, built brick 1895 Photo: Bill Kessler	Amagansett  03/21/2008 Photo: Mike McDermet Visit LIRR tour 2008	Amityville freight station 05/1964 Photo/Archive: Bradford G. Phillips	First MU train to arrive at Babylon - May, 1925. View is looking west. Boxcars are spotted at the Babylon freight house, roof of which is visible at left. Photo: James V. Osborne, Archive: Art Huneke, Info: Dave Keller
Babylon freight house (rear view) with first MU train – May, 1925 View NW (Dave Keller archive)	Babylon freight house looking northeast – 1951 (Joe Hagan photo, Dave Keller archive)	Bay Shore Freight House 1958  Archive: Art Huneke	Bayside freight station at right,  Hawley Coal silo at left, depressed tracks for grade elimination 1/25/30.  Looking west towards the station facilities, the express house with elevator shaft is visible in the center background.  Note that all the sidings are electrified to allow freight operations with DD1 electric locomotives.   (Dave Keller archive)
Blissville freight house in 12/1970 (D. Keller photo and archive)	Bridgehampton Freight House in background. TOS (train order signal) at Bridgehampton station. Archive: Art Huneke	Bushwick Freight Station  Archive: Art Huneke	Camp Upton Freight station – rear view – 1918 Note: After the camp closed in April, 1921, this structure was taken down in sections and shipped to Northport where it was reassembled and became the freight house there. (Thos. R. Bayles photo, Dave Keller archive/info)
Camp Upton Freight station – trackside view – 1918  (Thos. R. Bayles photo, Dave Keller archive)	College Point Freight House at right c. 1930 Archive: Art Huneke	Cedarhurst Freight House 1939 Archive: Art Huneke	Cedarhurst Freight House 1939 (SSRR ROW at left) Archive: Art Huneke
Deer Park Station and Freight House Note: The eastbound express platform (no express house), the freight house with a ramp from the "parking lot" for heavier items and a ramp from the station platform for express items.   Bunk House and Section House to the far east. Archive: Art Huneke	Eastport - former passenger station in use as freight station 1958  This view shows the ticket bay after conversion to a freight bay when ridership dwindled to nothing.  The last year or two that the station was listed on the timetable it was indicated as a freight station and was so noted on the Hagstrom Street atlas at the time.  (Irving Solomon photo for the Public Svc. Commission, Dave Keller archive)	Farmingdale Station Area 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	RS3 #1553 Train #204 eastbound at Farmingdale passing freight house 1963 Archive: Dave Keller
Flatbush Freight Station - Flatbush & Atlantic Aves. Brooklyn - 5/11/1929  Photo: Percy Loomis Sperr  Archive: Dave Keller View is looking west.  Flatbush Ave. Station is in the background alongside the EL and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower beyond.	Floral Park Freight House c. 1935 Archive: Art Huneke	Floral Park freight house 2/12/52 Terrific action shot of LIRR RS1 #465  (Craig Zeni archive)	Floral Park  freight house elevated view from  "PARK" tower  c. 1960 Archive: Art Huneke
LIRR valuation photo of the freight station  at Broadway, Flushing 11/4/1918. An interesting note is that this freight station is not indicated on Robert Emery's first-draft map of Broadway, Flushing.  (Dave Keller archive)	Freeport H10s #? and freight eastbound on a cold and dreary winter's day, passing the freight house  c. 1940.  View W from "PORT" interlocking tower. (Dave Keller archive)	Freeport new freight house and team yard 1959 Archive: Dave Keller	The brick freight house at Greenport photographed on 6/5/55 during a railfan extra. While there are numerous photos of this structure as the RMLI museum building, this view shows the freight house as it looked while it was in active freight service. (Roy W. Schnoor photo, Dave Keller archive and info.)
Greenport Freight House 04/1988 View NW Photo: CAPT. William Gilligan, US Navy	Great Neck freight station and "G" interlocking tower and semaphore block signal - looking west at  - 10/28/31.  Again, note that all sidings, including the team track with box car at far left are electrified.  (Dave Keller archive)	Huntington freight station west of New York Avenue  - 1969.  the high-level platforms and ramp have recently been removed.  View is looking northeast.  (Dave Keller photo and archive)	Huntington freight station west of New York Avenue  View NW Archive: Brad Phillips
LI City building housing Freight Offices 07/14/1919 Archive: Dave Keller	LI City Arch St. Yard LCL freight platform located along the LIRR's North Shore Freight branch.  View is c. 1940 but could be earlier or later for that matter.  Note the boxcars lined up on both sides of the platform making for a very dreary working environment.  No need to "Watch the Gap" here!  Those cars are real close to the platform and metal plates are in place to allow the easy movement of hand trucks on and off the cars.  (Dave Keller archive)	Lynbrook MU 2-car train westbound passing freight station east of  Lynbrook 1935.  View looking east.  Note the multi-silos of  Dependable Fuel in the background as well as the spire of St. Agnes R.C. Cathedral across from the Rockville Centre station.   Dave Keller archive and info)	Montauk 1942 freight house moved from its original location to Industrial Rd. c. late 1960's
Montauk freight house on Industrial Rd. 1994 Photo: John Fusto	Oakdale freight house PRR #732 view E 1941 Archive: Dave Keller	Oakdale old brick freight house minus platform 1971 Archive: Dave Keller	Oakdale 06/28/2007 Oakdale-Bohemia Rd. Built c.1890 Vacant  Photo: Mike McDermet
A birds-eye view of the freight house at Oyster Bay taken from the top of the nearby commercial coal silo in 1938 by block operator Ted Sommer. View is looking northwest. G5s #21 and PRR E6s #1680 are laying up with the westbound trains in the yard. From this perspective one can see the extent of the original brick freight house and where a much larger, wooden structure was added to its east side. (T. Sommer photo, Dave Keller archive and info)	Old brick freight house at Oyster Bay in 1964. View is looking east. Judging by the condition of the building and the broken side window it appears the end may be very near for this unique structure. (Dave Keller archive and info)	Ridgewood  BUDD RDC on railfan extra along the Evergreen branch, stopped for a photo shoot at the LIRR Freight Office at Palmetto St. 9/9/56  (Rolf Schneider photo, Dave Keller archive)	Same fan trip as viewed from the Myrtle Ave. EL.  The train is preparing to cross Palmetto St. - 9/9/56  (Rolf Schneider photo, Dave Keller archive)
Same view only zoomed in close.  You can make out the LIRR Freight Office and sign as well as the brakeman flagging the crossing, a boxcar spotted on the team track in the background and lots and lots of laundry hanging out to dry - 9/9/56 (Rolf Schneider photo, Dave Keller archive)	H10s #111 westbound at water spout - Riverhead  - c. 1952.  Eastbound express house at right, freight house with boxcar spotted, at left across tracks. Archive: Dave Keller	Sea Cliff freight station LIRR  G5s #30 westbound  08/20/1949 Archive: Dave Keller	Patchogue  west side open freight platform view North  03/1946 Photo: F. Weber, Archive: Dave Keller
Patchogue freight station photo composite  view SW 03/1946 Built c. <1900 Photo: F. Weber, Archive: Dave Keller  Composite: Steve Lynch	Patchogue freight station east side platform view S 03/1946 Built c. <1900 Photo: F. Weber, Archive: Dave Keller  Composite: Steve Lynch	4-4-0 locomotive and passenger train with combine car on house track and spotted at the combination freight/express house behind the 2nd (1875) depot at Port Jefferson - 1878. (Original 1873 depot burned in 1874 and was replaced in 1875.)  View is looking east.  This depot was replaced in 1903 and the structure became the freight house at Port Jefferson until it was razed in the early-mid 1960s.  (Copy of a George Brainerd photo, Dave Keller archive)	ALCO RS3 #1554 laying up in West Yard across from the freight house/former 1875 depot - Port Jefferson - 1957.  View is looking east.   (Jules P. Krzenski photo, Dave Keller archive)
FM H16044 #1507 westbound in front of freight house/former 1875 depot - Port Jefferson - 10/24/62  (George V. Arnoux photo, Dave Keller archive)	Port Washington MU trains westbound at station platform with freight house at right c. 1944.  View looking east towards end of track.  The express house is blocked from view by the train at the right.  The express track is visible between the passenger track and the house track.  All tracks have third rail. (W. J. Broschart photo, Dave Keller archive)	Sag Harbor Freight House   1930  Archive: Art Huneke	Sag Harbor Freight House close-up 1930 Archive: Art Huneke
Sayville freight house at Greeley Ave., view W of the house track and the passing siding at MP49 11/19/47	Southampton freight house (left side of image) – 1970  before it fell into near collapse.  I believe it’s no longer standing	Southampton freight house at Willow Street. View  NW  Razed 1/24/2006 due to its deteriorated condition. Photo: Doug Watson 2000	Southampton freight house View E 11/15/1986
Valley Stream Freight House 1932  Archive: Art Huneke	Vanderveer Park former passenger station in use as freight station along the Bay Ridge branch.  Originally a stop on the Manhattan Beach branch, it became a freight station when passenger service ended in 1924.  A team yard was added, and is visible directly behind the old wooden structure.  This view is looking south from the  Flatbush Avenue overpass.  (Rolf Schneider photo, Dave Keller archive)	"VA" tower and Valley Stream freight house in background 1932 Archive: Art Huneke	Stony Brook station with bare, uncovered, elevated westbound express platform and freight house in background - View looking west, c. 1930 (James V. Osborne photo, Dave Keller archive and info)
Ronkonkoma looking east from the Ronkonkoma Ave. overpass.  The water tank is at the right, the eastbound express house is at the left and in the left background, beyond the express house, is the freight house. - 1915 (Thomas R. Bayles photo/Dave Keller archive and info)	Hicksville freight house 10/12/1985 view N West John St. is in the background behind the jet snow blower. Now the NYAR yard. Photo: Al Castelli photo	East New York Freight House Archive: Art Huneke	East New York Freight House 2 Archive: Art Huneke
Shoreham station looking west with eastbound train approaching.  Elevated, uncovered westbound express platform at end of station platform and freight house in background, west of North Country Road crossing - 1912 (Thomas R. Bayles photo/ Dave Keller archive and info)	Sheepshead Bay Freight House Archive: Art Huneke	Hicksville Freight House Archive: Art Huneke
Westhampton Freight House Archive: Art Huneke	Valley Stream Freight House 06/1933 Freight house view SE until 1955, then used as Express House. Note: Rockaway Branch far left.	Valley Stream Freight House -LIRR gondola far right #2727?  06/28/1933 Archive: Art Huneke	Valley Stream Freight House 08/1933 Freight house view west. "VA" built  E of station and junction. In service: 06/27/1933 Renamed: "Valley" 4/30/1937 Info: Dave Keller Archive: Art Huneke

As for design . . . I don't know that there were any "set" designs for small freight and/or express houses. Larger depots had both express houses and a freight depot. Patchogue for example. I've seen many larger freight houses on the LIRR that were of similar construction, so there may have been set plans for them.  These were long, rectangular buildings with hip roofs, and high-level platforms on 3 sides with the back open to allow trucks a loading or unloading dock.  

This style was used at Patchogue, Babylon, Northport, Camp Upton, Huntington, Floral Park, etc. to name but a few.  They were really all over the LIRR. A similar style was used at Greenport, Oyster Bay and Oakdale but were of brick construction.  (See above)

As for smaller stations:  Many of their freight houses were simply the former depot building.  When the depot was replaced by a "newer" structure, the earlier depot was moved down the track a ways, or the new depot relocated slightly east or west of the former location and the old depot structure became the freight/express house. Examples of this would be Hampton Bays, Springfield, Port Jefferson, to name but a few.

Amityville's freight house was an ancient brick structure dating from SSRR ownership!  

Very few people photographed the freight houses.  Express houses got included in photos shot of the depot or of trains at the depots, but very few people actually walked the distance to specifically get a photo of the not-so-adjacent freight houses.  Research: Dave Keller