Owned by LIRR Station code None Opened 1888 Platforms in use 2 | Tracks 2 Fare zone 1 Owner Long Island Rail Road | |
Location North end of the Beach Channel Drawbridge
Broad Channel, Queens, New York City Line(s) Rockaway Beach Branch
Far Rockaway Branch | ||
Beach Channel was a Long Island Rail Road station on the Rockaway Beach Branch in Broad Channel, Queens, New York. It was located on the north end of the Beach Channel Drawbridge across from the north leg of the Hammels Wye, and served both Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway Branch trains.
History
Beach Channel station was originally built in the spring of 1888 by the New York and Rockaway Beach Railway, a year after the bankruptcy of the New York, Woodhaven and Rockaway Railroad. Originating at the vicinity of Signal Station #101 (later the "HJ" Tower), the site was leased by a former congressman from Freeport, New York, named Thomas A. Smith. Originally serving as dropping off point for fishermen, it was expanded into a restaurant, with a bait & tackle shop, a boat rental dealership, and two hotels on both side of the tracks.
On June 13, 1903, the hotel on the east side of the tracks was destroyed by a 3:00 A.M. fire, taking the northbound platforms and part of the trestle with it. The hotel on the southbound platforms and an adjacent club house were unaffected by the fire, but both structures were moved to the mainland in response to the disaster in 1904, the same year NY&RB ceased as an independent railroad and became part of the LIRR. This would be the first of three major fires that would disrupt service on both the Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway Branches. The next major fire took place at Howard's Landing Station in 1907, and the third major fire would occur at The Raunt Station in 1950. The LIRR sought permission from the New York Public Service Commission to abandon Beach Channel Station, and finally received that permission on May 31, 1905.