Kew Gardens (LIRR station)

Kew Gardens is a railroad station on the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road in Kew Gardens, Queens. The station is located at Austin Street and Lefferts Boulevard. One of Kew Garden station's unique features is the 119th Street(Lefferts Boulevard) Bridge which has one story commercial buildings on both sides for local businesses.

The Main Line has four tracks; the two middle tracks, not next to either platform, are used by express trains.

History

Kew Gardens Station originally opened in May 1879<!--Vince Seyfried's notes claim it was opened on December 6, 1879--> as Maple Grove, a flag stop for Maple Grove Cemetery. The station was closed in 1882, reopened in 1883, and removed in 1909 as part of a track realignment project. The new Kew Station was moved approximately 600 feet south alongside and perpendicular to the tracks for use as a real estate office of developers of Kew on September 8, 1910. The former station was razed a short time later, and the existing station was renamed Kew Gardens in 1912.

The Kew Gardens station has the unfortunate distinction of being the site of the worst accident in Long Island Rail Road history, as well as the worst in New York state history. On November 22, 1950, a collision between two Long Island Rail Road commuter trains killed 79 people and injured hundreds. This occurred nine months after a collision at Rockville Centre Station on February 17, 1950 that resulted in the deaths of...
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