Rego Park station (LIRR)

Rego Park
Site of former Rego Park station
General information
Location	63rd Drive Rego Park, Queens, New York
Coordinates	40°43′33″N 73°51′42″W / 40.72583°N 73.86167°W / 40.72583; -73.86167
Owned by	Long Island Rail Road
Line(s)	Main Line and Rockaway Beach Branch
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	6 (when the station was open) 4 (currently)
Other information
Station code	None
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	May 23, 1928[1]
Closed	June 8, 1962
Rebuilt	N/A; station abandoned
Electrified	1905
Services
Preceding station Long Island Rail Road Following station Woodside Terminus Rockaway Beach Division Parkside toward Gibson or Rockaway Park

Rego Park is a former Long Island Rail Road station. It was made of wood, unlike most other stations that were concrete. The station opened in May 1928 with two side platforms outside the two Rockaway Beach Branch tracks that bracketed the four-track Main Line, so only Rockaway trains stopped there. After the Rockaway Trestle fire in 1950, the line was closed station by station. The station closed on June 8, 1962, one day before the Rockaway Beach Branch was abandoned. Nothing remains at the site today.

The station, located on the west side of 63rd Drive, had two high-level side platforms, located at the north and south ends of the six-track Main Line right-of-way. The platforms only served the Rockaway Beach Branch, which used the outer two tracks. The platforms were constructed of wood with concrete bases, and featuring shelters along the platform. A single staircase from the east end of each platform went down to 63rd Drive, and an additional staircase was located at 63rd Avenue (formerly Marion Avenue) from the northbound platform. The 63rd Drive entrance also featured a ticket office and heated waiting room, with restrooms.^[2][3][4]

Prior to the construction of the Rego Park station, two former stations near Whitepot Junction were named Matawok, and were located on both the Main Line and Rockaway Beach Branch. Both stations were named for the Matawok Land Company, which built the neighborhood surrounding the junction known at the time as "Forest Hills West."^[5]

The first station to be given the name Matawok, near the junction at Rego Park, was located along the Rockaway Beach Branch at Fleet Street on the northeast corner of a bridge over the street. It was opened between 1910 and 1913, although LIRR records of the station show its existence dating back to 1908 and into 1915. Some maps show the station existing as recently as 1922.^[6]

The other Matawok Station was located along the main line east of Whitepot Junction at 66th Avenue. It was opened on June 25, 1922,^[7][8][9] and had two platforms along four tracks, and a pedestrian bridge not only over the main line, but also over the Rockaway Beach Branch leading from 64th Road east of Alderton Street. The station closed on May 21, 1925, but the remnants of the station remained for decades.^[10][11]

In 1927, calls came from the Rego Park community for a new LIRR station at 63rd Drive (originally Penelope Street). This was contrary to the desires of the railroad, who wished to cease further expansion of Queens operations.^{[4][12][10][13]} Construction on the new Rego Park station began on January 30, 1928.^[2] The station was a modernized version of the design used at the Parkside station.^[13][2] Initially planned to open on April 1,^[2][14] the station was completed in April,^[4][15] and opened on May 23, 1928.^[1][4][14] Two parades were held in Rego Park on May 26 to commemorate the opening of the station.^[4][16]

The Rockaway Beach Branch closed on June 8, 1962.^[17][18][19]

• Rockaway Beach Branch

• Former Rockaway Beach Branch, including Rego Park Station (Forgotten New York)
• LIRR History (TrainsAreFun.com)
• Bob Emery map of Rego Park Station and Whitepot Junction (LIRR Unofficial History)^[usurped]