by William J. Skeats/photos by the author
While on Long Island Rail Road Port Jefferson Branch Train 1561 from Huntington to Penn Station, heading to Madison Square Garden for the Eagles concert, I was able to view the Elmont-UBS Arena Station and surrounding area. The location includes the Queens signal bridges, the east entrance track to Belmont Park and the closed Queens Tower in the distance. A visit was in order in the near future to take some photos.
How to get to the station? I checked the Port Jefferson Branch schedules for the A.M. rush to UBS-Elmont Station with no luck. Train 1607 from Huntington to Atlantic Terminal was on the schedule to stop at Elmont-UBS Arena, but way too early. It leaves Huntington at 4:54 A.M. and arrives at Elmont at 5:33 A.M., so I decided to drive from Northport instead. I took the Northern State Parkway west to the Cross Island Parkway south exiting at 26D. I followed the exit ramp and road around to the station. An easy 50 minute drive.
ABOVE: Train 519 from Oyster Bay to Jamaica has DE30AC 420 pushing four bilevels, led by cab car 5001, October 11, 2023. The Oyster Bay train is diverging from Mainline Track 1 to Mainline Track 2 as it passes through Queens 1 signal gantries. Next is the final stop at Jamaica, and it will turn as train 516 to Oyster Bay. LIRR RF1 waits in distance for Train 519 to pass before backing into Hillside Yard.
Time to take some photos. I walked up to the platform on Track 4 and heading westward towards Queens Interlocking. After 8:00 A.M. is a good starting point, as the sun gets high enough to reduce shadows between the platforms on the four-track mainline. You can also walk to the east end of the platform where you can photograph trains heading west on Tracks 3 and 1. The sun covers both tracks at about 9:30.
During the morning rush hour you will see diesel trains from the Oyster Bay Branch, electric multiple-unit and diesel trains from the Port Jefferson Branch, m.u. trains from the Ronkonkoma Branch, and select Montauk Branch diesel trains in either direction being routed via the Central Branch onto the Main Line.
The Long Island Rail Road has ongoing track work projects, so it’s also possible to catch a work train or two during your visit. The MP15AC fleet, built by EMD in 1977 is the power for the work trains.
ABOVE: New York & Atlantic freight trains travel through Elmont Station during daytime hours. NY&A RS-40 heads east, and may serve Huntington, located on the Port Jefferson Branch, to switch Kleet Lumber, and the Central Branch to switch the One World Recycling transload in Lindenhurst. An RS-70 can also run to Fresh Pond Yard in Queens to return empties and pickup loads for the Pine Aire-based crew when needed. NYAR RS-40 is diverging from Track 4 to Track 2 through Queens Interlocking in Elmont on October 19, 2023. Handsomely painted and lettered PR20B 301 and MP15AC 159 have eighteen cars (trash, stone and lumber) in tow for the One World Recycling transload.
Elmont-UBS Arena Station is primarily served by Hempstead Branch and a few other trains during the week. There’s a commuter parking lot at the station, but I saw only about 30-40 cars parked on each day I visited. Floral Park, Bellerose, Queens Village and Hollis stations are separated by a mile or less between each other. Adding Elmont Station between Queens Village (to the west) and Bellerose (to the east) is just a shift of customers from those two stations to the new Elmont Station, with little or no increase in riders. There is no Transit Oriented Development.
During the weekends there’s a lot more service to Elmont-UBS Arena station from the Hempstead, Ronkonkoma, and Port Jefferson Branches. On event days at the UBS Arena, additional stops are provided by Hempstead, Ronkonkoma and Port Jefferson Branch trains. Upon arrival there is a shuttle bus to the arena from the station. You can also walk the half-mile to the venue…