Patchogue station
Patchogue is a station of the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in the village of Patchogue, New York. It is on Division Street between West Avenue (Suffolk County Road 19) and South Ocean Avenue. The station is located in the Patchogue-Medford Union Free School District. Ferries to Fire Island board from a port near the station. History. Between 1869 and 1879 Patchogue station was the east end of the South Side Railroad of Long Island. It even had spurs and roundhouses between West and Railroad Avenues, as well as another spur between River Avenue  and West Avenue for the textile plant that more recently has served as the Patchogue Campus of Briarcliffe College. Prior to acquisition by the Long Island Rail Road there was a proposal by the SSRRLI to extend the main line southeast towards Bellport, then northeast to Brookhaven and Southaven. The station in Brookhaven was to be named "Fireplace" after Fireplace Neck. The station was rebuilt in 1889 and again on July 30, 1963. As part of the 1963 reconstruction, Railroad Avenue was terminated at Sephton Street, along the north side of the tracks, and the baggage and express house was  torn down for additional parking. When Blue Point station was closed by the Long Island Rail Road in 1980, former Blue Point commuters opted to use Patchogue station. High-level platforms were added in 1997 for bi-level trains. PD Tower. In 1912, the Long Island Rail Road added a control tower to Patchogue Station on South Ocean Avenue, for both the Montauk Branch and the former trolley line owned by the Suffolk Traction Company. The tower was designated by the LIRR as the "PD Tower" and was also used for hooping. In 1970, all switches and crossing were automated , but hooping continued. At this point, the tower's structure began to decline. Residents began referring to it as the "Leaning Tower of Patchogue." On August 23, 2006 the tower was finally torn down. Today, a flower garden can be found where the tower used to stand. Station layout. The station has one six-car-long high-level platform on the south side of the two tracks; the north track, not next to the platform, is a siding.