LIRR MAIN LINE

Inscription

LIRR MAIN LINE
RAILROAD LINE FROM BROOKLYN
PASSED THROUGH HERE CA. 1842.
FIRST DEPOT BUILT 1897,
NAMED MELVILLE STATION.
RENAMED PINELAWN 1898.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2017

The Long Island Railroad (LIRR) from Brooklyn passed through here around 1842. The first depot was built in 1897 and was named Melville Station. Located on the northwest side of Wellwood Ave, it was listed on early timetables as a flag stop. By 1898, the station is listed as Pinelawn (Melville), and simply as Pinelawn in 1899, reflecting another station name change.

Historical photographs on Arrt’s Archives, an online museum of Long Island Rail Road history, show the 1898 depot, a small wood-frame passenger station with a large stone edifice in the background. This large administrative building was opened on August 30, 1904 to serve the mixed-use of cemetery office to nearby Pinelawn Cemetery, chapel, and railroad ticket office. While LIRR did not use the new office, the railroad appears to have benefited from the proximity of the railroad. Interestingly, the Archives refers to a baggage cart to transfer coffins from the train to the cemetery building. In April 1928 the cemetery building burned, and in 1936 Pinelawn became a national cemetery.

In 1915, a second depot was built and in 1925 it was relocated to the southeast side of Wellwood. According to David Keller, author of Long Island Rail Road, Alphabetical Station Listing and History, the building was significantly remodeled and reopened by the LIRR in June 1979 as a shelter only. Keller recalls that the station waiting room was kept open year-round, and remarkably there was no graffiti or vandalism. There was no heat in the winter. He also notes that the baggage room was used by Maintenance of Way (MOW) staff for storage.

As of 2019, Pinelawn station is stop along the Main Line (Ronkonkoma Branch-Fare Zone 9) of the Long Island Rail Road. It is located at Wellwood Ave. and Long Island Ave., adjacent to the grounds of Long Island National and Beth Moses Cemeteries and Pinelawn Memorial Park and Arboretum.