Massapequa and Wantagh Station Renovations

[lirr42]

The work on the Hicksville platform has been known for quite some time now. Station platform rehabilitations for Wantagh, Babylon, Nostrand Avenue, and Hunterspoint Avenue are also planned either under the previous or current capital programs, and we've known about those for several months now too.

Also, the station rehabilitation is going to cost in the neighborhood of $68.7 million, not $12 million.

[pineywoodsman]

Now it was just announced that Hicksville will be rehabilitated and rebuilt costing $12 Million. I can see Babylon getting a makeover pretty soon after that project is completed.

And they need it, the platform level and parts of the street level are just run down, dirty, and depressing.
I hear there will also be a "North Track Siding" which will hopefully allow more service. Of course the Massapequa Pocket track is much further along...which is why I'm so desperate to join you lucky folks on the Babylon Line in Nassau.
Here's the press release.
http://www.mta.info/press-release/lirr/ ... le-station

[pineywoodsman]

No, the shorter pole does not date back to the electrification of 1925, because I saw a photo of Massapequa in the early 1930's and all the old poles were wooden. That pole along with the other metal towers there date back the elevation of the station in 1953. There is no section of the Babylon Branch that has it's original poles when the branch was electrified. This is due mostly to the grade crossing elimination and age of the poles, the branch has metal truss towers, erector set, and I-Beam poles.

By the way, despite Juno, it looks like they are going to get the Eastern half done ahead of time! The station looks great, thank you!

And those poles still carry high tension feeders to substations for third rail power, I believe. I think it's 34.5kv.
Not sure where the power comes from on the Main Line, I see substations but no high tension wires serving them, except for a substation by Mineola and New Hyde Park. I would hope they have some kind of high tension feeder and aren't just using neighborhood "distribution" power lines. If that is indeed the case...one more reason of many to relocate to the Babylon Line!

[lirr42]

Of course the Massapequa Pocket track is much further along...which is why I'm so desperate to join you lucky folks on the Babylon Line in Nassau.

What on earth are you talking about? There's already an existing siding track in Hicksville, this is just an extension of that. There's not even anything resembling track in Massapequa yet.......

[pineywoodsman]

Of course the Massapequa Pocket track is much further along...which is why I'm so desperate to join you lucky folks on the Babylon Line in Nassau.

What on earth are you talking about? There's already an existing siding track in Hicksville, this is just an extension of that. There's not even anything resembling track in Massapequa yet.......

I thought it was much farther along than that?
I would expect it to be completed sooner since it was announced sooner. But it wouldn't matter since these projects are to enhance service once ESA opens, right?
Will this Hicksville siding track go all the way to the Wantagh Pkwy bridge?
I brought this up before as I believe there is plenty of room for it.
The other question is do Massapequa & Hicksville tracks require a new substation to power the extended area of 3rd rail or is that already built in?
Still wondering about how Main Line substations are fed too.

[Riverduckexpress]

Will this Hicksville siding track go all the way to the Wantagh Pkwy bridge?
I brought this up before as I believe there is plenty of room for it.
The other question is do Massapequa & Hicksville tracks require a new substation to power the extended area of 3rd rail or is that already built in?
Still wondering about how Main Line substations are fed too.

The north track already passes under the Wantagh State Pkwy. Do you see a picture I attached? The green line shows roughly the length of the siding, the purple line shows the 3rd track in Hicksville, and the blue is other sidings.

[pineywoodsman]

Will this Hicksville siding track go all the way to the Wantagh Pkwy bridge?
I brought this up before as I believe there is plenty of room for it.
The other question is do Massapequa & Hicksville tracks require a new substation to power the extended area of 3rd rail or is that already built in?
Still wondering about how Main Line substations are fed too.

The north track already passes under the Wantagh State Pkwy. Do you see a picture I attached? The green line shows roughly the length of the siding, the purple line shows the 3rd track in Hicksville, and the blue is other sidings.

I see, well this will offer some benefit for sure, help "ease the squeeze" just a bit. Now if they could utilize that 3rd track west of Mineola (on the south side) this would help the squeeze abit more on the Main Line, at least lessen the times of "throating".

[MattAmity90]

I know it's getting close to the end of March and the month, and I was wondering how close we are to the completion of the Eastern half? This was the window they said it would be completed by.

[Frank]

I know it's getting close to the end of March and the month, and I was wondering how close we are to the completion of the Eastern half? This was the window they said it would be completed by.

The eastern half of the platform should be done over the summer.

[bellstbarn]

I could be wrong, but my recollection is that the Massapequa platform was lengthened eastward to 12 cars sometime in the 1970's or 1980's. At that time, an escalator was conveniently added near the east end of the platform, with a new underpass to enlarged Town of Oyster Bay parking lots both north and south of the tracks. For the past months, that escalator's position on the platform was surrounded by a tall blue box, presumably protecting workers installing a new escalator. About a week ago, the box disappeared, and there is new brickwork, waist-high, surrounding the hole of the escalator, and a small blue barrier at the top of the escalator. I suspect that the workers will add a glass frame on three sides of the escalator at platform level. Anyhow, work continues.
---
The Massapequa design has been unusual ever since that escalator was added. At most other stations on the Babylon Branch, where there is an escalator, the lower end faces the ticket office. At Massapequa, the escalator is about 150 yards east of the ticket office and has a separate entrance from north and south parking lots. This design tends to spread out the boarding crowds in the morning.
Joe McMahon

[MattAmity90]

Massapequa was lengthened to 12 cars between 1975 and 1977, immediately after Bellmore and Merrick's elevated stations went into service and before the Massapequa Park elevation project commenced: Mid-1975 to Late 1977. In addition, at the time it began it was partially canopied, and when it was lengthened they converted it to fully canopied.

[Frank]

Here's a couple of photos from today. They seemed to be making excellent progress with the platform. Haven't seen any work on the pocket track lately.

[MattAmity90]

It's been about a month and a half since the last post, the Eastern half has got to be near completion now, probably around the Summer Solstice or July 4th I'm guessing?

[Frank]

It's been about a month and a half since the last post, the Eastern half has got to be near completion now, probably around the Summer Solstice or July 4th I'm guessing?

It is pretty close to completion. It'll probably be open by August.

[MACTRAXX]

Massapequa was lengthened to 12 cars between 1975 and 1977, immediately after Bellmore and Merrick's elevated stations went into service and before the Massapequa Park elevation project commenced: Mid-1975 to Late 1977. In addition, at the time it began it was partially canopied, and when it was lengthened they converted it to fully canopied.

MA:

The Massapequa station platform was lengthened from 8 to 12 cars in 1979-80 along with the Massapequa Park
station construction - I recall that some of the features of this platform extension were that it was easy to tell by
the grey concrete color where the older platform ended and where the added platform began - the newer platform
had the same design canopy and was matched exactly - with the same steelwork and wood canopy roofline as the
older sections had...Massapequa was designed during the 1950s and had PRR origins and there are many
similarities to the Woodbridge station on what now is NJT's North Jersey Coast Line in its construction such as
platforms, canopies and other features of the grade crossing elimination...

Another memory I have is that the rail section through Massapequa Station was one of the last jointed rail
sections on the Babylon Branch and at some point in the second half of the 1970s welded rail was dropped
and sat for a period of years before it was installed in the early 80s - and would be further replaced about
10 years later - probably because of how long before it was finally used...The other final segment of Babylon
Branch jointed rail was between Port Interlocking at Freeport downgrade on both tracks to the Meadowbrook
Parkway underpass which was replaced in 1982...

Instead of renovating Massapequa Station by just replacing the 8 car section of worn out 1950s platform and
rebuilding and reroofing the canopy - especially the woodwork which needed attention - the MTA decided to go
for a all out rebuilding project and it looks to be coming out good and will be a big improvement...

I was very interested as a young man myself in the then ongoing Babylon Branch elevation project and how it
would change the Babylon Branch - along with the M1 cars - into a very modern rail operation...

MACTRAXX