Port Richmond

Port Richmond is a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway. Located in Port Richmond on a concrete trestle at Park Avenue and Church Street, it has two tracks and an island platform. The station is located approximately 3mi from Saint George Terminal.HistoryThe station was opened by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on February 23, 1886 as a wooden surface station, with two high-level side platforms. Between Port Richmond and West Brighton, the line crossed an eight-foot high suspension bridge over Bodine Creek. The low clearance of the bridge attracted some individuals to fish and crab from the trestle, leading to several accidents. Beginning in 1935, the Port Richmond station and Tower Hill one stop west were elevated onto a concrete viaduct structure known as the Port Richmond Viaduct as part of the grade-crossing elimination project of the SIRT. The new trestle was built on top of the old Bodine Creek bridge, raising the crossing to safer heights. At the time, the one-mile viaduct was claimed to be "the longest in the United States." The new station was opened on February 26, 1937. East of the station, the line returns to grade level after crossing the remnants of Bodine Creek, with the trestle ending at the east end of the Port Richmond Water Pollution Control Plant operated by the NYCDEP. The station was closed on March 31, 1953, along with the rest of the North Shore Branch and the South Beach Branch. Port Richmond is one of the few stations along the North Shore line standing today, as of June 2013.