Far Rockaway-Mott Av
Far Rockaway is the terminus of the A train, quite close to the border (about 10 Blocks) with Nassau County. The station is by far the closest out of any subway stations to Nassau County, and the only one within pratical walking distance. The Long Island Railroad's Far Rockaway a station is located at ground level about three-blocks away. I believe that this was where the original Far Rockaway train station was when the LIRR still served the rest of the peninsula, that station has a small yard and is at grade-level. In addition, there is an obvious gap in the street grid, where a large municipal parking lot is that is signed as close to a Park and Ride as exists at any subway station, this must have been where, when the line was continuous, the tracks raised up onto the elevated structure through the Rockaways.
The train station itself has a concrete station house at street level. Silver letters says N.Y. City Transit System outside and three sets of doors lead into the building. There is a small area with the token booth before fare control and four turnstiles. After this are a couple of closets dead ahead as well as a rarity on the subway, public bathrooms, each has a sign on it saying closed 12 midnight - 5 AM. Passengers must veer left a bit and leave the station house from the opposite side they came in on a decently wide staircase that leads out to another set of doors at the extreme western end of the station's island platform. The platform itself has the typical island platform terminus layout, with a canopy over most of it except the extreme other end and the usual booths for the car cleaners and drivers and conductors on break along it. The station is called Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue, most conductors say 'This is a Far Rockaway-bound A train' and stuff like that but all the platform pillar signs simply say Mott Avenue.
Rebuilding: On May 11, 2011 the station was officially reopened (it had never fully closed) as the station house was completely rebuilt. The concrete station house (in the same place) has been replaced with a modern steel and glass station house. Passengers now enter the station through two sets of silver doors with the token booth between them covered by a large awning. They reach two seperate banks of turnstiles with not one but two elevators that lead up to the platform level (this is the first stop to get a necessary, redunant second shaft) between the two banks of turnstiles. A wide staircase (the same width of the previous one) leads up to the platform level with a wide upper landing to accomidate the elevator, the wide staircase has a balcony that curves around it (allowing passengers to go on either side of the staircase to reach the elevator).
Superstorm Sandy: The line through Jamaica Bay was destroyed during Superstorm Sandy. On November 11, 2012 A train service was restored to Howard Beach and the station was connected directly with the rest of the subway system with a 24-7 Shuttle Bus running via Nassau County. A week later on November 20 the H Shuttle began fare-free service terminating at the station running a shuttle train (except between Midnight and 4am) between here and Beach 90 Street via Hammel's Wye. Far Rockaway became the transferpoint from Shuttle Train to Shuttle Bus to connect with the A train and the rest of the Subway System. Service was restored on May 30, 2013
Photos 1-14: December 29, 2008; 15-28 March 30, 2012; 29-31: January 29, 2013; 32-45: April 24, 2013; 46-51: July 24, 2013; 52-55: November 8, 2013; 56-62: May 21, 2013;
Station Subway Lines (November 2012 through May 2013 after Superstorm Sandy)
