Seaford
Massapequa was the first stop east of Lynbrook to have grade-crossings eliminated with the switchover occurring over the course of December 14 & 15, 1953. What makes this station unique is the station is on an earthen covered in greenery embankment instead of the normal concrete guideway. The stop received renovations to the waiting area dedicated in 2000 and currently from Spring 2013, to 2015 is undergoing with restoration 6 cars of the 12 car island platform at a time. Passing through in November 2013 saw trains opening only their easternmost 6 cars with the closed portion of the platform totally gone to the guiders in the embankment below. The other 6 still looked like the station before renovations began. This description covers the station pre-renovations. The entire platform is covered by a still original canopy structure with metal blue columns holding up the underlying metal structure of a wooden paint-peeling canopy above.
The platform begins at the overpass over Broadway and runs east. Along the east side of Broadway is a single staircase up to the basically the very end of the platform. Some bike boxes are near this exit. At the very end of the platform 8 steps lead down to a narrow corridor with a chain link fence along the bridge of the Jamaica-bound track that continues to a staircase down to the west side of Broadway. There are two more pedestrian crossings through the embankment connecting the north and south parking lots that are bounded by the Sunrise Highway south of the tracks and Veterans Blvd to the north before becoming Massapequa Reserve.
The middle crossing contains the station house that is nestled into the embankment along the southern side. This brick building has a green awning by the entrance with golden Massapequa lettering. Inside is a small waiting room with a few benches, a newsstand (don't know if still open during AM commute hours), restrooms and a ticket window that is open for one shift on Mondays & Wednesdays only effective July 20, 2011 from 6:10am to 1:45pm, the waiting room is still open every weekday from 4:30am to 2:00pm. The walls have purple and pink tiling. Along the east end of the station house are a few steps inside that lead to a door an interior corridor that leads out to a ramp down along the eastern side of the entrance to the station house. This corridor contains the ADA elevator (in a brown brick enclosure up to the platform). The other end of the station house is at the pedestrian tunnel to the northside of the tracks and from it is a single staircase up to the platform. There is a small (with brown bricks and actual windows that can be opened) decrepit waiting area with modern black benches on the platform just east of the elevator. Continuing down the platform, the eastern pedestrian crossing has a staircase (heading west) opposite an up only escalator up this tunnel to nearly the extreme eastern end of the platform. Above the entrance in the tunnel to the escalator is an old sign saying "Step on Treadle to Start Escalator, Do Not Enter until Escalator stops." Along the middle of the platform and much older than it is a small brick building that rises up to the level of the platform and says LIRR Substation A.
The station was rebuilt starting in Spring 2013 with a rededication on July 23, 2015
All Photos taken on 21 September, 2012
