From the Forgotten NY archives from 2016…
In 2017, Forgotten NY covered the newest station on the Staten Island Railway, Arthur Kill, which was built between the former Atlantic and Nassau stations (each named for defunct businesses: Atlantic Terra-Cotta and Nassau Smelting; the stations mostly served workers in those two businesses in the early days). The new Arthur Kill station was a good four years under construction (these kind of projects move absolutely glacially in the modern era). The new station opened in January 2017, and Nassau and Atlantic were put out of their misery. Would you believe that was my only visit to date there, and here we are just over seven years later! I do intend another visit to timeless Tottenville sometime soon.
In reality the MTA had all but abandoned the Nassau and Atlantic stations many years ago, keeping only portions of each station open and failing to maintain them. I chronicled their appearance way back in 2007 for FNY’s “Stations of Staten Island Rapid Transit” series.
I got this shot in March 2016 at Nassau, as the rickey, decrepit Nassau station (which had been that way a long time, as the MTA deferred maintenance for years) was seeing its last passenger trains. Shortly after the new Arthur Kill station opened in 2017, both Nassau and Atlantic were mercifully demolished.
The Staten Island Railway still uses R-44 cars introduced in the 1970s, making it a living transit museum of sorts; the SIR’s R-44 fleet was outfitted with blue seats in the 2000s, replacing the original orange and yellows. R-211 cars were supposed to be phased in during 2024; but mechanical problems have them on hold indefinitely.
As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site. Take a look at the new JOBS link in the red toolbar at the top of the page on the desktop version, as I also get a small payment when you view a job via that link.
1/3/25
6 comments
Not much of a passenger shelter.Huddled masses freezing their asses off
Does either of these former SIR stations have any remnants right now or was every last trace of them removed?
All traces of either station are gone, mercifully.
When I rode the SIRT in the early 1990s, Nassau was a flag-stop station on weekends. You had to tell the conductor you wanted to get off at Nassau and he’d take you to the second car and open one-half of one set of doors to let you out. On the way back to St. George he told me to literally flag the train down or it wouldn’t stop to pick me up. I did that every Sunday on the way to the historic Bethel UME church. It was a nice, relaxing ride on weekends and a scenic walk to the church from the station. I’d have lunch nearby and make a day of it. Felt like I was in a small railroad town down South.
BTW, the new R211S trains are slowly entering service. I believe there are two sets currently running on the SIR. At 52 years old, those R44 units are well past their retirement date and need to go ASAP.
If it were up to me, the future Outerbridge replacement would have train tracks to carry the Staten Island Railway into New Jersey.
A tunnel for the one-mile hop from Tottenville to the Perth Amboy NJ Transit station would be even better!