WAY back in 1999, or it could have been 1998, I obtained this shot from the pedestrian boardwalk above what is now called the Mets-Willets Point station on the Port Washington branch. The extremely old (1950s) LIRR MP-72 units along the platform, were, believe it or not, still in service. You usually never saw these rattlers on the Port branch, as they were pulled by diesel engines and were used on non-electrified tracks east of Huntington, Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma. However, here they appeared on an LIRR fan trip organized and hosted by Dave Morrison. In the mid-1990s, I took a unit all the way east to Greenport, which I enjoyed so much, I later spent a week of summer vacation there. On that occasion, an equipment breakdown forced us to ride in a rickety school bus for over an hour from Port Jeff to Greenport in a rainstorm, but it was a fun week.
In the Corona Yards proper, you see units of R-33 and R-36 “Redbird” cars laid up for the weekend. They were finally taken out of service in 2003, replaced by IRT R-62 units, which in turn were supplanted by R-188 units wholly about 15-20 years later.
A word about station lighting. On the platform you see twin mercury vapor lamps. The LIRR has kept the poles but replaced the lights with higher-intensity LED fixtures.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop. As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
12/23/25
4 comments
On the north side of the tracks, at the eastern end of the platform, where the locomotive is, the fence of the Corona Yards curves to the left (north). If you stand at that platform end, and look to the curving fence, you can see long-abandoned tracks being overtaken by marsh grass. The curve in the fence follows the old right-of-way of the LIRR’s Whitestone Branch, where it split off from the Port Washington Branch. Those tracks are all that is left of it.
Service was discontinued in 1932, following a fire that destroyed the wooden bridge that crossed the Flushing River. Until the early 1980’s, a spur remained in use on that right-of-way from from the Port Washington Branch up to the Flushing River. One of the uses for the spur was a “graveyard” where old passengers cars were cut up for scrap. That could be seen from the Van Wyck Expressway as it passed alongside.
The Whitestone Branch was abandoned for financial reasons rather than a bridge fire.
Neighborhoods along that line asked the city to make it a subway line, and the LRR was open to this idea, but the city refused and the line was abandoned.
I remember the Dashing Dan logo of the LIRR,his face pulled
back in a grimace,teeth clenched,globs of sweat flying off him
as he hurries to catch his train.Those trains had 2 big round windows
at the front on both sides.It has been said that the guy who
designed him also designed Mr. Met,the Mets mascot whose
bold hijinks and hilarious pratfalls have entertained kiddies for
generations to come
Again, thanks for bringing back some great memories. The MP-72 cars in the photo were part of a 140-car order in 1955-56 that were originally electric multiple unit cars, and ran regularly on the Port Washington and the other electric branches. I lived on the PW branch in those days and remember the MP72s very well. Often the MP72s were in mixed consists with older electric cars. In 1972 they were converted to diesel push-pull operation, made redundant by the 770 car M1 car fleet that became the only equipment on the electrified LIRR lines. The MP72 cars, and two other classes of similar coaches, were retired by 2000. Included were 80 similar looking cars were also built in 1955-56, that were not electric powered and only ran behind diesel locomotives, used on the Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, and Montauk branches until the current double deck C3 coaches (and in the case of Ronkonkoma, electrification) replaced them.
The #7 line R62 cars were replaced by the R188 class, currently in use. The R143 is a B Division (IND-BMT) car that runs on the J, L, and Z routes.