Postcard view of Mamaroneck station


Aerial view of Mamaroneck. The old station is to the left, away from the tracks and platform.

Welcome to one of the final Tuesday Tours of the New Haven Line. Our stop today is the delightful village of Mamaroneck. I had every intention of posting Mamaroneck last – I even had Darien’s tour ready to go – but I happened to get a sneak peek of the newly-restored station over the weekend, and couldn’t resist posting it right away. The station, built in 1888 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style (which, admittedly, is one of my favorites), is certainly one of the nicest (and second oldest) on the New Haven Line. However, like many old stations, the condition of the building had degraded, and it needed a lot of work. Metro-North, who owned the station, was having difficulties finding someone to lease the place in the condition it was in. Without the funds to renovate the station themselves, Metro-North instead listed the station for sale in 2007.


Drawing of Mamaroneck station, front view

Though various parties were interested in the station, it was ultimately sold in 2008 to John and Chris Verni of Verco Properties, for $1.25 million. Renovations began after a formal groundbreaking ceremony on April 22, 2010. During my first visit to Mamaroneck last September, I happened to get a few shots of the station while the restoration was in progress. It didn’t look like too much had been completed yet, but I was feeling very optimistic about this place, and knew I would return at some point.

  
 
Work on the Mamaroneck station, photos taken September 2010

Curious about the station’s progress, I decided that a visit to Mamaroneck was in order last weekend. After attempting to peek through the windows, one of the staff members that was there invited me in. Getting a sneak peek of the renovated station, and its tenant the Club Car restaurant, was certainly the highlight of my weekend. Hopefully the restaurant will be open within the next two or three weeks (I was told they are still waiting on Con-Ed), but I’m happy to share with you all a little preview of this great former rail station. And it sure looks beautiful!

  
 
  
 
  

  
  
  
 
  
 

The real reason we’re here, however, are the trains. Mamaroneck is one of New York state’s stations along the New Haven Line. Located a little more than 20 miles from Grand Central, a journey to the city takes around forty minutes. The station building, which we saw above, was once closer to the tracks, but was moved to its current location in 1927. This placement did make it a little difficult to serve as a ticket office, since it was so far from the tracks. The building was, however, connected via a tunnel to stairways leading to both platforms.


Tickets stamped in Mamaroneck, from the collection of Otto Vondrak

Metro North’s current facility at the station consists of a covered platform, and a small waiting area with benches and soda/snack machines on the westbound side of the track. Up until 2007 the historic station was used as a ticket office, but it was closed ahead of listing the building for sale. There are, however, ticket vending machines on the platform to serve this purpose.

That is about it for our tour today. I’ll end with some photos of the platform at Mamaroneck, and a few sightings of the new M8 railcars there. There are only two stations left on this Tuesday Tour of the New Haven Line – Darien and Stamford. Anybody want to have a tour finished/railfan get-together at the Club Car when it opens?

  
 
 
  
 
   
 
 

17 Responses

  1. Emily says:

    Thanks, from you that really means a lot. And I was hoping you would say you’d join us :D We’ll have to see who else can attend. Otto, perhaps? Gregory Grice, if he isn’t being pursued by the police? :P

    • Heather says:

      I wouldn’t mind coming depending on when you do it, as you know I need to expand my horizons beyond hanging around the Waterbury station ;)

    • Emily says:

      The first set of photos I took were abysmal. They really were. I will not lie, you are part of the reason I wanted to go back. But I am soooo glad that I did.

  2. Tyler says:

    Wow, what a renovation. It’s so nice that these historic stations are being saved and reused rather than being torn down.

    One of my home stations, Worcester Union Station, was abandoned in 1975 and was a total wreck. Amtrak and commuter rail passengers used an “Amshack” next door. In the late ’90s, the entire station was renovated at a cost of $32 million, including the construction of two reproduction towers to replace the ones removed in 1926 due to excessive vibration. The new interior is absolutely gorgeous!

    Oh, and…

    “The real reason we’re here, however, are the trains.”

    I think your days of pretending you’re not a railfan are over. Welcome to the club!

  3. Dave says:

    What kind of cuisine will they be serving there?

    • Emily says:

      Check out their website here. It looks like they have two different menus, but they both say “sample” so it might not be the final menu they use when the place opens.

      • Dave says:

        Wow, it looks like they serve a little bit of everything. I like that the Tavern menu has foods to share. And I dig the aesthetic. Thank God for adaptive reuse. The way to do a meet and greet would be for everybody to take the train, obviously.

  4. Jesse says:

    Hi Emily –

    I have been following your blog for quite some time…gongrats on a truly outstanding job!

    Yes…kindly keep me posted if you decide to have railfan get-together…

    Additionally, I would be willing to assist with logistics, if req’d…

    Finally…I believe the Mamaroneck station was moved to make way for the NYW&BR Port Chester extension, completed in 1929…

    Bye…

  5. Otto Vondrak says:

    Wonderful tour of Mamaroneck, Emily! The Mamaroneck station was moved in 1926-1927 to make room for the two tracks of the New York, Westchester & Boston Ry’s Port Chester Branch. The NYW&B was a subsidiary of the New Haven Railroad, and there were many joint stations, notably Port Chester, Rye, Harrison, Mamaroneck, and Larchmont. I have more information about Mamaroneck on the NYW&B here. The NYWB only operated for 10 years through Mamaroneck before it was shut down and ripped up in the 1940s. The space where the tracks and platform were are now occupied by additional parking.

  6. Emily says:

    That I saw. Patch was also “kind” enough to yank the photos, but couldn’t even give me a link back.

    • Emily says:

      Oh, The Loop I don’t mind at all. But I got pissed at Patch, after they sent me a few obnoxious emails they took the pictures down.

  7. David Morrison says:

    Had dinner at the Club Car this past week. The food was fantastic and the staff was very proficient and friendly. It was a great experience. The building is beautiful too. What a wonderful restoration job was done on this historic structure. I’ll certainly go back and I’ll recommend this place to my friends. Dave Morrison

  8. Marchella says:

    It all seems Good! What Bee Line Bus goes to Mamaroneck, NY?

  9. travelsonic says:

    Fun fact: The tunnel that went from the station building to the New York, Westchester & Boston platforms (which were where the parking lot is currently) is currently being used as the wine cellar for the restaurant occupying the station building (whatever it’s called now – I forgot honestly).

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