Contents

Clifton station (Staten Island Railway)

Clifton
Staten Island Railway station (rapid transit)
Tottenville Local arriving at Clifton
General information
Location	Bay Street & Townsend Avenue Clifton, Staten Island
Coordinates	40°37′17″N 74°04′17″W / 40.6215°N 74.0715°W / 40.6215; -74.0715 (Clifton Station)
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	NYCT Bus: S51, S81
Construction
Structure type	Embankment / Elevated
Other information
Station code	504
History
Opened	April 23, 1860[1]
Previous names	Vanderbilt's Landing Vanderbilt Avenue
Services
Preceding station Staten Island Railway Following station Stapleton toward St. George Grasmere toward Tottenville
Former services Preceding station Staten Island Railway Following station Terminus South Beach Branch Bachmann Closed 1937 toward Wentworth Avenue
Track layout Legend toStapleton toGrasmere
Location

The Clifton station is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborhood of Clifton, Staten Island, New York. This station was the original terminal of the Staten Island Railway from 1860 until 1886. The station was known as Vanderbilt's Landing, and was used as a transfer point for passengers going to Manhattan via ferriestoSouth Ferry.

History[edit]

This station was originally known as Vanderbilt's Landing and opened on April 23, 1860 with the opening of the Staten Island Railway, and was the northern terminal for the line. The line extended from Vanderbilt's Landing to Eltingville.^[1][2][3] The station was also once known as Vanderbilt Avenue.^[4] It also included a ferry port with ferries to Stapleton, Tompkinsville, and South FerryinManhattan.^[5] The port was replaced by Saint George Terminal on March 7, 1886, which was also the day before Clifton became the northern terminus of the South Beach Branch, a status it maintained until 1953.

In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[6]

Station layout[edit]

Clifton station is located at Norwood Avenue and Bay Street on the main line. It is located on an embankment with side platforms and beige canopies.

The SIR's Clifton Yard is next to the northbound track, with yard leads and signals north of Clifton station. South of the station are the remains of the South Beach Branch turnout and a dismantled bridge.^[7] To the south, a spur on a pair of I-beams on concrete pillars is the location of an old coal, concrete, and lumber business. South of this station, the SIR main line turns southwest to Tottenville, and no longer runs along the harbor front.

Due to the wide space from trains caused by the platform's curvature, the last car for St. George-bound trains do not open here.^[8]

Platform level	Side platform
	Southbound	← toward Tottenville (Grasmere) ← rush hour express does not stop here
	Northbound	→ toward St. George (Stapleton) → → AM rush express does not stop here →
	Side platform
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance, buses

Exits[edit]

The north end has exits on both platforms that lead to Bay Street. The southbound platform has winding stairs to Townsend Avenue while the northbound platform has stairs under the right-of-way to Norwood Avenue. The northbound platform also has a second staircase on Bay and Edgewater Streets, which is not present on the southbound side.^[9]

On Bay Street (sidewalk level) and facing the platform above, are remains of the original steps up to the old station platform, which became inaccessible when the platforms were extended in the 1990s. On the southbound side there is a station house on the outside, but only a shelter on the platform. Some of the boarded up windows and layout of the brick shelter suggest that it was originally a station house.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related to Clifton (Staten Island Railway station) at Wikimedia Commons

• Staten Island Railway station list
• Staten Island Railway general information
• Vanderbilt Avenue Staten Island Railway Station Postcard (New York Public Library Digital Collections)
• Bay Street and Townsend Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Bay Street and Greenfield Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View