Corona (LIRR station)

Corona
LIRR bridge where the former Corona LIRR station once operated.
Location	National Street and 45th Avenue Corona, Queens, New York City
Coordinates	40°44′45.3″N 73°51′51.3″W / 40.745917°N 73.864250°W / 40.745917; -73.864250Coordinates: 40°44′45.3″N 73°51′51.3″W / 40.745917°N 73.864250°W / 40.745917; -73.864250
Owned by	LIRR
Line(s)	Port Washington Branch
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Station code	None
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	1855 (NY&F)
Closed	1880 April 8, 1964
Rebuilt	1872, 1890, 1894, 1930
Previous names	Fashion Race Course (1855–????) West Flushing (????–1872)
Services
None Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Elmhurst station Port Washington Branch (current and former locations) Flushing station

Corona was a station stop along the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in the Corona section of Queens, New York City. It was one of two station built by the Flushing Railroad in Corona, this one having been at Grand Avenue (later called National Avenue, now National Street) and 45th Avenue. The station first opened as Fashion Race Course in March 1855, then renamed West Flushing, once the West Flushing station at 108th Street closed and possibly when the race track was closed in 1869, and later renamed Corona around June 1872 when the Post Office was opened under the name of Corona. The race pens were located on this street which led directly north to the Fashion Race Course.

Service opened on April 2, 1855. The second depot built in September or October 1872 and was burned down on December 9, 1880. The former Corona Park depot from the White Line, abandoned four years earlier was moved to the site as a replacement around 1890 and was itself razed around September 1894. The fourth depot was built in September 1894 and was razed in 1930 due to a grade crossing elimination project. A temporary station was put in service to the south of the former location on May 8, 1930. Elevated platforms were constructed in mid-October, 1930, with westbound platforms opening on October 13 and eastbound platforms opening on October 17. The station stop was discontinued on April 8, 1964, the same year that the World's Fair station re-opened.

Three blocks east of Corona station was another station named West Flushing that served the community at large. It was located at what is today 108th Street and 44th Avenue, and was built in September 1854. Though even the most scholarly railroad historians never knew when the station was closed, it may have been related to the purchase of the New York and Flushing Railroad by the Flushing and North Side Railroad, if not then the 1869 closure of the horse racing track served by Corona station. A December 31, 1869 timetable refers to a "West Flushing" station, but it is unknown whether it refers to the original station or not.