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Grand Avenue Station, Elmhurst, Queens

The tracks pass out of a trench as they move into Elmhurst and become elevated after they pass under the Long Island Expressway / Queens Midtown Expressway.

The six-acre area to the east of the tracks was the Newtown Holder Station, better known to commuters as a traffic report landmark called the the "Elmhurst Gas Tanks". The two 270-foot-diameter and 230-foot-high structures were built in 1910 and 1921. The outer telescopic holders contained a "cups" surrounded by water that rose as the tanks were filled with natural gas. The tanks were decommissioned and dismantled in 1996 and the area was sold for $1 to the Parks Department in 2005 to create Gas Tank Park.

The area to the west and northwest of the park on Grand Avenue have been redeveloped into retail and, accordingly, might be a nice place for a subway stop. A few hundred square feet of Gas Tank Park would do nicely.

Just south of Queens Boulevard, the freight tracks cross over the Long Island Railroad Main Line tracks right after where the Port Washington Branch splits from the Main Line to Jamaica. However, there is no connection between any of the tracks and it is questionable whether there would be value in encumbering the commuter line with an additional NYC subway station here.

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