{"nrhp_refnum":"05000667","name":"Oyster Bay Long Island Rail Road Turntable","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Railroad Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Oyster Bay","county":"Nassau County","state":"NY","lat":40.87721169400004,"lon":-73.52808335299994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-07-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 70-foot steel deck girder railroad turntable on Railroad Avenue in Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, built in 1902-1904 for the Long Island Rail Road to replace an earlier turntable.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is a rare, largely intact example of a once common railroad facility. It also reflects the role rail service played in the growth of Oyster Bay in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is one of three known surviving mechanical turntables on Long Island.","narrative":"Set in a concrete pit beside the Long Island Rail Road yard in Oyster Bay, this turntable was built in 1902-1904 to replace an older one that dated from the arrival of rail service in 1889. Its rotating table is a deck girder made of two riveted steel girders, 70 feet long, carrying a section of track, with pipe railings along walkways on each side. Originally powered by an air motor, it was converted to an electric motor and reduction gear drive in 1932, which required a tall steel frame over the center to carry power lines. Turntables let steam locomotives, which could not safely run in reverse, be turned around at the end of a branch line. Oyster Bay's was used continuously until the 1970s, when diesel equipment made it obsolete. Of seventeen turntables the railroad once operated, only three survive on Long Island. It was listed for its engineering and its link to the growth of the community. The drive system is inoperable but largely intact and the structure is slated for restoration.","period_of_significance":"1902","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as vacant in current function; removed from service in the 1970s, drive system inoperable but largely intact, and slated for restoration. Owned by the Town of Oyster Bay.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:53.582738-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/05000667.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319173","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_Bay_Long_Island_Rail_Road_Turntable","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7116318"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/nassau-county/oyster-bay-long-island-rail-road-turntable-05000667/"}