Whitestone LIRR Station, 1922. The Whitestone branch of the Long Island Rail Road began construction in 1869 as a part of the Flushing and North Side Railroad system. The entire branch was electrified in 1912, but only survived another 20 years before ceasing operations. Despite a proposed plan to transfer the branch to the city to become a part of the larger NYC transit system, the deal did not come to fruition. Today the only vestiges of the line still visible are a small section of track near the Mets-Willet Point station and a few concrete posts which lined the right-of-way in Whitestone (and are now randomly in the yards of private homes). The Whitestone station was originally a temporary depot erected in 1869. This mansard-roofed structure replaced the first station in 1871. The building was razed following the line's closure in 1932.