New York, Westchester and Boston Railway The station opened on May 29, 1912, as a local station of the
New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B), a subsidiary of the New York, New Haven and Hartford. The line was designed for the weight of the heaviest mainline steam trains. The NYW&B offered frequent service between 138th Street in the South Bronx and White Plains and Port Chester in Westchester County. The White Plains and Port Chester branches diverged at Mount Vernon Junction near Columbus Avenue along the boundary between Mount Vernon and Pelham. The two outer tracks at Morris Park were for trains that made local stops in the Bronx, and went to Port Chester. The two inner tracks were for express trains that made limited stops in the Bronx, and went to White Plains. The trains were powered by 11,000 Volt 25 Hz alternating current supplied from an
overhead catenary. The cut-off stumps of the catenary bridges remain along the right of way and can be seen from the south ends of the platforms. Service ended on December 12, 1937, following the bankruptcy of the NYW&B.
New York City Transit The
New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) bought the NYW&B within
the Bronx north of East 180th Street in April 1940 for $1.8 million and rehabilitated the line. On May 15, 1941, a shuttle service was implemented between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street using IRT gate cars. The Dyre Avenue Line was connected directly to the White Plains Road Line north of
East 180th Street for $3 million with a flying junction and through service began on May 6, 1957. Between 1954 and 1961, ridership on the line increased by 100 percent, owing to the development of the northeast Bronx. On February 27, 1962, the New York City Transit Authority announced a $700,000 modernization plan of the Dyre Avenue Line. The plan included the reconstruction of the Dyre Avenue station, and the extension of the platforms of the other four stations on the line, including Morris Park, to to accommodate ten-car trains. At the time, the line was served by 9-car trains during the day, and 3-car shuttles overnight. The platforms at Morris Park were extended towards the south, requiring a reduction in the height of the outboard plate girders of the bridge over Colden Avenue so that the bottoms of the platforms would be above the tops of the girders. The massive overdesign of the bridge allowed ample margin for trimming the girders. On November 24, 1979, an
R22 car, #7602, was involved in a rear-ending accident here. The Bronx-bound platform was closed for renovation from February 17, 1992, to August 31, 1992, earlier than its expected reopening in late fall 1992. As part of the project, the station received new benches, fluorescent lighting, an upgraded electrical system and stairway from the station building to Paulding Avenue. The station renovation was to be fully completed in November with repairs to the station building, including a new ceiling, a new clay-tile roof, and new windows and doors. From the 1990s until the early 2000s the platform walls had a red and blue skyline design, before being painted beige. In the late 1990s, the original concrete exterior walls alongside the station platforms and the original roof that was supported on concrete columns and massive cantilevered timbers were replaced with steel bents supporting a clad metal wall system and a corrugated metal roof deck. The station was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on July 6, 2005. == Station layout ==