Although Akron Barberton Cluster motive power typically has handled the ABC job that serves Kent and Ravenna, locomotives from parent Wheeling & Lake Erie often has pitched in to help when needed.
Such was the case on Nov. 4, 2005, when GP35 No. 2662 worked the job. Apparently the crew had not cars to take back to Akron on this day.
No. 2662, one of two locomotives to received this striking red and gold livery, is passing the former Erie Railroad passenger station in Kent.
The Park Ridge Station of the Erie Railroad.
In June I did a series on Erie Railroad mainline stations from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Port Jervis, New York. Here are some other stations on some lesser known Erie/Erie Lackawanna branches.
The New Jersey & New York Railroad was leased by the Erie in the 1880’s. The railroad served Bergen County, New Jersey.
Even though the Erie took control of the line, it was still the NJ&NY on paper right through the EL days.
There are some beautiful old stations on the NJ&NY RR. Here are (in order) River Edge, Oradell, and Park Ridge.
Today the line is New Jersey Transit’s Pascack Valley Line and all these stations still serve passengers in their waiting rooms. Ticket machines sell the tickets rather than agents.
Another Erie Line was originally The Northern Railroad of New Jersey.
This railroad started before the Civil War and was bought outright by the Erie about 1940.
The EL ended passenger service on this line in 1966. Today CSX owns the line and only a couple industries are served on the lower end of the line.
This line served some very affluent New Jersey communities and their stations demonstrate that. In order, we have Tenafly Station, now a restaurant, and Demarest Station, which looks more like a church.
The railroad is pretty much dead in these parts, although there is talk about making part of this line a light rail system, which still won’t reach these locations.
The Tenafly station of the Erie Railroad
The River Edge station of the Erie Railroad
The Demarest Station of the Erie Railroad
The Oradell Station of the Erie Railroad
Last in a Series
Our tour of Erie Railroad stations concludes with three stations in New York state.
The Tuxedo depot (top photograph) was built in 1882.
Although Middletown Station (middle photograph) is in its original location, the adjacent Erie mainline was ripped out by Conrail in the early 1980s. It was built in 1896 and is now used as the Middletown Library. Adjacent to the old Erie mainline right of way, the tracks were removed by Conrail in 1983.
Finally, there is Port Jervis station (bottom photograph), which was built in 1896 and served as home to the Delaware Division headquarters.
This station is now under private ownership and contains offices and retail. It is no longer in use by the railroad.
Part 4 of a Series
Today we look at two more stations along the former Erie Railroad New York Division in New Jersey.
The station at Ridgewood (top photo) was built in 1918 and features a unique mission style architecture, that was ruined (in my opinion) several years ago by the addition of high-level ADA platforms.
This was the suburban stop for most Erie long-distance trains. Although it had eastbound and westbound waiting rooms, only the eastbound building is used today by New Jersey Transit.
The Mahwah station was built in 1871 but retired by the Erie in 1904 due to right of way expansion.
The building was moved in 1904 to a dairy farm for use as warehouse. After the dairy farm closed, the station was moved again to this location where it is now an Erie Railroad Museum. Although the station is more than 145 years old, it only served the railroad for 33 years.
For more info visit: http://mahwahmuseum.org/new-exhibit-at-the-old-station-museum-and-caboose/
Part 3 of a Series
Does Fair Lawn sound familiar? Did any of you ever send out Kodachrome slide film to Kodak for processing? Most of it was developed at the Fair Lawn Kodak plant.
Today Kodachrome is gone but the Radburn station, which serves Fair Lawn, still stands and is used by New Jersey Transit. The depot, which features the Dutch Colonial style, was built in 1929.
Part 2 of a Series
The Erie Railroad had its start in New York/ New Jersey. As a result, the Garden State has some very old and unique stations, some of them dating from 1871.
Most of these stations still serve commuters seven days a week. Most have open waiting rooms but no ticket agents.
Only Mahwah does not remain in its original location. The tracks are about 200 feet away.
The station at Port Jervis, New York, also housed the Delaware Division offices. Most of the pictures in this series were taken within the past two to three years and show current conditions of the stations.
Today we view the Rutherford, New Jersey, station, which was built in 1897. Shown are the exterior and waiting room.
First of a Series
New Jersey is big on preservation and many communities have preserved and/or restored their train stations.
Except for Mahwah, Waldwick, Middletown and Port Jervis, all of these stations still provide their waiting rooms for daily commuters using New Jersey Transit trains.
Only Mahwah does not sit in its original spot. It is now located about 200 feet from the tracks it once served.
In this first of a five-part series, Jack Norris takes us on a tour of Erie Railroad and Erie Lackawanna passenger stations in New Jersey and New York on the former New York Division.
We begin with the Lackawanna Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. This became the terminal for all EL passenger trains after the October 1960 merger of the Erie and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.
Lackawanna Terminal opened in 1907. The exterior is copper and the waiting room ceiling was made by Tiffany (yes, THE Tiffany).
The original clock tower was removed in the early 1950s due to it being unstable. The clock tower you see is a recreation that New Jersey Transit installed in 2008.
During Superstorm Sandy, 5 feet of sea water and mud filled this waiting room. That is about a foot or so above the ticket window counters.
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