A Look Inside Damaged Hoboken Terminal

I took a ride to Hoboken recently to check out the terminal after the crash that happened more than two weeks ago.

The terminal partially reopened on Oct. 10. Tracks 10 through 17 are in use and the waiting room is open. But the ticket windows are closed.

There isn’t much to see once you get into the terminal itself. The hole in the concourse roof left by the area that collapsed is only visible from the track platforms.

The north end of the concourse is walled off with floor to ceiling walls. Nothing can be seen.

The north set of doors leading from the waiting room to the concourse is sealed off. The crash hit right outside those doors on Track 5.

Had the train traveled about 15 feet more it would have penetrated the ticket office and waiting room wall.

Hoboken is a waterfront terminal. People leave the former Erie Lackawanna lines and transfer to ferry, PATH trains, buses or light rail to reach their final destinations.

You do not have to enter the waiting room to transfer. With the north end of the concourse closed off people have to go through the waiting room and exit to the outside world in order to transfer.

There were many New Jersey Transit employees around, directing people to roped-off walkways and plenty of signs that make the transfers as painless as possible.

Probably about two-thirds of regular weekday train service has been restored.

There were many NJT police and employees around keeping an eye on things. As my trains entered and exited the terminal and yard, many sets of eyes were watching each train. This was a very bad accident that could have been much worse.

Article and Photographs by Jack Norris

Erie/EL Stations of the East: The Stately Lackawanna Terminal in Hoboken, NJ

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.

Article and Photographs by Jack Norris