Ridgefield Park station explained

Ridgefield Park
Style:New York Central Railroad
Address:1 Station Plaza
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey 07660
Platform:1 side platform
Tracks:3
Closed:[1]
(NYS&W)<ref name="1966commuterend">News: Susquehanna Commuter Service Ends . October 23, 2020 . The Herald-News . July 1, 1966 . . 1. Newspapers.com.
Rebuilt:[2]
Electrified:Not electrified
Code:1077 (Erie Railroad)[3]
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services2 Header:Proposed services (at Mount Vernon Street)

Ridgefield Park station, also known as West Shore Station, was a railroad station in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, at the foot of Mount Vernon Street served by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad (NYSW) and the West Shore Railroad, a division of New York Central (NYCRR). The New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W) had running rights along the West Shore and sometimes stopped at Ridgefield Park. First opened in 1872 it was one of three passenger stations in the village, the others being the Little Ferry station to the south and Westview station to the north. (Secondary sources note a later opening date.) Service on the West Shore Railroad began in 1883. The station house, built at a cost of $100,000 opened in 1927.[4] Southbound service crossed Overpeck Creek and continued to terminals on the Hudson River waterfront where there was a connecting ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan.[4] Northbound near Bogota the parallel NYSW and West Shore lines diverge and continue into northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. Passenger service ended in 1966.

History

In 1866, the Ridgefield Park Railroad (a predecessor to West Shore), was established to create a right of way (ROW) along foot the western slope of the Hudson Palisades parallel to the Hackensack River from Ridgefield Park to Marion Junction, where it could use the Bergen Hill Cut to the Pennsylvania Railroad Depot on the Hudson Waterfront in Jersey City. In 1873 the Jersey City & Albany Railroad (another predecessor to the West Shore) incorporated the original Ridgefield Park Railroad ROW into its projected line. The West Shore instead built the Weehawken Tunnel (at the southern end of what became North Bergen Yard) in conjunction with the opening of the Weehawken Terminal. It opened its station in Ridgefield Park in 1883. NYC's service was discontinued in 1959.[5]

The New Jersey Midland Railway (a predecessor to the NYSW) built a line through the Ridgefields in 1872.[6] [7] It joined the Erie Railroad Northern Branch at Granton Junction near Babbitt, and reached the community of New Durham. With a similar intention to reach a terminal on the Hudson River, in 1873 it built the Hudson Connecting Railroad which ran south to West End Junction, just north of Marion Junction, with access to Erie's Long Dock Tunnel and Pavonia Terminal. Passenger service on the NYC's West Shore Railroad ended in 1959, having been truncated to West Haverstraw in 1958. Passenger service on the NYSW made use of the West Shore's Ridgefield Park station to Pavonia Terminal until it was retracted to Susquehanna Transfer (near the point now under New Jersey Route 495) and eventually terminated in 1966.

Status and future use

CSX Transportation's River Line and the NYS&W both operate freights along the rail lines that pass the station. NYS&W maintains a small yard in the village.[8]

The station house has become a commercial building.[9] It has been recommended for historic designation by the county's historical agency.[10] and is a very popular location for train watchers.

The CSX bridge over Overpeck Creek was replaced by a two-track swing bridge in 2005.[11] [12] In 2015, the NYS&W Bridge 10.73 was slated for replacement due to its poor condition,[13] [14] [15] but as of 2017 work had not begun.[16] Before it could, the bridge collapsed in 2018, causing a minor derailment.[17] Work commenced in 2019.[18] Numerous studies to restore passenger service have been conducted, but not materialized.[19] The location is a potential station of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations's proposed Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project which would be called Mount Vernon Street.[20]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Weehawken-Haverstraw Line to Chug Last Mile Tonight . January 3, 2020 . . December 10, 1959 . 32. Newspapers.com.
  2. News: Ridgefield Park's New Railroad Depot Opened With Parade and Dinner . February 23, 2019 . The Bergen Evening Record . August 22, 1927 . . 5. Newspapers.com.
  3. Web site: List of Station Names and Numbers. May 1, 1916. Erie Railroad. Jersey City, New Jersey. March 13, 2019.
  4. News: Agnes. Kristen. Mount Vernon Street train station in Ridgefield Park was a popular place for commuters. northjersey.com. March 27, 2015. January 20, 2016.
  5. News: Abandoned 36 Years Ago, the West Shore Rail Line Creeps Closer Toward Revival. The New York Times. June 25, 1995.
  6. Web site: K.. Henry. History of Bogota. Town of Bogota. January 23, 2016.
  7. Catlin . George L. . Homes on the Midland for New York Business Men. . 1872 . J. W. Pratt. New York . HathiTrust Digital Library .
  8. VILLAGE OF RIDGEFIELD PARK v. NEW YORK SUSQUEHANNA AND WESTERN RAILWAY CORPORATION. Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. December 2, 1998 - February 17, 1999. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/nj-superior-court-appellate-division/1465296.html. In 1991 the railroad sold its Little Ferry Yard and railroad terminal to CSX Rail Systems (CSX) for 21 million dollars so it could "benefit from additional rail traffic from the CSX operations into the Ridgefield site." After the sale, CSX refused to allow the NYS&W to continue its refueling and light-maintenance operations at the Little Ferry site at the Borough of Ridgefield. This required the railroad to relocate its so-called "light-maintenance" facility to its approximately 125-foot right-of-way located in the Village, where some side-track was added..
  9. Web site: 1 Station Plaza. Cityfeet.com. January 22, 2016.
  10. Web site: New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Bergen County. https://web.archive.org/web/20160810182704/http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/1548. August 10, 2016. April 26, 2016. New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.
  11. News: Tofani. Anthony R.. Little Ferry, NJ - Then & Now. gsmrr. June 20, 2005. January 23, 2016. January 29, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160129024815/http://history.gsmrrclub.org/history6.html. dead.
  12. News: CSX - Overpeck Creek Bridge (1901). Bridgehunter. January 23, 2016.
  13. Web site: CSX - Overpeck Creek Bridge/NYS&W Overpeck Creek Bridge. Bridgehunter. January 23, 2016.
  14. News: Maag. Christopher. Train bridge over Overpeck Creek in Ridgefield Park to be replaced. The Record. February 4, 2015. January 23, 2016.
  15. NJDOT awards $5.1 million in rail and community-based grants in Bergen and Passaic counties. New Jersey Department of Transportation. February 4, 2015. January 23, 2016. NJDOT also is awarding a $4.3 million grant to replace the rail bridge spanning the Overpeck Creek in Ridgefield Park, Bergen County. The bridge serves as a critical link for freight rail in the region with an average of 25,000 rail cars traversing the bridge each year. It was originally built in the early 1900s with three spans – a north approach, a south approach, and a center span. The north and south approaches were rehabilitated in 1985. This project will replace all three spans with a new steel bent system and steel superstructure, as well as new steel and concrete abutments on the north and south sides..
  16. Web site: Fallon. Scott. January 10, 2017. Work on century-old rail bridge to begin this summer. NorthJersey.com.
  17. News: Susquehanna railroad bridge collapses under train in Ridgefield Park. NorthJersey.com. July 28, 2018. Curtis. Tate.
  18. Web site: NYS&W Railway. 2021-03-01. 2022-11-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20221129182051/http://agateconstruction.net/index.php/nysnwrailway. dead.
  19. News: Maag. Christopher. A train delay for the ages: boosting service in Bergen County among stalled plans. The Record. November 29, 2015. January 20, 2015. February 1, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160201054121/http://dng.northjersey.com/media_server/tr/2015/11/29train/railprojects.jpg. dead.
  20. Web site: Passaic Bergen Hudson Transit Project . Projects & Reports . NJ Transit. February 26, 2021.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ridgefield Park station".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.