North Newark station

North Newark
North Newark
	The former eastbound station platform at North Newark station in April 2013.
General information
Location	Broadway at Verona Avenue, Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°46′48″N74°09′22″W / 40.780010°N 74.156233°W
Line(s)	Boonton Line
Platforms	2 low-level side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Platform levels	1
Other information
Station code	1705 (Erie Railroad)
History
Opened	January 1, 1873;150 years ago
Closed	April 26, 1986;37 years ago
Rebuilt	1889
Electrified	N/A
Key dates
August 1889	1873 station depot razed
June 1970	1889 station depot burned
Former services

Last updated November 03, 2023

North Newark was a former commuter railroad train station in the Woodside section of the city of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. Located at the intersection of Broadway and Verona Avenue, the station served trains on NJ Transit's Boonton Line, which operated at the time between Netcong and Hoboken Terminal. The station consisted of two low-level side platforms, accessible by stairs from Broadway. The next station to the east was Arlington in nearby Kearny, with the next station to the west being Rowe Street in Bloomfield.

Railroad service through northern part Newark began on January 1, 1873 with the introduction of the Montclair Railway between Jersey City and Monks Castle in West Milford. The station was 7 miles (11 km) west of Jersey City, servicing fifteen trains.^[2]^[6] Operation of the railroad changed hands multiple times, but in 1889, the Erie Railroad, which operated the line, built a depot on the platform. This new station was a combination passenger facility and residential dwelling.^[5] The station depot at North Newark burned in June 1970, but the firefighters rescued the canopy of the depot, which the railroad repurposed into the main facilities.^[5] NJ Transit continued operation of the station until April 26, 1986 when it was closed. There was also a station at Forest Hill near Manchester Place and Verona Avenue, which was west of North Newark station.

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform, doors opened on the right
	Outbound and Inbound	← Boonton Line weekdays toward Dover or Netcong (Rowe Street) \|← Boonton Line weekdays toward Hoboken (Arlington) →
	Side platform, doors opened on the right

History

Railroad service through the Woodside section of Newark began to come together with the incorporation of the Montclair Railway on March 18, 1867 to build a railway from the Hudson River waterfront at Jersey City to the municipality of Montclair in Essex County.^[7] The railway opened on January 1, 1873, when the 43 miles (69 km) railroad opened service from Jersey City to Monks Castle in West Milford.^[8] Two stations were established in the city of Newark, one at North Newark and one then known as Montgomery.^[9]

The railroad demolished the 1873-built station depot at North Newark in August 1889 for the construction of a new station depot on the site.^[4] The new station was a three-story wooden depot on the eastbound platform. This depot would include the waiting room and ticket office, along with a residential dwelling.^[5]

A trolley opened in July 1894 that connected rail service at North Newark station to the center of Newark at Broad and Market Streets as competition to the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and its service at Broad Street Station.^[10]

On November 29, 1962, it was announced that the Greenwood Lake Division and the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Boonton Branch would be merged, operating service between Hoboken Terminal and Dover. Dwight R.G. Palmer, the Commissioner of the New Jersey State Highway Department, noted that North Newark station would benefit from the merge, opening access to those who commuted to jobs in Newark.^[11] On March 6, 1963, Palmer announced that new train schedules had been approved for the merged service.^[12] The new service began on October 27, 1963.^[13]

The 1889-built North Newark station depot caught fire in June 1970. The majority of the station was lost, save for the canopy overhanging the platform. The Erie Lackawanna Railroad repainted and repurposed the canopy for railroad service. The site of the depot would also be repurposed, but for a railroad transmission tower.^[5]

On March 17, 1986, NJ Transit announced that they would discontinue service at the North Newark station on April 26 due to low ridership along with the Grant Avenue station in Plainfield, Union County.^[3]

Passenger service on the railroad ended on September 20, 2002 when NJ Transit prepared to open the Montclair Connection, which would tie the Boonton Line and the Montclair Branch together at Bay Street station. As a result, the three active stations were closed.^[14] After being used as a freight line, the state of New Jersey acquired an 8.6 miles (13.8 km) stretch of the former Boonton Line at the cost of $65 million on August 19, 2022 for conversion to a state park, the Essex–Hudson Greenway.^[15] The station site at North Newark, which used to have the two remaining platforms and overgrown tracks, has become openly replaced by expansion of a local junkyard.^[16]

Bibliography

Catlin, George L. (1873). Homes on the Montclair Railway, for New York Business Men. A Description of the Country Adjacent to the Montclair Railway, Between Jersey City and Greenwood Lake. New York, New York: Montclair Railway Company.
Yanosey, Robert J. (2006). Erie Railroad Facilities (In Color). Vol. 1: New Jersey. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. ISBN 1582481830.

Related Research Articles

The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.

Denville is an active commuter railroad train station in Denville Township, Morris County, New Jersey. Located on Estling Road, the station contains three side platforms–two curved low-level platforms that service New Jersey Transit's Morristown Line, and a third that services their Montclair-Boonton Line. Both platforms on the Morristown Line contain miniature high-level platforms for handicap accessibility. Trains on both lines operate between Hoboken Terminal, New York Penn Station and Hackettstown. Heading westbound, the next station is Dover while the next station east on the Morristown Line is Mount Tabor. The next station east on the Montclair-Boonton Line is Mountain Lakes.

Netcong is an NJ Transit station in Netcong, in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on Route 46 at Main Street in downtown Netcong, the small, 1-low level side platform station service passengers for the Morristown Line and the Montclair-Boonton Line. These lines provide service to Hoboken or to New York City via Midtown Direct on the Morristown Line at Dover station and Montclair-Boonton at Montclair State University station. Midtown Direct service can also be transferred at Newark Broad Street station in Newark. There is one track and one platform on the north side, adjacent to the station. NJ Transit maintains a substantial train servicing yard east of the Netcong station at Port Morris in Roxbury Township. Port Morris Yard is proposed to return as the junction of the Montclair-Boonton and Morristown lines for the Lackawanna Cut-Off line to Scranton. Transfers would be provided at Lake Hopatcong station in Landing.

Watsessing Avenue station is a New Jersey Transit rail station in Bloomfield, New Jersey, along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is located beneath the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association meeting hall near the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street in Bloomfield. It is one of two stations on the line where the boarding platform is below ground level. The Watsessing station and the Kingsland station in Lyndhurst on the Main Line shared similar designs and were built about the same time.

Upper Montclair is a New Jersey Transit station in Upper Montclair, New Jersey, a census-designated place of Montclair, New Jersey. The station is part of the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is located between two grade level crossings on Bellevue Avenue and Lorraine Avenue, and between North Mountain Avenue and Upper Montclair Plaza parallel to the railroad, and is within steps of the Upper Montclair Business District. The station is 13.7 miles (22.0 km) on the Boonton Line. Closing the grade crossing of Lorraine Avenue is being considered for safety reasons.

Mountain Avenue is an active commuter railroad station in the township of Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey. Serving trains of NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line, Mountain Avenue is one of six stops in the municipality. The next station to the south/east is Upper Montclair. The next station to the north/west is Montclair Heights. Mountain Avenue contains two low-level side platforms. The station depot built by the Erie Railroad stands on the inbound platform, offering a waiting room for commuters. Part of the depot is also leased by the municipality for a residence.

Montclair Heights is a New Jersey Transit station in the Montclair Heights area of Montclair Township, New Jersey. Located along the Montclair-Boonton Line at the Normal Avenue (CR 618) grade crossing, the station serves trains coming from six different terminals. Depending on the direction of travel, Montclair Heights is either the first or last of six stations in the township. The next station westbound is Montclair State University, which is in Little Falls, while the next station eastbound is Upper Mountain Avenue.

Great Notch station was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from Hoboken by the Montclair-Boonton Line from Monday to Friday. Located at the intersection of Notch Road and Long Hill Road, it was the second of three stations in Little Falls, the other two being Montclair State University and Little Falls and, after electrification, was the first on the line to be strictly served by diesel trains. However, most trains bypassed this station and continued on to Little Falls (westbound) and Montclair State University (eastbound). The station was served by a double track which ended west of the station. The last trains stopped at the station on January 15, 2010, at 7:41pm.

Mountain View, signed on the platform as Mountain View–Wayne, is a station on the Montclair-Boonton Line of NJ Transit in Wayne, New Jersey. Prior to the Montclair Connection in 2002, the station was served by the Boonton Line. The station is located on Erie Avenue, just off of US 202 and Route 23 in Downtown Wayne. Since January 2008, Mountain View station is the second of two stations in Wayne, the other being the Wayne Route 23 Transit Center, a station off the Westbelt interchange.

Towaco is a station on NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line located between U.S. Route 202 and Whitehall Road in the eponymous neighborhood of Montville Township, Morris County, New Jersey. The station opened as Whitehall in 1870 along the Boonton Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, and assumed its current name in 1905.

Kingsland is a railroad station on New Jersey Transit's Main Line. It is located under Ridge Road (Route 17) between New York and Valley Brook Avenues in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, and is one of two stations in Lyndhurst. The station is not staffed, and passengers use ticket vending machines (TVMs) located at street level to purchase tickets. The station is not handicapped-accessible. Originally part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Boonton Branch, the current Kingsland station was built in 1918.

Passaic is a NJ Transit rail station served by Main Line trains in Passaic, New Jersey. The station is located in the Passaic Park section of Passaic at an intersection that links Passaic Avenue and Van Houten Avenue with Lackawanna Place. The Hoboken bound platform is located on the Passaic Avenue side of the station and the Suffern bound platform is located at the intersection of Van Houten Avenue and Lackawanna Place. Pedestrian access to both platforms is available on Passaic Avenue, but an underpass is also available to connect both sides.

The New York and Greenwood Lake Railway owned a line between Croxton, Jersey City, New Jersey and Greenwood Lake, New York. Service on the line was provided by the Erie Railroad.

Arlington is a former commuter railroad train station in the Arlington section of Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located on Garafola Place between the Forest and Elm Street intersections, the station served trains on NJ Transit's Boonton Line as well as the only remaining active station in Kearny until its closure. The station, which contained two low-level side platforms, operated trains between Hoboken Terminal and locations west to Dover and Hackettstown. The next station to the east was Hoboken while the station to the west was Rowe Street in Bloomfield.

Benson Street is a former train station located in a residential section of the borough of Glen Ridge, New Jersey.

The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations in the United States. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street, Montclair; the Erie Railroad's Greenwood Lake Division, which originally ran from the Erie's Jersey City Terminal to Greenwood Lake, NY; and the former Lackawanna Boonton Line, which ran from Hoboken to Hackettstown, New Jersey. The Montclair-Boonton line was formed when the Montclair Connection opened on September 30, 2002. The line serves 28 active rail stations in New Jersey along with New York Pennsylvania Station. It crosses through six counties, serving six stations in the township of Montclair, two in the town of Bloomfield, and one in the city of Newark. Trains along the Montclair-Boonton Line heading eastward usually originate at Hackettstown, Mount Olive, Lake Hopatcong, Dover, or Montclair State University, bound for either Hoboken Terminal or New York Penn Station. On system maps the line is colored maroon and its symbol is a bird, after the state bird, the eastern goldfinch.

West Arlington was a former commuter railroad train station in the Arlington section of Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located overlooking Passaic Avenue, West Arlington station was one of two in Kearny on the Erie Railroad's New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad, the other one being Arlington at Garafola Place. The station contained two low-level side platforms, with a pair of depots, one of which was on each platform. Trains went from Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City to Wanaque–Midvale station in Wanaque. The next station to the west was North Newark, across nearby WR Draw, a swing bridge over the Route 21, the Passaic River and Passaic Avenue.

WR Draw is an out-of-service railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark and the Arlington section of Kearny, New Jersey. The plate girder rim-bearing swing bridge, originally built in 1897 and modified in 1911 and 1950, is the 14th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 8.1 miles (13.0 km) upstream from it. Last used for regular passenger service in 2002, it is welded in closed position as its height is not considered a hazard to navigation.

Pompton–Riverdale is a former railroad station in the borough of Riverdale, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located at 13 Pompton–Hamburg Turnpike, the station was a stop on the Greenwood Lake Division of the Erie Railroad. A single side platform station with two tracks, the current station was built in 1919. The next station to the north was Pompton Junction, where connections were available to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, another Erie Railroad subsidiary. The next station south was Pompton Plains.

References

↑ "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
1 2 Catlin 1873, p. 33.
1 2 "Plainfield Station Derailed From Line". The Courier-News. March 18, 1986. p. 17. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 "Notes About Town". The Montclair Times. August 3, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
1 2 3 4 5 Yanosey 2006, p. 68.
↑ Catlin 1873, p. 15.
↑ The State, Mayor and Alderman of Jersey City, Prosecutors v. The Montclair Railway Company, 35N.J.L. , 328(New Jersey Supreme CourtFebruary 1872)("The railway company was incorporated March 18th, 1867, with power to build a railway from Montclair, in the county of Essex, to the Hudson river at the Pavonia ferry, or at the Hoboken ferry, or between the said ferries.").
↑ Catlin 1873, p. 49.
↑ Catlin 1873, pp. 21–22.
↑ "To Newark Via the Greenwood Lake". The Montclair Times. July 21, 1894. p. 7. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Erie Gets O.K. to Reroute Trains on Its Boonton Line". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. November 30, 1962. p. 43. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Erie Main Line Trains to be Rerouted April 1". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. March 6, 1963. p. 45. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Erie Changes Boonton Line Route Sunday". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. October 24, 1963. p. 27. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures" (Press release). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
↑ Tully, Tracey (September 16, 2022). "31 Bridges, 2 Cities, 6 Towns: Greenway Is New Jersey's High Line". The New York Times . p. A16. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
↑ Google (December 1, 2022). "Overview map of Broadway and Verona Avenue in Newark" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved December 1, 2022.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[codes-1] "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved December 1, 2022.

[FOOTNOTECatlin187333-2] 1 2 Catlin 1873, p. 33.

[:0-3] 1 2 "Plainfield Station Derailed From Line". The Courier-News. March 18, 1986. p. 17. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[1889dem-4] 1 2 "Notes About Town". The Montclair Times. August 3, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[FOOTNOTEYanosey200668-5] 1 2 3 4 5 Yanosey 2006, p. 68.

[FOOTNOTECatlin187315-6] Catlin 1873, p. 15.

[7] The State, Mayor and Alderman of Jersey City, Prosecutors v. The Montclair Railway Company, 35N.J.L. , 328(New Jersey Supreme CourtFebruary 1872)("The railway company was incorporated March 18th, 1867, with power to build a railway from Montclair, in the county of Essex, to the Hudson river at the Pavonia ferry, or at the Hoboken ferry, or between the said ferries.").

[FOOTNOTECatlin187349-8] Catlin 1873, p. 49.

[FOOTNOTECatlin187321–22-9] Catlin 1873, pp. 21–22.

[10] "To Newark Via the Greenwood Lake". The Montclair Times. July 21, 1894. p. 7. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[11] "Erie Gets O.K. to Reroute Trains on Its Boonton Line". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. November 30, 1962. p. 43. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[12] "Erie Main Line Trains to be Rerouted April 1". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. March 6, 1963. p. 45. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[13] "Erie Changes Boonton Line Route Sunday". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. October 24, 1963. p. 27. Retrieved December 1, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[montclairconn-14] "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures" (Press release). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved December 1, 2022.

[15] Tully, Tracey (September 16, 2022). "31 Bridges, 2 Cities, 6 Towns: Greenway Is New Jersey's High Line". The New York Times . p. A16. Retrieved December 1, 2022.

[google-16] Google (December 1, 2022). "Overview map of Broadway and Verona Avenue in Newark" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved December 1, 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]