Railroad service in Suffern began with the construction of the New York and Erie Railroad in 1841 on land owned by the family of local settler John Suffern of Antrim, Ireland. As part of the generosity, the station at New Antrim was named Suffern in their honor. Regular passenger service in the area began on September23, 1841 between Goshen and Piermont. Railroad service through Suffern changed on October19, 1848 when the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad opened for passenger service, resulting in the standing Suffern station becoming part of a branch of the railroad instead of the main line. A new station was built in 1862 to help serve the two lines better. This was replaced on March9, 1887 between the junction of the Erie Railroad main line and the Piermont Branch. The railroad replaced this station on New Year's Day of 1941 with the current structure.
History
Construction and opening (1835–1841)
The 1887-built Suffern station, c.1907–1912, with SF Tower nearby
The construction of a railroad through the town of Ramapo and village of Suffern date to the incorporation of the New York and Lake Erie Railroad, a proposed line from Piermont in Rockland County to Dunkirk in Chautauqua County in November1831.[9] After several years of delays in funding, including gaining the interest and financial influence of Eleazar Lord in 1832,[10] survey work for the new line began in 1834, with a report in January1835 finalizing the line.[11] Despite New York City being the better terminal for a railroad, Lord demanded that the railroad end in Piermont, 24 miles (39km) to the northwest. The New York and Harlem Railroad also offered to build a branch to meet a rail ferry from Piermont to connect the two railroads for a direct New York City connection at the cost of $90,000 (1834 USD) and Lord declined.[12]
Construction of the railroad began with a groundbreaking ceremony on November7, 1835 at Deposit in Delaware County. Lord was not present at the ceremony due to disagreements with John Gore King, the President, about a route through Orange County via Newburgh instead of Piermont.[13]
However, a panic came on December16, 1835 when the Great Fire of New York broke out, resulting in the elimination of funding for the railroad. Many people who paid subscriptions for the new railroad lost their wealth and numerous banks collapsed. As a result, the people in charge offered two engineers, Andrew Talcott and Edwin Johnson, to re-survey the railroad because of their confidence the New York State Legislature would help back the railroad.[14] This optimism was short-lived as the finances were continuing to struggle and politicians in Albany were growing opposed to the railroad. The counties along the proposed railroad, save for Rockland and Orange, sent letters to their politicians to support the railroad. Governor of New YorkWilliam Marcy also attempted to help the cause by saying that any decision should be done with the matter of public good and encouraged his colleagues to reconsider their views. As a result, both houses of the Legislature and the Governor signed a bill helping fund the railroad.[15]
However, the funding of $600,000 (1836 USD) would only come if the railroad spent $1.3million in return. Already reeling financially, King tried to help raise new funds for the railroad and could not get outside financing from banks in the United Kingdom. As a result, Lord returned to the project in 1836. Lord proposed that the state match the railroad with a loan of $100,000. As a result, the requirement would be that the railroad be built 10 miles (16km) in each direction from Dunkirk and Piermont. The officials, who preferred Lord's investment over King, who did not and attempted to censure a liaison for Lord, removed King from his post and made Lord President.[16]
Back in control, Lord immediately let contracts for the construction of the two 10-mile (16km) railroad segments. He also asked that the railroad start letting out contracts to extend the railroad to Goshen in Orange County and soon after, Middletown, 45 miles (72km) from Piermont.[17]
Construction of the railroad resumed in 1838, reinvigorating interest in a forlorn project. By Fall1838, the construction of a railroad dock in Piermont began and track had been built to Sparkill had been installed. By the Summer of 1839, the contracts for construction to Goshen and Middletown were approved. As Lord and subscribers continued to help fund the railroad, more positivity resulted in further construction. By the end of 1840, the entire line had been funded save for the section between Deposit and Binghamton, where serious challenges awaited.[18]
However, New York City was upset that the railroad being built for its benefit, continued to have no influence in the direct benefits. Locals made things tough for Lord, accusing him and his colleagues of defrauding investors and having corrupt agreements with Rockland and Orange County investors. Lord, knowing the issues with such accusations, sent an official protest to Albany in December1840, resulting in an investigation, where the New York State Assembly's Committee on Railroads noted that no corruption or illegal acts had occurred. Lord, feeling he had succeeded in his mission, resigned as President on May28, 1841. Before his resignation became official, Lord asked the Board of Trustees to reimburse the original stockholders for their massive financial losses in the 1835 fire.[19]
With construction mostly complete to Goshen, a celebratory first ride was held on June30, 1841. James Bowen, who replaced Lord as President, Henry Pierson, the Vice President, other executives and Board of Trustees members, came from the Reade Street pier on the Hudson River on a ferryboat to Piermont, where the train ride would begin. The original locomotive for the railroad, Rockland, took them and some reporters through the area at 10 miles per hour (16km/h). Despite the grand ceremony and gala, the railroad announced that regular passenger and freight service would begin on September23, 1841.[20] The village of New Antrim, 32 miles (51km) from New York City, received a station on the new railroad, and as part of it, the municipality and station gained the name of Suffern, named after the first settler in the area, John Suffern of Antrim, Ireland.[21] The new name was made as a gift to the family as Elizabeth Suffern had been a financier of the railroad and Judge Edward Suffern, her son, helped provide the right-of-way for the railroad on family property.[22] The railroad built the station in Suffern on Orange Avenue near Wayne Avenue. This station was a single side platform station at the base of the nearby Nordkop Mountain, with a wooden depot.[23]
Paterson and Ramapo Railroad and new stations
The New York and Erie Railroad slowly opened extensions as time passed. Service came to Middletown on July1, 1843;[24] to Otisville on November1, 1846;[25] to Port Jervis on December1, 1847;[26] Binghamton at the end of 1848;[27] and Dunkirk on May14, 1851.[28]
Station layout
The station has two tracks, each with a low-level side platform. Suffern is the only station used by New Jersey Transit in New York (aside from New York Penn Station) that does not have Metro North-styled signage trackside, instead employing NJT's black and white signs.[citation needed]
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's third-most densely populated county outside New York City after Nassau and neighboring Westchester Counties. The county seat and largest city is New City. Rockland County is accessible via the New York State Thruway, which crosses the Hudson to Westchester at the Tappan Zee Bridge ten exits up from the NYC border, as well as the Palisades Parkway five exits up from the George Washington Bridge. The county's name derives from "rocky land", as the area has been aptly described, largely due to the Hudson River Palisades.
Ramapo is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It was originally formed as New Hampstead, in 1791, and became Ramapo in 1828. It shares its name with the Ramapo River. As of the 2020 census, Ramapo had a total population of 148,919, making it the most populous town in New York outside of Long Island. If all towns in New York were cities, Ramapo would be the 12th-largest city in the state of New York.
Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, Suffern's population was 11,402.
The Pascack Valley Line is a commuter rail line operated by the Hoboken Division of New Jersey Transit, in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The line runs north from Hoboken Terminal, through Hudson and Bergen counties in New Jersey, and into Rockland County, New York, terminating at Spring Valley. Service within New York is operated under contract with Metro-North Railroad. The line is named for the Pascack Valley region that it passes through in northern Bergen County. The line parallels the Pascack Brook for some distance. The line is colored purple on system maps, and its symbol is a pine tree.
The Main Line is a commuter rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north–south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.
NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in Orange and Rockland counties in New York under contract to Metro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines saw 45,838,200 riders in 2022, making it the third-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America by route length.
The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either direction along the Main Line. It is colored on NJT system maps in grey, and its symbol is a cattail, which are commonly found in the Meadowlands where the line runs.
The Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running between Suffern and Port Jervis, in the U.S. state of New York. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey on NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operated by NJ Transit Rail Operations under a contract with Metro-North Railroad (MNRR).
New York State Route 59 (NY 59) is an east–west state highway in southern Rockland County, New York, in the United States. The route extends for 14.08 miles (22.66 km) from NY 17 in Hillburn to U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) in Nyack. In Suffern, it has a concurrency with US 202 for 0.05 miles (0.08 km). NY 59 runs parallel to the New York State Thruway its entire route. The routing of NY 59 became a state highway in 1911 and was signed as NY 59 in the late 1920s.
Campbell Hall station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line, located just south of the hamlet of Campbell Hall, New York in the town of Hamptonburgh. The station is located at the end of Watkins Road, off Egbertson Road. The station contains decorative lights, a long platform roof and an elevated mini-high platform at the east end of the station for access by riders in wheelchairs. Parking is on a permit/meter system.
Sloatsburg station is a commuter rail stop on the Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line, located in the village of Sloatsburg, New York at the intersection of Municipal Plaza and Mills Street.
The Southern Tier Line is a railroad line owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. A mostly former Erie Railroad line, it is suggested that the line runs from Suffern, New York northwest to Buffalo, New York as it shares trackage with Metro-North Railroad’s Port Jervis Line from Suffern to Port Jervis; NS owns the Suffern to Port Jervis trackage and leases it to Metro-North so it can maintain it for its Port Jervis Line passenger operation. From its east end, NS has trackage rights south on the New Jersey Transit Main and Bergen County Lines to Conrail's North Jersey Shared Assets Area.
Hawthorne is a railroad station operated by New Jersey Transit in the borough of Hawthorne, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. It is the northernmost station in Passaic County along New Jersey Transit's Main Line. Trains coming through Hawthorne service Waldwick, Suffern and Port Jervis to the north and Hoboken Terminal to the south, where connections are available to New York City via Port Authority Trans-Hudson and ferries. The station, accessible only by Washington Place in Hawthorne, contains only two low-level platforms connected by a grade crossing. As a result, the station is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Allendale is a NJ Transit rail station served by its Main and Bergen County lines as well as Port Jervis Line trains. The station is located at the railroad next to Allendale, Park and Myrtle avenues in Downtown Allendale. The station consists of two low-level platforms serving trains heading between Hoboken Terminal and Suffern. Some westbound trains headed for Port Jervis also stop at Allendale. The station has two ticket vending machines along the inbound platform with three parking lots for commuters. The railroad depot, constructed in 1870, is a combined passenger and freight depot, with a waiting area for passengers at the south end of the building while the northern end is unused.
Ramsey Route 17 station is one of two railroad stations operated by New Jersey Transit in the borough of Ramsey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. Named after nearby Route 17, trains at the station are serviced by the Main Line and Bergen County Line, along with Metro-North Railroad's Port Jervis Line.
Mahwah station is a NJ Transit train station located in Mahwah, New Jersey served by the Main Line, Bergen County Line, and Port Jervis Line.
Erie Railroad Signal Tower, Waldwick Yard is located in Waldwick, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The tower was built in 1886 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 23, 1987.
Piermont Railroad Station is a historic train station located at Piermont in Rockland County, New York. It was built about 1873 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, later acquired by the Erie Railroad. It is a 1+1⁄2-story, light frame building above a stone foundation. It features Stick Style exterior siding and a Late Victorian interior.
Harriman Station, formerly known as Turner Station until 1910, was the first station on the Erie Railroad Main Line west of Newburgh Junction in Harriman, New York. Built adjacent to Grove Street in Harriman, one of the earlier structures built here in 1838 was a three-story hotel-train station combination. This station caught fire in 1873 and was replaced by a one-story wooden structure. That structure remained in use for decades before it began decaying and was replaced in 1911 with a new station on land donated by the widow of Edward Henry Harriman. A new one-story structure was built on the land. The station was maintained as a one-story depot with an adjacent monument dedicated to the work of Charles Minot. Minot was a director of the Erie Railroad who, in 1851, while his train was stopped at Turner, made the first railroad call by telegraph.
The recorded history of Rockland County, New York begins on February 23, 1798, when the county was split off from Orange County, New York and formed as its own administrative division of the state of New York. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) north-northwest of New York City, and is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of New City. The name comes from rocky land, an early description of the area given by settlers. Rockland is New York's southernmost county west of the Hudson River. It is suburban in nature, with a considerable amount of scenic designated parkland. Rockland County does not border any of the New York City boroughs, but is only 9.5 miles (15.3 km) north of Manhattan at the counties' two respective closest points
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.
