Benson Street station

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

Benson Street
The Benson Street station in February 2015.
Location77 Benson Street, Glen Ridge, New Jersey 07028
Owned byNorfolk Southern (formerly Erie Railroad, Conrail, New Jersey Transit)
Line(s)
  Boonton Line
Platforms2 ground-level
Tracks2
Construction
Platform levels1
Other information
Station code1735 (Erie Railroad)[1]
History
OpenedJanuary 1, 1873[2][3][4]
ClosedSeptember 20, 2002 (2002-09-20)[5]
Rebuilt1883[6]
ElectrifiedNot electrified
Previous namesGlen Ridge,[7] Chestnut Hill
Former services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Walnut Street
toward Hackettstown
 Boonton Line Rowe Street
toward Hoboken
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
Montclair
toward Wanaque–Midvale or Sterling Forest
 New York and Greenwood Lake Railway Bloomfield
toward Jersey City

History
The station when it was known as Chestnut Hill

The station was constructed in 1883 in a unique English Tudor design with stucco facades and a slate roof[6] as part of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, an Erie Railroad operation, and was known as Glenwood. It had a two platform, two track station with the gas lights on the side of tracks.[7] It later became a stop on New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, and renamed Benson Street. Service was discontinued to Benson Street (along with Rowe Street in Bloomfield and Arlington in Kearny) on September 20, 2002[5] when the Montclair Connection was opened.[8] Glen Ridge is serviced to the south at Glen Ridge station in the downtown commercial district.

In May 2009, the Benson Street station was sold to private owners by New Jersey Transit to rehabilitate the aging structure, and the new owners began stabilizing the structure which had been damaged by a fire in the 1980s and was in serious disrepair. The building part of the Glen Ridge Historic District. On December 2, 2009, after a review from the New Jersey State Historical Preservation Organization, the new owners received approval to begin preliminary reconstruction of the former Benson Street Station. This rehabilitation project started by restructuring the basement of the building.[9] By June 2010, the station had received new gutters, new walls and brand new roofing. Parts of the building's first floor paneling was kept, although the second story requires brand new paneling as it is converted into a new single family home.[6] The restoration of the building was completed around May 2012. As of 2013 it is now a single family home, although one of the platform and track survive today.[10]

See also

Bibliography
  • Baxter, Raymond J.; Adams, Arthur G. (1999). Railroad Ferries of the Hudson: And Stories of a Deckhand. Fordham, New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823219544.
  • 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.
  • Whittemore, Henry (1894). History of Montclair Township, State of New Jersey: Including the History of Families who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Prosperity. New York, New York: The Suburban Publishing Company. Retrieved February 6, 2020.

References
  1. "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  2. Catlin 1873, p. 33.
  3. Whittemore 1894, p. 47.
  4. Baxter & Adams 1999, p. 147.
  5. "The Montclair-Boonton Line" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. September 2002. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  6. Roll, Erin (June 17, 2010). "Benson repairs move into next phase". Glen Ridge Voice. Glen Ridge, New Jersey: North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  7. Yanosey, Robert J. (2006). Erie Railroad Facilities (In Color). 1. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. p. 69. ISBN 1-58248-183-0.
  8. "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures". Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  9. "News Benson work OK to restart". NorthJersey.com. New Jersey: North Jersey Media Group. December 2, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
  10. Galant, Debbie (May 14, 2012). "Benson Street Station's Fairytale Ending". Baristanet. Essex County, New Jersey. Baristanet LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2012.

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