Ridgefield Park station

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).[6][7] The New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W) had running rights along the West Shore and sometimes stopped at Ridgefield Park.[8] 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 $100,000 opened in 1927.[9] Southbound service crossed Overpeck Creek and continued to terminals on the Hudson River waterfront where there was connecting ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan.[9] 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.

Ridgefield Park
Location1 Station Plaza
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey 07660
Owned byNew York Central
Line(s)West Shore Railroad
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad
New York, Ontario and Western Railway
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks3
Other information
Station code1077 (Erie Railroad)[1]
History
Opened1872 (1872)[2]
ClosedDecember 10, 1959 (December 10, 1959)[3]
June 30, 1966 (June 30, 1966) (NYS&W)[4]
RebuiltAugust 20, 1927 (August 20, 1927)[5]
ElectrifiedNot electrified
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Highland Falls
toward Buffalo–Exchange Street
 West Shore Railroad
Main Line
 Weehawken
Terminus
West View
toward Buffalo–Exchange Street
 Little Ferry
toward Weehawken
Preceding station New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad Following station
Bogota
toward Stroudsburg
 Main Line Little Ferry
toward Susquehanna Transfer or Jersey City

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 Weehawken Terminal. It opened its station in Ridgefield Park in 1883.[10] NYC's service was discontinued in 1959.[11]

The New Jersey Midland Railway (a predecessor to the NYSW) built a line through the Ridgefields in 1872.[2][10][12][13] 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.[14] 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

CSX Transportation River Line and the NYSW both operate along the freight lines that pass the station. The station house has become a commercial building.[15] NYS&W maintains a small yard in the village.[16] One of the so-called CP5 bridges, the CSX bridge, over Overpeck Creek has been replaced with a two-track swing bridge.[17] As of 2015, the NYS&W bridge was slated for replacement.[18][19][20][21] The bridge collapsed in 2018.[22] Numerous studies to restore passenger service have been conducted, but not materialized.[23] The station has been recommended for historic designation by the county's historical agency.[24] The station is a very popular location for train watchers.

See also

References
  1. "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  2. Catlin, George (February 1873), A glance at Ridgefield Park, N.J., its past, present and future ..., hdl:2027/loc.ark:/13960/t0vq36444
  3. "Weehawken-Haverstraw Line to Chug Last Mile Tonight". The Asbury Park Evening Press. December 10, 1959. p. 32. Retrieved January 3, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Susquehanna Commuter Service Ends". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. July 1, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved October 23, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Ridgefield Park's New Railroad Depot Opened With Parade and Dinner". The Bergen Evening Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. August 22, 1927. p. 5. Retrieved February 23, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Kaminski, Edward S. (2010), NEW YORK, SUSQUEHANNA & WESTERN RAILROAD IN NEW JERSEY, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7385-7367-0
  7. Rose-McEntee, Donna E. (2003), Ridgefield Park, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738512235
  8. Bux, Joe (2009), The New York, Ontario and Western Railway, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738562629
  9. Agnes, Kristen (March 27, 2015). "Mount Vernon Street train station in Ridgefield Park was a popular place for commuters". northjersey.com. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  10. Ridgefield Park 1685-1985 (PDF), 1985, p. 16
  11. "Abandoned 36 Years Ago, the West Shore Rail Line Creeps Closer Toward Revival". The New York Times. June 25, 1995.
  12. K., Henry. "History of Bogota". Town of Bogota. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  13. Catlin, George L. (1872). "Homes on the Midland for New York Business Men". New York: J. W. Pratt – via HathiTrust Digital Library. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. Mohowski, Robert E. (2003), The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad, JHU Press, ISBN 9780801872228
  15. "1 Station Plaza". Cityfeet.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  16. 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) ("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 railroad 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.").Text
  17. Tofani, Anthony R. (June 20, 2005). "Little Ferry, NJ - Then & Now". gsmrr. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  18. "CSX - Overpeck Creek Bridge (1901)". Bridgehunter. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  19. "CSX - Overpeck Creek Bridge/NYS&W Overpeck Creek Bridge". Bridgehunter. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  20. Maag, Christopher (February 4, 2015). "Train bridge over Overpeck Creek in Ridgefield Park to be replaced". The Record. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  21. "NJDOT awards $5.1 million in rail and community-based grants in Bergen and Passaic counties" (Press release). New Jersey Department of Transportation. February 4, 2015. Retrieved 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.
  22. Tate, Curtis (July 28, 2018). "Susquehanna railroad bridge collapses under train in Ridgefield Park". NorthJersey.com.
  23. Maag, Christopher (November 29, 2015). "A train delay for the ages: boosting service in Bergen County among stalled plans". The Record. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  24. New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (April 26, 2016). "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Bergen County". Archived from the original on August 10, 2016.

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