Ridgewood station

Ridgewood is a railroad station operated by New Jersey Transit in the village of Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. A major transfer station, Ridgewood boasts two high-level platforms (one side platform and one island platform) for the service of the New Jersey Transit Main Line and Bergen County Line. The next transfer southbound is at Secaucus Junction station as the two lines split south of the station. Trains at Ridgewood service Waldwick, Suffern and Port Jervis to the north and Hoboken Terminal to the south, where access is available to New York City via ferries and Port Authority Trans-Hudson.

Ridgewood
Ridgewood station in October 2014 from the Hoboken-bound platform.
Coordinates40.9807°N 74.1205°W / 40.9807; -74.1205
Owned byNew Jersey Transit
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks3
Connections NJT Bus 163, 164, 175, 722, 746, 752
(all connections two blocks away at Van Neste Square; several of those routes have connections at the station on Godwin Avenue)
Construction
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station code2315 (Erie Railroad)[1]
Fare zone9[2]
History
OpenedOctober 19, 1848[3][4]
Rebuilt1859[5]
August 1915–November 28, 1916[6]
February 2009[7]–September 2011[8]
Previous namesGodwinville (1848–1866)[9]
Traffic
Passengers (2012)1,433 (average weekday)[10]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Ho-Ho-Kus
toward Suffern
 Main Line Glen Rock–Main Line
toward Hoboken
Bergen County Line Glen Rock–Boro Hall
toward Hoboken
Former services
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
Ho-Ho-Kus
toward Chicago
 Main Line Glen Rock
toward Jersey City
Terminus Bergen County Railroad Glen Rock-Bergen Line
toward Jersey City
Ridgewood Station
LocationGarber Square, Ridgewood, New Jersey
Coordinates40°58′51″N 74°7′16″W
Area5.5 acres (2.2 ha)
Built1916
ArchitectDrinker, W.W.; Howard, Frank A.
Architectural styleMission/Spanish Revival
MPSOperating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.84002582[11]
NJRHP No.647[12]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 22, 1984
Designated NJRHPMarch 17, 1984

Service to the area known as Godwinville began on October 19, 1848, with the opening of the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad, a railroad connecting the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad at Paterson to the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad at Suffern. A new station was built in 1856, then in 1859. However, in August 1915, the Erie Railroad, now in control, started construction on a new pair of ornate station depots at Ridgewood, both of which opened on November 28, 1916. New Jersey Transit rebuilt the station from 2009–2011 to provide the station with accessibility per the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, resulting in the closure of the eastern side platform.

History
Train #75 stops at Ridgewood bound for Port Jervis before construction of the high-level platforms began

The Erie Railroad built Ridgewood station in 1916 as a grade-separated elevated station. It has been listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places since 1984 and is part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.[11][12][13]

Until the 1960s the station served passengers heading to Binghamton and other cities, en route to Chicago or Buffalo. The Erie Limited and the Lake Cities served passengers heading toward Chicago. The station received eastbound passengers from the Atlantic Express.[14] In final years of long-distance service, after the Erie's merger with the Lackawanna Railroad, unnamed trains ran to Binghamton, where passengers could switch to the Phoebe Snow after a layover. The discontinuing of the Phoebe Snow (1966) and the Atlantic Express (1965) marked the end of long-distance passenger service through Ridgewood.[15][16]

Ridgewood station underwent a major renovation project in which high-level platforms were installed. This allows for easier boarding, as customers are now able to walk directly onto the train from the platform instead of having to climb into the train cars using their steps, as well as making Ridgewood station handicap accessible.[7] As part of the reconstruction, the side platform along Track 1 was demolished to make way for an island platform that would also serve Track 3 and replace that track's side platform, which was fenced off. Wheelchair ramps were installed on both high-level platforms and elevators were also built to carry passengers from the platforms to the floor of the underpass on Franklin Avenue.

Ridgewood station is now one of eight stations along the Main and Bergen County lines that are handicap-accessible, joining the Route 17 and Main Street stations in Ramsey, Boro Hall station in Glen Rock, Paterson station, Rutherford station, the reconstructed Plauderville station in Garfield, and the newly opened Wesmont station in Wood-Ridge. Lyndhurst is slated to become accessible within the next several years.

Station layout

The station features three platforms. Two platforms are mostly high-level, while one low-level platform is no longer in use. Track 2 is for all trains heading to Hoboken Terminal and intermediate points on the Main and Bergen lines and is located adjacent to a portion of Godwin Avenue known as Garber Square. Track 1, the middle of the three tracks, is for Bergen County Line trains headed for points north, as well as express trains to Port Jervis and freighters, and Track 3 is for Main Line trains headed towards Waldwick, Suffern and Port Jervis and is adjacent to South Broad Street between East Ridgewood Avenue and Franklin Avenue. Many Bergen County Line trains also use Track 3. Underpasses beneath the tracks and beneath a bridge on Franklin Avenue connect the two platforms.

P
Platform level		 Track 3 ←      Main Line and      Bergen County Line toward Waldwick or Suffern (Ho-Ho-Kus)
←      Port Jervis Line limited service toward Port Jervis (Ho-Ho-Kus)
Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
Track 1 ←      Main Line and      Bergen County Line toward Waldwick or Suffern (Ho-Ho-Kus)
←      Port Jervis Line limited service toward Port Jervis (Ho-Ho-Kus)
Track 2 ←      Port Jervis Line limited service toward Hoboken (Glen Rock – Main Line or Glen Rock – Boro Hall) →
←      Bergen County Line toward Hoboken (Glen Rock – Boro Hall) →
←      Main Line toward Hoboken (Glen Rock – Main Line) →
Side platform, doors will open on the right
G Street level Station building, ticket machines, parking

See also

Bibliography
  • Van Valen, James M. (1900). History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York, New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. Retrieved August 18, 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Citizens Semi-Centennial Association (1916). Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, Past and Present. Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens Semi-Centennial Association.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References
  1. "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  2. "Main and Bergen County Line Timetables" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. November 7, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  3. "Common Council". The New York Herald. October 17, 1848. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Ramapo and Paterson and Paterson and Hudson River Railroads". The Evening Post. New York, New York. December 7, 1848. p. 4. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Citizens Semi-Centennial Association 1916, p. 113.
  6. Citizens Semi-Centennial Association 1916, p. 114.
  7. "NJ Transit Begins to Improve Ridgewood Station" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  8. Moving the Needle: 2011 NJ Transit Annual Report (PDF) (Report). New Jersey Transit. p. 12. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  9. Van Valen 1900, p. 242.
  10. "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  11. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  12. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  13. Ridgewood New Jersey Transit Railroad Station Survey
  14. Erie Railroad timetable, April 27, 1958, Tables, 1, 2, 3
  15. 'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1964, Erie Lackawanna section, pp. 247-50.
  16. 'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1966, Erie Lackawanna section, pp. 201-5.

Media related to Ridgewood (NJT station) at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.