Allendale is a

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

rail station served by its

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and

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Port Jervis Line 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 as NJ Transit's Main Line. The line is operate ...

trains (operated by

for

Metro-North Railroad Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a New York State public benefit corporations, public authority of the U.S. state of New Yor ...

). 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 Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

and Suffern. Some westbound trains headed for

Port Jervis Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...

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. Service at Allendale began on October 19, 1848, when Joseph Mallinson donated some of his land in the area so the

Paterson and Ramapo Railroad The Paterson and Ramapo Railroad was a railroad that operated mostly in New Jersey, connecting the city of and Paterson, New Jersey with Suffern, New York, just across the state line. The railroad was chartered in 1841 and construction began in 18 ...

could build a depot. Service was ended in 1857 when the depot fell into disrepair, but returned in 1859, when Mallinson repaired the building. A new board and

batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

station replaced the Mallinson structure in 1870. The station was moved across the tracks to its current location in 1902 due to complaints about its condition. The passenger underpass constructed at Allendale was added in 1939 as part of the removal of several at-grade road crossings in the village.

History

Construction

Train service in Allendale dates back to the 1840s, when the

New Jersey State Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

approved the creation of the

. This new railroad would go from the city of Paterson in Passaic County to the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state line in Franklin Township. In 1844, Joseph Warner Allen, the surveyor for the railroad, submitted a new route through the valley in the area of Hohokus. A year later the railroad approved Allen's plans for the new railroad. Construction began on the railroad in 1847, and the next year, service along the line began in October. Regular full-time service began the next month. On October 19, 1848, a station stop was established on land donated by Joseph Mallinson, a carriage painter who owned much of the land in the area. Mallinson donated the land to encourage the railroad to establish a station at the location. This depot was named Allendale after the surveyor of the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad. While a community began to grow around it, the depot itself fell into disrepair by 1857 and the

New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Eri ...

abandoned service. Two years later, the depot was described as being abandoned and left for ruin. Mallinson restored the building and service returned. He built a freight depot and by 1860, the railroad had built a new depot of gravel. The first stationmaster at Allendale was Smith Roswell, a former resident of

LaGrange, New York LaGrange ( ) is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 15,975 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the estate of the Marquis de Lafayette. History The town was originally established in 1821 as "Freedo ...

. He was the agent there for over five decades, later opening the first grocery store in the Allendale area and serving as postmaster. Roswell operated a general store in 1859 near the depot and opened a second one around 1878. Allendale and nearby

Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Geography British Isles * Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, a small market town in England * Ramsey, Essex, a village near Harwich, England ** Ramsey and Parkeston, a civil parish formerly called just "Ramsey" * Ramsey, Isle of Man, t ...

were surrounded by strawberry farms. Rail service allowed the farmers to bring their crops to market personally, shipping millions of baskets to markets in

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, Paterson and

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Allendale as a commuter village

Later in the 19th century, the Allendale station began handling

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

. The land was considered quaint and serene; city residents began moving to northern

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.subdivided into lots for housing and a park the next year. However, a financial depression slowed the housing boom. Allendale station - Bailey

At the same time, Herman Tallman of

Monsey, New York Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The ...

proposed a new hotel next to the depot. In January 1870, the '' Bergen County Democrat'' announced the construction of a new hotel with a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

along the main road in Allendale. While the location of this hotel is not clear, it is believed to be on the location where the Allendale depot stands. The hotel was demolished in 1887 after never being a successful venture. Allendale quickly became a summer residence for many prominent entrepreneurs and officials of the Erie Railroad. Robert H. Berdell, the railroad's president from 1864 to 1867, lived in Allendale in the summer. Several of his relatives also vacationed there in the summer, as well as William Pitt Shearman, the Commissioner of Accounts of New York City, and Erie treasurer. Former

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.ice house. The next year a telegraph agency was added to the station. New lights would be installed in the area of Allendale station, as part of a beautification proposal that called for 500 in total throughout Allendale. Businesses in Allendale continued to open around the train station during the late 19th century. James Linkroum, the marshal of Allendale, erected a building near the railroad depot on the east side of the tracks. This new building attracted businesses, including a local pharmacist who had left nearby

for

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. Linkoum himself opened a confectionery and a stationery store in his own building. A bakery was opened by William Kornhoff in 1903 until it burned six years later and relocated further up on Allendale Avenue. The station also became a hub for the first livery stables in Allendale, run by local entrepreneur Alonso Barrett. A barber shop also opened in 1917 in the area of the newly relocated depot.

1902 relocation and upgrade

By 1902, the depot constructed in 1870 had become an

eyesore An eyesore is something that is largely considered to look unpleasant or ugly. Its technical usage is as an alternative perspective to the notion of landmark. Common examples include dilapidated buildings, graffiti, litter, polluted areas, and e ...

. The residents of Allendale were pressuring the Erie Railroad to tear it down and replace it. The railroad responded to the complaints by moving the depot across the tracks in 1902 and partially refurbishing it at a total cost of $1,100 (). Its new location on the west side of the tracks was considered a better location; a new freight depot was built on the former site. Allendale PWA plaque

By July1903, the Erie had completed the renovation. An entrance to the baggage room was added from inside. The depot's former separate waiting rooms were merged, and extra seats were installed for commuters. Electric lighting was also added. At this same time period, the railroad was widened through Allendale from two tracks to four, beginning in October1903 between Ridgewood and Allendale. In December 1903, a new Allendale Village Improvement Association was established. It worked on improving the plants and flowers along with the atmosphere around the station; disbanding in 1917. However, all the beautification did not stop burglars from regularly robbing the depot; they often took money from the vending machines. In 1913, the post office moved from the station to a store in town. In 1916, the Allendale Christmas Tree Association was established and began regularly putting a Christmas tree in the Allendale station square. Toilets were installed in March1917.

Great Depression

The

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

adversely affected Allendale. Residents were unable to pay for their homes, and some stood abandoned along Allendale Avenue. In 1931, the Erie Railroad moved its headquarters from Jersey City to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

; many of its workers moved with it. The village, however, worked through its Garden Club to keep the plants and atmosphere around the depot in good shape. The depot saw some upgrades in 1932 as well, repairing and adding on to some of the depot; more work was done in 1939. In 1938, during the elimination of some

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...

s in Allendale, the telephone poles around the station and tracks were moved. At the beginning of the next year, a joint project of the Erie, the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

and the New Jersey Public Utilities Commissioners built new overpasses to replace the grade crossings and a pedestrian underpass at the Allendale station to replace the closed grade crossings at West Allendale and Park avenues.

Since 1949

In 1949, the borough purchased the land around the depot from the railroad; the purchase closed a year later and parking lots were built. The Allendale Garden Club re-landscaped the grounds in conjunction with the borough. In 1960 the Erie merged with the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to create the

Erie-Lackawanna Railroad The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...

; the merged company was unable to compete and, like many other Northeastern railroads, was combined into the federally owned

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

in the mid-1970s. In 1982, the station came under the control of

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

(NJT), the public agency which had taken over commuter rail in the state from Conrail. That year, the depot was renovated heavily along with other stations in the state; the goal was to encourage the borough to take over operating and maintaining the station building. NJT installed new structural support beams on the west side of the depot, creating a new foundation for the depot, replacing walls, floors and gutters. The exterior was

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ed. However, the unused service windows and general unkemptness persisted afterward. Five years later, NJT installed new low-level platforms at the depot, replacing the sidewalks and curbs and reseeding the lawns.

Station layout

This station has two tracks, each with a low-level

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...

. Allendale station provides three permit parking lots; the first, located around the depot, has77 spaces that are permit-based during the day. There are also two lots on the east side of the tracks of Allendale Avenue. The second lot has 43permit-based parking spaces, with free evening parking and weekend parking. The third lot has 138spaces for both daily and permit parking. Permits are managed by the borough of Allendale. There are also two ticket vending machines, both located on the side of the depot facing the inbound platform.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{Erie Railroad New York Division stations NJ Transit Rail Operations stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1848 Former Erie Railroad stations 1848 establishments in New Jersey Allendale, New Jersey Railway stations in Bergen County, New Jersey