Benson Street is a former train station in a residential section of the town of
Glen Ridge,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
History
The station was constructed in 1883 in a unique English Tudor design with stucco facades and a slate roof
as part of the
New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, an
Erie 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 Er ...
operation, and was known as Glenwood. It had a two platform, two track station with the gas lights on the side of tracks.
It later became a stop on
New Jersey Transit Rail Operations
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 servic ...
Boonton Line, which runs from
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 ...
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
when the
Montclair Connection
The Montclair Connection is a short section of double-track railroad on the NJ Transit Rail Operations system in New Jersey, United States, connecting the former end of the Montclair Branch at Bay Street station to the old Boonton Line southeast ...
was opened.
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
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 ...
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 is 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.
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.
The restoration of the building was completed around May 2012. As of 2013 it is now a single family home, although one platform and track survive today.
See also
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Bibliography
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson Street (Njt Station)
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1873
Railway stations closed in 2002
Former railway stations in New Jersey
Former NJ Transit stations
Former Erie Railroad stations
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
Railway stations in Essex County, New Jersey
Repurposed railway stations in the United States