Middletown was the main station along the

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 Erie ...

mainline in the city of Middletown,

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 * '' ...

. Located on Depot Street, the station was first opened in 1843 with the construction of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, which had originally terminated at Goshen. The station was located along the New York Division, which stretched from

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal on the Hudson River situated on the landfilled Harsimus Cove in Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad moved its passenger services to nearby ...

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.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 ...

, to the Sparrowbush station just north of

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, ...

. The building was opened in 1896 to replace one that had been in use since 1843 when the New York and Erie began service to the city. The

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

building was designed by

George E. Archer George Edward Archer (February 15, 1853 – December 3, 1903) was an American architect. He became Chief Architect of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, later the Erie Railroad, in 1886, where he was responsible for planning and supe ...

, Chief Architect of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, later the

. The station saw service for trains going from Chicago to Erie's terminal in Jersey City, and later, as part of

Erie Lackawanna Railway 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" ...

, service to

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 ...

. The last long distance train along this route was the ''

Atlantic Express and Pacific Express The ''Atlantic Express'' and ''Pacific Express'' were a pair of Erie Railroad passenger trains which together provided round-trip service between the New York City area and Chicago, Illinois. They were the Erie's oldest named passenger trains, ha ...

'' in 1965. The station also saw regular commuter service. The building served as a railroad station until 1983, when rail service was taken over by MTA's

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 ...

. Service on the route of Erie's original Main Line was discontinued in favor of the Graham Line, an Erie-built freight line now used by Norfolk Southern and the

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 operated ...

and was replaced by the Middletown Metro-North station. The station depot was renovated and restored, becoming the Thrall Library in 1995.

References

External links

*
Middletown Thrall Library
* ttps://www.thrall.org/photos/175z3.htm (Photo) Erie Railroad Station viewed from James St., Middletown, NY. Circa 1900. {{Erie Railroad New York Division stations Former railway stations in New York (state) Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state) Middletown, Orange County, New York Railway stations in Orange County, New York Libraries in New York (state) Former Erie Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1843 1843 establishments in New York (state) Repurposed railway stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States closed in 1983

See also

References

External links