Ridgewood is a

railroad station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

operated by New Jersey Transit in the village of

Ridgewood Ridgewood may refer to: Geography Australia *Ridgewood, Western Australia Canada * Ridgewood, Ontario *Ridgewood, Edmonton, Alberta United Kingdom *Ridgewood, East Sussex United States *Ridgewood Heights, California * Ridgewood, Illinois *Ridge ...

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey, United States. A major transfer station, Ridgewood has two high-level platforms (one side platform and one island platform) for the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

and Bergen County Line.

History

NJ Transit Comet I cab car 5103 at Ridgewood

Service to the area known as Godwinville began on October 19, 1848, with the opening of 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 ...

, a railroad connecting the

Paterson and Hudson River Railroad The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was a railroad that operated in New Jersey and connected the cities of Jersey City and southeast Paterson. The railroad was started in 1833. The company was the first in the United States to build moveable ...

Paterson Paterson may refer to: People * Paterson (surname) * Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales *Paterson River, New South Wales * Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales *Paterson, Queensland, a lo ...

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. 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. Until the 1960s, the station served passengers heading to Binghamton and other cities, en route to Chicago or Buffalo. The ''

Erie Limited The ''Erie Limited'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Erie Railroad between Jersey City, New Jersey (for New York City) and Chicago, Illinois via the Southern Tier. It operated from 1929 to 1963. After the merger of the Erie an ...

'' and the '' Lake Cities'' served passengers heading toward Chicago. The station received eastbound passengers from the '' Atlantic Express.'' 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.'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1966, Erie Lackawanna section, pp. 201-5. Ridgewood station underwent a major renovation project between 2009 and 2011 to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. As part of the project, high-level platforms were installed and the side platform on Track 1 was demolished to allow for the installation of an island platform that would serve Tracks 1 and 3, and replace Track 3's side platform, which was fenced off. Ramps were installed on both platforms and elevators were installed to carry passengers from the platforms to the floor of the underpass on Franklin Avenue.

Station layout

The station currently features two platforms, one side platform for service to Hoboken, and an island platform for service to points north. The two platforms are mostly high-level, while one low-level platform is no longer in use. Underpasses beneath the tracks and beneath a bridge on Franklin Avenue connect the two platforms.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Franklin Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

Station House from Google Maps Street View
{{National Register of Historic Places Ridgewood, New Jersey Railway stations in Bergen County, New Jersey NJ Transit Rail Operations stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1848 Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Bergen County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Former Erie Railroad stations 1848 establishments in New Jersey

History

Station layout

See also

Bibliography

References

External links