Susquehanna Transfer was a passenger station on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, located in

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by ...

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 ...

located at what today is the Route 495 overpass. It was an

interchange station An interchange station or a transfer station is a train station for more than one railway route in a public transport system that allows passengers to change from one route to another, often without having to leave a station or pay an additiona ...

where transfer was possible from the railroad to a bus through the

Lincoln Tunnel The Lincoln Tunnel is an approximately tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey, to the west with Midtown Manhattan in New York City to the east. It carries New Jersey Route 495 on the New Jersey side and unsigned Ne ...

to the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buse ...

in Midtown Manhattan. The station opened on August 1, 1939, south of the old North Bergen station. At the time, the company was in bankruptcy proceedings, as part of the also bankrupt

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 ...

. The buses were leased from the Public Service Bus Company and were open only to NYS&W passengers transferring to them. The bus fare was 15 cents. The buses allowed commuters to go directly to Midtown Manhattan, rather than taking the train to the

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 ...

over the

's tracks and then taking an Erie RR ferry across to Lower Manhattan. The

also used the transfer station for trains on its

Northern Branch The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Railroad's Piermont Branch te ...

, at least through 1957, with an agreement with the NYS&W to use their buses in 1944.

History

Construction

Walter Kidde Walter Kidde (; March 7, 1877 – February 9, 1943) was an American businessman. He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1897. He was the owner of the Kidde company which manufactured fire extinguishers. His parents immigrated t ...

, who was the trustee-in-bankruptcy for the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad after filing for bankruptcy reorganization in 1937, noticed that most commuter traffic was heading to Midtown Manhattan, and that the major railroads in the area had or little or no service to Midtown. The

had been completed in 1937, and Kidde offered the idea that it might be faster for commuters to head to Midtown by connecting with bus companies that used State Highway Route S-3. A couple years later, ''

Railway Age ''Railway Age'' is an American trade magazine for the rail transport industry. It was founded in 1856 in Chicago (the United States' major railroad hub) and is published monthly by Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation. History The magazine's ...

'' noted that it was common to backtrack from the Erie Railroad's

Pavonia Ferry The Pavonia Ferry was a ferry service on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River which conveyed passengers between New York City and Jersey City. It was launched in 1854. It was sold to the Pavonia Ferry Company of Jersey City for what was co ...

terminal at Chambers Street to midtown. This new connection would save money for commuters from Paterson, Hackensack and Butler to get service to

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

However, the idea immediately met opposition by bus companies and the

Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) is a rapid transit system in the northeastern New Jersey cities of Newark, Harrison, Jersey City, and Hoboken, as well as Lower and Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is operated as a wholly owned sub ...

when the Susquehanna went forward with proposing this new service in 1938. The Interstate Commerce Commission held hearings during 1938 and 1939 and in May 1939, the rulings fell in favor of the Susquehanna. During this time period, Kidde had proposed bustituting (replacing rail with bus) between North Hawthorne and Butler, but this was torpedoed by neighborhoods opposing the change, such as Pompton Lakes as well as a jump in ridership. Kidde decided to develop a new plan for a new transfer. The first part was construction of Susquehanna Transfer, a station in

, where it would meet with Route S-3, west of the tunnel. The original proposal that Kidde offered was to remodel the former

North Bergen station North Bergen was a railroad station in North Bergen, New Jersey, United States known Homestead for most of its existence. It as built in the mid 19th century and served by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (#1059) and the Erie Railroad ...

to the north and if successful, would be moved southward. However, the disparity in costs between remodeling the North Bergen station and constructing a brand new station was small. The new station would allow a platform where commuters could transfer from railroad cars to buses for the trip to Times Square at 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue. In July 1939, the Public Service Interstate Transportation Company was selected for the bus routes of the five companies that applied for the service. The Susquehanna timed the trains to connect with the buses. The station facility was finished at the end of the month and on July 31, Train No. 924 ran from Butler to Susquehanna Transfer loaded in media which returned to Butler that evening on Train No. 919. The next day, the station opened to the public, with 65 passengers using the transfer station. With ridership quickly increasing, the

started service on their

on September 25.

Promotion

In opening Susquehanna Transfer, Kidde's work became a heavy promotion point for Susquehanna independence from the Erie Railroad. On September 25, 1939, the Erie Railroad added two special trains to their schedule for midday service, the ''Noontimer'' and the ''Matinee Special''. The increase in service also benefited the Susquehanna financially, showing the railroad made 2.34% in October 1939 than it did in October 1938. Public Service also did their part, advertising the Susquehanna service heavily with wall maps and pictures in Times Square. The railroad also decided to reconstruct the former Paterson City Branch, which had been without passenger service since 1926. The Susquehanna received permission to spend $14,000 (1940

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) to reconstruct the roadbed and an extra $9,000 to build a brand new station to replace the old brick depot. The Susquehanna almost sold off the rights of the branch to the city of Paterson, but instead was reconstructing it for railroad service. The Paterson City station re-opened on July 15, 1940 and was quickly required to be expanded twice by 1941. In order to make service suitable, the new service would require the best new equipment. The Susquehanna was still using steam locomotives and Kidde felt it would require upgrading service. The use of steam locomotives still required turning engines at various Susquehanna facilities, including Butler,

, etc. Kidde wanted new equipment from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

for the service that he saw at the

1939 World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purcha ...

. This new equipment would be able to go and hold at least 78 passengers. This would get people from Paterson City to Susquehanna Transfer in as low as 20 minutes dependent on stops. A test of equipment in 1939 resulted in a Butler to Pavonia Terminal time of 44 minutes, and a run from Broadway–Paterson station to Susquehanna Transfer in 17 minutes. On October 7, 1939, Kidde announced that new railcars had been ordered from the

American Car and Foundry Company ACF Industries, originally the American Car and Foundry Company (abbreviated as ACF), is an American manufacturer of railroad rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of motor coaches and trolley coaches und ...

with expectation that service would be running by May 1940. This new car, called the "Motorailer" or "Model 60", was lighter and had a

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear change ...

. The cars had a 290-horsepower engine and after construction of the new cars, they were tested on June 6, 1940 and just three weeks later, Kidde and

Burton K. Wheeler Burton Kendall Wheeler (February 27, 1882January 6, 1975) was an attorney and an American politician of the Democratic Party in Montana, which he represented as a United States senator from 1923 until 1947. Born in Massachusetts, Wheeler began ...

as well as other dignitaries ran the new Motorailers from Times Square to Beaver Lake. On July 1, 1940, Kidde announced that bus fare was reduced to 10 cents, made possible by increased usage by commuters.

Bibliography

References

External links