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.

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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

History

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