Susquehanna Transfer was a passenger station on the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Railroad classes#Class II, Class II Rail freight transport, freight r ...

, located in

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 63,361, an increase of 2,588 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 60,773, ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

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 additional ...

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 the unsigned N ...

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 station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving ab ...

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

. The station opened on August 1, 1939, south of the old North Bergen station. At the time, the company was in

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

proceedings, as part of the also bankrupt

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

. 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

, rather than taking the train to the

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal station, terminal on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River located in the Harsimus section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad ...

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, and formerly extended further into New York State. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect ...

, at least through 1957, with an agreement with the NYS&W to use their buses in 1944. Connecting train / bus service at the site ended in 1966."Commuter rail line's revival pushed"
''

The Record The Record may refer to: Music * The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...

'', December 30, 1986. Accessed March 1, 2023, via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

. "The second possibility would be to run the trains through Paterson on Susquehanna tracks to Weehawken, where passengers would switch to buses for the ride through the Lincoln Tunnel to the Port Authority terminal. A similar bus service, known as the Susquehanna Transfer, operated between 1939 and 1966." The former transfer station is now the site of NJ Transit's North Bergen Park & Ride with bus service on the NJ Transit

320 __NOTOC__ Year 320 ( CCCXX) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantinus and Constantinus (or, less frequently, year 1073 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

bus route to Port Authority Bus Terminal.

History

Construction

Walter Kidde Walter Kidde (; March 7, 1877 – February 9, 1943) was an American businessman. He was the owner of the Kidde company which manufactured fire extinguishers. His parents immigrated to the United States from Bohemia. Kidde graduated from Steve ...

, who was the trustee-in-bankruptcy for the

New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Railroad classes#Class II, Class II Rail freight transport, freight r ...

after filing for bankruptcy reorganization in 1937, noticed that most commuter traffic was heading to

, 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 ...

'' noted that it was common for passengers from the north arriving at the Erie Railroad's

Pavonia Ferry The Pavonia Ferry was a ferry service on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, operating between New York City and Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It was launched in 1854. It was sold to the Pavonia Ferry Company of Jersey City for ...

terminal at Chambers Street to head back north again since their ultimate destination was Midtown Manhattan. This new connection would save time for commuters heading from

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 loc ...

, Hackensack and

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

or elsewhere in Midtown. North Bergen Station - October 2014

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

Hudson and Manhattan Railroad The 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 owne ...

when the Susquehanna proposed this new service in 1938. The

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

held hearings during 1938 and 1939 and in May 1939, which 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 the transfer station. 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 to the north and if successful, would be moved southward. However, the difference in cost between remodeling the North Bergen station and constructing a brand new station was small. The new station could include a platform for commuters to transfer directly from railroad cars to buses for the trip to Times Square at

42nd Street 42nd Street most commonly refers to: *42nd Street (Manhattan), a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan It may also refer to: *42nd Street (film), ''42nd Street'' (film), a 1933 American Warner Bros. musical film with lyri ...

and Seventh Avenue. In July 1939, of the five companies that applied for the service, the Public Service Interstate Transportation Company was selected to run the bus routes. The buses left at fixed times, and the Susquehanna adjusted the train schedule to connect with the buses. The station facility was finished before the end of the month and on July 31, as a

soft opening A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it wid ...

, morning train No. 924 ran from Butler to Susquehanna Transfer, and that evening, train No. 919 returned to Butler. The next day, the station fully opened to the public, with 65 passengers using the transfer station. With ridership quickly increasing, the

added service to the transfer station 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: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

) 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

for the service that he saw at the

1939 World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities ...

. 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 railroad car, rolling stock. One of its subsidiaries was once (1925–54) a manufacturer of Motor bus, motor coaches ...

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 Canadian English, Canada, British English, the United Kingdom and American English, the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed ...

. 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 bega ...

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