South Orange station

Summary

South Orange is a New Jersey Transit station in South Orange, New Jersey along the Morris and Essex (formerly Erie Lackawanna) rail line. It is located in the business district of South Orange, near its town hall. It is one of two train stations in the township of South Orange, Mountain Station being the other near the township border. South Orange station was built by the Lackawanna Railroad in 1916.

South Orange
South Orange station at the southwest corner of South Orange Avenue and Sloan Street.
General information
Location17 Sloan Street, South Orange, New Jersey
Owned byNew Jersey Transit
Platforms1 side platform and 1 island platform
Tracks3
ConnectionsNJT Bus NJT Bus: 31, 92, and 107
Construction
AccessibleYes (mini-platform)
Other information
Fare zone5
History
OpenedSeptember 17, 1837 (preliminary trip)[1]
September 28, 1837 (regular service)[2][3]
RebuiltFebruary 1, 1916[4]
ElectrifiedSeptember 22, 1930[5]
Passengers
20174,131 (average weekday)[6][7]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Maplewood
toward Gladstone
Gladstone Branch
weekdays
Mountain Station
toward New York or Hoboken
Maplewood Morristown Line
Former services
Preceding station Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Following station
Maplewood
toward Buffalo
Main Line Mountain Station
toward Hoboken
South Orange Station
The station house as seen from Sloan Street
South Orange station is located in Essex County, New Jersey
South Orange station
Location17 Sloan Street,
South Orange, New Jersey
Coordinates40°44′45″N 74°15′39″W / 40.74583°N 74.26083°W / 40.74583; -74.26083
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1916
ArchitectFrank J. Nies
Architectural styleRenaissance
MPSOperating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.84002669[8]
Added to NRHPJune 22, 1984

History edit

The railroad was raised to eliminate grade crossings in South Orange in the 1910s. A new station was constructed of dark brick with a green roof.[9]

Station owner New Jersey Transit decided to perform work at South Orange station to improve accessibility and to repair ninety-year-old viaducts at the station.[10] At a cost of $22.9 million, repair work at South Orange, along with other nearby stations commenced in 2004.[11] South Orange received a mini-high level platform as a result of the repairs, and the tracks surrounding the station were upgraded to have concrete ties and the stairways leading towards the platforms were replaced.[12]

Station layout and service edit

As with nearly all stations on the Morris & Essex Lines east of Summit, there are three tracks at South Orange station numbered according to the scheme that was established by the Lackawanna Railroad. Track 1, the express track, is the middle of the three tracks and is served by trains in the peak rush hour direction. Track 2, the southernmost track, serves eastbound trains heading towards Hoboken and New York. Track 3 is the northernmost track and handles westbound trains to Dover, Gladstone, and Hackettstown.[13]

The western end of the platform for tracks 1 and 3 and the eastern end of the platform for track 2 contain high-level sections of platform. Installed in 2004, these allow those with handicaps to board and bring the station in compliance with ADA regulations.[10] There are a number of retail stores at street level, below the station building. As of 2022, these stores are Cait & Abby's Bakery, Starbucks, Super Cuts, On the Track Cleaners, Cold Stone Creamery, and Village Diner.

Bus services are available on the 92 and 107 lines, with both the 92 and 107 terminating at South Orange, while the 92 heads to Branch Brook Park Light Rail Station, and the 107 express line (Irvington-New York) heads to Port Authority Bus Terminal.[14]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Morris and Essex is Seventy-Nine Years Old". The Madison Eagle. June 16, 1916. p. 10. Retrieved April 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ Walker, Herbert T. (1902). "Early History of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad and it's Locomotives - Part 2: The Morris and Essex Railroad". Railroad Gazette. 34: 409. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  3. ^ Douglass, A.M. (1912). The Railroad Trainman, Volume 29. Cleveland, Ohio: Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. p. 339. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Taber, Thomas Townsend; Taber, Thomas Townsend III (1980). The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century. Vol. 1. Muncy, PA: Privately printed. p. 88. ISBN 0-9603398-2-5.
  5. ^ "Edison Pilots First Electric Train Over Orange-Hoboken Route". The Passaic Daily News. September 22, 1930. p. 5. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.  
  6. ^ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "How Many Riders Use NJ Transit's Hoboken Train Station?". Hoboken Patch. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  9. ^ Gordon, Reginald (March 1916). "New Stations on the Lackawanna and New York Central". Railway Engineering and Maintenance of Way. Vol. 12, no. 3. pp. 83–85.
  10. ^ a b M&E station improvement and viaduct rehabilitation NJ Transit official site Retrieved 2007-08-06
  11. ^ NJ Transit approves $22.9 million in viaduct repairs Progressive Railroading Retrieved 2007-08-06
  12. ^ NJ Transit breaks ground on three-station rehab project Progressive Railroading Retrieved 2007-08-07
  13. ^ Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Employee Timetable, 1943.
  14. ^ "My Bus Now: 107". New Jersey Transit. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.

External links edit

  Media related to South Orange (NJT station) at Wikimedia Commons

  • South Orange Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View