Claremont Park station (New York Central Railroad)
Claremont Park | |||||||||||
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 The former site of Claremont Park station in July 2019 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Park Avenue and Claremont Parkway Crotona Park East, The Bronx, New York | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°50′23″N 73°54′15″W / 40.8396°N 73.9041°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | New York Central Railroad | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Harlem Line | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 4 | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | Late-1860s | ||||||||||
| Closed | June 1, 1960 | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1889 | ||||||||||
| Electrified | 700V (DC) third rail | ||||||||||
| Previous names | Central Morrisania Claremont | ||||||||||
| Former services | |||||||||||
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The Claremont Park station was a station on the New York Central Railroad's Harlem Line in the East Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad also ran through this station but did not stop here.
History
Rail service along the New York and Harlem Railroad passed through Morrisania as far back as 1841, and a station was known to exist as far back as 1847, but this wasn't the station. Instead an additional station was built by New York Central and Hudson River Railroad within the vicinity of 172nd Street/Wendover Avenue as far back as the late-1860s.[1] Originally named Central Morrisania station, it was built at surface level along with the rest of the tracks.
Realizing the railroad was causing suburban sprawl within what was then southern Westchester County, the New York City Parks Department acquired the site of the former Claremont Mansion one block to the west in 1888, and converted it into a park.[2][3]
The station was renamed for that park roughly around the time Claremont Park station was rebuilt by New York Central in April 1891, as part of a grade elimination project within the Bronx.[4] It contained a station house as a bridge on the north side of Claremont Parkway over all four tracks, with two side platforms. Similar structures were built for the former Morrisania Station, as well as the still operating Melrose and Tremont Stations.[5][6] A small freight yard also used to exist north of the station between the Claremont Parkway and 173rd Street bridges, the remnants of which can still be seen to this day. Three blocks east, the Suburban Rapid Transit Company built the Third Avenue Elevated Line and installed a station along the same street in 1888.[7] No streetcar or bus lines connected the two stations to one another, however.
Declining ridership following World War II, along with the decline of the South Bronx lead to the downfall of various stations within the Bronx, along with competition with the subway, the el, and the automobile. Local politicians also demanded that New York Central take better care of the stations in the Bronx, which they weren't always able to do at the time. On September 14, 1950, the Public Service Commission ended hearings about the New York Central's petition to discontinue service at this station and the 183rd Street station. The Central wanted to close the station to cut travel times on trains to Westchester.[8][9] The Claremont Park station was closed in 1960. As a result of the closure, commuters were forced to take either the Morrisania station, the Tremont station, or the nearby Claremont Parkway elevated station. Of the three mentioned, only Tremont survives today.
References
- ^ April 26, 1869 timetable showing Central Morrisania New York Central Railroad station, as well as others
- ^ Claremont Park History (NYC Parks Department)
- ^ Ultan, Lloyd; Olson, Shelley (2015). The Bronx: The Ultimate Guide to New York City's Beautiful Borough. Rutgers University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8135-7321-2.
- ^ "Names Changed on the Central". The Buffalo Enquirer. April 24, 1891. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ "Tuesday Tour of the Harlem Line: Melrose". I Ride The Harlem Line... 23 November 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ "Melrose Station, in the late 1800s". I Ride The Harlem Line... 23 September 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Hagstrom's Street Map of The Bronx; 1943 (War of Yesterday)
- ^ "P.S.C. Ends Inquiry on Bronx Stations". The New York Times. September 15, 1950. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- ^ "Annual Report 1950" (PDF). canadasouthern.com. New York Central Railroad. 1950. p. 33. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
