Benson Street station
Benson Street | |||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() The Benson Street station in February 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 77 Benson Street, Glen Ridge, New Jersey | ||||||||||||||||||||
Owned by | Norfolk Southern (formerly Erie Railroad, Conrail, New Jersey Transit) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Line(s) | Lua error: expandTemplate: template "NJT color" does not exist. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 ground-level | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
Platform levels | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||
Station code | 1735 (Erie Railroad)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | 1883[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | September 20, 2002[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Electrified | Not electrified | ||||||||||||||||||||
Previous names | Glen Ridge,[4] Chestnut Hill | ||||||||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Benson Street is former train station in a residential section of the town of Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
The station was constructed in 1883 in a unique English Tudor design with stucco facades and a slate roof[2] as part of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, a Erie Railroad operation, and was known as Glenwood. It had a two platform, two track station with the gas lights on the side of tracks.[4] It later became a stop on New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Boonton Line, which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Hackettstown, and renamed Benson Stret. Service was discontinued to Benson Street (along with Rowe Street in Bloomfield and Arlington in Kearny) on September 20,[3] 2002 when the Montclair Connection was opened.[5] 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 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 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.[6] 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.[2] The restoration of the building was completed around May 2012.[7]
See also
- Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource (New Jersey)
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, New Jersey
References
- ^ "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
- ^ a b c Roll, Erin (June 17, 2010). "Benson repairs move into next phase". Glen Ridge Voice. Glen Ridge, New Jersey: North Jersey Media Group. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
- ^ a b "The Montclair-Boonton Line" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. September 2002. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- ^ a b Yanosey, Robert J. (2006). Erie Railroad Facilities (In Color). Vol. 1. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. p. 69. ISBN 1-58248-183-0.
- ^ "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures". Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ "News Benson work OK to restart". NorthJersey.com. New Jersey: North Jersey Media Group. December 2, 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- ^ Galant, Debbie (May 14, 2012). "Benson Street Station's Fairytale Ending". Baristanet. Essex County, New Jersey. Baristanet LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)