Ridgewood is a railroad station operated by New Jersey Transit in the village of Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. A major transfer station, Ridgewood has two high-level platforms (one side platform and one island platform) for the Main Line and Bergen County Line.

Ridgewood
Ridgewood station in October 2014 from the Hoboken-bound platform.
General information
Coordinates40°58′51″N 74°07′14″W / 40.9807°N 74.1205°W / 40.9807; -74.1205
Owned byNew Jersey Transit
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks3
ConnectionsNJT Bus NJT Bus 163, 164, 175, 722, 746, 752
(all connections two blocks away at Van Neste Square; several of those routes have connections at the station on Godwin Avenue)
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station code2315 (Erie Railroad)[1]
Fare zone9[2]
History
OpenedOctober 19, 1848[3][4]
Rebuilt1859[5]
August 1915–November 28, 1916[6]
February 2009[7]–September 2011[8]
Previous namesGodwinville (1848–1866)[9]
Passengers
20181,705 (average weekday)[10]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Ho-Ho-Kus
toward Suffern
Main Line Glen Rock–Main Line
toward Hoboken
Bergen County Line Glen Rock–Boro Hall
toward Hoboken
Former services
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
Ho-Ho-Kus
toward Chicago
Main Line Paterson
through to Main Line Main Line local stops Glen Rock
Terminus Bergen County Railroad Glen Rock-Bergen Line
Ridgewood Station
The former Ridgewood station prior to reconstruction.
LocationGarber Square, Ridgewood, New Jersey
Coordinates40°58′51″N 74°7′16″W / 40.98083°N 74.12111°W / 40.98083; -74.12111
Area5.5 acres (2.2 ha)
Built1916
ArchitectDrinker, W.W.; Howard, Frank A.
Architectural styleMission/Spanish Revival
MPSOperating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.84002582[11]
NJRHP No.647[12]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 22, 1984
Designated NJRHPMarch 17, 1984
Location
Map

History

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Train #75 stops at Ridgewood bound for Port Jervis before construction of the high-level platforms began

Service to the area known as Godwinville began on October 19, 1848, with the opening of the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad, a railroad connecting the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad at Paterson to the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad at Suffern. A new station was built in 1856, then in 1859. However, in August 1915, the Erie Railroad, now in control, started construction on a new pair of ornate station depots at Ridgewood, both of which opened on November 28, 1916.

The Erie Railroad built Ridgewood station in 1916 as a grade-separated elevated station. It has been listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places since 1984 and is part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.[11][12][13]

Until the 1960s, the station served passengers heading to Binghamton and other cities, en route to Chicago or Buffalo. The Erie Limited and the Lake Cities served passengers heading toward Chicago. The station received eastbound passengers from the Atlantic Express.[14] In final years of long-distance service, after the Erie's merger with the Lackawanna Railroad, unnamed trains ran to Binghamton, where passengers could switch to the Phoebe Snow after a layover. The discontinuing of the Phoebe Snow (1966) and the Atlantic Express (1965) marked the end of long-distance passenger service through Ridgewood.[15][16]

Ridgewood station underwent a major renovation project between 2009 and 2011 to make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. As part of the project, high-level platforms were installed and the side platform on Track 1 was demolished to allow for the installation of an island platform that would serve Tracks 1 and 3, and replace Track 3's side platform, which was fenced off. Ramps were installed on both platforms and elevators were installed to carry passengers from the platforms to the floor of the underpass on Franklin Avenue.[7]

Station layout

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The station currently features two platforms, one side platform for service to Hoboken, and an island platform for service to points north. The two platforms are mostly high-level, while one low-level platform is no longer in use. Underpasses beneath the tracks and beneath a bridge on Franklin Avenue connect the two platforms.

See also

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Bibliography

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  • Van Valen, James M. (1900). History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York, New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  • Citizens Semi-Centennial Association (1916). Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, Past and Present. Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens Semi-Centennial Association.

References

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  1. ^ "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  2. ^ "Main and Bergen County Line Timetables" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. November 7, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2002. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  3. ^ "Common Council". The New York Herald. October 17, 1848. p. 1. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  4. ^ "Ramapo and Paterson and Paterson and Hudson River Railroads". The Evening Post. New York, New York. December 7, 1848. p. 4. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.  
  5. ^ Citizens Semi-Centennial Association 1916, p. 113.
  6. ^ Citizens Semi-Centennial Association 1916, p. 114.
  7. ^ a b "NJ Transit Begins to Improve Ridgewood Station" (Press release). New Jersey Transit. February 24, 2009. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  8. ^ Moving the Needle: 2011 NJ Transit Annual Report (PDF) (Report). New Jersey Transit. p. 12. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  9. ^ Van Valen 1900, p. 242.
  10. ^ Kiefer, Eric (February 21, 2018). "Here Are New Jersey Transit's Most, Least-Used Train Stations". patch.com. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  11. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  12. ^ a b "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  13. ^ Ridgewood New Jersey Transit Railroad Station Survey
  14. ^ Erie Railroad timetable, April 27, 1958, Tables, 1, 2, 3
  15. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1964, Erie Lackawanna section, pp. 247-50.
  16. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' December 1966, Erie Lackawanna section, pp. 201-5.
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  Media related to Ridgewood (NJT station) at Wikimedia Commons