Ampere (NJT station)
Encyclopedia
Ampere Station, formerly known as The Crescent, is a closed station on New Jersey Transit
's Montclair Branch in the city of East Orange
, New Jersey
. The station depot was built originally in 1890 to service to new Crocker Wheeler plant in the district. The station was named in honor of André-Marie Ampère
, a pioneer in electrodynamics and reconstructed as a new Renaissance Revival station in 1907 and 1908. The station was the second station on the branch west of Newark Broad Street Station until 1984, when Roseville Avenue station
was closed. That year, the station, along with 52 others, was added to the National Register of Historic Places
from June 22. That designation remains to the present day. After continuous disrepair and deterioration, New Jersey Transit slowly demolished the old station, including the westbound shelter built in 1922 in 1986 and the station depot itself in 1995. The station was closed on April 7, 1991 by New Jersey Transit until the station could see better ridership. The station never reopened along with Grove Street station on the Morris & Essex Lines
, also in East Orange.
for the one-car train. On April 1, 1868, the Morris & Essex Railroad bought out the alignment of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad. The Morris & Essex began running services on the line, which was renamed the Montclair Branch when West Bloomfield was renamed Montclair shortly after. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
soon gained trackage rights, and by the turn of the 20th century, the railroad had begun constructing track depressions and raises to eliminate grade-level crossings on city streets.
Before 1890, conductors and engineers on the Lackawanna were ordered to stop at the station only on request from the railroad. The first station at Ampere was constructed in 1890 on a request made by Crocker Wheeler, a local electrical machine industry in East Orange. The station itself was built as a one-story stone structure with a pyramid-shaped roof and eaves overhanging the rails. There was also sidings set to go into the Crocker Wheeler plant. In honor of [André-Marie Ampère]], the French founder of electrodynamics, the station was named Ampere. The station quickly received a lot of residential and commercial influx, with people developing the area at a high rate. In 1907 and 1908, the Lackawanna built a new structure at Ampere between Springdale and Fourth Avenues. This new station, costing the Lackawanna $44,000 (1907 USD) was a new brick Renaissance Revival structure containing a green terra cotta
roof, large arched doorway and concrete pedestrian tunnel under the tracks. The new station was opened with a large ceremony, also joined by the French ambassador to the United States, Jules Jusserand.
By 1912, trains heading to or from the Lackawanna's grand Hoboken Terminal
(built in 1907) made more than sixty stops daily at the Ampere station. East Orange, continuing to develop after its 1899 inception, began building new luxury apartment buildings and large branches of New York City
's department stores, becoming a major commerce stop. After the town originally did not want the Lackawanna to raise the tracks in their town, they sued the Lackawanna to prevent construction. In 1921, the city was forced by a judge to comply to the Lackawanna's project. Tracks through Ampere were raised twelve feet higher and a second story was added to the station depot. A platform canopy was added to the westbound side of the station along with a brick shelter. The station saw electric train service for the first time in 1930 when the Lackawanna in conjunction with Thomas Edison
with overhead catenary wires. It is at this time, the 1940s and 1950s, that the station was in its prime, with the Montclair Branch thought to be the most used commuter rail line in the United States.
During the times after World War II
, East Orange saw a loss in industry and a lowering tax base. The Crocker Wheeler plant, was bought by the Carrier Corporation
to manufacture refrigerators and air conditioners. In 1960, the Erie Railroad
and the Lackawanna, both facing financial problems, announced a merger of the railroads on October 17 of that year, forming the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. That was absorbed in April 1976, when the Erie-Lackawanna merged as part of the new federal Consolidated Rail Corporation
(Conrail).
for service in 1980. It is at this point, the DOT (and the newly-formed New Jersey Transit) shut down the inside waiting room of the deteriorating station depot. On June 22, 1984, as part of a thematic nomination, Ampere station, along with Bloomfield
and Glen Ridge
and fifty other stations, was added to the National Register of Historic Places
. However, the station's interior continued to fall into disrepair. The westbound shelter added in 1921 was demolished in 1986, just after 65 years of use. The next year, New Jersey Transit would request the Commissioner for Natural and Historic Resources to demolished the station depot. However, the commissioner's department asked New Jersey Transit to stabilize the old depot or sell it to East Orange for a fee. Included would advertise a use for the station depot or lease to a private developer.
This situation did not matter, as by 1990, the station was down to just 51 people boarding twenty-eight trains at Ampere daily. Service was suspended at Ampere and the nearby Grove Street station on April 7, 1991, until ridership could be found. The station depot however, remained standing. The next year, the station depot suffered a large fire, and three years later, after being unable to find a new use for the structure, the station at Ampere was demolished.
, the main one in East Orange. The study also suggested going after funding for the Department of Transportation's transit village program. Due to the station being on the National Register of Historic Places still, with no petition for removal, some construction plans will need to be approved by the United States Secretary of the Interior
. The new station structure would need to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
form, with high-level platforms (51 inches (1.3 m) off the ground and 630 feet (192 m) long), new canopies, ramps and stairs. The new station will also have an average of thirty second dwell time at the station, resulting in a minute and twenty seconds added to the commute time. Due to the level of usage, no more than a three-sided brick shelter, similar to those at Montclair Heights
or Lake Hopatcong stations
would be needed.
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
's Montclair Branch in the city of East Orange
East Orange, New Jersey
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the city's population 64,270, making it the state's 20th largest municipality, having dropped 5,554 residents from its population of 69,824 in the 2000 Census, when it was the state's 14th most...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The station depot was built originally in 1890 to service to new Crocker Wheeler plant in the district. The station was named in honor of André-Marie Ampère
André-Marie Ampère
André-Marie Ampère was a French physicist and mathematician who is generally regarded as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism. The SI unit of measurement of electric current, the ampere, is named after him....
, a pioneer in electrodynamics and reconstructed as a new Renaissance Revival station in 1907 and 1908. The station was the second station on the branch west of Newark Broad Street Station until 1984, when Roseville Avenue station
Roseville Avenue (NJT station)
Roseville Avenue was a transfer station on New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1903 during a track depression to serve Newark's Roseville neighborhood...
was closed. That year, the station, along with 52 others, was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
from June 22. That designation remains to the present day. After continuous disrepair and deterioration, New Jersey Transit slowly demolished the old station, including the westbound shelter built in 1922 in 1986 and the station depot itself in 1995. The station was closed on April 7, 1991 by New Jersey Transit until the station could see better ridership. The station never reopened along with Grove Street station on the Morris & Essex Lines
Morris & Essex Lines
The Morris & Essex Lines are a group of former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad railroad lines in New Jersey now owned and operated by New Jersey Transit...
, also in East Orange.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (1868 – 1976)
The Montclair Branch was chartered in 1852 as the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad, running through Bloomfield and nearby West Bloomfield (present-day Montclair). However, tracks were not constructed along the owned right-of-way until 1856; in June that year trains began running between Newark, Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. The railroad had a large deficit to start; the ticket agent at West Bloomfield was also the brakemanBrakeman
A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job it was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The advent of through brakes on trains made this role redundant, although the name lives on in the United States where brakemen carry out a variety of functions...
for the one-car train. On April 1, 1868, the Morris & Essex Railroad bought out the alignment of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad. The Morris & Essex began running services on the line, which was renamed the Montclair Branch when West Bloomfield was renamed Montclair shortly after. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
soon gained trackage rights, and by the turn of the 20th century, the railroad had begun constructing track depressions and raises to eliminate grade-level crossings on city streets.
Before 1890, conductors and engineers on the Lackawanna were ordered to stop at the station only on request from the railroad. The first station at Ampere was constructed in 1890 on a request made by Crocker Wheeler, a local electrical machine industry in East Orange. The station itself was built as a one-story stone structure with a pyramid-shaped roof and eaves overhanging the rails. There was also sidings set to go into the Crocker Wheeler plant. In honor of [André-Marie Ampère]], the French founder of electrodynamics, the station was named Ampere. The station quickly received a lot of residential and commercial influx, with people developing the area at a high rate. In 1907 and 1908, the Lackawanna built a new structure at Ampere between Springdale and Fourth Avenues. This new station, costing the Lackawanna $44,000 (1907 USD) was a new brick Renaissance Revival structure containing a green terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
roof, large arched doorway and concrete pedestrian tunnel under the tracks. The new station was opened with a large ceremony, also joined by the French ambassador to the United States, Jules Jusserand.
By 1912, trains heading to or from the Lackawanna's grand Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...
(built in 1907) made more than sixty stops daily at the Ampere station. East Orange, continuing to develop after its 1899 inception, began building new luxury apartment buildings and large branches of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's department stores, becoming a major commerce stop. After the town originally did not want the Lackawanna to raise the tracks in their town, they sued the Lackawanna to prevent construction. In 1921, the city was forced by a judge to comply to the Lackawanna's project. Tracks through Ampere were raised twelve feet higher and a second story was added to the station depot. A platform canopy was added to the westbound side of the station along with a brick shelter. The station saw electric train service for the first time in 1930 when the Lackawanna in conjunction with Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
with overhead catenary wires. It is at this time, the 1940s and 1950s, that the station was in its prime, with the Montclair Branch thought to be the most used commuter rail line in the United States.
During the times after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, East Orange saw a loss in industry and a lowering tax base. The Crocker Wheeler plant, was bought by the Carrier Corporation
Carrier Corporation
The Carrier Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, and a global leader in the commercial refrigeration and food service equipment industry...
to manufacture refrigerators and air conditioners. In 1960, the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
and the Lackawanna, both facing financial problems, announced a merger of the railroads on October 17 of that year, forming the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. That was absorbed in April 1976, when the Erie-Lackawanna merged as part of the new federal Consolidated Rail Corporation
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...
(Conrail).
New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (1976 – 1991)
Commuter rail operations under Conrail was short-lived, turned over to the New Jersey Department of TransportationNew Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
for service in 1980. It is at this point, the DOT (and the newly-formed New Jersey Transit) shut down the inside waiting room of the deteriorating station depot. On June 22, 1984, as part of a thematic nomination, Ampere station, along with Bloomfield
Bloomfield (NJT station)
Bloomfield station is a New Jersey Transit station in Bloomfield, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is located in downtown Bloomfield, the second within the municipality, just west of Bloomfield Avenue...
and Glen Ridge
Glen Ridge (NJT station)
Glen Ridge is a New Jersey Transit station at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Ridgewood Avenue in Glen Ridge, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line....
and fifty other stations, was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. However, the station's interior continued to fall into disrepair. The westbound shelter added in 1921 was demolished in 1986, just after 65 years of use. The next year, New Jersey Transit would request the Commissioner for Natural and Historic Resources to demolished the station depot. However, the commissioner's department asked New Jersey Transit to stabilize the old depot or sell it to East Orange for a fee. Included would advertise a use for the station depot or lease to a private developer.
This situation did not matter, as by 1990, the station was down to just 51 people boarding twenty-eight trains at Ampere daily. Service was suspended at Ampere and the nearby Grove Street station on April 7, 1991, until ridership could be found. The station depot however, remained standing. The next year, the station depot suffered a large fire, and three years later, after being unable to find a new use for the structure, the station at Ampere was demolished.
Proposed reconstruction of Ampere
In 2005, the city of East Orange began looking into the idea of rebuilding and reopening a new station at Ampere. The station site remains, with its asphalt platforms and eastbound driveway left in place. The station's stairs were all removed, and the landing to one entrance has catenary wires running on it. A study conducted in 2005 envisioned the station would attract commuters who would not go to Brick Church stationBrick Church (NJT station)
Brick Church is a New Jersey Transit station in East Orange, New Jersey along the Morris and Essex Line. Service is available from this station east to Hoboken Terminal, New York Penn Station and west to Dover and Hackettstown....
, the main one in East Orange. The study also suggested going after funding for the Department of Transportation's transit village program. Due to the station being on the National Register of Historic Places still, with no petition for removal, some construction plans will need to be approved by the United States Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
. The new station structure would need to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
form, with high-level platforms (51 inches (1.3 m) off the ground and 630 feet (192 m) long), new canopies, ramps and stairs. The new station will also have an average of thirty second dwell time at the station, resulting in a minute and twenty seconds added to the commute time. Due to the level of usage, no more than a three-sided brick shelter, similar to those at Montclair Heights
Montclair Heights (NJT station)
Montclair Heights is a New Jersey Transit station in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. It is named so because the nearby community was once referred to as Montclair Heights, and the station is one of the few things still with that name...
or Lake Hopatcong stations
Lake Hopatcong (NJT station)
Lake Hopatcong Station is a New Jersey Transit station in the Landing section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey. It is named for the nearby Lake Hopatcong. The station is located at the intersection of Landing Road and Lakeside Boulevard...
would be needed.