Watsessing Avenue (NJT station)
Encyclopedia
Watsessing Avenue is a New Jersey Transit
station in Bloomfield
, New Jersey
along the Montclair-Boonton Line
. It is located beneath the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association meeting hall (which formerly served as the station building) near the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street in Bloomfield. It is one of two stations on the line where the boarding platform is below ground level (the Glen Ridge Station, two stops away from it, is the other). The Watsessing station and the Kingsland
station in Lyndhurst
on the Main Line
shared similar designs (both station platforms are located below street level) and were built about the same time.
The current Glen Ridge, Bloomfield and Watsessing stations along the Montclair branch were all built in 1912 during a grade separation program by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
. During New Jersey Transit's running of the line, two stations between Watsessing and Newark Broad Street were closed due to low ridership—the Roseville Avenue
station in Newark, at the junction with the Morristown Line on Septermber 16, 1984, and Ampere Station
in East Orange on April 7, 1991. The word "Watsessing" is a Native American term that translates to "mouth of the creek".
The station has been on the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office listings since March 25, 1998, the last of the four stations from East Orange
to Glen Ridge
to receive the listing. On September 14, 2005, the entire Montclair Branch was added to the same listings, although Ampere, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge stations have been on the listings since March 17, 1984.
city line. The former depot is currently used by the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association. There are two below-street-level platforms at the Watsessing station. There is no ticket agent or ticket vending machines at the station, so the $5 surcharge for buying a ticket on-board a train does not apply. The Watsessing Avenue station is not handicap accessible, and people have to use the Newark Broad Street Station or Bay Street Station
for handicap accessibility. The station also has two parking lots for use. Maintained by the Bloomfield Parking Authority, the first is on Westinghouse Plaza (near a former White-Westinghouse
plant) and has fourteen parking spaces. The parking uses daily parking rules, paying six days a week at $0.25 an hour, except for Sunday, when parking is free. A second lot is available at the intersection of Myrtle Street and Walnut Street. It has forty-five parking spots, two of which are handicap accessible. The lot also contains permit spaces six days a week and free on Sundays, with a cost of $20 parking per quarter (three months).
The station sees service on the Montclair-Boonton Line on a common basis, with twenty-three of thirty inbound trains serving the station, the first starting from Montclair State University Station at Little Falls
at 5:38 am. The last inbound train to service the station stops at Watsessing Avenue at 9:30 pm. The first outbound train that serves Watsessing Avenue departs from Hoboken Terminal
at 6:54 am. The last outbound train on weekdays to serve the station is which serves the station at 1:05 am the next morning. On weekends, service via trains stops at Watsessing Avenue (one of five stops made by Montclair-Boonton trains to Bay Street. The first inbound train stops at Watsessing Avenue station at 7:12 am while the bi-hourly service ends at 12:12 am the next morning. The station's outbound service to Bay Street begins at Hoboken Terminal at 6:08 am, stopping at Watsessing Avenue 22 minutes later. The last train begins at Hoboken at 1:17 am the next morning, arriving at Watsessing Avenue at 1:47 am. One way tickets from New York cost $6.25, reduced is $2.75, while a monthly pass is $169.00. From Hoboken, the costs are reduced to $4.75 one way, reduced costing only $2.25 and $133.00 for a monthly pass. From Newark Broad Street Station, its $2.25 for a one-way ticket, $1.00 reduced and $55.00 for a monthly pass. Only one local New Jersey Transit bus
runs by Watsessing Avenue station, the 94, which also serves Bloomfield station
.
, running through trains. The Morris and Essex Railroad was soon bought out by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
, and a new station was built, deemed Watsessing.
In 1911, as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad continued the project of eliminating at-grade crossings between streets and railroads, the Montclair Branch was the next to receive the structural change. Bloomfield criticized the Lackawanna railroad for making a disgrace of the community. The railroad proposed using $700,000 (1911 USD) of funds to construct a brand new station at Watsessing Avenue along with a new downtown Bloomfield Station. The cost of elevating and depressing the railroad came up to about $20,000 (1911 USD) for the Lackawanna. This contract by the railroad and township was approved after negotiations dating back to 1908. The negotiations included a park to be built between both stations on both sides of the railroad. The park land cost the township $50,000 to buy for the construction, and it was to be turned over to the Essex County Park Commission.
Construction was completed on a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long segment of the Montclair Branch from East Orange to Glen Ridge
and was opened to rail service on November 15, 1912. The project laid 91 pounds (41.3 kg) of track in addition to steel ties and stone ballast. The station has concrete crossings at Dodd Street, Arlington Avenue and Watsessing Avenue along with a new crossing of the Erie Railroad
's Orange Branch just south of the station. The design of Watsessing Avenue's new station was difficult due to the limited right-of-way. While making the separation, a new trench had to be dug, which included retaining walls that prevented moving the existing track alignment to delay railroad traffic. When the station was finished, tracks were shifted to make room for a second track. The station depot was built over the railroad tracks with four concrete arches to support the building. A four-inch (10 cm) ceiling was constructed on the arches, and the station was widened to take more volume of train service.
The station served as the third station on the Montclair Branch, which was first electrified by technology created by Thomas Alva Edison in 1930. The overhead catenary wires were installed, making the line the first electrically run line on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western alignment. The station remained in service for the Lackawanna Railroad for three more decades, when the railroad merged with the Erie Railroad on October 17, 1960. Although the now Erie-Lackawanna Railway continued to run the Montclair Branch, it reduced service, reducing the once two-rail alignment to one lone track, and removed most of the tracks at Lackawanna Terminal
in Montclair
. On April 1, 1976, the station was transferred to the Consolidated Rail Corporation
(Conrail) as the Erie-Lackawanna Railway was dissolved into the Conrail program.
. In 1983, New Jersey Transit took over rail service from Conrail, and just one year later, the line became a temporary diesel rail line when the overhead catenary wires had to be adjusted for conversion to higher electrical voltage. The station itself was still the third on the Montclair Branch, but the line now ran into a new station at Bay Street in Montclair
. On March 17, 1984 all stations on the Montclair Branch but the Roseville Avenue station
in Newark
, Bay Street and Watsessing Avenue were added to the State Register of Historic Places. The same would occur on June 22, 1984 at the national level with Ampere, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield Stations being added to the National Register of Historic Places
. On September 16, 1984, Roseville Avenue station was closed, and just over six years later, on April 7, 1991, Ampere station in East Orange was closed. Since then, Watsessing Avenue has been the first station New Jersey Transit has served on the Montclair Branch, although East Orange has proposed reopening the station at Ampere as part of a redevelopment plan for the Ampere district.
On March 25, 1998, the station at Watsessing Avenue was given the State Historical Preservation Organization honor that Ampere, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield stations received just fourteen years prior. The station continued to receive service through the opening of Montclair Connection
on September 30, 2002, which ended service as the Montclair Branch and began as the Montclair-Boonton Line, still the first station on the line after Newark Broad Street Station. On September 10, 2007, New Jersey Transit
announced the canopies of the old station, then 95 years old, were to be restored and repaired. The service contracted a $1.7 million project to Watertrol Incorporated of Cranford
. At that time, the station served an average of 200 people daily. Improvements for the station included brand new canopy lighting, repairs to the cantilever canopies, replacement of stairways and fencing, along with changing roof tiles and a new drainage system to replace the 1912 version. When the construction was finished in October 2008, the station now served nearly 450 people daily on average. A ceremony to mark its completion was held on October 30, 2008.
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...
station in Bloomfield
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
, 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...
along the Montclair-Boonton Line
Montclair-Boonton Line
The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street,...
. It is located beneath the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association meeting hall (which formerly served as the station building) near the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street in Bloomfield. It is one of two stations on the line where the boarding platform is below ground level (the Glen Ridge Station, two stops away from it, is the other). The Watsessing station and the Kingsland
Kingsland (NJT station)
Kingsland Station is a railroad station on New Jersey Transit's Main Line. It is located under Ridge Road between New York and Valley Brook Avenues in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, United States, and is one of two stations in Lyndhurst. The station is not staffed, and passengers use ticket vending...
station in Lyndhurst
Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Lyndhurst is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 20,554.Lyndhurst was originally formed as Union Township on February 19, 1852 from portions of Harrison Township...
on the Main Line
Main Line (NJ Transit)
The Main Line is a rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north-south main line of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad...
shared similar designs (both station platforms are located below street level) and were built about the same time.
The current Glen Ridge, Bloomfield and Watsessing stations along the Montclair branch were all built in 1912 during a grade separation program by 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...
. During New Jersey Transit's running of the line, two stations between Watsessing and Newark Broad Street were closed due to low ridership—the Roseville Avenue
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...
station in Newark, at the junction with the Morristown Line on Septermber 16, 1984, and Ampere Station
Ampere (NJT station)
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...
in East Orange on April 7, 1991. The word "Watsessing" is a Native American term that translates to "mouth of the creek".
The station has been on the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office listings since March 25, 1998, the last of the four stations from 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...
to Glen Ridge
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine....
to receive the listing. On September 14, 2005, the entire Montclair Branch was added to the same listings, although Ampere, Bloomfield and Glen Ridge stations have been on the listings since March 17, 1984.
Station layout and services
Watsessing Avenue station is located on the corner of Watsessing Avenue and Orange Street at Westinghouse Plaza in Bloomfield and is just blocks from the East OrangeEast 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...
city line. The former depot is currently used by the Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association. There are two below-street-level platforms at the Watsessing station. There is no ticket agent or ticket vending machines at the station, so the $5 surcharge for buying a ticket on-board a train does not apply. The Watsessing Avenue station is not handicap accessible, and people have to use the Newark Broad Street Station or Bay Street Station
Bay Street (NJT station)
Bay Street Station is a New Jersey Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is served by all trains on the line, including all ten weekend trains. The first station of six in Montclair, Bay Street...
for handicap accessibility. The station also has two parking lots for use. Maintained by the Bloomfield Parking Authority, the first is on Westinghouse Plaza (near a former White-Westinghouse
White-Westinghouse
White-Westinghouse is an American home appliance brand currently used under license by trademark owner CBS Corporation. It was created in 1975 when White Consolidated Industries bought the Westinghouse Electric Corporation's appliance unit...
plant) and has fourteen parking spaces. The parking uses daily parking rules, paying six days a week at $0.25 an hour, except for Sunday, when parking is free. A second lot is available at the intersection of Myrtle Street and Walnut Street. It has forty-five parking spots, two of which are handicap accessible. The lot also contains permit spaces six days a week and free on Sundays, with a cost of $20 parking per quarter (three months).
The station sees service on the Montclair-Boonton Line on a common basis, with twenty-three of thirty inbound trains serving the station, the first starting from Montclair State University Station at Little Falls
Montclair State University (NJT station)
Montclair State University Station at Little Falls is a New Jersey Transit rail station in the Great Notch area of Little Falls, New Jersey on the Montclair-Boonton Line. It serves nearby Montclair State University as well as serving as a transfer station for trains on the line, and is located on...
at 5:38 am. The last inbound train to service the station stops at Watsessing Avenue at 9:30 pm. The first outbound train that serves Watsessing Avenue departs from 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...
at 6:54 am. The last outbound train on weekdays to serve the station is which serves the station at 1:05 am the next morning. On weekends, service via trains stops at Watsessing Avenue (one of five stops made by Montclair-Boonton trains to Bay Street. The first inbound train stops at Watsessing Avenue station at 7:12 am while the bi-hourly service ends at 12:12 am the next morning. The station's outbound service to Bay Street begins at Hoboken Terminal at 6:08 am, stopping at Watsessing Avenue 22 minutes later. The last train begins at Hoboken at 1:17 am the next morning, arriving at Watsessing Avenue at 1:47 am. One way tickets from New York cost $6.25, reduced is $2.75, while a monthly pass is $169.00. From Hoboken, the costs are reduced to $4.75 one way, reduced costing only $2.25 and $133.00 for a monthly pass. From Newark Broad Street Station, its $2.25 for a one-way ticket, $1.00 reduced and $55.00 for a monthly pass. Only one local New Jersey Transit bus
New Jersey Transit Bus Operations
New Jersey Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of New Jersey Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along one light rail line, with many routes going to New York City and Philadelphia.-History:...
runs by Watsessing Avenue station, the 94, which also serves Bloomfield station
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...
.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western ownership (1856 – 1976)
The history of a station at Watsessing Avenue in the Watsessing district of Bloomfield dates back to the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad, established in 1856. The station, a houseless station off of Dodd Street, was deemed first as Doddtown by a railroad conductor. This name soon gave way to Watsessing, and in 1865, the line was bought by the Morris and Essex RailroadMorris and Essex Railroad
The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.-History:...
, running through trains. The Morris and Essex Railroad was soon bought out by 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...
, and a new station was built, deemed Watsessing.
In 1911, as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad continued the project of eliminating at-grade crossings between streets and railroads, the Montclair Branch was the next to receive the structural change. Bloomfield criticized the Lackawanna railroad for making a disgrace of the community. The railroad proposed using $700,000 (1911 USD) of funds to construct a brand new station at Watsessing Avenue along with a new downtown Bloomfield Station. The cost of elevating and depressing the railroad came up to about $20,000 (1911 USD) for the Lackawanna. This contract by the railroad and township was approved after negotiations dating back to 1908. The negotiations included a park to be built between both stations on both sides of the railroad. The park land cost the township $50,000 to buy for the construction, and it was to be turned over to the Essex County Park Commission.
Construction was completed on a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long segment of the Montclair Branch from East Orange to Glen Ridge
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine....
and was opened to rail service on November 15, 1912. The project laid 91 pounds (41.3 kg) of track in addition to steel ties and stone ballast. The station has concrete crossings at Dodd Street, Arlington Avenue and Watsessing Avenue along with a new crossing of 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...
's Orange Branch just south of the station. The design of Watsessing Avenue's new station was difficult due to the limited right-of-way. While making the separation, a new trench had to be dug, which included retaining walls that prevented moving the existing track alignment to delay railroad traffic. When the station was finished, tracks were shifted to make room for a second track. The station depot was built over the railroad tracks with four concrete arches to support the building. A four-inch (10 cm) ceiling was constructed on the arches, and the station was widened to take more volume of train service.
The station served as the third station on the Montclair Branch, which was first electrified by technology created by Thomas Alva Edison in 1930. The overhead catenary wires were installed, making the line the first electrically run line on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western alignment. The station remained in service for the Lackawanna Railroad for three more decades, when the railroad merged with the Erie Railroad on October 17, 1960. Although the now Erie-Lackawanna Railway continued to run the Montclair Branch, it reduced service, reducing the once two-rail alignment to one lone track, and removed most of the tracks at Lackawanna Terminal
Lackawanna Terminal (Montclair, New Jersey)
Lacawanna Terminal is a small shopping mall in Montclair, New Jersey originally built as a railroad station in 1913 on the Montclair Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The station building was built of brick, and followed a Grecian-Doric style of architecture. The station had...
in Montclair
Montclair, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 38,977 people, 15,020 households, and 9,687 families residing in the township. The population density was 6,183.6 people per square mile . There were 15,531 housing units at an average density of 2,464.0 per square mile...
. On April 1, 1976, the station was transferred to the 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) as the Erie-Lackawanna Railway was dissolved into the Conrail program.
New Jersey Transit and historical status (1979 – present)
In 1979, New Jersey Transit was formed to run bus and train service in place of Conrail and 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...
. In 1983, New Jersey Transit took over rail service from Conrail, and just one year later, the line became a temporary diesel rail line when the overhead catenary wires had to be adjusted for conversion to higher electrical voltage. The station itself was still the third on the Montclair Branch, but the line now ran into a new station at Bay Street in Montclair
Bay Street (NJT station)
Bay Street Station is a New Jersey Transit station on Pine Street between Bloomfield and Glenridge Avenues in Montclair, New Jersey along the Montclair-Boonton Line. The station is served by all trains on the line, including all ten weekend trains. The first station of six in Montclair, Bay Street...
. On March 17, 1984 all stations on the Montclair Branch but the 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...
in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, Bay Street and Watsessing Avenue were added to the State Register of Historic Places. The same would occur on June 22, 1984 at the national level with Ampere, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield Stations being 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...
. On September 16, 1984, Roseville Avenue station was closed, and just over six years later, on April 7, 1991, Ampere station in East Orange was closed. Since then, Watsessing Avenue has been the first station New Jersey Transit has served on the Montclair Branch, although East Orange has proposed reopening the station at Ampere as part of a redevelopment plan for the Ampere district.
On March 25, 1998, the station at Watsessing Avenue was given the State Historical Preservation Organization honor that Ampere, Glen Ridge and Bloomfield stations received just fourteen years prior. The station continued to receive service through the opening of Montclair Connection
Montclair Connection
The Montclair Connection is a short section of double-track New Jersey Transit rail connecting the former end of the Montclair Branch at Bay Street Station to the old Boonton Line southeast of Walnut Street Station. It opened on Monday, September 30, 2002, at a cost of $60,000,000...
on September 30, 2002, which ended service as the Montclair Branch and began as the Montclair-Boonton Line, still the first station on the line after Newark Broad Street Station. On September 10, 2007, New Jersey Transit
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...
announced the canopies of the old station, then 95 years old, were to be restored and repaired. The service contracted a $1.7 million project to Watertrol Incorporated of Cranford
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,625.Cranford was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden,...
. At that time, the station served an average of 200 people daily. Improvements for the station included brand new canopy lighting, repairs to the cantilever canopies, replacement of stairways and fencing, along with changing roof tiles and a new drainage system to replace the 1912 version. When the construction was finished in October 2008, the station now served nearly 450 people daily on average. A ceremony to mark its completion was held on October 30, 2008.
See also
- Kingsland (NJT station)Kingsland (NJT station)Kingsland Station is a railroad station on New Jersey Transit's Main Line. It is located under Ridge Road between New York and Valley Brook Avenues in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, United States, and is one of two stations in Lyndhurst. The station is not staffed, and passengers use ticket vending...
- The design of Watsessing Avenue with the depot above the tracks was a replica of the style used at Kingsland.