Roseville Avenue (NJT station)
Encyclopedia
Roseville Avenue was a transfer station on New Jersey Transit
's Morris & Essex Lines
(consisting of the Montclair Branch, Morristown Line
and Gladstone Branch
) 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
. It once had two tracks (one each eastbound and westbound) on the Lackawanna mainline and two low-wall platforms, with an additional platform along the Montclair-Boonton Line
. The station remained in service during most of the 20th century, until New Jersey Transit closed the station on September 16, 1984.
Today, the only landmarks that mark the former station site are a metal utility box labeled "Roseville," and several flights of concrete stairs in the sides of the concrete-lined depression in which the track of the Morristown Line runs between the East Orange
and Newark Broad Street stations. Shortly eastward of this structure, the Montclair-Boonton Line splits from the Morristown Line on its way to Montclair
, Boonton
, and Denville
.
(now the Morristown Line
and the Gladstone Branch
). The tracks were 22 feet (6.7 m) below the street level, and the station below street level was a brick passenger station extending to the Roseville Avenue bridge at Seventh Avenue. The other structure stood on street level, above the cut, served the Morris and Essex Line just north of the fork at Roseville. The station had four platforms, two for the Montclair Branch and two for the Morristown/Gladstone Lines in both direction.
Roseville Tower was the interlocking tower at street-level in Roseville that handled the nearby fork of the three lines (Montclair, Morristown and Gladstone). The tower was used on limited services, with only three different shifts, two of which were manned. The tower was run from 5 a.m. in the morning to 10 p.m. in the evening manned. The rest of the time, the tower was set on automatic.
In April 1901, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
announced track depression and raising throughout portions of the line through Newark and the Oranges. Although the depression went into Newark, most of the debate over localities of stations was basically into the Oranges. In 1903, the track depression reached the Roseville Avenue Station, and the lines were depressed through Roseville. The new station built during the track depression was of similar style, with the station in the middle of the five-track interlocking, with one platform servicing the Montclair Branch's two tracks and one for the Main Line's two tracks. Rather than crossing at-grade, Roseville Avenue was bridged over the tracks with a brand new street-level interlocking tower present at the intersection of Roseville and Seventh Avenues.
The station continued receiving major service over the next five decades, but by 1966, the station was lost servicing trains, with limited daily service to the station past the 4:33 p.m. train from Hoboken Terminal
. Six years later, on June 24, 1972, the Erie–Lackawanna Railroad, who now maintained the station, announced further cutbacks on station service, axing twenty-three train stops at Roseville Avenue for both directions of service. The changes were made as part of major commuter service appropriations and the lack of patronage at the station. From that point, Roseville Avenue went from 37 westbound trains to 14, while eastbound was cut from 37 to 16. Service on Saturdays were cut to flag stops only, while the station received no Sunday service at all. On April 1, 1976, the Erie–Lackawanna Railroad became defunct, and merged into Consolidated Rail Corporation
(Conrail), with service sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation
.
from Conrail in 1982, the service at the Roseville Avenue station remained minimal. Many trains bypassed the station in favor of going to the nearby Newark Broad Street Station. Trains continued to serve the Roseville Avenue station throughout 1982 and 1983, and service continued to be condensed during 1984. However, as of the official September 1984 timetables, service was cut from Roseville Avenue in favor of Newark Broad Street to Grove Street, East Orange (on the Morris & Essex) or Ampere
(on the Montclair Branch), both of which closed in April 1991. On September 16, 1984, trains began bypassing Roseville Avenue, and the station was closed permanently. Although the station was closed, Roseville Tower, for the interlocking between the Montclair Branch and Morris & Essex Lines, remained in service for almost two more decades. In 2002, during construction of the Montclair Connection
, the tower was demolished in favor of expanding the cut in Roseville for a second track of the new Montclair-Boonton Line.
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 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...
(consisting of the Montclair Branch, Morristown Line
Morristown Line
The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn...
and Gladstone Branch
Gladstone Branch
The Gladstone Branch is a branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. The Gladstone Branch primarily serves commuter trains; freight service is no longer operated...
) in Newark, New Jersey
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...
, United States. The station was built 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...
in 1903 during a track depression to serve Newark's Roseville neighborhood
Roseville, Newark, New Jersey
Roseville is a neighborhood in northwestern Newark, New Jersey, bordering Bloomfield and East Orange. To the neighborhood's immediate east is the Newark City Subway and Branch Brook Park...
. It once had two tracks (one each eastbound and westbound) on the Lackawanna mainline and two low-wall platforms, with an additional platform 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,...
. The station remained in service during most of the 20th century, until New Jersey Transit closed the station on September 16, 1984.
Today, the only landmarks that mark the former station site are a metal utility box labeled "Roseville," and several flights of concrete stairs in the sides of the concrete-lined depression in which the track of the Morristown Line runs between the East Orange
East Orange (NJT station)
East Orange is a New Jersey Transit station in East Orange, New Jersey on the Morris and Essex line. This elevated station was built in 1923 and serving the Lackawanna lines and now receives trains from the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch, including service to Hoboken Terminal and Midtown...
and Newark Broad Street stations. Shortly eastward of this structure, the Montclair-Boonton Line splits from the Morristown Line on its way to 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...
, Boonton
Boonton, New Jersey
Boonton is a town in Morris County, New Jersey that was chartered in 1867. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 8,347. The town was originally called "Boone-Towne" in 1761 in honor of the Colonial Governor Thomas Boone....
, and Denville
Denville, New Jersey
Denville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,635. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county...
.
Station structure
Roseville Avenue station consisted of two different sets of double track to serve passenger trains for the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad's Montclair Branch (now the Montclair-Boonton Line) and the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad's Morris & Essex LinesMorris & 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...
(now the Morristown Line
Morristown Line
The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn...
and the Gladstone Branch
Gladstone Branch
The Gladstone Branch is a branch of New Jersey Transit's Morris and Essex Lines. The Gladstone Branch primarily serves commuter trains; freight service is no longer operated...
). The tracks were 22 feet (6.7 m) below the street level, and the station below street level was a brick passenger station extending to the Roseville Avenue bridge at Seventh Avenue. The other structure stood on street level, above the cut, served the Morris and Essex Line just north of the fork at Roseville. The station had four platforms, two for the Montclair Branch and two for the Morristown/Gladstone Lines in both direction.
Roseville Tower was the interlocking tower at street-level in Roseville that handled the nearby fork of the three lines (Montclair, Morristown and Gladstone). The tower was used on limited services, with only three different shifts, two of which were manned. The tower was run from 5 a.m. in the morning to 10 p.m. in the evening manned. The rest of the time, the tower was set on automatic.
Original station and track depression
The original Roseville Avenue station dates back to the opening of the Morris & Essex Railroad Station in 1856, when tracks were constructed through the Roseville district of Newark. These tracks went along Sixth and Seventh Avenues, while the original station served the Montclair Branch at a fork along Seventh Avenue and the Morris & Essex main line along Sixth Avenue. The station was designed with two platforms, one along each line, the Morris & Essex first made use of the Montclair Branch property in April 1868 after buying the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad.In April 1901, 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...
announced track depression and raising throughout portions of the line through Newark and the Oranges. Although the depression went into Newark, most of the debate over localities of stations was basically into the Oranges. In 1903, the track depression reached the Roseville Avenue Station, and the lines were depressed through Roseville. The new station built during the track depression was of similar style, with the station in the middle of the five-track interlocking, with one platform servicing the Montclair Branch's two tracks and one for the Main Line's two tracks. Rather than crossing at-grade, Roseville Avenue was bridged over the tracks with a brand new street-level interlocking tower present at the intersection of Roseville and Seventh Avenues.
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, and Erie–Lackawanna ownership
During the ownership of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, Roseville Avenue prospered, soon receiving sixty-eight stops by trains daily. This caught attention during a 1913 complaint to the New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners by Charles McCausland. The major complaint from McCausland cited that the Lackawanna was not providing quality seating service on trains that stop at Roseville, and several which led to overcrowding, while several bypassing trains did not suffer from such effects. The plaintiff, McCausland, cited that the need for the sixty-eight trains was "additional but unnecessary". The Board of Public Utility Commissioners did not justify any changes or wrong-doing by the railroad, and as a result, no changes to service were made at Roseville Avenue.The station continued receiving major service over the next five decades, but by 1966, the station was lost servicing trains, with limited daily service to the station past the 4:33 p.m. train 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...
. Six years later, on June 24, 1972, the Erie–Lackawanna Railroad, who now maintained the station, announced further cutbacks on station service, axing twenty-three train stops at Roseville Avenue for both directions of service. The changes were made as part of major commuter service appropriations and the lack of patronage at the station. From that point, Roseville Avenue went from 37 westbound trains to 14, while eastbound was cut from 37 to 16. Service on Saturdays were cut to flag stops only, while the station received no Sunday service at all. On April 1, 1976, the Erie–Lackawanna Railroad became defunct, and merged into 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), with service sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Transportation
New 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...
.
New Jersey Transit use and eventual closure
After the takeover of service along the former Morris & Essex Lines by New Jersey TransitNew 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...
from Conrail in 1982, the service at the Roseville Avenue station remained minimal. Many trains bypassed the station in favor of going to the nearby Newark Broad Street Station. Trains continued to serve the Roseville Avenue station throughout 1982 and 1983, and service continued to be condensed during 1984. However, as of the official September 1984 timetables, service was cut from Roseville Avenue in favor of Newark Broad Street to Grove Street, East Orange (on the Morris & Essex) or Ampere
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...
(on the Montclair Branch), both of which closed in April 1991. On September 16, 1984, trains began bypassing Roseville Avenue, and the station was closed permanently. Although the station was closed, Roseville Tower, for the interlocking between the Montclair Branch and Morris & Essex Lines, remained in service for almost two more decades. In 2002, during construction of the 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...
, the tower was demolished in favor of expanding the cut in Roseville for a second track of the new Montclair-Boonton Line.
External links
- The Roseville Train Stations – Pictorial narrative of the Newark, NJ Roseville Train Station.
- Description of the Montclair-Boonton line that mentions the Roseville Avenue location