Arlington station (NJ Transit)

Arlington is a former commuter railroad train station in the Arlington section of Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located on Garafola Place between the Forest and Elm Street intersections, the station served trains on NJ Transit's Boonton Line as well as the only remaining active station in Kearny until its closure. The station, which contained two low-level side platforms, operated trains between Hoboken Terminal and locations west to Dover and Hackettstown. The next station to the east was Hoboken while the station to the west was Rowe Street in Bloomfield.

Arlington
The site of the former Arlington station as viewed near Garafola Place.
General information
LocationGarafola Place between Elm and Forest Streets, Kearny, New Jersey
Coordinates40.7698°N 74.1401°W / 40.7698; -74.1401
Owned byNorfolk Southern
Line(s)
  Boonton Line
Platforms2 low-level side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Platform levels1
Other information
Station code1701 (Erie Railroad)[1]
History
OpenedJanuary 1, 1873 (1873-01-01)[2]
ClosedSeptember 20, 2002 (2002-09-20)[3]
ElectrifiedN/A
Previous namesConrail, New Jersey Transit
Passengers
2002137[4]
Former services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Rowe Street
toward Hackettstown
 Boonton Line Hoboken
Terminus
North Newark
toward Hackettstown
 Boonton Line
until April 26, 1986
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
West Arlington
toward Sterling Forest
 New York and Greenwood Lake Railway Jersey City
Terminus

Railroad service through the Arlington neighborhood began on January 1, 1873 with the introduction of the Montclair Railway between Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City to Monks in West Milford. The station was one of two in Kearny for the line, with the other one at West Arlington. This line became and the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad, operated by the Erie Railroad until October 17, 1960.[5] The line became part of the merged Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line in 1963. The service continued into NJ Transit, becoming the Boonton Line. Arlington station closed, along with Rowe Street and Benson Street station in Glen Ridge on September 20, 2002 in advance of the opening of the Montclair Connection.[3]

Station layout
Ground/
Platform level		 Side platform, doors opened on the right
Outbound and Inbound ←      Boonton Line weekdays toward Dover or Hackettstown (Rowe Street) |←      Boonton Line weekdays toward Hoboken (Hoboken) →
Side platform, doors opened on the right
Street level Parking (Garafola Place)

Accident
Arlington station in 1910 during its days as an Erie Railroad station

On September 8, 1965, three Kearny High School students were struck and killed by a two car Erie Lackawanna train.[6] The trio, on their way to the first day of the fall term, crossed the tracks at the Elm Street crossing next to the station despite the gate being down. Thinking the warning lights were for a departing east bound train (towards Hoboken), the three students went around the barrier. A boxcar parked in a siding next to the station blocked the victims from seeing the oncoming west bound express train.[7]

All three (Robert Floyd, 16, Rodney Murdock, 16, and Richard Collins, 15) were killed instantly. Both the train's fireman and conductor were later arraigned on charges of manslaughter. Following the accident, the town of Kearny began to have physical guards at the crossing during school hours.[8]

See also

Bibliography
  • Catlin, George L. (1873). Homes on the Montclair Railway, for New York Business Men. A Description of the Country Adjacent to the Montclair Railway, Between Jersey City and Greenwood Lake. New York, New York: Montclair Railway Company.

References
  1. "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  2. Catlin 1873, p. 33.
  3. "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures". Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  4. Jung, C. Rae (October 30, 2002). "Commuters Want Old Train Line Reinstated". The South Bergenite. pp. A1, A2. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. "New Board Opens Throttle Today on Erie-Lackawanna". The Elmira Star-Gazette. October 17, 1960. p. 10. Retrieved December 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. Moberley, Leeds (September 6, 1965). "Train Kills Three N.J. Youths On Way To Opening-Day Classes". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. Staff, The Observer (September 8, 2020). "SIDEBAR NOT IN PRINT — (From 1965) — 3 Kearny High students killed on way to school; 2 juniors, sophomore struck by train at Elm Street grade crossing". The Observer Online. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  8. Canessa, Kevin (September 8, 2020). "55 Years Ago, 3 KHS Boys Killed by Train at Elm St. Depot". The Observer Online. Retrieved November 11, 2020.


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