Clifton station (Erie Railroad)

Clifton was a former train station for the Erie Railroad and Erie-Lackawanna Railroad in Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Located at the intersection of Getty Avenue and Clifton Avenue (County Route 611), the station served as part of the Main Line. The station consisted of tracks on an elevated line above Getty Avenue (since removed) with the 1952-built station depot on the side.[3] After the closure of Harrison Street station, the station to the southeast was Passaic and the next station to the northwest was the Lake View station in nearby Paterson.

This article is about the Erie Railroad station. For the New Jersey Transit station, see Clifton station (NJ Transit).

Clifton
The right-of-way north of the former Clifton station in October 2014, now the site of a parking lot for a business.
General information
LocationGetty Avenue, Clifton, New Jersey
Coordinates40.8901°N 74.1493°W / 40.8901; -74.1493
Owned byErie Railroad (1883–1960)
Erie Lackawanna Railway (1960–1963)
Line(s)Erie Railroad Main Line
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2 main line
Construction
Platform levels1
Other information
Station code2135[1]
History
ClosedApril 2, 1963[2]
Rebuilt1952–February 1953[3]
Previous namesAckerman's Lane[4]
Key dates
September 5, 1889First depot caught fire[5]
November 12, 1899Second depot caught fire[6]
April 22, 1952Third depot caught fire[7]
Former services
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
Lake View
toward Ridgewood
 Main Line local stops Harrison Street
toward Jersey City

History

Clifton station was constructed in 1889 and demolished in 1969.[8]

Passaic plan

During the 1950s and 1960s, several different priorities from different agencies around the cities of Paterson and Passaic were beginning to form. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, a competing railroad with the Erie, wanted to condense (along with the Erie) services and share trackage because of financial troubles. Secondly, the city officials in Passaic had first brought a proposal to the Erie asking about the removal of the main line through the city, which was tying up traffic in the city during station stops. This, however, was not implemented during the 1950s, as proposed. Instead, the Erie reconstructed the stations at Passaic and Clifton. Third, the New Jersey State Highway Department needed rights-of-way for Interstate 80 through Paterson and State Route 21 through Passaic. The Passaic Park station and the BE Drawbridge needed to be demolished to build State Route 21.[9]

After the merge on October 17, 1960, between the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western and the Erie, the city officials in Passaic once again brought back the possibility of removing the tracks through Main Street, Passaic. This time, the newly formed Erie Lackawanna Railway went forward with it, beginning the process to move its main line onto the former Boonton Branch through Lyndhurst, Passaic and Clifton.[9] In 1962, the state Public Utility Commission approved the removal of the tracks.[10] In April 1963 the last train passed through the station. The main line was abandoned past Carlton Hill, and BE Drawbridge was swung in the open position, and soon put up for sale price of $0.00 in 1964 by the mayor of Passaic.[11]

See also

Bibliography
  • Scott, William Winfield (1922). History of Passaic and Its Environs Volume 2. New York, New York: Lewis Publishing Company. Retrieved February 19, 2021.

References
  1. "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  2. "Erie-Lackawanna Pulls Up First Tracks, Bids Farewell". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. April 2, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved February 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "New Erie Railroad Station Dedicated". The Paterson Evening News. February 12, 1953. p. 12. Retrieved March 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Scott 1922, pp. 659–660.
  5. "The Firebug Again". The Passaic Daily News. September 5, 1889. p. 3. Retrieved February 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  6. "Clifton Depot Destroyed". The Passaic Daily News. November 13, 1899. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved February 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  7. "End of the Line?". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. April 23, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved March 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  8. "Erie Railway, Clifton Station (photo caption page)" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  9. Yanosey, Robert J. (2007). Lackawanna Railroad Facilities (In Color). Vol. 1: Hoboken to Dover. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-58248-214-9.
  10. "Center of Passaic will lose track; Erie-Lackawanna Rerouted to Permit Continuation of New Freeway". The New York Times. June 30, 1962. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  11. Gansberg, Martin (June 27, 1964). "A Passaic Bridge To Be Given Away". The New York Times. New York, New York (published June 28, 1964). p. 33. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
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