Harmon Cove station

Harmon Cove is an abandoned train station in the Harmon Cove section of Secaucus, New Jersey. The station was a former stop on the Bergen County Line which runs from Hoboken Terminal to Suffern. Train service was discontinued in 2003 when Secaucus Junction was opened.

Harmon Cove
The site of Harmon Cove station.
General information
LocationMeadowlands Parkway, Secaucus, New Jersey
Owned byNorfolk Southern Railway (owner of trackage from 1999)
NJ Transit (operator from 1983)
Conrail (operator until 1983, owner of trackage until 1999)
Line(s)
  Bergen County Line
  Pascack Valley Line
Platformsground-level
Tracks2
Construction
Platform levels1
History
OpenedJune 26, 1978 (1978-06-26)
ClosedAugust 4, 2003 (2003-08-04)
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Rutherford
toward Suffern
 Bergen County Line Hoboken
Terminus

History

Construction and opening

Harmon Cove station was built to serve the gated community known as Harmon Cove, which was developed starting in 1975[1] by Hartz Mountain Industries with townhouses and highrise residential buildings.[2][3][4] This development played a key part in the transition of Secaucus from being a part of wetlands in the New Jersey Meadowlands to being highly developed.[5] In December 1977, Hartz Mountain Industries sent an application to the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission for permission to construct a station and a 100-car parking lot to serve its development. Following the issuance of the permit, it was expected that construction on the station could begin within 60 days.[6]

The station was built adjacent to the development at Meadowlands Parkway on the site of a reed-filled meadow for $150,000.[7] The station was dedicated on June 19, 1978,[8] and opened on June 26, 1978.[9] Service consisted of ten trains, with westbound trains at 7:22 a.m., 3:42 p.m., 5:15 p.m., 5:38 p.m., and 6:32 p.m., and eastbound trains at 6:44 a.m., 7:53 a.m., 8:32 a.m., 9:34 a.m., and 5:00 p.m. Construction on the station began a month earlier. Service to the station initially consisted of two trains in the morning to Hoboken and two trains in the evening from Hoboken. The station initially opened on a temporary basis, but was later made permanent.[10] This station was, and still remains, the only privately financed and constructed rail station in New Jersey.[11] After a month, ridership at the station was only 30 people a day, lower than Conrail's estimate of 50 people a day. Conrail decreased the number of trains stopping from ten to seven since adding Harmon Cove stops to trains added four minutes to the runtime of each trip. Hartz Mountain spent $80,000 to provide bus service to the station.[9]

Closure

In the 1980s, New Jersey Transit started making plans to create a transfer station in Secaucus between trains on its Hoboken and Newark Divisions. As part of the plan, Harmon Cove station would close due to its close proximity to the new station. However, in 1993, the President of Allied Junction, the name of original plan for the transfer station, said that Harmon Cove station would stay open. In September 2001, New Jersey Transit officials told Town Administrator Anthony Iacono that the station would close in anticipation of the opening of Secaucus Junction station. New Jersey Transit made the decision earlier in the year when it was decided to construct a new curving track between the HX Draw bridge at the Hackensack River to the north of the station, and the Main Line north of Secaucus Junction, which would bypass the site of Harmon Cove station and allow Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line trains to stop at Secaucus Junction.[12]

The station closed on August 4, 2003, in anticipation of the opening of Secaucus Junction station.[13][14][15] To replace train service, a bus shuttle was implemented, which ran between Harmon Cove and Secaucus Junction, thus connecting with Bergen County Line trains.[16] This shuttle was operated by Academy Express and was labeled bus route 972.[17] This route was replaced by NJ Transit bus route 129 on April 3, 2004.[18]

Station layout

Harmon Cove had one short low-level side platform and was located on the Erie Railroad's Main Line, and had a 100-car parking lot, and had a shelter that could accommodate 50 passengers.[10][19][20] A staircase led from the platform to the Meadowlands Parkway overpass.[21][22] The staircase still exists, but has been abandoned.[23] The station shelter was removed following the station's closure. The parking lot still exists. The platform still remains, but is in derelict condition.[24]

References
  1. Rand, Ellen (January 21, 1979). "New Jersey Housing: Harmon Cove Is Going". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  2. Oser, Alan. S. "Harmon Cove Takes Its Renters in Stride", New York Times, June 17, 1984. Accessed June 25, 2017.
  3. Hanley, Robert. "Harmon Cove Progress Slowed by the Economy", The New York Times, July 12, 1981. Accessed June 25, 2017.
  4. Harmon Cove - Secaucus, NJ, Hartz Mountain Industries. Accessed June 25, 2017.
  5. "Thriving Secaucus, Its Pig Farms Gone, Coming to Sniff". The New York Times. May 6, 1977. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  6. Gansrerg, Martin (December 19, 1977). "Developers Seeking to Build Secaucus Rail Depot". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  7. Hanley, Robert (June 20, 1978). "State Dedicates First Rail Station For Commuters in Meadowlands". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  8. Reiss, Craig (June 20, 1978). "Rail stop dedicated at Cove". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  9. Gansberg, Martin (July 31, 1978). "Article 6 -- No Title: Service to Hoboken Decries Conrail's Attitude". The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  10. "Harmon Cove depot going up". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. May 2, 1978. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  11. Effects of the Administrations's Budget on New Jersey's Transportation-related Plans and Programs: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, First Session, Field Hearing. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1989. p. 40.
  12. "Harmon Cove station may close". Hudson Reporter. September 9, 2001. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  13. "Harmon Cove Information". njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on June 28, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  14. "Main Line/Bergen County Line Timetable Effective August 4, 2003" (PDF). njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. August 4, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  15. Sullivan, Al. "Harmon Cove Station will close Bus shuttle service to new station will start in July", The Hudson Reporter, February 1, 2003. Accessed December 28, 2016. "In anticipation of the Harmon Cove train station closing this coming July, the Town Council voted Feb. 11 to hire George Jensen as its transportation coordinator. He will handle scheduling and other issues involving shuttling passengers from Harmon Cove and other areas to the new $450 million Secaucus Transfer train station."
  16. "NJ TRANSIT Bus Shuttle From Harmon Cove Towers and Townhouses to Hoboken Via Secaucus Transfer Station". njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. June 27, 2003. Archived from the original on August 7, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  17. "922 Harmon Cove Shuttle Timetable Effective August 4, 2003" (PDF). njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. August 4, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 6, 2003. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  18. "NJ Transit Adjusts Bus Schedules". www.njtransit.com. New Jersey Transit. March 30, 2004. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  19. "Station is dedicated". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. June 20, 1978. p. B5. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  20. Weinberger, Brian (August 4, 2003). "View of the shelter at Harmon Cove". railfanwindow.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  21. Weinberger, Brian (August 4, 2003). "View of Harmon Cove station". railfanwindow.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  22. "Main Line/Bergen County Line Timetable Effective January 13, 2002" (PDF). njtransit.com. January 13, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  23. Moss, Adam (September 29, 2006). "View of abandoned staircase at Harmon Cove station". Flickr. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  24. R36 Coach (April 9, 2010). "NJ Transit Harmon Cove Station (1978-2003)". Flickr. Retrieved August 20, 2020.

40.7813°N 74.0790°W / 40.7813; -74.0790

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