Ampere station

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Coordinates: 40°45′55″N 74°11′40″W / 40.76528°N 74.19444°W / 40.76528; -74.19444
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Ampere
New Jersey Transit
Line(s)
  Montclair Branch
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Other information
Station code601 (Delaware, Lackawanna and Western)[1]
History
OpenedApril 24, 1893[2]
ClosedApril 7, 1991[3]
Rebuilt1908
ElectrifiedSeptember 3, 1930[4]
Former services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Watsessing Avenue
toward Bay Street
 Montclair Branch Roseville Avenue
toward Hoboken
Preceding station Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Following station
Watsessing Avenue
toward Montclair
 Montclair Branch Roseville Avenue
toward Hoboken
Ampere Station
MPS
Operating Passenger Railroad Stations TR[permanent dead link]
NRHP reference No.84002628[5]
NJRHP No.1073[6]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 22, 1984
Designated NJRHPMarch 17, 1984
Removed from NRHPOctober 30, 1990

Ampere, formerly known as The Crescent, is a defunct stop on

Roseville Avenue station was closed. In June of that year, the station, along with 42 others, was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.[5]
In 1986, after continuous deterioration, New Jersey Transit demolished the westbound shelter built in 1921. The agency discontinued rail service to Ampere on April 7, 1991. The entire station was demolished in 1995.

History

Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (1868–1960)

The Montclair Branch was chartered in 1852 as the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad, running through Bloomfield and nearby West Bloomfield (present-day Montclair). However, tracks were not constructed along the owned right-of-way until 1856; in June that year trains began running between Newark, Bloomfield and West Bloomfield. The railroad had a large deficit to start; the ticket agent at West Bloomfield was also the

Morris & Essex Railroad bought out the alignment of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad.[8] The Morris & Essex began running services on the line, which was renamed the Montclair Branch when West Bloomfield was renamed Montclair shortly after. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad soon gained trackage rights, and by the turn of the 20th century, the railroad had begun constructing track depressions and raises to eliminate grade-level crossings on city streets.[9]

Before 1890, conductors and engineers on the Lackawanna were ordered to stop at the station only on request from the railroad. The first station at Ampere was constructed in 1890 on a request made by

Jules Jusserand.[10]

By 1912, trains heading to or from the Lackawanna's Hoboken Terminal (built in 1907) made more than sixty stops daily at the Ampere station. East Orange, continuing to develop after its 1899 incorporation, began building new luxury apartment buildings and large branches of New York City's department stores, becoming a major commerce stop. The town resisted the Lackawanna's plans to raise the tracks in their town (elevated tracks having a reputation for being unsightly and noisy), and sued the Lackawanna to prevent construction. In 1921, the suits were resolved in favor of the Lackawanna, and construction began. Tracks through Ampere were raised twelve feet higher and a second story was added to the station depot. A platform canopy was added to the westbound side of the station along with a brick shelter. The station saw electric train service for the first time in 1930 when the Lackawanna in conjunction with Thomas Edison with overhead catenary wires. Through the 1940s and 1950s the station was in its prime, with the Montclair Branch thought to be the most used commuter rail line in the United States.[10]

During the years after

Carrier Corporation
to manufacture refrigerators and air conditioners.

Erie Lackawanna Railroad and Conrail (1960–1980)

In 1960, the

Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).[10]

NJDOT and New Jersey Transit (1980–1995)

A view of the platform at the deteriorating Ampere depot

Commuter rail operations under Conrail were short-lived, turned over to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for service in 1980. At this point, the DOT (and the newly formed New Jersey Transit) shut the inside waiting room of the deteriorating station depot. On June 22, 1984, along with buildings of a similar purpose, Ampere station was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[6] However, the station's interior continued to fall into disrepair. The 1921-constructed westbound shelter was demolished in 1986. The next year, New Jersey Transit petitioned the Commissioner for Natural and Historic Resources to demolish the station. The commissioner directed New Jersey Transit to first stabilize the station and either sell it to East Orange or advertise the station for lease or sale to a private developer, but little was accomplished.[10]

By 1990, the station served just 51 people boarding twenty-eight trains daily. Service was suspended at Ampere and the nearby Grove Street station on April 7, 1991, ostensibly until ridership forecasts increased substantially.[11] The next year, the station suffered a large fire. After being unable to find a new use for the structure, New Jersey Transit demolished the station in 1995.[10]

Proposed reconstruction of Ampere

The Ampere station site in April 2015 with the abandoned platforms

In 2005, the city of East Orange began looking into the idea of rebuilding and reopening a new station at Ampere. The station site remains, with its asphalt platforms and eastbound driveway left in place. The station's stairs were all removed, and the landing to one entrance has catenary wires running on it. A study conducted in 2005 envisioned the station would attract commuters who would not go to

Lake Hopatcong stations would be needed.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "List of Station Numbers". Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. 1952. p. 2. Retrieved June 2, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Notes About Town". The Montclair Times. April 29, 1983. p. 5. Retrieved February 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ Morris & Essex Lines Timetable (April 7, 1991 ed.). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 1991.
  4. ^ "D.L.&W. Electric Train Hoboken to Montclair". The Madison Eagle. September 5, 1930. p. 6. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  6. ^ a b "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County" (PDF). NJ DEP - Historic Preservation Office. January 10, 2010. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  7. ^ Knox, Reverend Charles E. (1884). History of Essex County. Publisher unknown.
  8. ^ Travelers' official Guide of the Railways (1870 ed.). National Railway Publication Company. June 1, 1870.
  9. ^ "Suburban Railroad Changes" (PDF). The New York Times. New York, New York. April 28, 1901. p. 2. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Feasibility Study for the Restoration of NJ TRANSIT Service for the Former Ampere Train Station" (PDF). Systra Consulting. June 2005. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  11. ^ "NJ Transit train times revised". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, New Jersey. April 7, 1991. p. B6. Retrieved September 3, 2018.

External links

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