View source for Pompton–Riverdale station

{{Short description|Former railway station in Morris County, New Jersey, US}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox station
| name=Pompton–Riverdale
| style=Erie Railroad
| image=Pompton-Riverdale Station.jpg
| image_caption=Pompton–Riverdale station in September&nbsp;2014.
| address=13 Pompton–Hamburg Turnpike ([[County Route 511 Alternate (New Jersey)|CR&nbsp;511&nbsp;Alternate]]), [[Riverdale, New Jersey]]
| coordinates=
| line=New York and Greenwood Lake Railway
| other=
| platform=1 side platform
| levels=1
| tracks=2
| parking=
| bicycle=
| opened={{start date and age|January 1, 1873}}{{sfn|Whittemore|1894|p=47}}{{sfn|Baxter|Adams|1999|p=147}}
| closed={{start date and age|September 30, 1966}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Last Train to Wanaque Sadly Ends an Era |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32882197/wanaque_service_october_3_1966/ |access-date=February 6, 2019 |work=The Paterson News |date=October 3, 1966 |page=11|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>
| rebuilt=
| electrified=
| accessible=
| code=1781 (Riverdale)<br>1783 (Pompton)<ref name="codes">{{cite web|url=http://www.jon-n-bevliles.net/RAILROAD/erie_docs/erie-losn16.html|title=List of Station Names and Numbers|date=May 1, 1916|publisher=[[Erie Railroad]]|location=[[Jersey City, New Jersey]]|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref>
| zone=
| former=Pompton (1873–1951)
| services=
| other_services_header = Former services
| other_services = {{Adjacent stations|system=Erie Railroad|line=New York and Greenwood Lake Railway|left=Pompton Junction|right=Pompton Plains}}
}}
'''Pompton–Riverdale''' is a former railroad station in the [[Borough (New Jersey)|borough]] of [[Riverdale, New Jersey|Riverdale]], [[Morris County, New Jersey|Morris County]], [[New Jersey]], [[United States]]. Located at 13 [[County Route 511 Alternate (New Jersey)|Paterson–Hamburg Turnpike]] (County Route&nbsp;511 Alternate), the station was a stop on the [[New York and Greenwood Lake Railway (1878-1943)|Greenwood Lake Division]] of the [[Erie Railroad]]. A single [[side platform]] station with two tracks, the current station was built in 1919. The next station to the north was [[Pompton Junction station|Pompton Junction]], where connections were available to the [[New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad]], another [[Erie Railroad]] subsidiary. The next station south was [[Pompton Plains station|Pompton Plains]].
== History ==
[[File:Pompton station - Bailey.jpg|left|thumb|The former Pompton station, {{circa|1907&ndash;1912}}]]
Service at the station began on January&nbsp;1, 1873 as part of the [[Montclair Railway]], built for operations of the [[New York and Oswego Midland Railroad]]. At that time, the stop was known as '''Pompton'''. This service became a part of the New York and Greenwood Lake in December&nbsp;1878,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Montclair Railway; Handed Over to the New York and Greenwood Lake |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1878/12/18/archives/the-montclair-railway-handed-over-to-the-newyork-and-greenwood-lake.html |access-date=July 14, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 18, 1878 |page=2}}</ref> followed by the [[Erie Railroad]] in 1896. The old station depot at Pompton burned down on December&nbsp;9, 1904.<ref>{{cite news |title=An Erie Station Burned |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43748264/pompton_station_fire_december_10_1904/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Evening Record |date=December 10, 1904 |location=[[Hackensack, New Jersey]] |page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> After the fire, the Erie Railroad turned former passenger and freight combination car no. 793 on the side of the tracks to serve as a bonafide depot for passenger service.{{sfn|Jones|Taber|Lessersohn|Webber|1975|p=31}} The nearby borough of [[Pompton Lakes, New Jersey|Pompton Lakes]] brought the Erie Railroad to a hearing of the Board of Railroad Commissioners in 1909 to complain about the state of the station. The Commissioners ordered the Erie Railroad to build a new structure at Pompton.{{sfn|Board of Railroad Commissioners|1910|p=19-20}}
At the same time, there was a stop south of Pompton known as '''Riverdale''', located just east of modern-day [[New Jersey Route 23|Route&nbsp;23]]. Also opened in 1873, the stop also served Riverdale, but {{convert|1.0|mi|km}} from downtown and {{convert|0.7|mi|km}} south of Pompton station, confusing riders of the railroad. By 1951, the station was a [[Request stop|flag stop]] that the Erie wanted to rid itself of.<ref>{{cite news |title=Erie Wants to Abandon One Station |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29128554/rivredalehaskell_june_22_1951/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Herald-News |date=June 22, 1951 |location=[[Passaic, New Jersey]] |page=17|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Opposition was non-existent and the Board of Public Utility Commissioners allowed the Erie to eliminate the stop on July&nbsp;20, 1951.<ref>{{cite news |title=Erie Can Eliminate Riverdale "Station" |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29128465/riverdale_station_july_20_1951/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Herald-News |date=July 20, 1951 |location=Passaic, New Jersey |page=13|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The name Riverdale was moved to the Pompton station after the elimination of the Riverdale stop, changing the name to Pompton–Riverdale.<ref>{{cite news |title=Riverdale Still in Need of Physician |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29128578/riverdale_station_october_13_1951/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Herald-News |date=October 13, 1951 |location=Passaic, New Jersey |page=11|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>
After years of declining service, the Erie merged with the [[Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad]] on October 17, 1960, forming the [[Erie-Lackawanna Railway]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Merger of Lackawanna, Erie Railroads Effective on Monday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43754553/erie_lack_merge_october_16_1960/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Scrantonian|date=October 16, 1960 |page=12|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> On October&nbsp;27, 1963, as part of the [[Passaic Plan]], which ripped out the Erie [[Main Line (NJ Transit)|Main Line]] tracks in [[Passaic, New Jersey|Passaic]] and the Lackawanna [[Boonton Branch]] through [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]], service at Pompton–Riverdale was reduced to a shuttle service between the [[Mountain View station (NJ Transit)|Mountain View station]] in [[Wayne, New Jersey|Wayne]] to Wanaque&ndash;Midvale.<ref>{{cite news |title=Erie Boonton Trains to be Rerouted to Greenwood Lake Division Sunday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43755390/boonton_greenwood_lake_october_24/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Paterson News |date=October 24, 1963 |page=33|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Service on this shuttle ended on September&nbsp;30, 1966 when the Erie Lackawanna discontinued several branch lines.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Piovia |first1=Sara |title=Veteran Engineer Makes Last Run to Wanaque |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43755719/wanaque_service_october_12_1966/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Morning Call |date=October 12, 1966 |location=[[Paterson, New Jersey]] |page=18|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>
Despite the ending of passenger service, freight at the station and along the line continued after 1966. In 1968, the Erie Lackawanna applied to have the station agent at Pompton–Riverdale be discontinued. The Public Utilities Commissioners held a hearing on June&nbsp;11 in which the Erie Lackawanna contended that the freight revenue did not make an agent economically viable. However, the Commissioners sided with the opposition in July, forcing the Erie Lackawanna to continue the agent service.<ref>{{cite news |title=Agent Discontinue Bid Denied by PUC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43733264/pomptonriverdale_june_23_1968/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Paterson News |date=July 23, 1968 |page=4|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The Erie Lackawanna repeated the process in 1971. This time a hearing was held on July 15, 1971.<ref>{{cite news |title=Morris Seeks to Stop RR End to Local Runs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29128682/pomptonriverdale_june_24_1971/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Herald-News |date=June 24, 1971 |location=Passaic, New Jersey |page=6|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The borough of Riverdale expressed interest in buying the depot once the Erie Lackawanna agent was discontinued.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anti-Noise Bill for Riverdale |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43756742/pompton_riverdale_july_1_1971/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Paterson News |date=July 1, 1971 |page=21|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> This time, the agent was discontinued and the station was abandoned. The Erie Lackawanna offered up the depot for $10 (1971&nbsp;[[USD]]) to the borough of Riverdale.<ref>{{cite news |title=Van Ness Bridge to Open Today |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29128726/pomptonriverdale_station_october_7/ |access-date=February 6, 2020 |work=The Herald-News |date=October 7, 1971 |location=Passaic, New Jersey |page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>
[[File:Riverdale station site.jpg|right|thumb|The site of the Riverdale station in September 2014]]
== See also ==
*[[Montclair-Boonton Line]]
== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book |last2=Adams|first2=Arthur G.|last1=Baxter |first1=Raymond J. |title=Railroad Ferries of the Hudson: And Stories of a Deckhand |date=1999 |publisher=[[Fordham University Press]] |location=[[Fordham, New York]] |isbn=9780823219544}}
*{{cite book |last1=Jones|first1=Wilson|last2=Taber|first2=Thomas T.|last3=Lessersohn|first3=Harold|last4=Webber|first4=William S.|title=The Next Station Will Be...Volume 2: Erie Greenwood Lake Division |date=1975 |publisher=Railroadians of America |location=[[Roselle Park, New Jersey]]}}
*{{cite book |last1=Whittemore |first1=Henry |title=History of Montclair Township, State of New Jersey: Including the History of Families who Have Been Identified with Its Growth and Prosperity |date=1894 |publisher=The Suburban Publishing Company |location=New York, New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3GBFAQAAMAAJ |access-date=February 6, 2020}}
*{{cite book|author=Board of Railroad Commissioners |title=Third Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of New Jersey |date=1910 |publisher=MacCrellish and Quigley, State Printers |location=[[Trenton, New Jersey]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CKY6AQAAMAAJ |access-date=February 6, 2020}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{commons category-inline|Pompton–Riverdale station}}
{{Erie Railroad New York Division stations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pompton-Riverdale station}}
[[Category:Former Erie Railroad stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1873]]
[[Category:Transportation in Morris County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Former railway stations in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Riverdale, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1966 disestablishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:1873 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 1966]]