Great Notch station

Great Notch
The station on December 19, 2009, a month prior to closing.
General information
Coordinates40°52′26″N 74°12′21″W / 40.8738°N 74.2058°W / 40.8738; -74.2058
Owned byNew Jersey Transit
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1 track, 1 siding
ConnectionsNJT Bus: 191, 195, and 705
Construction
Platform levelsGround
Parkingunder 20[1]
Bicycle facilitiesNo
Other information
Station code1747 (Erie Railroad)[2]
Fare zone7[3]
History
OpenedJanuary 1, 1873[4][5][6]
ClosedJanuary 17, 2010[7]
Rebuilt1905,[8] 1988
ElectrifiedSeptember 30, 2002
Previous namesCaldwell Junction[9]
Key dates
June 20, 1891Caldwell Branch service began[10]
February 18, 1966Station agency closed[11]
April 17, 1988Depot caught fire[12]
Passengers
20092286[13]Decrease 87%
Former services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Little Falls Montclair-Boonton Line
limited service
Montclair State University
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
Little Falls New York and Greenwood Lake Railway Montclair Heights
Cedar Grove Caldwell Branch Terminus
Location
Map

Great Notch station was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from Hoboken by the Montclair-Boonton Line from Monday to Friday. Located at the intersection of Notch Road and Long Hill Road, it was the second of three stations in Little Falls, the other two being Montclair State University and Little Falls and, after electrification, was the first on the line to be strictly served by diesel trains. However, most trains bypassed this station and continued on to Little Falls (westbound) and Montclair State University (eastbound). The station was served by a double track which ended west of the station. The last trains stopped at the station on January 15, 2010, at 7:41pm.

Train service at Great Notch originated in 1873, as part of the Montclair Railway. Service to Caldwell began in 1891, when the Caldwell Railway opened, serving Great Notch, Overbrook Hospital, Verona, and Caldwell. The station at Great Notch was first constructed in 1905 as a double station building for the Erie Railroad. The station was a green and red building serving the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, along with the Caldwell Branch. The station also used an old boxcar as a tool shed for maintenance. By the early 1970s, the station had fallen into disrepair, and by 1974, was repainted Erie Railroad-style red with the tool shed box car removed. The station was abandoned when the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad went out of business and was later picked up by New Jersey Transit. After making deals with the mayor of Little Falls, New Jersey Transit gave the station a one-year "trial" to attract ridership. Ridership went down, however, and so the trial was canceled on December 18, 2009. The town of Little Falls was contacted by New Jersey Transit at that time, reporting that the Great Notch station would be closed on January 17, 2010 due to the "anemic" ridership at the station.

  1. ^ Cunningham, Jennifer H (January 3, 2010). "It's end of the line for Great Notch station: Low ridership cited in rail stop's closure". The Record. Bergen County, N.J. p. L.3. ProQuest 426660189.
  2. ^ "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  3. ^ "Montclair-Boonton Line Timetables" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. November 8, 2009. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  4. ^ Catlin 1873, p. 33.
  5. ^ Whittemore 1894, p. 47.
  6. ^ Baxter & Adams 1999, p. 147.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference termination was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Yanosey, Robert J. (2006). Erie Railroad Facilities (In Color). Vol. 1. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. pp. 74–75. ISBN 1-58248-183-0.
  9. ^ Jaeger, Phillip Edward (2000). Images of America: Cedar Grove. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 9780738504520. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  10. ^ "Eagle Feathers". The Madison Eagle. June 26, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved March 11, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Hordiuk, Bohdan (February 21, 1966). "End of Another Era". The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. pp. 35–36. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference greatnotchfire1988 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference closing was invoked but never defined (see the help page).