Rutherford is a

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. It ...

railroad station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing such ...

served by the

Bergen County Line The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either d ...

located in Rutherford,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States. The station is located near a

traffic circle A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

at the junction of Park Avenue, Union Avenue, Erie Avenue and Orient Way known as Station Square, with a

grade crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The t ...

on Park Avenue.

History

The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was constructed through Union Township in 1833 (still mostly farmland at this point), and a station was constructed adjacent to the "Boiling Springs" (actually cold, but so named due to its turbulent flow). The service on the railroad line was initially passenger coaches pulled by horses, with the driver having a seat in the coach. The railroad soon switched to locomotive-hauled, purchasing two locomotives built in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. The introduction of the locomotive service helped spur building construction and development in the area around Boiling Springs. The increased demand led the railroad to build a new station and ticket office as they bought land in the area to speculate on future development. The

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

which acquired the P&HR constructed a depot that was triangular in design made out of brick. The station depot was replaced in 1862. This structure in turn was replaced by the current construction of 1897. Around this time, the boroughs of Rutherford and East Rutherford were carved out from Union Township, choosing the railroad tracks as the mutual border. The station building has been listed in the

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office wit ...

and

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since 1984 and is part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.

Restoration

A two phase restoration project was started by New Jersey Transit in May 2008. The first phase to restore the outside of the building cost $1.4 million and was completed in June 2009. The second phase of the project was to restore the interior and cost $1.9 million. The second phase was completed on October 25, 2010.

Station layout

The station has two tracks, each with a low-level

side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, ...

Bibliography

* *

References

External links