Denville is an active commuter railroad train station in Denville Township, Morris County, New Jersey. Located on Estling Road, the station contains three side platforms–two curved low-level platforms that service New Jersey Transit's Morristown Line, and a third that services their Montclair-Boonton Line. Both platforms on the Morristown Line contain miniature high-level platforms for handicap accessibility. Trains on both lines operate between Hoboken Terminal, New York Penn Station and Hackettstown. Heading westbound, the next station is Dover while the next station east on the Morristown Line is Mount Tabor. The next station east on the Montclair-Boonton Line is Mountain Lakes.
Denville | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Denville station's Morristown Line platform. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Estling Road (off  Route 53), Denville, New Jersey | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 40°53′2″N 74°28′52″W / 40.88389°N 74.48111°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | NJ Transit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 3 side platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections |  NJ Transit Bus: 880 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Station code | 34 (Boonton Branch)[1] 436 (Morris and Essex Railroad)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | 16[3][4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | July 4, 1848[5][6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Electrified | January 22, 1931[7] (Morristown Line only) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key dates | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| October 18, 1948 | Rockaway Branch service discontinued[8] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 21, 1991 | Station depot burned[9] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | 477 (average weekday)[10][11] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Railroad service in Denville began with the opening of the extension of the Morris and Essex Railroad to Rockaway from Morristown on July 4, 1848, with the extension to Dover opening just 27 days later. At the time, the line went due north the current station, running via Rockaway Township to reach Dover. As a result, the original Denville station was on Route 53 in Denville rather than its current location.[12] The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad opened its then-freight-only Boonton Branch on September 5, 1867.[13]
In 1903, the railroad eliminated the crossing between the Morris and Essex Railroad and Boonton Branches, re-designing it into a wye. At this time, the railroad built a new wooden station depot in the wye. Service via Rockaway was reduced to a branch line the railroad would discontinue on October 18, 1948. Electrification of the station came on January 22, 1931 when service between Dover and Hoboken began via Morristown. The station depot caught fire on September 21, 1991.
History
edit
Prior to the electrification of the Morristown Line in the 1930s, Morristown line trains crossed the Boonton Branch at a right angle, just east of Denville Tower, and continued northwesterly toward Rockaway. From Rockaway, the trains headed southwesterly into Dover. As part of the electrification project, the Morristown line was curved westward and joined the Boonton line in its present location. The track segment between Denville and Rockaway saw limited service after the 1930s, with service on the Rockaway Branch ending on October 18, 1948.[8] Interstate 80 now occupies a short portion of the right-of-way.[14] The New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office considered adding the building to the State Register of Historic Places; however, this never went through, and the station was demolished in 1992 after a fire on September 21, 1991.[9] The Denville Interlocking Tower has been found eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places.[15]
Station layout
editThe Montclair–Boonton Line has one track and one low-level side platform serving inbound trains during the morning rush and outbound trains in the evening rush. The Morristown Line has two tracks, each with a mini-high and low-level side platform. The three tracks merge into two just west of the station.[citation needed]
See also
editBibliography
edit- Blanco, Vito (2001). Images of America: Denville. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738509075. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- Lyon, Isaac S. (1873). Historical Discourse on Boonton, Delivered Before the Citizens of Boonton at Washington Hall, on the Evenings of September 21 and 28, and October 5, 1867. Newark, New Jersey: The Daily Journal Office. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- Platt, Charles Davis (1922). Dover Dates, 1722-1922: A Bicentennial History of Dover, New Jersey , Published in Connection with Dover's Two Hundredth Anniversary Celebration Under the Direction of the Dover Fire Department, August 9, 10, 11, 1922. Dover, New Jersey: Charles Davis Platt. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
References
edit- ^ List of Station Numbers. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Report). 1952. p. 1.
- ^ List of Station Numbers. Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (Report). 1952. p. 2.
- ^ "Morris and Essex Timetables" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. November 7, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 4, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
- ^ "Montclair-Boonton Line Timetables" (PDF) (May 23, 2010 ed.). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. pp. 1–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 28, 2010. Retrieved September 9, 2010.
- ^ Arch, Brad (January 1982). "The Morris and Essex Railroad" (PDF). Journal of New Jersey Postal History Society. X (1): 4–8. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ Platt 1922, p. 36.
- ^ "Electric Line Finished". The Bergen Evening Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. January 22, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b White, W.G. (September 29, 1948). "Please Take Notice That..." (Press release). Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
- ^ a b Salamon, Maureen (September 24, 1991). "Homeless Suspected in Station Fire". The Daily Record. p. 3. Retrieved March 30, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
- ^ "How Many Riders Use NJ Transit's Hoboken Train Station?". Hoboken Patch. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ Blanco 2001, p. 53.
- ^ Lyon 1873, p. 54.
- ^ Yanosey, Robert J. (2007). Lackawanna Railroad Facilities (In Color). Vol. 1: Hoboken - Dover. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc.
- ^ New Jersey State Historical Preservation Office (April 1, 2010). "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Morris County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 4, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
External links
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