Arlington station (NJ Transit)

Arlington is a former commuter railroad train station in the Arlington section of Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located on Garafola Place between the Forest and Elm Street intersections, the station served trains on NJ Transit's Boonton Line as well as the only remaining active station in Kearny until its closure. The station, which contained two low-level side platforms, operated trains between Hoboken Terminal and locations west to Dover and Hackettstown. The next station to the east was Hoboken while the station to the west was Rowe Street in Bloomfield.

Arlington
The site of the former Arlington station as viewed near Garafola Place.
General information
Location	Garafola Place between Elm and Forest Streets, Kearny, New Jersey
Coordinates	40.7698°N 74.1401°W / 40.7698; -74.1401
Owned by	Norfolk Southern
Line(s)	Boonton Line
Platforms	2 low-level side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Platform levels	1
Other information
Station code	1701 (Erie Railroad)[1]
History
Opened	January 1, 1873; 151 years ago (1873-01-01)[2]
Closed	September 20, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-09-20)[3]
Electrified	N/A
Previous names	Conrail, New Jersey Transit
Passengers
2002	137[4]
Former services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Rowe Street toward Hackettstown Boonton Line Hoboken Terminus North Newark toward Hackettstown Boonton Line until April 26, 1986 Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station West Arlington toward Sterling Forest New York and Greenwood Lake Railway Jersey City Terminus
Location

Railroad service through the Arlington neighborhood began on January 1, 1873 with the introduction of the Montclair Railway between Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City to Monks in West Milford. The station was one of two in Kearny for the line, with the other one at West Arlington. This line became and the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad, operated by the Erie Railroad until October 17, 1960.^[5] The line became part of the merged Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line in 1963. The service continued into NJ Transit, becoming the Boonton Line. Arlington station closed, along with Rowe Street and Benson Street station in Glen Ridge on September 20, 2002 in advance of the opening of the Montclair Connection.^[3]

Station layout

Ground/ Platform level	Side platform, doors opened on the right
	Outbound and Inbound	←      Boonton Line weekdays toward Dover or Hackettstown (Rowe Street) |←      Boonton Line weekdays toward Hoboken (Hoboken) →
	Side platform, doors opened on the right
	Street level	Parking (Garafola Place)

Accident

Arlington station in 1910 during its days as an Erie Railroad station

On September 8, 1965, three Kearny High School students were struck and killed by a two car Erie Lackawanna train.^[6] The trio, on their way to the first day of the fall term, crossed the tracks at the Elm Street crossing next to the station despite the gate being down. Thinking the warning lights were for a departing east bound train (towards Hoboken), the three students went around the barrier. A boxcar parked in a siding next to the station blocked the victims from seeing the oncoming west bound express train.^[7]

All three (Robert Floyd, 16, Rodney Murdock, 16, and Richard Collins, 15) were killed instantly. Both the train's fireman and conductor were later arraigned on charges of manslaughter. Following the accident, the town of Kearny began to have physical guards at the crossing during school hours.^[8]

See also

• Benson Street – First of two additional stations that were removed with the Montclair Connection.
• Rowe Street – Second of two additional stations that were removed with the Montclair Connection.
• West Arlington station – Second of two stations in Arlington for the Erie Lackawanna Railway.

Bibliography

• Catlin, George L. (1873). Homes on the Montclair Railway, for New York Business Men. A Description of the Country Adjacent to the Montclair Railway, Between Jersey City and Greenwood Lake. New York, New York: Montclair Railway Company.

References

1. "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
2. Catlin 1873, p. 33.
3. "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures". Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
4. Jung, C. Rae (October 30, 2002). "Commuters Want Old Train Line Reinstated". The South Bergenite. pp. A1, A2. Retrieved February 8, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "New Board Opens Throttle Today on Erie-Lackawanna". The Elmira Star-Gazette. October 17, 1960. p. 10. Retrieved December 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Moberley, Leeds (September 6, 1965). "Train Kills Three N.J. Youths On Way To Opening-Day Classes". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 11, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Staff, The Observer (September 8, 2020). "SIDEBAR NOT IN PRINT — (From 1965) — 3 Kearny High students killed on way to school; 2 juniors, sophomore struck by train at Elm Street grade crossing". The Observer Online. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
8. Canessa, Kevin (September 8, 2020). "55 Years Ago, 3 KHS Boys Killed by Train at Elm St. Depot". The Observer Online. Retrieved November 11, 2020.