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Coordinates: 40°58′56″N 74°08′29″W / 40.98224°N 74.14134°W / 40.98224; -74.14134
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MIDLAND PARK
General information
Location218 Goffle Road, Midland Park, New Jersey, 07432
Coordinates40°58′56″N 74°08′29″W / 40.98224°N 74.14134°W / 40.98224; -74.14134
Owned byNew Jersey Western (1869-1870)
New Jersey Midland (1870-1881)
NYS&W (1881-1898)
Erie Railroad (1898-1937)
NYS&W (1937-1966)
Line(s)New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad Main Line
Platforms1 low-level side platform
Tracks1 New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad
Connections Public Service Railway trolley
Hawthorne Line (1914-1926)[1]
Construction
Structure typeat-grade
Other information
Station code1129 (Erie Railroad)[2]
History
Opened1869; 155 years ago (1869)
ClosedJune 30, 1966; 57 years ago (June 30, 1966)[3]
ElectrifiedNot electrified
Previous namesGodwinville
Services
Preceding station   Erie   Following station
North Hawthorne   NYS&W’s Main Line   Wortendyke

Station layout and services[edit]

Midland Park was located on the NYS&W’s Main Line, which during the years of Erie Railroad control (1898-1937) stretched from Croxton in Jersey City, New Jersey to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. At Croxton, the NYS&W's tracks met the Erie Railroad’s Main Line. Through this junction, passenger trains on the NYS&W’s Main Line originating as far away as Pennsylvania were able to connect to Erie’s Pavonia Terminal.[3]

The area where the yard was located is within a formerly industrial area of Midland Park, with the station itself located on the southeast corner of intersection of Goffle Road and Wyckoff/Lake Avenue. The NYS&W listed its milepost (MP) along the Main Line at 24.90. It was between NYS&W’s North Hawthorne and Wortendyke stations, although it was slightly further from North Hawthorne (MP 23.30) than Wortendyke (MP 26.10).[4] There was at one point a depot known as Van Winkle built by the New Jersey Western Railroad about a quarter mile north of North Hawthorne, but it was dismantled in 1891. The station house from Van Winkle was moved to North Hawthorne, which at the time was under construction.[5]

In 1941, the NYS&W's Main Line had shrunk as the railroad abandoned the line between Hainesburg Junction (Blairstown, New Jersey) and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Though the railroad extended to Blairstown until 1962, passenger service by 1939 continued only between Butler and Jersey City, with trains originating in Butler and North Hawthorne.[3]

Train service beginning in North Hawthorne included rapid transit 'streamliners' which serviced Paterson and surrounding locales with direct service to Susquehanna Transfer in North Bergen (which had connecting bus service to Midtown Manhattan). However, streamliner service did not normally extend north of North Hawthorne, and as such, Midland Park was serviced by slower trains originating in Butler. These trains visited Midland Park ten times per week and provided service to Pavonia Terminal, as well as the Susquehanna Transfer. Commuter trains continued to stop at Midland Park until 1966, when the NYS&W terminated all passenger service due to financial difficulties.[3]

The station building at Midland Park was sold to private interests after the end of passenger service and continued to exist until August 28th, 1985 when it was destroyed by a fire.[6]

History[edit]

A new enterprise[edit]

What would eventually become Midland Park station was constructed in 1869 by the New Jersey Western Railroad (NJW), the earliest predecessor of the NYS&W. At the time, Cornelius A. Wortendyke was the president of the NJW, which was actively building the line north of Hawthorne. Wortendyke's grandfather had established a cotton mill in Godwinville (within Franklin Township) nearly a hundred year earlier, which he continued to operate.[7] Prior to 1869, the nearest railroad to the mill was the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad (which would become part of the Erie's Main Line), with a station at the newly named village of Ridgewood, which was also part of Franklin Township and formerly included in the area of Godwinville.[8] However, Wortendyke sought more direct service and brought the line of the NJW through the southern part of Franklin Township, passing through the village of Godwinville to the mill.[9] Two depots were constructed on the line in Godwinville, one near the center of the village, referred to as Godwinville, and another near the mill, Wortendyke.

In 1870, NJW merged with New York and Oswego Midland Railroad (NY&OM) to form the New Jersey Midland Railway. Not long after the merger, the depot at Godwinville was being referred to as Midland Park, the name derived from the new company. An article from the 1872 edition of the journal Railroad Gazette listing New Jersey Midland's stations shows an entry for "Midland Park (Godwinville)".[10] Maps as early as 1876 show the name of the depot simply as Midland Park, while only three years prior the name Godwinville was still in use.[11] The name Midland Park would later be applied to area of Godwinville surrounding the station, and on September 6th, 1894 this area (including some of the adjacent area of the Township of Ridgewood, which had previously split from Franklin Township on March 30th, 1876[12]) would be incorporated as the Borough of Midland Park.[13]

Erie control[edit]

Passenger service post-Erie[edit]

Later years[edit]

After seeing almost a century of use, the station building was sold to private interests after 1966. On August 28th, 1985, while the building was under the ownership of the Stripping Depot, a fire broke out which destroyed the more than 115 year old station. A firefighter, Marinus "Pat" Witte, was killed while responding to the blaze, which was the first time in Midland Park's history that a firefighter was lost in the line of duty.[6]



  1. ^ Hamm, Jr., Edward (1991). The Public Service Trolley Lines in New Jersey. Transportation Trails. ISBN 0-933449-12-7.
  2. ^ "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Mohowski, Robert E. (2003). The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-7222-7.
  4. ^ System Time Table #52 (PDF). New York Susquehanna & Western Railway Corporation. 2008. p. 68, 78. Retrieved August 7, 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ Krause, John; Crist, Ed (1980). Susquehanna; New York Susquehanna & Western RR. Carstens Publications. ISBN 0-911868-38-0.,
  6. ^ a b "Department's history has been a trial by fire". The Villadom TIMES. September 16, 2009. p. 18,23. Retrieved August 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ Nelson, William (1882). History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Everts and Peck. p. 204-210. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  8. ^ Van Valen, J.M. (1900). History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  9. ^ "History of the 'Susie-Q' railroad". Midland Park Suburban News. August 20, 2009.
  10. ^ Railroad Gazette: Fourth Quarto Volume - From January 1st, 1872 to December 31st, 1872. A.N. Kellogg and Company. 1872. p. 267. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  11. ^ "Historical New Jersey Railroad Maps". Rutgers Cartography Services - Historical Maps of New Jersey. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
  12. ^ Acts of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey. State of New Jersey. Chiswell & Wurts, Book and Job Printers. 1876. p. 487. Retrieved September 3, 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ^ "Bergen County New Jersey Municipalities". Dutch Door Genealogy. 1998–2011. Retrieved September 3, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
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