Sloatsburg (Metro-North station)

Sloatsburg

View southward of the station
Location Intersection of Municipal Plaza & Mills Street
Coordinates 41°09′23″N 74°11′29″W / 41.1565°N 74.1913°W / 41.1565; -74.1913Coordinates: 41°09′23″N 74°11′29″W / 41.1565°N 74.1913°W / 41.1565; -74.1913
Owned by Metro-North Railroad
Line(s)
  Port Jervis Line
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 1
Connections Transport of Rockland: 93
Short Line Bus: 17M/MD
(on Orange Turnpike)
Construction
Parking 80 spaces
Other information
Station code 2509 (Erie Railroad)[1]
History
Opened 1868 (Erie Railroad)
Services
Preceding station   Metro-North Railroad   Following station
toward Port Jervis
Port Jervis Line
toward Hoboken
Erie Railroad
Sterlington
Main Line
TerminusPiermont Branch
Suffern-Piermont Branch
toward Piermont

The Sloatsburg Metro-North station serves the residents of Sloatsburg, New York, via Port Jervis Line commuter trains to New York City via Hoboken, 35.4 miles (57.0 km) away, and Secaucus Junction. The estimated travel time to Hoboken Terminal is about 50 minutes on express trains. It is located just south of a grade crossing and consists of short concrete platforms, and a shelter. There is limited parking available nearby.

Construction of the Sloatsburg station dates back to the 1830s, when the station was built along the Erie Railroad. The station served the line heading to Port Jervis northward, along with a stagecoach to Greenwood Lake three times a day. The station was populated by fishermen on their way to the lake, but has been the site of several accidents. These calamities include a derailed milk train in 1843 and a fatal accident between the train line and several mules and their owner in 1855. The station became part of Metro-North in 1983, when the service was created. The station was listed under a revitalization plan in 2005 to help serve its commuters.

Location

The Sloatsburg Metro-North station is located at the intersection of Municipal Plaza and Mills Street in the village of Sloatsburg, at 41.1565°N, -74.1913°W. It is accessible from the New York State Thruway (I-87) at Interchange 15A, and drivers have to follow the nearby New York State Route 17 to Municipal Plaza, where the station is visible.[2] There are connections to other places, via the Transport of Rockland Route 93 and Short Line Bus Routes 17M and 17MD.[3][4] However, these are not accessible at the station, but at the nearby State Route 17 (also known as Orange Turnpike). There is also one taxicab service to Sloatsburg called Sammy's Cab.[2]

History

Sloatsburg, New York as viewed from Sloatsburg Station and a Port Jervis-bound train

The Erie Railroad was constructed through Sloatsburg from 1836 to 1841, helping with the prosperity of the village, along with its population.[5] The station was also near the Sterlington one, but it never served of great importance.[6] The Sloatsburg station building was built in 1868 as a two-story brick facade with a tin roof. The style of the building, according to the railroad's 1920 engineering report, is a Type 6A style, with dimensions of 17' x 29.5' x 19'. The station was equipped to host as a base for XG Radio from the Suffern Tower (SF) in Suffern.[7] The Sloatsburg station served well for the nearby Greenwood Lake, with a stagecoach leaving the station three times day. The stagecoach was mainly inhabited by fishermen on their way to Greenwood Lake.[8]

The station has been the site of several major accidents involving locomotives. In 1843, the Sloatsburg station was the site of a large accident by train full of milk bottles.[9] On December 31, 1855, the railroad's Cincinnati Express was thrown off the tracks near the Sloatsburg station, when it tried to avoid a countrymen and his four mules, who were crossing the tracks. Three of the mules were killed and mutilated by the train, while the fourth died soon after. There was no damage to the cars or injuries to the passengers.[10] In the early days of August 1856, a girl by the name of McGraff was injured by an oncoming train near the station after carelessly walking onto the tracks. The parents, who were in a poor state financially, was given $45 (1856 USD) in return for their troubles from the Board of Directors in nearby Goshen.[11] On February 21, 1858, a train heading southbound experienced an accident when a brakeman, John Freeland, fell off the train and was run over. Freeland's legs were severed in the incident, and one arm was broken. They hurried Freeland southbound on a nearby train, but died by the time the train reached Paterson, New Jersey towards the hospital.[12]

Brown Estate gateposts

The station is also close to the original entrance gate to Sloatsburg's Cappamore Farm. The house in the nearby mountainside was built around 1900 as an estate for Nicholas T. Brown, a local alderman from Paterson, New Jersey.[13] This estate and farm gave a panoramic view of the countryside around Sloatsburg. The house was demolished during the construction of the New York State Thruway in 1956. The steel bridge over the Ramapo River and the wooden bridge over Sloat's Millrace were removed as they had become hazardous. Today, all that remains are the stone pillar entranceway, and a walking trail to the nearby Sloat's Dam.[14] The gateposts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with the remaining mill and dam structures since they used the same stonework.[15]

In 2005, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced plans to renovate the train station. This, along the village's plans to revitalize the entire village of Sloatsburg, was thought to give the bland train station a more traditional look. This would include adding a roof to protect commuters and visitors from the elements, such as rain or snow, handicap-accessible ramps for wheelchairs, better lighting, more seats for people to wait, and a heated shelter. (A shelter exists, but is not heated). The village also wants to use a $50,000 grant from the state to construct a large municipal parking lot near the station. This would get more people to use the station, as because with the lack of facilities, the station is under-used. The preliminary design was made by Jeff Livingston, an architect on the Sloatsburg Revitalization Committee.[16]

Station layout, structure, and services

1 ■ Port Jervis Line ← for Port Jervis
→ for Hoboken →
View to the north of the Sloatsburg station

The station's layout is of a large extent a piece of the village itself. Unlike most train stations, where the parking lot is near the station itself, Sloatsburg's lot is near the locally-named Hardware store on Mills Street. This parking lot has 80 parking spaces, most of which is to handle commuters. There are no meters for use of the parking lot, but riding is only free on weekends. The station has one ticket machine for travelers to use. It accepts debit cards, cash, and credit cards. The station is operated by the village of Sloatsburg instead of Metro-North. There is a shelter and one platform for commuters to use.[17]

The station is on average an hour and 24 minutes from Port Jervis, and 1 hours and 3 minutes from New York City.[18] The Sloatsburg station, along with other nearby stations (Tuxedo, Harriman, or Suffern) on the Port Jervis lines also serve numerous hiking trails in Harriman State Park and Bear Mountain State Park.[19]

References

  1. ↑ "List of Station Names and Numbers". Jersey City, New Jersey: Erie Railroad. May 1, 1916. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Sloatsburg Train Station Details. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2009.
  3. ↑ "Route 93" (PDF). Transport of Rockland. Transport of Rockland. 2009. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  4. ↑ Route 17M/17MD Brochure. CoachUSA ShortLine. 2009.
  5. ↑ Kuykendall, Eugene L. (1998). Historic Sloatsburg, 1738-1998, The Way it Was, Is and Can Be. Sloatsburg Historical Society.
  6. ↑ Mott, Edward Harold (1899). Between the Ocean and the Lakes--The Story of the ERIE.
  7. ↑ Yanosey, Robert J. (2006). New York. Erie Railroad Facilities in Color. Volume 2: NY. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books. p. 13. ISBN 1-58248-196-2.
  8. ↑ Hedden, Josiah; et al. (1864). The Erie Railway and its Branches. New York: Taintor Brothers and Company.
  9. ↑ "The First Sunday Train". The New York Times. August 12, 1900.
  10. ↑ "Railroad Accident and Narrow Escape". The New York Times. December 31, 1855.
  11. ↑ Mott, Edward Harold (1908). Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. Ticker Company. p. 424.
  12. ↑ "Accident on the New York and Erie Railroad". The New York Times. February 22, 1858. p. 5.
  13. ↑ "MRS. NICHOLAS T. BROWN.; The Wife of the Alderman Dies Suddenly While Being Examined by a Doctor.". The New York Times. October 10, 1897. p. 5.
  14. ↑ The Sloatsburg Historical Society historical sign located next to the Sloatsburg station and Stone Pillars denonate the history of the structure
  15. ↑ Bonafide, John (November 1999). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Sloat's Dam and Mill Pond". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  16. ↑ Beg, Sulaiman (June 8, 2005). "New life sought for old train station". The Journal News.
  17. ↑ "Sloatsburg Station". Rockland County, New York. 2009. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  18. ↑ "Main/Bergen County" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. 2009. p. 4. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  19. ↑ "Walk a Mile in Your Shoes...". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2009. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
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