Bound Brook station

Bound Brook
Bound Brook station in April 2015, looking east along the south platform
General information
LocationEast Main Street (CR 527-533), Bound Brook, New Jersey
Owned byNew Jersey Transit
Line(s)Raritan Valley Line
Distance30.2 miles (48.6 km) from Jersey City[1]
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
ConnectionsSomerset County Transportation: DASH
Construction
Structure typeCanopy
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesRacks
AccessibleNo
Other information
Fare zone14
History
OpenedJanuary 1, 1840[2]
Rebuilt1859–1860
1872[3]
July 1912–August 10, 1913[4][5]
Previous namesYellow Tavern (1840–1842)[3]
Passengers
2012622 (average weekday)[6]
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station
Bridgewater
toward High Bridge
 Raritan Valley Line Dunellen
toward New York Penn Station or Hoboken
Former services
Preceding station Conrail Following station
Belle Mead
toward Reading Terminal
 Crusader and Wall Street
1976–1981
 Newark
Terminus
Belle Mead
toward West Trenton
 West Trenton Line
1981–1982
(NJ Transit)
Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station
Somerville
toward Scranton
 Main Line Dunellen
toward Jersey City
Manville–Finderne
toward Somerville
 Somerville – Jersey City
Local
 Middlesex
toward Jersey City
Preceding station Reading Railroad Following station
Belle Mead
toward Philadelphia
 New York Branch Terminus
Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station
West Trenton
toward Philadelphia: Chestnut St. or Reading Terminal
 Philadelphia – Jersey City
Local
 Plainfield
toward Jersey City
Wayne Junction
toward Chicago
 Main Line
Until 1926
 Manhattan Transfer
toward New York
Bound Brook Station
Map
LocationE. Main Street, Bound Brook, New Jersey
Coordinates40°33′39″N 74°31′51″W / 40.56083°N 74.53083°W / 40.56083; -74.53083
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1913 (1913)
ArchitectWilliam I. Houghton
Architectural styleClassical Revival
MPSOperating Passenger Railroad Stations TR
NRHP reference No.84002787[7]
NJRHP No.2481[8]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 22, 1984
Designated NJRHPMarch 17, 1984

Bound Brook is a New Jersey Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in Bound Brook, New Jersey. The station building on the north side of the tracks is now a restaurant; the other station building on the south side is now privately owned. A pedestrian tunnel connects the south and north sides of the tracks.

The Norfolk Southern Railway's Lehigh Line, the railroad's main freight line into the New York City area – built and formerly owned by the Lehigh Valley Railroad until merged into Conrail – is a few yards south of the south platform and is used by around 25 freight trains a day. The Lehigh Valley Railroad used a separate station to the south.

History

The station at 350 East Main Street was opened on August 10, 1913 as a replacement station.[4][5] This was a part of the Central Railroad of New Jersey Elevation Project from Elizabeth to Somerville (grade crossing removal). The station on the north side of the tracks replaced the original station (circa 1847-1848) that was located on the south side of the tracks as built by the Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad.[9]

Bound Brook station was listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.[10]

Station layout

The station has two low-level side platforms serving two tracks. Both are 400 feet (120 m) long and can accommodate four cars.[11]

Bibliography

  • Bianculli, Anthony J. (2001). Trains and Technology: Track and Structures. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 9780874138023.

References

  1. ^ NJ Transit (2005). NJ Transit Rail Operations: Physical Characteristics. pp. 117–119, 142b, 173–182.
  2. ^ "Original Route of New Jersey Central Railroad Followed Old Post Road Between Plainfield, Elizabethport, Historian Says". The Plainfield Courier-News. December 31, 1938. p. 7. Retrieved March 27, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b Bernhart, Benjamin L. (2004). Historic Journeys By Rail: Central Railroad of New Jersey Stations, Structures & Marine Equipment. Outer Station Project. p. 64. ISBN 1891402072.
  4. ^ a b "R. R. Improvements at Bound Brook and Somerville". The Daily Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. July 27, 1912. p. 8. Retrieved July 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b "Bound Brook's New Station in Use". The Plainfield Courier-News. August 11, 1913. p. 16. Retrieved July 28, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "QUARTERLY RIDERSHIP TRENDS ANALYSIS" (PDF). New Jersey Transit. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  7. ^ "National Register Information System – (#84002787)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  8. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Somerset County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. December 28, 2020. p. 3.
  9. ^ Central Railroad of New Jersey
  10. ^ Meyer, Richard (May 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Bound Brook Station". National Park Service. With accompanying photo
  11. ^ "RARITAN VALLEY LINE ONE-SEAT RIDE SERVICE TO MANHATTAN" (PDF). July 2020. pp. 75, 81. Retrieved June 8, 2023.