Great Notch station

Great Notch
The station on December 19, 2009, a month prior to closing.
General information
Coordinates	40°52′26″N 74°12′21″W / 40.8738°N 74.2058°W / 40.8738; -74.2058
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1 track, 1 siding
Connections	NJT Bus: 191, 195, and 705
Construction
Platform levels	Ground
Parking	under 20[1]
Bicycle facilities	No
Other information
Station code	1747 (Erie Railroad)[2]
Fare zone	7[3]
History
Opened	January 1, 1873[4][5][6]
Closed	January 17, 2010[7]
Rebuilt	1905,[8] 1988
Electrified	September 30, 2002
Previous names	Caldwell Junction[9]
Key dates
June 20, 1891	Caldwell Branch service began[10]
February 18, 1966	Station agency closed[11]
April 17, 1988	Depot caught fire[12]
Passengers
2009	2286[13]  87%
Former services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Little Falls toward Hackettstown Montclair-Boonton Line limited service Montclair State University toward New York or Hoboken Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station Little Falls toward Sterling Forest New York and Greenwood Lake Railway Montclair Heights toward Jersey City Cedar Grove toward Essex Fells Caldwell Branch Terminus
Location

Great Notch station was a small New Jersey Transit facility in the Great Notch section of Little Falls, New Jersey. The station was served seven times a day, three inbound morning trains to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening trains from Hoboken by the Montclair-Boonton Line from Monday to Friday. Located at the intersection of Notch Road and Long Hill Road, it was the second of three stations in Little Falls, the other two being Montclair State University and Little Falls and, after electrification, was the first on the line to be strictly served by diesel trains. However, most trains bypassed this station and continued on to Little Falls (westbound) and Montclair State University (eastbound). The station was served by a double track which ended west of the station. The last trains stopped at the station on January 15, 2010, at 7:41pm.

Train service at Great Notch originated in 1873, as part of the Montclair Railway. Service to Caldwell began in 1891, when the Caldwell Railway opened, serving Great Notch, Overbrook Hospital, Verona, and Caldwell. The station at Great Notch was first constructed in 1905 as a double station building for the Erie Railroad. The station was a green and red building serving the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, along with the Caldwell Branch. The station also used an old boxcar as a tool shed for maintenance. By the early 1970s, the station had fallen into disrepair, and by 1974, was repainted Erie Railroad-style red with the tool shed box car removed. The station was abandoned when the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad went out of business and was later picked up by New Jersey Transit. After making deals with the mayor of Little Falls, New Jersey Transit gave the station a one-year "trial" to attract ridership. Ridership went down, however, and so the trial was canceled on December 18, 2009. The town of Little Falls was contacted by New Jersey Transit at that time, reporting that the Great Notch station would be closed on January 17, 2010 due to the "anemic" ridership at the station.