PARK RIDGE, N.J.––Seen here are two vintage views of the Park Ridge railroad station. The top photo dates to the summer of 1966, while the image below goes slightly further back to 1964.
Of course the old cars (and bus!) are always great to see, but also take note of the logos on the trains. In both photos, the trains bear the combined “EL” symbol for “Erie Lackawanna.”
The name of the rail line traversing the Pascack Valley has changed many times since the tracks were laid nearly 150 years ago. Originally chartered as the Hackensack and New York Railroad, this later became the New Jersey and New York Railroad, which was purchased by the Erie Railroad in 1896. A 1960 merger created the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which we see here. Since the 1980s, the line has belonged to NJ Transit.
Those who grew up around Park Ridge might recognize the brick building that’s partially obscured by the train station in the image above. It’s the old Burroughs Corp., whose large factory stretched south along Broadway from Park Avenue. Formerly Mittag & Volger, the largest producer of typewriter ribbon and carbon paper in the world in the early 20th century, the business merged with the Burroughs Adding Machine Company in 1949. After shutting down in the mid-1980s, the factory was razed and today its footprint is the site of a condominium complex.
Some items to note in the photo second photo include the old phone booth with its red panels next to the train station, as well as the lack of crossing gates at the tracks. While these days our rail crossings have automatic safety gates, in 2017 phone booths (and pay phones in general) have become a relic of the past.
–Kristin Beuscher
