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RE: (erielack) Benson St. Station

I _knew_ there was a thread that I downloaded onto my laptop this past
weekend in Valley Forge that I forgot about!

As I have mentioned in the past, I grew up in Glen Ridge and cut my
EL-loving teeth sitting on the Erie benches at the Benson Street station
from 1968-76, inspecting purchases from Eveready Sport & Hobby on Broad
Street in Bloomfield, watching many, many freight trains and waiting for my
dad to arrive home from work in NYC...

It would surprise me that Glen Ridge would turn its back on that station;
it's a very historically-minded town. I think 150,000 is a steal, regardless
of condition. The biggest problem would be the local real estate taxes; for
a residential home of that size, in Glen Ridge, they would probably approach
15 - 20,000. Per year.

I knew Jimmy Wilson back then too; I remember when he would always have the
waiting room open and a pot of coffee out for commuters. He also had what I
remember as an O-scale plaster model of an Erie ABBA F-unit on display,
along with a lot of other artifacts... In the early seventies he had a
haunted house there; all I remember is him getting grief from the town for
it. Jimmy went on to a lot of other interesting ventures during my
high-school years from 77-81, including a before-its-time bus service to a
nascent Atlantic City casino scene; he also ran a coffee-shop/restaurant
called Mickey Finns in the center of town. Some day I'll see him and remind
him of all of this. But I digress...

I hope that it can be saved, but I'm sure it needs a huge wad of cash to
make it "right". Cash that I don't have...

Jim Harr

PS I never heard the "wealthy English family" story; very interesting...





From: "vze3fhdr" <vze3fhdr_@_verizon.net>
Subject: (erielack) Benson St. Station

    The discussion of the Glen Ridge station on the old Greenwood Lake
jogged my memory.

    As can be seen by the photos, and even more so seen in person, it is a
truly architecturally unique, at least as far as Erie stations in this area.

    There is a very simple reason for this, although not readily apparent.
Even Jim Wilson didn't know the history of the station until he started
renovating the building.

    A long time ago, a wealthy English family visited the area. They were so
taken buy the beauty of the place, they purchased a sizable amount of
property in the vicinity of the as yet unbuilt station. Seeing the railroad
tracks, they inquired as to the possibility of having trains stop. The
railroad replied that if a station was built, trains would stop.

    The family brought a team of carpenters from England to build the
station. It was built in the Tudor style to English dimensions. Jim
discovered this when he tried to but replacement windows and doors. Also, on
the track side (front) of the station, the miniature tower between the
dormers had a clock, similar to other classic stations.
    
    Bill


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