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(rshsdepot) Fire at Upper Montclair, NJ

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1139205482120600.xml&coll=1
I'm 99% certain this was Erie RR; 1989 photo at http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/%7Etubbs/ErieLackawanna/168-09.JPG
Fire damages restaurant at train station
No interruptions for transit service in Montclair area 
Monday, February 06, 2006 
Star-Ledger Staff 
An early morning fire broke out yesterday inside a restaurant within the Upper Montclair NJ Transit train station, gutting the building, but the damage will not interrupt morning Midtown Direct service, authorities said yesterday. 

No injuries were reported at scene of the two-alarm fire that started around 1:30 a.m inside the Round Trip Fare restaurant at Bellevue Avenue and Valley Road. The cause of the fire was still under investigation but it did not appear to be suspicious, officials said. 

Township public works crews on the scene yesterday cleaned up the area and roped off the entire station. No damage was visible to the train tracks. 

Approximately 200 feet near the east end of the platforms will open for commuters to board, said NJ Transit spokesman Ken Hitchener. 

The Upper Montclair station is one of six in the township and service is available Monday through Friday only, Hitchner said. 

Gerald Tobin, First Ward Councilman, said the fire destroyed "a historic building, a key building for the Upper Montclair Village." Tobin said he was going to review the damage tomorrow. "It's an incredible loss for us," he said. "We have to find out what caused the blaze, and rebuild it just the same." 

Yesterday, curious residents looked into the charred building as police and fire inspectors examined the site. 

Montclair holds the lease on all six NJ Transit stations and rents them to tenants, said Mayor Ed Remsen. 

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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