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(rshsdepot) Sparta, NJ
From today's Star-Ledger.
Bernie Wagenblast
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Train station site may live again
Recreational and historic uses eyed in Sparta
Thursday, January 11, 2007
BY JOE MOSZCZYNSKI
Star-Ledger Staff
The Sparta station was once a railroad stop for city folks taking the long
trek "up to the country" to enjoy the many summer destina tion spots
available in Sussex County.
Starting in the late 1800s, Sparta thrived as a summer resort community,
catering to tourists who came by railroad to swim in the county's lakes and
enjoy its pristine beauty. After arriving at the station, the visitors would
take a horse-and-carriage buggy ride to one of the many resorts.
"The station made Sparta a popular place to go in the late 1800s ... there
were 30 resort hotels in the area," said local historian and railroad buff
Bill Truran, who wants to restore the old New York Susquehanna & Western
Railroad station to its former glory.
The 125-year-old Sparta station, which has a cookie-cutter design once used
in all depots of the NYS&W, was one of 15 built in the county by the
railroad. Today, only Sparta and Ogdensburg still stand.
With the growing popularity of automobiles, passenger service ended at the
station in the late 1930s, and A.O. Polymer, a plastics manufacturer,
operated a plant ad jacent to the station and used the station for office
space from the 1960s until 1993.
A.O. Polymer abandoned the plant in 1994, about a decade after the federal
Environmental Protection Agency placed it on the Superfund list because of
air and water quality violations.
Today, the dilapidated station off Station Road near Route 15 sits vacant.
The old ticket office, waiting room, the stationmaster's quarters and a
freight section lie in disrepair, although the station appears to be
structurally sound. Sunlight can be seen through the station's old slate
roof while all of its windows are long gone and graffiti left by vandals can
be observed throughout the wooden building.
A.O. Polymer's old headquarters next to the station looks eerie with its
rusted steel structures and overgrown weeds.
Over the years, thousands of tons of contaminated soil and hundreds of drums
were taken from the site and it was removed from the Superfund list in 2000.
But Truran and Ed Fritsch, president of the Sparta Historical Society, see a
future in the decrepit four-acre site.
They are lobbying Sparta officials, as well as Rep. Rodney Fre linghuysen
(R-11th District), to get Sparta to buy the station and the adjoining A.O.
Polymer property, which is expected to be up for sale at a federal auction
this spring. The property's assessed value is about $237,000, but a minimum
bid at an auction would be more than $1 million because of tax liens on the
property.
A purchase by Sparta, Truran and Fritsch say, would be beneficial for both
history enthusiasts and the township.
"We feel it would be great for Sparta. It has everything Sparta is looking
for," said Truran.
Truran has proposed that Sparta build six basketball courts and a
youth-sized soccer field, as well as a large parking lot, at the site. The
idea, Truran and Fritsch said, has been endorsed by the planning board and
forwarded to the township council.
In the meantime, the railroad station could be renovated at no cost to the
township by volunteers from the Morristown-based Tri- State Railroad
Historical Society and the Sussex County Railroad Club who have already done
some clean-up work at the station.
Eventually, Truran and Fritsch would like to see the station become a
historical railroad museum that could be used for railroad club meetings and
school visits. Rail road excursions, similar to those now conducted in
Newfoundland, Phillipsburg and Whippany, could also be set up on the tracks,
which are currently in use by NYS&W for freight trains.
"Wouldn't it be great? They (Sparta) want and need the fields anyway," said
Truran. "Our biggest hurdle is for them to put their money where their mouth
is."
Joe Moszczynski may be reached at jmoszczynski_@_starledger.com or (973)
383-0516.
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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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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1479
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org