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RE: (rshsdepot) DL&W Johnsonburg, NJ
I emailed the councilwoman who is also president of the local historical society and got a quick reply.
It seemed that last month, two boys were trespassing in the ruins of the old Sealtest Creamery, which was located across the tracks from the depot, when a wall fell and injured one of them. The NJDOT"s (now owners of the proiperty) response was to send a crew in and level all remaining structures in the area, without any regard to physical condition or historical significance.
Another example of the incompetence in Trenton, as the station itself was in no danger of collapsing, and had a new "new" roof installed during the Jerry Turco era. Oh well, nothing that can be done now!
Don> From: donnielee46_@_hotmail.com> To: rshsdepot@lists.railfan.net> Subject: (rshsdepot) DL&W Johnsonburg, NJ> Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:38:39 +0000> > > The former DL&W RR & Erie Lackawanna poured concrete station at Johnsonburg, NJ is gone, demolished sometime within the last few weeks.> > The building was constructed between 1910-1911 as one of three poured concrete stations on the Lackawanna's New Jersey Cutoff (the other two being Greendell and Blairstown. Greendell is currently vacant and vandalized and Blairstown is being used as the headquaters of a construction/carting company).> > Johnsonburg was never a successful venture for the DL&W and was the first of the three to disappear as an agency station, exact date unknown, but probably in the late 1930's or early 1940's. It was already long gone as a passenger stop when the E-L discontinued trains #5 and #6 on January 5th & 6th, 1970. Freight service on the line was discontinued in 1979 after Conrail took over, and the rails were picked up in 1984 when the property was sold to developer Jerry Turco.> > The station was already gutted by that time, and the entire roof was missing as the result of a fire. To satisfy local complaints, Turco eventually rebuilt the roof (note...rebuilt...NOT restored, as the new roofline was pitched much less than the original, as testified to by the original flashing which was still clinging to the chimney at least a foot above the new ridge) and replaced windows and doors, but had no success in renting it out (did he really even try?), and it gradually began to revert to nature due to vandals and local teens who found it to be a great party/drinking spot.> > Why it was suddenly torn down is a mystery to me, and hopefully someone on this list might shed more light on it. As the property is owned by the State of New Jersey, they would need to give approval. Perhaps the "attractive nuisance" aspect of it and the fact that it was not planned to be a stop if the line is restored as proposed contributed to its demise. Did !
Frelingh
uysen Township (where Johnsonburg is located) request it? Anyway, its a shame that another piece of history is gone!> > Don Dorflinger> _________________________________________________________________> Shed those extra pounds with MSN and The Biggest Loser!> http://biggestloser.msn.com/> ================================> The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing> railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org> To Unsubscribe: http://lists.railfan.net/rshsdepot-photo/unsub.html
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
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