Sad news from Orange County, NY. A co-worker of mine who lives in Central Valley, NY reported that the Erie RR Station at Harriman is finally gone. The building had been in a sad state of deterioration for years and was reportedly bulldozed earlier in June. Originally called Turners, the location was an early water stop for long distance Erie trains out of Jerszey City, and historically marked the site of the first telegraphic train order ever sent in the United States (although not from this building which was a later replacement). Don ================================= The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
Truly sad. The last NJ Transit trains stopped here in 1983. After that, new stations were built along the more rural "Graham line" which was constructed in 1906-1908 as an alternate low grade freight line. One highlight of the line is Moodna Viaduct. Harriman was on the mainline (double track) and the tracks have long been removed. The mainline and Graham line "split" just east of the Harriman station running several miles apart and merging together again at Howells Jct. a few miles east of Otisville, NY. There is a stone monument near the station (Harriman) honoring the first train telegraph dispatch. I'd upload some pics but haven't figured out this new Trainboard stuff yet.
