Eastern Railroad Discussion > Still hanging in there after all these years!

Is what the former Reading depot is doing in Belle Mead, NJ along CSX’s Trenton Line. Built in the early 1900’s, on December 3, 1919, it was ready to be occupied for service and considered a state-of-the art facility. Vegetation and vandalism are slowly taking its toll on the remaining two buildings. With CSX 911 "Honoring First Responders" as its leader, B705 passes by the depot with a consist of ethanol tank cars on this unusually warm spring like Monday that definitely felt more like summer.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/24 11:09 by Pattenburg.

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A beautiful small, old station that may be too far gone to restore.  I wonder if it is privately owned?  Or why it is still standing after all these years.  I assume if the RR owned it, it would have been torn down a long time ago.

 

Topfuel Wrote:
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> A beautiful small, old station that may be too far
> gone to restore.  I wonder if it is privately
> owned?  Or why it is still standing after all
> these years.  I assume if the RR owned it, it
> would have been torn down a long time ago.
>
>  
It has a historical designation which is why it hasn't been demolished and repairing might prove to be too costly. In 2018, Preservation New Jersey recognized the Belle Mead station as being one of the ten most endangered historic places in New Jersey. The station earned this dubious distinction by meeting the organization’s program criteria. It spotlights irreplaceable historic, architectural, cultural, and archaeological resources in New Jersey that are in imminent danger of being lost. Considering the current state of this station, it certainly fulfills those qualifications.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/24 11:34 by Pattenburg.

Railroad Media Archive has released another video in the past week titled:
CNJ, B&O & Reading Jersey City to Belle Mead
it's 25 minutes long: first half devoted to bus service from Manhattan to Jersey City, B&O movements in/out of Jersey City terminal, some CNJ action and a mid-day Crusader departure with one FP-7 placing the film in the mid-fifties as that's when the mid day train was discontinued.
Scenes move to E-port, Elizabeth, Bound Brook, Weston-Manville and finally Belle Mead when the station was in all its glory.
jb

It is hard to believe that used to be a four track main line through there!  We are fortunate that the Hopewell and Pennington stations still exist and are in much better condition.  I am fortunate that I rode this line behind steam in 1972 behind 2102 and in 1978 behind 765!  I see the poor Belle Mead station every once in a while when I am in the area.  I also remember the Belle tower that used to be down the line a little.

Ron