Passenger Trains > NJ - Broadway, Fair Lawn on NJ Transit

Fair Lawn is a suburban town in Bergen County NJ, located along the Bergen County Line (xErie Railroad) of NJ Transit. This is the more southern of two stations in the township, with Radburn as the more northern. The station is located on busy Broadway, a throat point for express buses from NY City into Passaic and western Bergen County points. As a matter of policy, many NJ Transit rail stations have adjacent express bus stops.

It's a very basic station. Stairs up from route 4, a bus shelter and ticket machine, and a tattered platform. Small parking lot across the street.

Photo 1 - looking north, toward Suffern. The lines are signaled for operation in either direction. The switch visible in the distance leads to the A. Zerega Pasta plant on my left. The towers contain grain and milled flour, I believe.

In 1984, vandals threw the Zerega switch in the path of a southbound NJ Transit train, killing veteran engineer John Duffy. The miscreants were imprisoned, and the terrible incident led to the installation of dispatcher controlled electric locks on all switches along the passenger mains owned by NJT.

Photo 2 - turning around and looking south, toward Broadway. This is a relatively lightly used station

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In 1984, vandals threw the Zerega switch in the path of a southbound NJ Transit train, killing veteran engineer John Duffy. The miscreants were imprisoned, and the terrible incident led to the installation of dispatcher controlled electric locks on all switches along the passenger mains owned by NJT.

A terrible event indeed! The vandals were sophisticated enough to wait until the train had passed the previous automatic signal before tampering with the switch. The cab car was leading (at nearly 60MPH) and followed the diverging route into the plant unloading area, where it stopped, crushing Mr. Duffy in his compartment. The rest of the cars jack-knifed behind leaving a mess.

elu34ch Wrote:
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> In 1984, vandals threw the Zerega switch in the
> path of a southbound NJ Transit train, killing
> veteran engineer John Duffy. The miscreants were
> imprisoned, and the terrible incident led to the
> installation of dispatcher controlled electric
> locks on all switches along the passenger mains
> owned by NJT.
>
> A terrible event indeed! The vandals were
> sophisticated enough to wait until the train had
> passed the previous automatic signal before
> tampering with the switch. The cab car was leading
> (at nearly 60MPH) and followed the diverging route
> into the plant unloading area, where it stopped,
> crushing Mr. Duffy in his compartment. The rest of
> the cars jack-knifed behind leaving a mess.

I didn't take any pictures in the area of the factory, but the terrain is characterized by a steep slope downward from the eastbound main line. The bumper pad, side loading space, etc looks to be about 20 feet below the grade of the track, and perhaps a few hundred feet from the switch point. Traveling at that rate of speed, and suddenly diverging onto the siding and down the grade, Mr Duffy had no chance in a cab car. Even in a U34CH, his chances would have been grim.

Hopefully, the electric locks on switches will save other families from this kind of tragedy.

Rumor was that there was also a young railfan riding in the cab car with Jack Duffy that night (that wouldn't have surprised me if true). Assume that kid survived?

Duffy's train was a deadhead back to Hoboken, moving a track speed. He never had a chance.

RayH Wrote:
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> Rumor was that there was also a young railfan
> riding in the cab car with Jack Duffy that night
> (that wouldn't have surprised me if true). Assume
> that kid survived?
>
I believe that story is correct. There was a reminder to crews after the accident that unauthorized persons are not permitted in the engineer's space.

(I believe the fatal crash in the meadows also had an unauthorized person in the cab, and he may have been fatally injured.)


> Duffy's train was a deadhead back to Hoboken,
> moving a track speed. He never had a chance.

Did the perps to the crime ever explain what they were hoping to do? Was their intent murder? Or were they just complete idiots who didn't think through what would happen?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/11 11:05 by erielackawanna.

erielackawanna Wrote:
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> Did the perps to the crime ever explain what they
> were hoping to do? Was their intent murder? Or
> were they just complete idiots who didn't think
> through what would happen?


My memory is vague on that, but I think they were druggies, hanging out, looking for some fun

The state finally authorized and constructed traffic signals to allow train passengers to move from the parking lot (south of Broadway) to the train platforms (north of Broadway). For much of the year, the area is dark, and the traffic moves very fast. Pedestrians had to navigate 50mph traffic in very low light conditions.  The state installed a push button that activated a pedestrian crossing signal a few years ago, but that did little good.

Safer!