South Street station (Pennsylvania Railroad)

South Street
Graphic designs of the South Street station in the Railroad Gazette in 1904.
General information
LocationSouth Street between McCarter Highway (Route 21) and Mulberry Street, Newark, New Jersey
Coordinates40°43′24″N 74°10′32.5″W / 40.72333°N 74.175694°W / 40.72333; -74.175694
Platforms2 low-level side platforms
History
OpenedFebruary 14, 1904 (1904-02-14)[1]
Closedc. October 1975[2]
Key dates
November 1951Station agent eliminated[3]
Former services
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Elizabeth
toward Chicago
Main Line Newark
Waverly New Brunswick Line
Newark Market Street
(until 1935)
Location

South Street is a closed commuter railroad station in the city of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. Located at the intersection of the eponymous South Street and State Route 21 (McCarter Highway), the station served local trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successor, Penn Central Railroad. The station, one of three in Newark (along with Newark Penn Station and a stop in the Waverly section of Newark), contained two low-level side platforms and shelters to protect riders. Remains of a branch track cross South Street via a bridge next to current Northeast Corridor Line, operated by Amtrak and NJ Transit.

South Street station opened on February 14, 1904, replacing two at-grade stops at Emmet Street and Chestnut Street in the city as part of construction for a new elevated trackway for the Pennsylvania Railroad main line through the city.[4] The station continued as a stop on local trains until 1975, when it was closed along with South Elizabeth and Colonia stations as part of Penn Central Railroad's budget cuts.[2]

Cancelled PATH proposal

A proposal to build a PATH station near the South Street station was abandoned. However, this was mixed up with the new station planned to be in the south ward, and politicians responded with anger to the Port Authority as a result. The Port Authority later explained the misunderstanding and that the South Ward project was not cancelled but still in the planning phase.[5]

References

  1. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (October 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1904" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. p. 7. Retrieved November 8, 2025. Feb. 14, 1904 – New elevated station opens at South Street, Newark; ground-level stations at Chestnut Street and Emmett Street, Newark, close for track elevation.
  2. ^ a b "PennC, Erie Hikes Approved; Legislature May Yet Intervene". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey. September 20, 1975. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved November 8, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "P.U.C. Authorizes Bus Fare Boosts". The Bergen Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. November 24, 1951. p. 1. Retrieved November 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Track Elevation of the Pennsylvania in Newark, N.J." Railroad Gazette. 36 (19): 338–342. May 6, 1904.
  5. ^ Strunsky, Steve. "Newark officials praise PATH $1.7B airport extension plan that includes new station", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, July 13, 2017. Accessed October 7, 2017. "An agency official who insisted on anonymity told NJ Advance Media at the time that the executives had confused talk of a South Ward station with a separate, defunct proposal to construct a station near South Street in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood."