Great Notch station
| Company type | Former NJ Transit rail station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Defunct | January 15, 2010 |
| Headquarters | Little Falls, New Jersey , United States |
| Products | Passenger rail services |
Great Notch station was a modest New Jersey Transit stop situated in the Great Notch neighborhood of Little Falls, New Jersey. On weekdays, the station was serviced seven times daily by the Montclair–Boonton Line, offering three inbound morning trips to Hoboken Terminal and four outbound evening departures from Hoboken. Positioned at the intersection of Notch Road and Long Hill Road, it was one of three stations within Little Falls, alongside Montclair State University and Little Falls. Following electrification, Great Notch became the initial station on the route exclusively served by diesel-powered trains. Most trains bypassed this stop, proceeding westward to Little Falls or eastward toward Montclair State University. The station had a double track that terminated just west of its platform. The final scheduled train departed on January 15, 2010, at 7:41 p.m.
Rail service commenced in 1873 with the establishment of the Montclair Railway. In 1891, service expanded to Caldwell through the Caldwell Railway, linking Great Notch with Overbrook Hospital, Verona, and Caldwell. The existing station building was erected in 1905 by the Erie Railroad as a green and red edifice serving both the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway and the Caldwell Branch. Previously, an old boxcar functioned as a maintenance tool shed. By the early 1970s, the station had fallen into disrepair but was repainted in Erie Railroad red by 1974 after removal of the boxcar shed.
After the bankruptcy of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, control shifted to New Jersey Transit. Following discussions with Little Falls' mayor, NJ Transit initiated a one-year trial aimed at increasing ridership. Nevertheless, due to continued decline in passenger numbers, this trial was terminated on December 18, 2009. Subsequently, NJ Transit informed Little Falls officials that Great Notch station would cease operations on January 17, 2010, citing persistently low usage.
History
Rail operations at Great Notch began with the Caldwell Railway, which connected Caldwell, Verona, and Overbrook Hospital to the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway. Originally called Caldwell Junction, this station linked these lines and was extended in 1903 to Essex Fells, where it connected with the Morristown & Erie Railroad.
The Great Notch depot was constructed in 1905 by the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway, an Erie Railroad subsidiary. It featured a green and red "type five" frame building and included an old boxcar used as a tool shed. Situated just west of the Great Notch interlocking signal tower (built in 1900), it functioned as a junction for both the Greenwood Lake Railway and the Caldwell Branch—the latter serving Cedar Grove, Verona, Caldwell, and Essex Fells. The station also operated a local train yard for equipment storage. At Essex Fells, passengers could transfer to Morristown via the Morristown & Erie Railroad. The Caldwell Branch diverged roughly a quarter-mile west of Great Notch station along its own alignment toward Caldwell.
In addition to passenger services, Great Notch housed a sizable water tower and was staffed by a husband-and-wife team responsible for handling newspapers and mail deliveries; local mail service began only in the mid-1950s.
By the early 1970s, although showing signs of deterioration, the station was repainted in Erie Lackawanna’s all-red color scheme. The removal of the old boxcar tool shed revealed propane tanks used for heating purposes. After Erie Lackawanna ceased operations in 1976, the station was abandoned. In June 1979, New Jersey removed tracks from the defunct Caldwell Branch; today this section functions as a siding. On April 16, 1988, a fire destroyed the refurbished station building; it was demolished one week later. New Jersey Transit replaced it with glass shelters accommodating up to 90 passengers.
During construction of the Montclair Connection in 2001, Great Notch Yard underwent substantial modernization, upgrading it into a contemporary train storage facility.
Closure
The inauguration of the Montclair State University station in 2004, followed by the 2008 introduction of the Wayne Route 23 Transit Center train platform, led to a considerable decline in passenger numbers at Great Notch. Although it was one of three stations serving Little Falls, Great Notch experienced notably lower commuter traffic. The station's limited parking—separated by fencing and not exclusively designated for rail riders—further deterred usage. Moreover, a nearby bus stop drew passengers who parked in the station lot but opted for bus transit instead.
In January 2008, New Jersey Transit implemented drastic reductions in service at Great Notch without prior communication with the township council. The schedule was cut back to just one outbound morning train heading to Hoboken Terminal and two inbound evening trains arriving from Hoboken.
By August 12, 2008, NJ Transit informed residents of Little Falls that the century-old station could face closure as soon as October that year. Public resistance prompted a community hearing on September 3 to consider alternatives. Nevertheless, train service remained minimal until April 1, 2009, when NJ Transit discontinued the limited runs but announced a "one-year trial" beginning April 16 to introduce two trains in each direction. The town sought to boost daily ridership from an average of 67 to 100 by April 2010, with Mayor Michael DeFrancisci encouraging increased patronage.
Despite these efforts, ridership had dropped sharply to nine daily users by December 2009. On December 18, NJ Transit notified Little Falls officials that Great Notch would close in January 2010, ahead of the trial’s conclusion, citing persistently low usage. The formal announcement on December 21 emphasized the station’s "anemic" ridership compared to 203 daily passengers at Little Falls and 597 at Montclair State University stations. The last train departed Great Notch on January 15, 2010, at 7:41 pm after leaving Hoboken Terminal at 6:51 pm.