Genasco Station, Woodbridge NJ

[Roadgeek Adam]

Genasco Station. What was behind this station? I know it was between Perth Amboy and Woodbridge. When did it open/close and where specifically between was it? Also, what's with the name

[timz]

Spa Spring, about 1.2 mi S of Woodbridge -- closed 5/26 to 4/28

Genasco (General Asphalt?) replaced Spa Spring? which was about 0.2 mile S of it -- ended 1967

[Roadgeek Adam]

I am trying to place the intersection and/or area for it.

[umtrr-author]

Based on a quick search I'm thinking Genasco = General Asphalt Company. There are references to "Genasco Roofing."

A list of stations shows Genasco two miles north (timetable east) of Perth Amboy.

I would guess that it would be somewhere between the present day Cutters Dock Road and Maurers Road.

There is a stub of a street shown as Spa Spring Road on Google Maps, however only west of Amboy Avenue about 500 feet after it comes down off of Route 35 (which then becomes Convery Blvd. into Perth Amboy).

I wonder if the Historic Aerials site would be of any value here. I checked the 1963 map of the area on that site and didn't see anything conclusive.

[ExCon90]

The 1945 C. T. 1000 shows the following:

Genasco, N. J. (Station)*# ................ 23.1
" (Barber Asphalt Co. No. 1) [**] ....... 23.1
" (Barber Asphalt Co. No. 2) ............ 23.5

* No siding
#Telephone office
[**] Two reference marks that aren't on this keyboard indicated "for individual use" and "connects with C. R. R. of N. J."

For reference, the Woodbridge station was 22.6, Long Branch Junction was 23.9, and the Perth Amboy station was 25.4.

[frankgaron2]

The Shelter at Genasco was still standing when I shot it back in 1979. I know it lasted awhile longer than that, but last time I checked a year or two ago it was gone. It stood just south of the Cutters Dock Road overpass, and did indeed serve the General Asphalt Company. I'd be happy to dig out my slide of it and post it here, if you like.

Additionally, Edgar station was just north of Woodbridge, not far from the Reading underpass. The shelter there still stood when I was there in 1979. That stop lasted into late Penn Central days. It's right in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. Very odd place for a stop, unless I'm missing something. It used to have a full-sized station building with an agent no less!

I grew up in Iselin NJ and lived there from 1971 to 1986 or so. I know this area intimately and had a great time watching the action on the former PRR Main!

Hope this helps,

Frank

[Pennsyjohn]

Hello.

2 things in this thread.
1) Genasco station (shelter) was just past the Turnpike bridge. I was traveling the line in the late 60's and had many fun discussions with the motorman on the MP54's I took. Genasco was not serviced after 1950. They didn't take the shelter down, and the locals were known to stop if they saw someone there. They did not drop off at any time that I knew of.

2) Edgar station (when I was a daily commuter) was only a shelter on the west of the tracks. Never did see the station building. Vandals destroyed the shed in the 70s. Never knew why they built the stop, and my motorman buddy couldn't find out why. Best guess was they were stopping for a high PRR official and it just took off.

John

[timz]

Genasco was not serviced after 1950.

The timetables lied?

[Pennsyjohn]

Genasco was not serviced after 1950.

The timetables lied?

Alas, I only know what my friend said.
Perhaps it was a flag stop in the 50's.

Your guess now is as good as the info I had.

John

[Roadgeek Adam]

The Shelter at Genasco was still standing when I shot it back in 1979. I know it lasted awhile longer than that, but last time I checked a year or two ago it was gone. It stood just south of the Cutters Dock Road overpass, and did indeed serve the General Asphalt Company. I'd be happy to dig out my slide of it and post it here, if you like.

Additionally, Edgar station was just north of Woodbridge, not far from the Reading underpass. The shelter there still stood when I was there in 1979. That stop lasted into late Penn Central days. It's right in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. Very odd place for a stop, unless I'm missing something. It used to have a full-sized station building with an agent no less!

I grew up in Iselin NJ and lived there from 1971 to 1986 or so. I know this area intimately and had a great time watching the action on the former PRR Main!

Hope this helps,

Frank

That slide would be a killer. But yes, a hint to Edgar stood until 07-08 with the pedestrian bridge. Plus, the old station stairs remain.

[newarker47]

I never used Genasco Station,but if you go to the bottom of Fulton St. and Cutters Dock Rd.,you can look down on the west bound side and see remnants of where Genasco used to be. Edgar Station,however,I used quite frequently from 1959 until it closed in the mid-70s. The top of Ridgedale Avenue in Woodbridge is known as the Edgar Hill section,named after the family that lived there and owned most of the land.As I understand it,when the PRR was building their tracks through there,they made a deal with the Edgar family to put a station on the property because one of the Edgar sons was planning on going to Monmouth College the following year,and it was a mile closer than the station at Green St. People have commented about the station being in a residential area,but it was originally residential only on the Prospect Ave. side. The other side,where Chalet Drive and those other streets are,was industrial,with plastics recycling companies such as Gusmer`s and Tyson`s located there until the late-60s. Edgar Station was also advertised as the stop for people going to the old Woodbridge car racing track,but I wasn`t living there at that time. There used to be an old 55 gallon drum in the 3-sided station,and we commuters on te early trains used to start fires made of paper or anything we could find to stay warm on winter mornings.It was a convenient stop for people who lived in that part of Woodbridge,and I definitely missed it when it closed! Also of interest to railroad and local history students are the former CNJ stops in Sewaren and Port Reading,where one can still see evidence of the stations that existed pre-Aldene Plan<1967>.

[ChrisU]

Here's what's left of Edgar, I checked out Genasco too but there was nothing there except a flat patch of dirt.
http://hostthenpost.org/uploads/e66c499 ... b93d87.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;