CNJ Jersey City terminal

Since today was a nice day and I (finally) didn't have any work to do, I managed to get myself over to Liberty State Park to check old the old CNJ terminal there. I think it's great that it's still there, even if it is not much to look at anymore, at least where the platforms are/were. It was also rather sad that there's a parking lot where the tracks used to be.

One thing that I noticed right away was that the design of the terminal seemed remarkably similar to Hoboken terminal. I thought this was rather strange, considering they were used by different RRs. Is there any reason for that, or did it just sort of happen that way?

And as a minor item of curiosity, does anyone know what this is (another image, with some context)?

Here's a link to all the pictures I took at the terminal, if anyone's interested.

The reason the train shed canopies look similar is because they are.....The man who designed them (Lincoln Bush, hence their name, Bush train sheds) was the chief engineer (if I recall correctly) of the DL&W. The Lackawanna used them first in thier new Hoboken Terminal in the early 1900's, as well as in Buffalo, and I believe the CN (?) utilized them in their Montreal Canada station, and the C&NW in Chicago......The CNJ installed theirs when they tore down their old arched "balloon" train shed that was popular in the 1800's (PRR, DL&W, and Erie also had them in New Jersey)....I was also told that when the Black Tom terminal of the LV blew up at the beginning of WW1 (extreme southern end of today's Liberty State Park), shell fragments and other debris rained down on the conopies, resulting in today's excellerated disintergration (along with deferred maintainance) of them.
As for the lights that look like signals - I believe they were indicators for the station dispatcher, but weather they indicated what track a train was approaching (or departing) from, or if it signified train status, I am not sure, but I do know it was an indicator for something! I'm sure other CNJ fans who actually used the terminal on the forum can give you an exact answer.

Car Floater

Nice Pics! I enjoyed those, I have never seen that much of the terminal before. My dad used to commute out of that terminal many years ago when they lived down at the shore (before I was born..). It's amazing to see some of the destinations that no longer exist. If you were staring at some of those signs (they look like new) you would think the next train is leaving within the hour. I had started a thread on the highlands line a few weeks back and it was interesting to see that's where the terminal was. I'll have to show my dad the pics, I'm sure he'll have some stories to tell from there. It's a shame such a nice terminal was abandoned.

james1787 wrote:It's a shame such a nice terminal was abandoned.

I definitely agree. Standing inside the empty terminal, it's not hard to imagine it filled with people coming off trains in the morning rush.

At least it's nice to see that it's being preserved. I just wish they would do something with the platforms, which are netted/fenced off and in pretty bad shape.

The destination boards are reproductions that were made from photos of originals. They were done by student summer staff at Liberty Park about eight to ten years ago. I am amazed how well they have held up. They are sheets of plexiglass with rub on letters then back sprayed with black paint except for the Crusader, which I think was back sprayed with silver.

Yep, the original signs were fabric roll types, like roller window shades.

I'm not certain, but I think the referenced signal lights were used to alert the train starters when to open the gate to the platform, when the ferry arrived, and finally, when to shut the gate to allow the train to depart. The track numbers had colored glass slides put over them that indictated mainline, shore line, etc. as I vaguely recall from my high school days visiting the Terminal occasionally.