Claremont Park station (New York Central Railroad)

The Claremont Park station was a station on the New York Central Railroad's Harlem Line in the East Morrisania neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad also ran through this station but did not stop here.

Claremont Park
Location	Park Avenue and Claremont Parkway Crotona Park East, The Bronx, New York
Coordinates	40.8396°N 73.9041°W
Owned by	New York Central Railroad
Line(s)	Harlem Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
History
Opened	Late-1860s
Closed	June 1, 1960
Rebuilt	1889
Electrified	700V (DC) third rail
Previous names	Central Morrisania Claremont
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Morrisania toward New York Harlem Division Tremont toward Chatham

History

Rail service along the New York and Harlem Railroad passed through Morrisania as far back as 1841, and a station was known to exist as far back as 1847, but this wasn't the station. Instead an additional station was built by New York Central and Hudson River Railroad within the vicinity of 172nd Street/Wendover Avenue as far back as the late-1860s.[1] Originally named Central Morrisania station, it was built at surface level along with the rest of the tracks.

Realizing the railroad was causing suburban sprawl within what was then southern Westchester County, the New York City Parks Department acquired the site of the former Claremont Mansion one block to the west, and converted it into a park in 1881.[2] The station was renamed for that park roughly around the time Claremont Park station was rebuilt by New York Central in the late 19th century, as part of a grade elimination project within the Bronx. It contained a station house as a bridge on the north side of Claremont Parkway over all four tracks, with two side platforms. Similar structures were built for the former Morrisania Station, as well as the still operating Melrose and Tremont Stations.[3][4] A small freight yard also used to exist north of the station between the Claremont Parkway and 173rd Street bridges, the remnants of which can still be seen to this day. Three blocks east, the Suburban Rapid Transit Company built the Third Avenue Elevated Line and installed a station along the same street in 1888.[5] No streetcar or bus lines connected the two stations to one another, however.

Declining ridership following World War II, along with the decline of the South Bronx lead to the downfall of various stations within the Bronx, along with competition with the subway, the el, and the automobile. Local politicians also demanded that New York Central take better care of the stations in the Bronx, which they weren't always able to do at the time. On September 14, 1950, the Public Service Commission ended hearings about the New York Central's petition to discontinue service at this station and the 183rd Street station. The Central wanted to close the station to cut travel times on trains to Westchester.[6][7] Claremont Park station was closed in 1960. As a result of the closure, commuters were forced to take either Morrisania station, Tremont station, or the nearby Claremont Parkway elevated station. Of the three mentioned, only Tremont station survives today.

References

1. April 26, 1869 timetable showing Central Morrisania New York Central Railroad station, as well as others
2. Claremont Park History (NYC Parks Department)
3. "Tuesday Tour of the Harlem Line: Melrose". I Ride The Harlem Line... Retrieved April 11, 2016.
4. "Melrose Station, in the late 1800s". I Ride The Harlem Line... Retrieved April 11, 2016.
5. Hagstrom's Street Map of The Bronx; 1943 (War of Yesterday)
6. "P.S.C. Ends Inquiry on Bronx Stations". The New York Times. September 15, 1950. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
7. "Annual Report 1950" (PDF). canadasouthern.com. New York Central Railroad. 1950. p. 33. Retrieved June 7, 2018.

External links

• Claremont Park Topo Map in Bronx County NY (TopoZone.com)