Montclair Heights (also signed as Montclair Heights–Home Of Montclair State University) is a New Jersey Transit station in the Montclair Heights area of Montclair Township, New Jersey. Located along the Montclair–Boonton Line at the Normal Avenue (CR 618) grade crossing, the station serves trains coming from six different terminals (two eastbound: New York Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal and four westbound: Montclair State University, Dover, Lake Hopatcong and Hackettstown stations). Depending on the direction of travel, Montclair Heights is either the first or last of six stations in the township. The next station westbound is Montclair State University, which is in Little Falls, while the next station eastbound is Upper Mountain Avenue.
The station consists of two low-level platforms with mini-high-level platforms at the southern end of both platforms. There are two ticket vending machines and 67 parking spaces available in lot along the westbound platform. The station primarily serves students of Montclair State University, which sits to the northeast of the platforms and has been owned by the township since 1983.
Montclair Heights station opened with the construction of the Montclair Railway, the predecessor to the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway. The station was replaced by the Erie Railroad in 1905 and moved to the Normal Avenue grade crossing from its previous home at Mount Hebron Road. The station depot lasted until it burned down on March 21, 1970, in a suspicious fire. A station shelter replaced that structure in April 1971 after the fire. That structure was replaced in 1982 by another station shelter. The current station was built in 1998.
Prior to the construction of the Montclair State University station, Montclair Heights was used as a transfer station for trains heading west towards Dover and Hackettstown on the Montclair–Boonton Line. The reason for this was that all trains going to points north of the station were required to be diesel-powered, while trains going to New York Penn Station are all electric because diesel trains are not allowed to use the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River.
Station layout and service Montclair Heights station is a two-platform station located on Normal Avenue in the township of Montclair. A shelter is available on the inbound platform, while only a canopy is only available to commuters. On the outbound side is a parking lot owned by the township. This lot has only 67 spaces, four of which are handicap accessible as part of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. Fares of $5 per day and $300 permits per month are collected from Monday–Saturday.
There are two ticket vending machines on the inbound platform, which also has mini high-level platforms to service handicapped persons.
Service
Montclair Heights station services trains on the Montclair–Boonton Line, with services to New York City's Penn Station and Hoboken Terminal to the east. To the west, trains depart for nearby Montclair State University, Dover, Hackettstown, and Lake Hopatcong stations.
The first train inbound on weekday arrives at 5:14 am from nearby Montclair State University station towards Penn Station. The first train to Hoboken arrives at 6:36 am weekdays. The last inbound station arrives at 11:17 pm, arriving at Hoboken Terminal. The first outbound train arrives at 6:27 am on weekdays, headed for Montclair State University. The first outbound train for Dover is at 2:43 pm; the first to Hackettstown arrives at 5:15 pm. The final train outbound is at 1:20 am the next morning. With the exception of holidays, there is no service to Montclair Heights on weekends.
Bus connections While not directly served by any bus routes, connections can be made from the station by walking one block to nearby bus stops at Montclair State University or Valley Road. New Jersey Transit's 28 (to Newark Penn Station and Willowbrook Mall), 191 (to Port Authority Bus Terminal and Willowbrook), and 705 (to Passaic and Willowbrook) buses as well as DeCamp's 66 bus to New York City all stop near the station. A Montclair State University shuttle service, Route A, stops at Montclair Heights station seven days a week.
History Opening Railroad service through Montclair Heights opened on January 1, 1873, with the opening of the Montclair Railway. This line was built as part of the New York and Oswego Railway, beginning in Jersey City and proceeding through Hudson, Essex, Passaic and Morris County for . At Pompton Plains, connection was available to the main line of the New York and Oswego. This railroad was sold in the late 1870s to the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, which changed the name to the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway.
The original station at Montclair Heights was built closer to modern-day Mount Hebron Road on land owned by the North Jersey Land Company by 1874. The fifth and final station going northbound in Montclair, the stop was at the location Mount Hebron and Carlisle Roads. The line was doubled-tracked through Montclair Heights in 1897. The station remained at this location until a new depot was built further north at Fifth Avenue (modern-day Normal Avenue) in 1905. The new depot was an Erie Type V irregular depot, with a wooden frame and a slate roof that overhung the structure. This station was measured at , attached with a former passenger car body, serving as a freighthouse. The former station depot, built in 1873–1874, was razed for a couple sidings and a watchmen's structure at the crossing.
In a strange outbreak, several hundred horses in the area were exposed to the glanders, an infectious disease, at Montclair Heights station itself in July 1905. Glanders was also reported at nearby Great Notch station along with the nearby Cedar Grove Reservoir. As a result of the outbreak of glanders, local veterinarians had to euthanize seven horses immediately while quarantining hundreds more.
Normal School opening
A fight broke out between the Erie Railroad and the state of New Jersey in June 1907 with the planned construction of a new normal school in the Montclair Heights section. Fred Kilgus, the contractor in charge of building the new school, was displeased that the Erie Railroad backed out on its deal for a railroad siding at Montclair Heights station. This new siding would start at Montclair Heights station and go into the rear end of the campus for construction of the new school. With groundbreaking occurring on March 8, 1907, Kilgus noted that it would cost at least $3,000 (1907 USD) to haul material himself from the station. A new siding would be cheaper for Kilgus and his crew. An agreement had been made, but no contract was ever drawn up on the 3 percent grade spur. The railroad made a deal to build the siding, but required the payment. However, talks ceased and eventually the Erie Railroad declined to build a spur for construction.
On September 15, 1908, the Montclair State Normal School opened on the hills above Montclair Heights station. As part of opening the school, Principal Charles S. Chapin struck a deal with the Erie Railroad to add Montclair Heights stops to three trains for students. The 8:50 am and 10:30 am eastbound trains along with the 8:13 pm westbound train would stop at the station for the use of students at reasonable hours. State officials in charge of education in New Jersey expected that trains would bring students from nearby Paterson resulting in special service between Little Falls and Montclair Heights for students. This involved a trolley that made a 25-minute ride. The stretch between Little Falls and Montclair Heights was about ten minutes.
1925–1926 consolidation proposal In early 1926, the municipality looked at the possibility of building a new business zone in the northwest section of Montclair. This new business district would involve the areas around Montclair Heights and nearby Mountain Avenue station. This new business district would be built in the area around Carlisle Road. This was after the committee in charge declined building it along Mount Hebron Road or Normal Avenue. A two-block stretch of Carlisle Road would be involved in this new business zone. This proposal included building a new roadway on the western side of the tracks between Mount Hebron and Normal.
The next proposal included a recommendation of building a new station at Mount Hebron Road to consolidate the Mountain Avenue and Montclair Heights stations. Unlike the former station, this one would be located on the southern end of the road crossing at Mount Hebron. Unlike Montclair Heights station, which lacked a platform in the inbound direction, this new station would have two platforms, serving about 250 commuters daily. The committee argued that the existence of both stations inhibited the development around the Mountain Avenue station, which was in the way of traffic on Upper Mountain Avenue. With Montclair Heights, the lack of a platform on the western side of the tracks inhibited residential development. This was also being exacerbated by the existence of the Normal School and the hills overlooking the station. The new station would open development with less restrictions.
Opposition was immediate. One resident wrote into The Montclair Times that the new business zone was a mask to keep businesses off Laurel Place and Valley Road. The resident argued that closing the Mountain Avenue station would not result in the commuters using the new station. Those commuters, about 250, would walk down to the Upper Montclair station. The ~100 commuters who use Montclair Heights would move to the new station, defeating the 350 proposal offered by the committee.
The closing of both stations would result in the decrease of property values around the area. The resident argued that property values with a station were much higher and that moving a station a half-mile away would make them drop due to lack of convenience. The writer, who got signatures after a 1925 proposal to do the same thing, noted that it would require locals to walk 15 minutes 300 times a year to the other stations. Thomas Topping, the author of 22 Glenwood Road, would note that the group involved in the protest would continue to fight.
Freedom Train stop During 1948, the American Heritage Foundation sponsored a "Freedom Train" to circumnavigate the United States of America. The train was a moving museum that would help the "Year of Rededication". This rededication would be part of American ideals that they wanted to restore. In January 1948, after Montclair found out they would not be a stop on the Freedom Train, they brought a bus and filled it with various documents about the fanding of Montclair. The bus, dedicated as "Montclair's Freedom Truck," came in late-January 1948, making national headlines. The American Heritage Foundation also requested towns to send reports about what they did to see if it would help reconsider their decision to not stop there.
On September 29, 1948, it was announced that the Freedom Train would arrive at Montclair on Thursday, October 21, at Montclair Heights station from 9 am–10 pm. The town of Montclair appointed a committee to help with the ceremonies and events. By this time, the Freedom Train had stopped in 280 municipalities and seen by 2.7 million people. Mayor Howard N. Deyo of Montclair made a proclamation declaring the week of October 21 to be a week known as "Montclair Rededication Week" with the same ideologies as the national program. His proclamation urged citizens to help participate in events leading up to and during the week and welcomed the train to Montclair. The Wellmont Theatre also had the Freedom Train announcement on their marquee.