Dunellen is an NJ Transit railroad station on the Raritan Valley Line, in Dunellen, New Jersey, U.S. It is the only Raritan Valley Line station in Middlesex County. There is a ticket office and small waiting area at this stop. A simple station, there are two tracks with two small side platforms. The station is located on a high embankment.
Trains stop serving the station at midnight and resume by 5 in the morning. Automatic ticket vending machines have been installed along with an automated voice telling commuters when their train will arrive.
History
Grade crossing fight (1922–1950) Since the opening of the railroad, the tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) crossed through the borough of Dunellen at grade level with roads. The borough began pressing the railroad to upgrade the tracks as early as April 1922, with complaints of the Washington Avenue (future CR 529) and Prospect Avenue crossings. Their complaint was that with the increasing traffic, the crossings were becoming unsafe for travel, and that the crossings were holding up traffic in Dunellen and nearby New Market. The citizens pressed the railroad to build a tunnel or a bridge for the two crossings in 1922 so trains, pedestrians and vehicles could all be accommodated properly. Residents pointed out in August 1922 that the project would cost probably $40,000 (1922 USD), compared to a project in nearby Westfield that cost $75,000. However, the borough noted that they could not afford such a financial project at that time. The railroad responded with the idea that a grade crossing removal could occur "someday," it was considered a project for the near future. The borough took the concept to the State Public Utilities Commission, but the commission would not act unless there was a petition by residents. The project halted to a standstill as a result.
The project started gaining life again in 1929, when the CNJ considered the work ready to start in 1931. The railroad, in the midst of completing projects in Cranford and Elizabeth of similar types, the railroad determined that Dunellen would be soon after. Involved in the construction would be two new depots for the borough (one westbound, one eastbound) and a chance to beautify North Avenue (NJ 28). By March 1935, the project proposal expanded to four grade crossings, including the ones at Grove Street and Pulaski Street. However, nothing came about of this until 1937, when the borough appeared at the State Highway Commission. Mayor Joseph Morecraft, Jr. and Councilman Edward J. Hannon would testify that the state should pay the money to remove the crossings, giving the borough financial assistance for the cause. Hannon noted the continued increase of accidents at the crossings and that the railroad is not responsible by law for doing such a thing.
The next attempt for eliminating the grade crossings came in 1943, when the Board of Public Utilities told the borough that the project was under consideration. The borough sent a communication letter to the board in June 1942 that they had been dealing with them since 1935 on such a project. The board stated that the project would cost $2.45 million (1943 USD), but that the project would have to be held for post-World War II consideration, along with many others. Lovecraft considered the letter a step in the right direction as it was written evidence that the cause was being considered. By April 1946, borough leaders had become anxious for the project to continue, and pressed the board to why a proposal for an elimination in Manville would be heard by the board, but not their request. In May 1946, the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners told the borough that they had no funds for the project. The project, whose cost now ballooned to $3.6 million (1946 USD), was 50% higher than the original total. The board noted that there were no federal funds available and no money in their budget. The board told Dunellen that any movement would not be in the immediate future.
In 1947, the borough sent two members of the planning board, Morecraft (now a freeholder for Middlesex County), and a secretary to a meeting of the State Planning Board at the Stacey–Trent Hotel in Trenton. The secretary, James Collins, noted that the project could continue with two of the now five grade crossings being eliminated (Washington and Prospect Avenues). Anxiety continued into 1948. At a continued standstill, new mayor Alvah Skinner approved a borough request in March 1948 to appeal to the Board of Public Utilities once again. This time, a committee chaired by Councilman William T. Piddington noted that the lack of a grade crossing removal has stifled economic development south of the tracks in Dunellen. However, the PUC declined citing that the railroad had a poor financial situation. Fed up residents in January 1949 began action with the Dunellen Lions Club handing out petitions to sign for the board to take up the Dunellen project. By March 11 the petition amassed 1,500 signatures from local residents fed up with the constant buck passing. Spokespeople from the Lions Club noted that the railroad causes Dunellen to lack in safety, business and expansion. They noted that every community between New York City and Bound Brook had their grade crossings and that Dunellen had the right to theirs. Meanwhile, Piddington considered an alternate option in August 1949 of widening Washington Avenue to four lanes to reduce the volume of traffic when trains ran at the crossing.
The voices of residents became louder in 1950. In March 1950, the Dunellen Planning Board and Middlesex County Planning Board came together and promised action. E.P. Wilkens, the chair of the County Planning Board, was told to relay this to his colleagues. Local resident J.Y. Wilson gave a proposal that Dunellen be presented in the most positive way possible to the Public Utilities Commissioners. However, other members also stated the best approach would be to continue to pressure the board. They felt that Dunellen had not done enough in terms of pressure on both the CNJ and the board to make progress. The Planning Boards also determined that the best cause of approach would be to elevate the tracks, rather than build a tunnel, as originally proposed in 1922. In April, the two boards agreed to a study for the removal of the grade crossings. James Collins, the chair of the local one, agreed that Wilkens and him agreed to the study. However, the prospects were looking dim again by early June, when the president of the CNJ sent a letter to the Middlesex County Planning Board that proposed instead of a grade crossing removal, just going with automatic gates. Mayor Albert Roff noted that the borough would oppose any proposal that was not complete grade elimination. Roff also noted that the study was still underway, and no changes would be proposed without sitting down with Dunellen representatives.
On June 20, 1950, the borough council joined the fight once again to continue the grade crossing elimination. The council offered to take the lead on the project, with the two Planning Boards willing to follow them. An agreement would be made to meet with the Public Utilities Commissioners once again, knowing that the CNJ now had the money for such a project. Residents continued to complain in 1950, when the Courier-News, a newspaper based in Plainfield, inquired with residents about the situation. By now, Morecraft stated that the Grove Street and Washington Avenue crossings were of utmost importance, despite the need to remove four of the crossings. Morecraft noted that the funding would be split mostly by the state of New Jersey and the railroad. However, by that point, the Board of Public Utilities Commissioners once again delayed any action.
Death of William Pangborn and action (April 1951) At high noon on April 3, 1951, a CNJ drill train hit 17-year old William Pangborn, 15-year old Wilburn Forner, and Robert Reuter, killing Pangborn instantly. The three boys were at the Washington Avenue grade crossing, waiting to cross once a freight train heading westbound passed through. At the time of the accident, the three boys were standing between the tracks and the undermanned crossing gates. Reuter told the Dunellen Police Department that none of the boys heard the drill train on that track due to the loud noise of the freight train that passed through around the same time. The drill train, consisting of a locomotive and two freight cars, was on its way out of the nearby freight station. While the railroad men claimed the train was going only , there was speculation to the truthfulness about that due to Pangborn's death and Forner being injured when he was blindsided by the train. The train derailed after the accident, nearly striking a semaphore signal, and resulted in the crossing gates. Washington Avenue and the tracks were blocked for an hour while the car was rerailed around 1:10 pm (16:10 UTC).
Chief Joseph Tarpey of the Dunellen Police Department noted that the conductor and the engineer of the drill train told authorities that the drill train locomotive had no whistle. Tarpey stated that Reuter had told him that they heard no whistle from the drill train. Tarpey told the media that he questioned the grade crossing watchmen on duty, who had not heard anything of an accident. The upset chief noted that the fact that the railroad workers were only on the eastbound tower, making it impossible to see the teenagers on the westbound side. Tarpey asked the workers if they would remedy their actions by having more people staffed, in which they stated they would inquire with their bosses. However, the extra workers stationed at ground-level only work during rush hour (5–7 pm) on a daily basis. Tarpey also told the press that this accident was similar to one in 1942 when a 14-year old was struck by a train at the Pulaski Street crossing. Roff noted that the accident would continue to spur the battle for the elimination of the grade crossings and that he had spoken to Chief Tarpey about what to do about the situation.
Forner was taken to Muhlenberg Hospital in Plainfield with shock and injuries from the train, while Reuter telephoned his parents to take him home, uninjured but shocked. On April 6, Pangborn's funeral was held at Runyon's Funeral Home in Dunellen with family and classmates watching as the body of the Dunellen High School junior was taken out to the waiting hearst. Pangborn's body was brought to Lake Nelson Memorial Park.
Outrage over the accident was immediate. The Dunellen Lions Club, who amassed signatures for a petition in 1950, called an immediate meeting to deal with the problem on April 6. They told the press that the petition from 1950, affixed with over 2,200 signatures brought a letter from the Public Utilities Commissioners that stated they tabled the manner. The Lions Club also looked into the ideas of either building a crosswalk bridge, such as the one at Fanwood–Scotch Plains station or moving the station further east away from Washington Avenue. Meanwhile, Dunellen borough officials found out in a closed session on April 5 that the cost to build new elevated track system skyrocketed to $15 million. This new proposal included eliminating all the grade crossings in Dunellen (Washington, Prospect, Grove and Pulaski) along with Rock Road in Plainfield. This new project would be 85 percent funded by the state of New Jersey with the railroad chipping in the final 15 percent. A. C. Tosh, the vice president of the CNJ told the borough officials that they are in support of removing the grade crossings through Dunellen and would support the borough in their demands.