[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 19 (Friday, January 31, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL OF THE CHATHAM TRAIN STATION

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 31, 2014

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Chatham 
Train Station, located in the Borough of Chatham, Morris County, New 
Jersey, as it celebrates its Centennial Anniversary.
  Chatham first became a stop on the Morris & Essex lines in 1838. In 
1914, the current station building was built. The building was designed 
in-house under the supervision of Frank J. Nies, the architect for the 
Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroads (DL&W).
  The station complex consists of a station building for the inbound 
traffic, and a shelter house for the outbound traffic. They are 
connected by a concrete pedestrian tunnel.
  The Chatham Station was designed in the Renaissance Revival style, 
adapted to the functions of an early twentieth century combination 
station. The exposed beams and oversized brackets seem to relate to the 
Stick style, and may have been deliberate gestures to the suburban 
architectural tradition. The Chatham complex was build in conjunctions 
with a track elevation project with the roadbed, Fairmount Avenue, 
built up to its present level after the station and shelter was 
completed.
  In 1929, the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroads, the owners 
of the railway at that time, spent $100 million to electrify 173 miles 
of track over 78 miles of road on the Morris & Essex lines. This meant 
that Chatham station would be served by electric trains, some of the 
first in the country.
  After World War II, the presence of the Chatham Station would prove 
to be key in the population increases in neighboring Chatham Township. 
During this time, rural lands in the township started to be developed 
for residential use, due to the easy commute to Manhattan.
  Today, the Chatham Station is a commuter rail station and a branch of 
the Morris & Essex Lines. The station serves trains on the New Jersey 
Transit's Morristown line. These trains travel from Hackettstown to New 
York's Pennsylvania Station. In 2012, over 80 thousand people used the 
station.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
both the Chatham Station, and Friends of Chatham Station as it 
celebrates its Centennial Anniversary.

                          ____________________