Union Train Station

Wikipedia informs us that the Union Train Station, located at 175 South Main Street, opened in 1914 and was built by the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, shared with the Central Railroad of New Jersey; and was situated where the lines merged before the bridge crossing the Delaware River. 

Railroads are to Phillipsburg like cars are to Detroit. Rich in tradition and history established a fabric of commerce by creating and supporting the community with jobs, homes, and entertainment.

Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center own the Station, which is currently undergoing extensive restoration. The historic station will be used as a combination museum, archive facility, and community center when fully restored.

Phillipsburg was the crossroads of five railroads and the Morris Canal's western terminus. The first railroad to arrive in Phillipsburg was the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which opened on July 2, 1852. The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad, often referred to as the Bel-Del, later named the Pennsylvania Railroad reached Town on February 3, 1854. The Lehigh Valley Railroad reached Phillipsburg on September 3, 1855, with the opening of their bridge over the Delaware River from Pennsylvania, closely followed by the entrance of the Morris and Essex Railroad, later the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Railroad on November 18, 1855. The first scheduled passenger train between Phillipsburg and Hoboken was inaugurated on August 6, 1866, on the Morris and Essex, which connected central and northern New Jersey.

The first Central New Jersey station at Phillipsburg was built in 1852, but burned in 1857. An enlarged Central New Jersey station was opened in 1859 on the south side of the tracks between Market Street and the Delaware River Bridge. In 1874, an additional baggage room was constructed onto this station. The Central New Jersey moved into the Delaware Lackawanna and Western station in the late eighteen-nineties when the 1859 station and its 1874 addition were demolished.

The last Delaware Lackawanna and Western passenger train to leave the station was on July 15, 1941, although freight trains on the single-track line, on the north side of the building, continue running today. The Central New Jersey line, with its multi-track mainline south of the building, stopped using the station in 1959 and sold it in June of 1960 to the Phillipsburg Pharmacy.

The Central New Jersey continued passenger service to Phillipsburg, using only makeshift platforms, until April 29, 1967. Passenger service was restored on May 20, 1974, due to a prolonged severe gasoline shortage. Passenger service was once again and finally discontinued on December 31, 1983, by New Jersey Transit, never to return.

The active rail lines on both sides of the station are now operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad, with about 30 freight trains passing by daily. In the past, the station has served as political campaign headquarters, a pharmacy, a bank computer center, and a trophy and sporting goods store. It's now the office, archival storage, and mini-museum of the Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center, a source of tourist and transportation information.

The building was purchased by Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center on December 14, 2004, with a grant from the Warren County Municipal and Charitable Conservancy Trust Fund. Subsequent grants from the same trust have funded a new slate roof, the restoration of the front facade and windows to the original 1914 station configuration, updated heating and air conditioning systems, and the restoration of the men's and women's restrooms, station ceilings, ticket office, interior partitions, and wainscoting. 

Starting on September 10th, 2022, with the first-ever Railroad festival here in Phillipsburg, get ready to walk through the station and enjoy seeing how the railroads impacted the growth of Phillipsburg and the surrounding region, with displays and visual attractions for the whole family to enjoy.