catching fire. By 1962, the station saw only two commuter trains to the new terminus, Hoboken Terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey. To add to the problem, the station lost all passenger service under the new Erie-Lackawanna Railroad on September 30, 1966 after the Interstate Commerce Commission approved services could be cut on the branches losing money. After serving passengers of Cedar Grove, Verona, Caldwell and Essex Fells for 75 years, the Caldwell Branch was reduced to a costly freight service for companies in Cedar Grove and Verona. In the summer of 1975, a major storm washed away the usability of the tracks of the Caldwell Branch, and although the New Jersey Department of Transportation was willing to put in money for a grant to get the tracks rehabilitated, a lack of interested corporations ended the investment. It ended up the branch would not be absorbed into the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) in 1975, unlike most of the Erie Lackawanna system. On April 1, 1976, the Erie Lackawanna system was absorbed into Conrail. In June 1979, the dormant tracks of the Caldwell Branch were removed from Essex Fells to Great Notch. Freight station restoration (2010–present) On July 12, 2010, the Verona township council named the former freight house the township's first historical landmark. There are plans by the Verona Historical Society to turn the freight house, the sole surviving structure of the Caldwell Branch, into a single room museum and possibly move the shed to a more accessible part of Verona. (The bridge over Runneymede Lane in Essex Fells was demolished in 2000). According to the historical society, the station is in good structural shape. See also West Arlington station - A station closed on September 30, 1966 along with the Caldwell Branch. Great Notch station Bibliography References External links Verona Landmarks Preservation Commission View of the blue.com - Photography Stations, towers, etc., New Jersey, 1969-71 B&W set Verona Railway stations in Essex County, New Jersey Infrastructure completed in 1891 1891 establishments in New Jersey Railway stations in the United States opened in 1891 Railway stations closed in 1966 Former railway stations in New Jersey 1966 disestablishments in New Jersey