Locomotion 2000 is an organization with the sole purpose of restoring the Glen Ridge Train Station on Ridgewood Avenue. While restoration of the building's exterior has already been funded by a $167,000 federal Community Development Block Grant, an estimated $100,000 is needed to create a userfriendly community center for seniors. At the projects finish, the Ridgewood Avenue Station will be a valuable community center and a source of pride in our town. Ridgewood Avenue Train Station built 1887 For 111 years, residents of Glen Ridge have passed through the train station on Ridgewood Avenue. The original wood building, built "up the road" in 1872, housed the ticket office and a barbershop. Beginning in 1883, the station also served as the town's Post Office. The present Queen Anne-style building was constructed in 1887 thanks to the vision and effort of local developer A.G. Darwin. Mr. Darwin proposed a deal with the Delaware, Lackawana and Western Railroad: he would fund most of the station's construction if the railroad promised always to stop at Glen Ridge. Built of "rubble" stone from the nearby Orange Mountains, the Ridgewood Avenue Station became one of the first on the Morris and Essex Line. Now the second oldest public building in Glen Ridge, the station was the first gathering place of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church in the late 1880s. In 1930, the station hosted Thomas Alva Edison as he pulled the lever for the first regular electrically-operated train on the line. In the 1970s, New Jersey Transit assumed ownership of the Ridgewood Avenue Train Station. The building is listed on both the National and State Registers of Historic Places. Fundraising Locomotion 2000 Restoration Project announces the sale of a Ridgewood Avenue Train Station keepsake to help the preservation of one of Glen Ridge's oldest landmarks. The creation of the artist's rendering in metal depicts the train station as it was in 1887. This finely crafted, three dimensional replica of the station is delicately etched in solid brass and finished with 18-karat gold. It comes packaged in a green, velveteen-lined gift box. The Ridgewood Avenue train station collectible treasures may be preordered by mail at cost of $20 each. Send your name, address, telephone number, and the quantity of keepsakes desired to Locomotion 2000, P.O. Box 8030, Glen Ridge, NJ 07028. All sales, including pre-orders are now available for pick-up at the Glen Ridge Public Library. For additional information contact Julie Corbo, 429-1318, or e-mail: corbo@bellatlantic.net Organizations Web page designed by Ray Perez.