Original Erie station at Sloatsburg, which no longer exists. Photograph from the Sloatsburg Historical Society.
As we head further along the Port Jervis Line, the next station we come to after Suffern is Sloatsburg. The station is about 35 miles from Hoboken, and is relatively bare-bones. We could certainly compare it to some other stations on the east of the Hudson, like Ansonia, but it does have one difference – you will find a ticket vending machine here. The low-level platform and the very small shelter are actually quite similar, however. Although there had been talk about upgrading the infrastructure at the station years ago, including making it handicap-accessible, not much has been done. It is one of the least-used stations on the line (only Otisville gets fewer riders), which likely plays a part in that decision.
Postcard view of Sloatsburg station. From the collection of Steve Swirsky.
Though there isn’t much here now, Sloatsburg did have a station building in the past. The two-story brick station was built in the mid 1800’s for the Erie Railroad. Sometime after the 1940’s, however, the building was torn down – leaving the spot relatively bare.
EL train at Sloatsburg in 1968.
Train near Sloatsburg in 1983.
Train arrives at the small Sloatsburg station in 2007. [image source]
Normally I don’t include current-day photographs taken by others on the site, but I did make an exception for the one above. I think it really illustrates the small station of Sloatsburg – as it is dwarfed by the oncoming train.
Below you will find all of the photographs I took while visiting Sloatsburg. If I had the means to, I would love to go back and rephotograph the entire Port Jervis Line on a day that wasn’t so crappy looking. Alas, you will find many of the photos from here and the other stations rather dreary.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I need to make a correction that the SHS had wrong believe it or not.
The tall brick portion seen in the original photo survived into the 1970s. (1971 to be specific of a photo I have offline of it). The rest of the building was removed.
Sloatsburg station was constructed in 1868 as an Erie Type VIa (6A) structure.
I noticed that there were a lot of conflicting dates (that Erie facilities book, vs the Historical Society), which is why I attempted to be vague. Thanks for clearing that up!
Quite welcome. However, just point out, that Erie Railroad Facilities book is accurate becomes it comes from the 1920 ICC Valuation Report submitted.
I don’t actually own the book, just saw it cited for on wikipedia for that particular date. I don’t particularly trust much on that site – even if it is supposedly cited :P
I used to live just up the street from that station. On saturday mornings my brothers, my Dad, and I would walk down to the station and see the trains