Depot

In July 1899, J. Wallace Higgins staked out the land for New Orange’s “Central Station” (so-named as to not confuse it with the Twentieth Street depot, in the same locale). The depot was formally opened to the public on September 8, 1899. The name on the depot was changed to “Kenilworth” in 1905, when the town was renamed. In its original configuration, the southern end of the depot contained a waiting room, ticket office, and the superintendent’s office. An open breezeway extended across the platform to the baggage room, on the northern end. There was also a cellar. The depot was home to the town’s first telegraph and telephone. 

The cramped quarters offered little in the way of luxury. The railroad’s corporate offices were at 29 Broadway in Manhattan - shared with Louis Keller’s Social Register - but day to day operations were carried out by the Superintendent (later the General Manager) from the depot. During the winter of 1913-14, General Manager J. Spencer Caldwell complained that the thermometer in his office rarely registered above sixty degrees. Caldwell called the facilities “inadequate for the business we are called upon to do.” 

The railroad had the open breezeway, between the baggage and waiting rooms, enclosed. Not long after passenger service ended in 1919, the second floor was expanded. Thereafter, the old depot was utilized as the railroad's business office.

The General Manager, General Freight Agent, Kenilworth Freight Agent, and the General Manager's Secretary worked from the Kenilworth office. George and Bob Clark worked out of the second floor while the agent worked downstairs. The old breezeway was converted into a makeshift apartment at some point. George Clark lived here until he died in 1969. Afterwards, Bob Clark occupied the apartment. The area above the enclosed breezeway was attic space that the railroad used to store old files; other files were stored in the engine house.

The Railway Express Agency maintained an office at the station until May 31, 1950. Their agent handled small package freight, which arrived via rail, for local consignees. 

Over the years, the station wore several different paint schemes, including: candy apple green with dark green trim, gray with maroon trim, bright yellow with dark green trim, maroon with white trim, and gray with pink trim. In the 1930s and 1940s, the windows featured green stiped canvas awnings. 

The station suffered a fire on August 22, 1974. Carl Nygard, a section man, attempted to destroy a bee infestation in the eaves of the building with a blow torch. The station inadvertently caught fire and the attic portion was heavily damaged. 

The offices were temporarily replaced by a trailer before an old Pullman parlor car was acquired in 1975 and outfitted with offices. The old station sat more or less abandoned. The railroad experienced trouble with youths and vandals entering the damaged structure. Bernie Cahill permitted the train crew and the Kenilworth Historical Society to take a large amount of historic records from the station. Cahill personally had an old roll top professionally restored.

The Borough of Kenilworth condemned the building and wanted it torn down. The Kenilworth Historical Society attempted to relocate and restore the station but the project failed to gain traction due to a lack of funds. The station was demolished by the railroad in 1979. A locomotive was hooked to a cable and used to pull the building down.