User:Mitchazenia/Deans station

Deans is a defunct commuter railroad station in the Deans section of South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Located at the Deans Lane (County Route 610) railroad bridge, Deans station serviced trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line. The next station to the northeast was Adams. The next station to the southwest until May 29, 1962 was Monmouth Junction and Princeton Junction until its closure in 1967. The station consisted of two side platforms with a pair of shelters.

Deans station closed on December 3, 1967 along with Adams.

Station layout and services
The original railroad facilities at Deans including a single wooden 45x15 ft hybrid station depot on the eastbound side of the tracks, containing both passenger and freight services. The other direction contained a concrete waiting shelter for passengers. Deans station also had a separate closet, cattle pens, and oil house. The station also contained a steel oil tank, submerged into the ground.

The railroad service at Deans station before it closed consisted of few stops. Train 3835, a Saturday-only train to Trenton, stopped at Deans at 4:03 p.m. Heading towards New York Pennsylvania Station, two trains stopped at Deans: train no. 3810 on weekdays at 5:53 a.m. (train 3812 on Saturday only at 6:15 a.m.) and train 3816, operating all days but Sunday, stopped at 7:15 a.m.

History
James Davison, a resident of Franklin Park, New Jersey and American Civil War veteran, died on February 21, 1896 at Deans station. Having taken a train from New Brunswick station at 8:23 p.m. that night, he alighted at Deans to go home. The local station agent, McDowell, found Davison conscious but injured on the tracks around 9:00 p.m. The agent, attempting to figure out what occurred, learned from Davison that the latter had been struck by a train while he was crossing the tracks. McDowell alerted a freight to New Brunswick to get him to the hospital. Davison's train reached New Brunswick around 10:00 p.m., where an ambulance grabbed him and got him to attention of Dr. H.R. Baldwin. Baldwin noted Davison had a broken left leg and right rib but his head had been spared. However, Davison died at 8:00 a.m. on February 22. An investigation determined there was no witness to the strike, but speculation is that a westbound train hit him while crossing the tracks. Davison's estate became involved in negotiations with the Pennsylvania Railroad over payment in regards to his death. However, negotiations failed and George Logan, the estate administrator, and his attorneys filed a lawsuit for $15,000 (1897 USD). The Middlesex County Sheriff served Robert Hoagland, the passenger agent at New Brunswick station.