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station and moved the ticket office & Agent Wright to the old freight shanty next to the depot. There had been some talk of locating the new structure about 27' from the corner of James and Depot Streets, but this idea was abandoned. Demolition of the 1843 building began August 4 and was completed about the 8th. Work on the foundation began ten days later on the 18th. Commenting on the progress, the paper said a brick from the demolished depot was marked "S.D.C. 1842," noting "the brick was one-year old before it was placed in the old station."
Cornerstone laying day, done with full Masonic ceremony, was September 24, 1896. A parade was held, and various items were placed in the cornerstone box, made by J.H. Conkling. On November 19, the paper noted some of the construction work had been discovered vandalized. The ticket office in the new station opened March 24, 1897, with George Lea buying the first ticket. Work on the new building was completed in July 1897.
Four years later, in July, 1901, it was announced the Erie had purchased the property on the corner of West Main and Union Streets. This is where the freight station was built. By this time, the railroad yard between West Main and North Streets was quite extensive. James Street once crossed the yard connecting with Union Street. On the corner of James and Union, parallel to the depot, stood Taylor House (previously Ogden's Hotel), a 60-room hotel. Around 1892, the property was acquired by the railroad and the tracks placed on the hotel site.
Although it had no direct effect on Middletown at the time, organization of the Erie & Jersey Railroad Company in 1904 left its mark on present-day Middletown. This wholly-owned subsidiary of the Erie was formed to build what is known as the Graham line, which left the main line at Graham (Guymard). Junction, passed through the Otisville tunnel, met the main line again at Howells Junction, continued through Campbell Hall, went over Moodna viaduct, connected with the old "Newburgh Short-cut" (or cut-off) at Highland Mills, which rejoined the main near Harriman. Although seven miles longer than the main line, the curvature and grades are less. The line is named for James M. Graham, Erie's engineering vice-president responsible for its construction who died within weeks of its completion. Built double-tracked, it was originally intended for freight only.
In August, 1905, Bennett & Talbott of Greensburg, PA, received a contract to build twelve miles of road which included Otisville tunnel. Work on the tunnel began September 4, 1905 by sinking a shaft 117 feet deep at the center of the tunnel. A second shaft at the east portal was begun around the beginning of October. Work on the west portal was started about mid-November. The tunnel was completed in May, 1908, with the first train passing through May 6. Moodna Viaduct, outside of Salisbury Mills, was completed July 15, 1908. This structure is 3, 200' long, 193" at its highest point. Built by clark Grant Co. of Athens, PA, E 4,500 tons of steel were used in the viaduct's