Highland Avenue is a local stop on the Morris & Essex, ex-Lackawanna Main Line. It receives limited service mainly from hourly or better Hoboken-bound trains on weekdays, just a few MidTOWN DIRECT trains actually stop at the station. On weekends the ultimate way to show how low ridership the station is, is that service is bi-hourly from the only hourly trains on the Morristown Line, the station is served bi-hourly with trains alternating stopping here or at Mountain Station the next similar local stop about a mile away, Orange is also a mile away and receives more frequent service. The station has three tracks and two side platforms, with a fence between the Newark-bound track and middle, express track. The station is located on what is an elevated embankment mainly with concrete sides, the concrete slope clearly drops down from the Gladstone/Hackettstown-bound platform but a driveway to the station makes the Newark-bound platform seem level. The tracks crossover an unprecedented three local streets over the course of the station's platforms.
Our tour begins at the southern end of the platforms where a staircase leads down to the north side of Freeman Street. Heading north along each platform is a small boarded up station house. These are each historic buildings from the turn of the last century with green gabled roofs. Hackettstown/Gladstone-bound platform has a smaller building, clearly originally of the just a waiting room shelter verity. It has a small porch held up by large cream colored pillars that provides the only shelter for waiting passengers. Three boards lead across to the middle track (two extend to locked gates that once crossed all the way to the Newark-bound platform) if trains ever need to stop there because of track work. This little station house is built on concrete elevated above the surrounding buildings. Beneath one of these porches is a staircase down to a concrete pedestrian tunnel, this leads across to another staircase up to the former and larger station house along the Newark-bound platform. This building is a bit bigger and has a porch that forms a real canopy extending south and covers about two cars in total. TVMs are nestled between one of the porches. The building is along a small 28 space parking lot that loops uphill from Scotland Road to be at the same level as the elevated platforms. The platforms continue to staircases down from the south sidewalk of Setson Street in the middle of the stations. At the northern end of the platforms staircases lead down to the south sidewalk of Mitchell Street.
All Photos taken on 24 January, 2012
Orange 
Mountain Station