Trestle Lighting

It doesn't take any magical sense to know when something is right or wrong, it's just innate. The lighting at the trestles, all HPS lamped fixtures of a droll institutional design, left very much to be desired. HPS stands for High Pressure Sodium and it's the type of lamp that gives that orange glow you see below from a plane's window just after take off at night. It's a technology that works, but just not appropriate at a Registered Historic Landmark structure such as our gorgeous train station.

Just like the saying goes, great things come in small boxes, the same could be said for the time it takes to get a simple task completed when multiple parties are involved. After waiting almost three years for approval via the State Historic Preservation Office and New Jersey Transit [thank you very much to both of you though], the go-ahead was given to install these period light fixtures with a more appropriate, whiter and better rendering light source. After meeting with the Madison Historic Preservation Commission they also agreed and backed the merits of this project.

The fixtures complement the existing lighting at the Lincoln Place station entrance and set the trestle back to the correct time frame from which it came to us.

Madison has five trestles, of which three will be lit in this fashion. The other two, although approved, have larger challenges and their implementation is a future endeavor for sure.

By the way, the center pier copper fixture I thought was underutilized at night. So after it was repaired [a thankful act by the Madison Electric Department crew - those guys are great!] a blue light helps give its important role some significant panache. The others will soon follow suit.