[5] In 1958, the NYS&W cut its rapid transit service, leaving only its slower local trains to operate from North Hawthorne.

North Hawthorne continued to act as the northern terminus of line until 1914, when trolley service was extended along a mostly private right-of-way to Ridgewood.

[2] The creation of the North Hawthorne yard stemmed from a fire which destroyed repair shops, as well as some locomotives, at NYS&W's Wortendyke facility in 1891.

The station had been established as a depot called Van Winkle, which was named for the local family that had granted land to the NYS&W's predecessor (the New Jersey Western Railroad) for the construction of the line.

The volume of traffic on the Main Line was considerable, with thirty-eight passenger trains noted as make daily trips through North Hawthorne in 1915.

[5] As initially conceived, the newly planned route to Midtown would have had bus service beginning in Butler and continuing to North Hawthorne, where passengers would then switch to rail.

Rail service would continue to the Susquehanna Transfer Station at Route 3/495, where passengers would then switch to buses to complete the commute into Midtown.

However, in November 1938, the Borough of Pompton Lakes (between Butler and North Hawthorne) would not grant the railroad permission to operate a bus service within its borders.

Other towns considered similar action, but the plan to use buses instead of trains between North Hawthorne and Butler was dropped by 1939 due an increase in railroad ridership.

[5] On August 1, 1939, trains starting from Butler and North Hawthorne began making runs to the Susquehanna Transfer Station, marking the beginning of a service that would persist for the next two decades.

[5] Though it still retained some older trains, the NYS&W began purchasing a small fleet of ACF Motorailers, a type of self-propelled rail car, to run the rapid transit route between North Hawthorne and Susquehanna Transfer.

This continued until 1958, when an economic downturn and rising operating costs forced the NYS&W to begin mothballing and selling off its fleet of RDCs.

The rapid transit service was cancelled, but North Hawthorne continued to operate as a passenger terminal, as well as a storage facility for non-motorized rail cars.

[5] Near noon on Friday, February 17, 1967,[12] the Morningstar-Paisley plant just north of the station house exploded, spreading debris and scorching heat through the disused yard.

As the crew moved its locomotive in front of the station house, the plant was leveled by a blast delivering enough power to throw the loaded boxcar across two sets of tracks.

By 2003, the largest spur, for an industrial complex (including a large, former A&P warehouse) located just east of where the car shop used to be, was no longer in service, and what remained of the tracks was scheduled to be removed.