The High Bridge Branch was a branch line of the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

(CNJ) that started in High Bridge,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

at a connection with the CNJ main line and continued north to iron-ore mines in Morris County. The High Bridge Branch line followed the South Branch of the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...

for much of its duration.

History

The High Bridge Branch connected to the

Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...

(DL&W) and the Wharton & Northern Railroad just west of

Wharton, New Jersey Wharton is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 6,522,Dover & Rockaway Railroad in Wharton. It originally connected with the Chester Branch of the DL&W at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

north of U.S. Route 206, but from Long Valley to Chester became the Chester Branch when the railroad was extended north from Long Valley to the Wharton area. The line once carried both freight and passengers, with iron ore being its primary commodity. The High Bridge Branch was not included in the Conrail network in 1976. The section north of Bartley remained in use under a state subsidy agreement. The Bartley-High Bridge section was converted to the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

; the section from the crossing of the High Bridge Branch and the DL&W Chester Branch to Main Street, Wharton was abandoned; the portion in Wharton is being converted to a rail trail. The Bartley- Kenvil section was purchased by Morris County from the State of New Jersey on 1986 and leased to regional short line operator

Morristown & Erie Railway Morristown & Erie Railway is a short-line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey, chartered in 1895 as the Whippany River Railroad. It operates freight rail service in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas on the original Whippany L ...

(M&E). Shortly thereafter, a new track connection was built east of Kenvil with the former DL&W Chester Branch named

Ferromonte Junction This is a List of New Jersey railroad junctions, present and past. Abbreviations used in the table: *ACRR = Atlantic City Railroad *B&O = Baltimore and Ohio Railroad *BRW = Blairstown Railway *C&A = Camden and Amboy Railroad *CNJ = Central ...

. Freight customers were sought after county acquisition. first was R. P. Smith & Co., a brick customer near Route 10 in Ledgewood. Service began on May 2, 1988. Within the next few years, the railroad was opened to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

to a plastic extruding company and ultimately to Bartley where

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loca ...

built an almost fully automated regional distribution center of 1/2 million square feet with a footprint to expand to . The line currently ends in Bartley, just south of Toys "R" Us. Frank Reilly, Executive Director of the Morris County Department of Transportation Management and M&E president were responsible for current operations on the line.

Local legend

Local legend has named a ghost that haunted the High Bridge Branch in Washington Township just south of Bartley "the Hookerman". It periodically appeared between Naughright and North Four Bridges Roads as a yellowish-orange light being swung from side to side as if warning trains to stop. According to the story, when the High Bridge Line was still new, a freight train was rumbling down the tracks. There was a brakeman on top of one of the cars, who either fell asleep or got drunk and fell off the moving train and got his hand cut off by the train wheels. His hand was replaced by a hook and later the brakeman died. Since then his ghost has haunted the scene of the accident looking for his lost hand, while holding an old railroad lantern in his hook.

Current status

Columbia Trail trailhead sign, High Bridge, NJ

Few remnants remain of the line; occasional rotting wooden ties can be found along the rail trails. The former CNJ

wye Wye may refer to: Place names *Wye, Kent, a village in Kent, England ** Wye College, agricultural college, part of University of London before closure in 2009 **Wye School, serving the above village ** Wye railway station, serving the above villa ...

connection is still partially present in High Bridge in the parking area for the trail as is the Ken Lockwood Gorge Bridge above the

South Branch Raritan River The South Branch Raritan River is a tributary of the Raritan River in New Jersey.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. Description The source of the South Branch is the outflow from Budd Lake, a glacial remnant locat ...

. In April 1885, the bridge collapsed as a train was going over it, sending several freight cars and at least one locomotive into the river. There is a small section of track preserved in Califon and a small museum in the restored former Califon passenger station. The freight station in Flanders (on Hillside Avenue) is now a jeweler's store. The remaining northern section of the High Bridge Branch has been owned by Morris County and managed under the auspices of the County's Department of Transportation (MCDOT) since 1986. It is operated under a lease agreement by the Dover & Rockaway River Railroad (D&R), effective July 1, 2017. The branch starts at

, which is a switch on the Chester Branch. Until October 2013, the only active customer on the line was Blue Ridge Lumber which unloads cars at the Kenvil Team Track off U.S. Route 46. In October 2013, Triumph Plastics began receiving carloads of plastic at their facility in Flanders, NJ which marked the first revenue freight train to operate beyond Kenvil since 2008. South of Bartley to High Bridge is owned by the Hunterdon and Morris County Park Commissions with an easement in perpetuity by the Columbia Gas Company. Bartley to just east of Kenvil is owned by the Morris County Department of Transportation, and just east of the County ownership in Kenvil is privately owned. A portion of the former railroad in Wharton is owned by Wharton Borough.

Timeline

*1868: The private High Bridge Railroad is built to connect the Taylor furnace at High Bridge to the CNJ mainline. *1872: The High Bridge Railroad obtains a charter to build from High Bridge to a connection at German Valley (Long Valley) with the Chester Railroad, a

Morris and Essex The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. History The M&E was incorporated January 29, 1835, to build a line from Newark in Essex Coun ...

branch leased by the DL&W. *1874: CNJ purchases the Longwood Valley Railroad (chartered 1867) and completes construction from German Valley to Port Oram. The line is opened in 1876. *1876: High Bridge Branch is completed and opened for service, with branches on the northern portions extending to iron ore mining operations in Morris County. *1881: CNJ leases the Ogden Mine Railroad and begins construction of the Lake Hopatcong Railroad connection to the High Bridge Branch. *1881: CNJ leases the Dover & Rockaway (organized in 1880) for 999 years. The lease connects the High Bridge Branch to the Hibernia Mine Railroad. *1882: High point of the railroad traffic with 118 cars filled with iron-ore using the tracks in one day. *1885: The most memorable train wreck in the history of the High Bridge Branch occurred on the morning of Saturday, April 18, 1885 when the central and southern spans of the 250' long Gorge Bridge (now called the Ken Lockwood Gorge Bridge) collapsed as a heavily laden iron ore train drawn by a powerful Baldwin 4-6-0 locomotive (#112) named Columbia, just started to cross the southern span of the wooden

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...

bridge. *1890: The Hibernia Mine Railroad is leased by the CNJ. *1890s: An estimated 50,000 passengers per year ride the excursion trains to Lake Hopatcong on up to six daily passenger trains during the summer months. *1930: CNJ purchases the Wharton & Northern Railroad, obtaining a connection with the New York, Susquehanna, & Western at Green Pond Junction. The purchase includes 68% of the Mount Hope Mineral Railroad. By that time, those roads carried freight, but had no scheduled passenger service. *April 1, 1932: Last passenger train runs on the line. *1971: CNJ petitions to abandon the High Bridge Branch, but a proposed

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...

warehouse in Mount Olive Township saves the branch. The Wharton & Northern Branch was abandoned the same year due to washouts which led to its embargo with the NYSW. *1972–1976: CNJ discontinues operations in Pennsylvania and transfers operations to the

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, ...

. In order to continue to serve customers in Scranton, Pennsylvania and maintain interchange there, CNJ in conjunction with the Erie Lackawanna establishes trains ES-99/SE-98 which operate over the CNJ mainline from Elizabethport to High Bridge, the High Bridge Branch from High Bridge to Lake Junction, and the

Erie Lackawanna Railway The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...

from Lake Junction to Scranton. *1976: Most of the CNJ network becomes part of the federally created Conrail system. The High Bridge Branch line is not included in Conrail, because it duplicates other routes in the newly created system, however is transferred to the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transportat ...

(NJDOT) per subsidy agreement. The line up to just beyond the Bartley Road in Flanders is maintained, but the portion south of it from Bartley to High Bridge abandoned. *1979: There were supposed intentions

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bus, ...

would operate the line to connect service between their Raritan Valley Line at High Bridge (the former CNJ mainline) and their Morristown Line at Lake Junction (the former DLW mainline). This was never finalized. *1980: Track was removed between Flanders and High Bridge. *1986: Portion of the High Bridge Branch from Kenvil to Bartley Road in Flanders was purchased by Morris County; leased for operation and maintenance to the M&E, a regional shortline operator, who continues to operate it today under a lease agreement with the County. *1988: First portion of the County owned High Bridge Branch (Kenvil-Ledgewood) was opened on May 2, 1988 with NS business car "Blue Ridge" and one box car load of bricks from Georgia as the entire train. Several officials were on board for the historic re-opening of the northern portion of the railroad. *1995: Columbia Gas Transmission of West Virginia constructed a gas line under the former railbed, and the surface rights for the former High Bridge Branch line are transferred to the Hunterdon County Department of Parks and Recreation and Morris County Parks and Recreation for use as a recreational trail, known as Columbia Trail. Also a

Rail Freight Program grant was obtained by the County to restore the remaining trackage in Morris County to FRA Class 2 track. *2004: The Columbia Trail was resurfaced by the county parks departments. *2009–2017: M&E operates an annual "

Toys For Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. ...

" train on the line in December in partnership with local organizations with stops at Flanders (Hillside Avenue/Main Street at firehouse), Succasunna ( NJ Route 10) and Kenvil (

U.S. Route 46 U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, running for , making it the shortest signed, non-spur U.S. Highway. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 (I-80) and Route& ...

). *2017: Dover & Rockaway River Railroad (D&R) assumes operation and control of the High Bridge Branch from M&E, effective July 1. *2019: Chesapeake and Delaware LLC completes extensive maintenance on the line including the replacement of countless cross-ties, spikes, tie plates, and rails in certain spots.

Sources

Della Penna, 1999: chapter 5

References