New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also referred to as the Susie-Q or the Susquehanna, and formerly the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad, is an American Railroad classes#Class II, Class II Rail freight transport, freight r ...

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Orange County, New York Orange County is a List of counties in New York, county located in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen (village), New York, Goshen. This count ...

northern New Jersey North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey industry had supply of iron ore, it needed local sources of coal to smelt it following shortages of British coal after the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

had begun operation for this purpose by 1831, but was seasonal and slow; industry demanded better. The New Jersey, Hudson & Delaware Railroad (NJH&D) was chartered in March of 1832 as the fifth railroad in New Jersey; it was based on Sullivan's surveyed route. It would connect Paterson east to the ports along the

Hudson Waterfront The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contig ...

opposite

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

at

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

, and west to Pennsylvania at the

Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Wa ...

. Due to financial difficulties incurred during the

Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that began a major depression (economics), depression which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages dropped, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment rose, and pes ...

, the company did not construct any track, but its charter remained active. Further set back by the

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial crisis in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission ...

, the railroad sold its charter to the Pennsylvania Coal Company. By the mid-1860s, several companies were formed to create railroads across northern New Jersey. The earliest of these, the Hoboken, Ridgefield and Paterson Railroad (HR&P), was chartered in March of 1866 to connect Paterson with the

ports Ports collections (or ports trees, or just ports) are the sets of makefiles and Patch (Unix), patches provided by the BSD-based operating systems, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD, as a simple method of installing software or creating binary packages. T ...

along the Hudson River waterfront; various logistical issues ensured this company would not build anything. More successful was the New Jersey Western Railroad (NJW), chartered in 1867, which had built about ten miles of trackage from the vicinity of Hawthorne west to Bloomingdale. This attracted the attention of DeWitt Clinton Littlejohn, founder of the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad (NYOM) of

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

. He envisioned the New Jersey Western as a possible final eastern link to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for his railroad, as the NYOM had no charter itself to build in New Jersey. To that end, the New Jersey Midland Railway (NJM) was formed in 1870 as a consolidation of the NJW, the NJH&D, the HR&P, the Sussex Valley Railroad, and the Hudson Connecting Railway. The original plan included a cut through the

Hudson Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

near Englewood to run south along the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

to

Weehawken Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking ...

, but the company lacked the money to do so. It instead made arrangements to run through the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

's cut from Marion Junction through

Bergen Hill Bergen Hill refers to the lower Hudson Palisades in New Jersey, where they emerge on Bergen Neck, which in turn is the peninsula between the Hackensack and Hudson Rivers, and their bays. In Hudson County, it reaches a height of 260 feet. Rai ...

in

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

to their Exchange Place Terminal. By December 20, the first locomotive would run on the NJM; the 'Passaic' built by

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, New Jersey, Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. Between its founding in 1832 and its acq ...

in Paterson. In 1871 the Midland built west as far as Butler, with the first train running on April 27. Later the railroad would reach Two Bridges/Beaver Lake through Sussex County, including construction of the

Backwards Tunnel Backwards Tunnel, also known as the ''Ogdensburg Railroad Arch'', is located in Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The tunnel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 28, 2005. History The tunnel was ...

in December of 1871. The NJM would reach the New York state line at Hanford, New Jersey, just south of Unionville, New York, to meet with the Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad (MUWGRR). This new railroad made the Ogden Mine Railroad obsolete. The section of the railroad from Ogdensburg north was later known as the Hanford Branch once the "new" connection south toward the

Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Wa ...

was built beginning in the 1880s. The NYS&W would later abandon its Hanford Branch in 1958, and would shift its route in 1986 to run along a parallel section of the former

Lehigh and Hudson River Railway The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR) was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast–southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Br ...

right-of-way between Sparta Junction and

Campbell Hall, New York Hamptonburgh is a town located in the north central part of Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 5,489 at the 2020 census. The municipal offices are at the hamlet of Campbell Hall. History The town was part of the patent of ...

. By 1872, the NJM line opened between

Middletown, New York Middletown is the largest Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk ...

and

Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

including trackage rights over the MUWGRR. It was marketed as a unified "Midland Railway" but also described as "The New Jersey Division of The New York Midland Railway." The first train ran May 1. The Midland also built a line through the Ridgefields by 1872, but with no station. It joined the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...

Northern Branch The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City to Northvale in northeastern New Jersey, and formerly extended further into New York State. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect ...

at Granton Junction near

Babbitt Babbitt may refer to: Fiction * ''Babbitt'' (novel), a 1922 novel by Sinclair Lewis ** ''Babbitt'' (1924 film), a 1924 silent film based on the novel ** ''Babbitt'' (1934 film), a 1934 film based on the novel *Babbit, the family name of the titl ...

, and reached the community of New Durham (near the point where the Susquehanna Transfer would later be located, now under

New Jersey Route 495 Route 495 is a state highway in Hudson County, New Jersey, in the United States that connects the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95 in New Jersey, Interstate 95) at exits 16E-17 in Secaucus, New Jersey, Secaucus to New York State Route 495 (NY ...

). In September of 1873, the NYOM would lease the NJM, but this was shortly undone by the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "L ...

. This resulted in the NYOM falling into financial trouble and the NJM taking ownership of the line from Jersey City to Middletown in November.

Bankruptcy and formation of the NYS&W

In March of 1875, the Midland fell into receivership with James McCulloh and

Garret Hobart Garret Augustus Hobart (June 3, 1844 – November 21, 1899) was an American businessman and politician who was the 24th vice president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his death in 1899, under President William McKinley. A mem ...

appointed as receivers. By December 1878, a dispute broke out between various bondholders, some of whom disputed that the Hudson Connecting Railway should be included in the proceedings. By 1879 the receivers had declared their intent to put the railroad up for sale, and the Midland was listed as such on September 14. On February 21, 1880, the NJ Midland, along with the Hudson Connecting Railway, was sold to Charles Parsons, who represented the bondholders of the first and second mortgages, at a price of $2.5 Million; the two railroads were combined into one. On May 15, 1880, the "property of the defunct New Jersey Midland Railway Company was delivered to the Midland Railroad Company of New Jersey." In April of 1881 construction began on the Paterson Extension Railroad, later the Paterson City branch. Survey work also began on the line from Ogdensburg south to the Water Gap. Later in 1881, the Midland started the New York and Scranton Construction Company to begin building towards the coal fields of the

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...

of Pennsylvania. with the Pennsylvania Midland Railroad chartered in that state in May of 1881. The Midland also started up several more corporations to further its goals and plans were made to form another new railroad consolidating all of these. On June 10, 1881 the NJ Midland was consolidated with the MUWGRR, the Paterson Extension Railroad, the Midland Connecting Railroad, the North Jersey Railroad, the Water Gap Railroad and the Pennsylvania Midland to form the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) with Frederic A. Potts as railroad president. The new company then expanded west into Pennsylvania as the Wilkes-Barre and Eastern Railroad, chartered March 18, 1892 in an attempt to keep the parent company secret.

Stations and possible future use

Commuter service ended in 1966, but has been considered for restoration as the part of the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project by

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit or NJTransit and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey and portions of the states of New York and Pennsylvania. I ...

to possibly reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the NYSW right-of-way (ROW) in

Passaic Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

counties using newly built,

FRA Fra is a title of a friar. Fra or FRA may also refer to: Codes * fra, the ISO 639-2 code for the French language * FRA, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code for France * FRA, the IOC country code for France at the Olympics * Framingham station, Amtra ...

-compliant

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

rail cars (with stations at Vreeland Avenue and Vince Lombardi Park and Ride, among others. Existing original station buildings from the NJ Midland era can be found at Bogota, Maywood, Rochelle Park, Wortendyke,

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

, and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

among other places.

Constituent Railroads

Hudson Connecting Railway

A charter for the Hudson Connecting Railway Company had been in existence since April 1, 1869. By November of 1872 The Hudson Connecting Railway was built with a trestle over the Erie yards to connect the NJM with the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company (PRR) at what would be called West End Junction in the Marion section of Jersey City. The Erie Railroad opposed the NJM's crossing of its right-of-way and fought it in the courts.

Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad

In 1866, public meetings were held in Middletown

Westtown West Town or Westtown may refer to any of the following places. United Kingdom * West Town, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire * West Town, Hayling Island in Hampshire * West Town, Backwell in North Somerset United States * West Town, Chicago in Illin ...

and Unionville, New York to discuss the viability of a railroad via these hamlets to Deckertown, Sussex County, New Jersey. A route was surveyed from there to Middletown, but, as built, the Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad only extended from a connection with the NY&E in Middletown to Unionville, which was reached on December 6, 1867, after fourteen months of construction. Freight cars received from the Erie made the trip to Unionville starting January 13, 1868. The MUWGRR was built to the

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

of the Erie. A third rail allowed for use of the NJM's standard-gauge cars on the line. The road was leased to the Erie and commenced regular operations as the Erie's "Unionville Branch" on May 15, 1868. On January 11, 1866, the New York and Oswego Midland Railroad (NYOM) was incorporated with the goal of linking

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

, on

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, with the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

at a point across from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The NYOM reached Middletown in 1871 and hoped to connect with three New Jersey companies to form a through route to the

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York metropolitan area, New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the sy ...

. The link between the NYOM and the NJM would be the MUWGRR which was leased by the NYOM effective April 1, 1872. Today, the NYS&W and the

Middletown and New Jersey Railroad The Middletown and New Jersey Railroad is one of two railroads in the city of Middletown, New York; the other being its interchange partner, Norfolk Southern Railway. The MNJ consists of of track in southeastern New York serving Orange County a ...

use the line with shared trackage rights.

Bibliography

* * * * * *

References

External links

*Two Sets of Bondholders,

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

December 16, 1878 page 8 *New-Jersey Midland to be Sold,

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

May 27, 1879 page 2 *New-Jersey Midland,

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

February 11, 1880 page 8 *The New-Jersey Midland Sold,

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

February 22, 1880 page 12 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson Connecting Railway Defunct New Jersey railroads Predecessors of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway Railway companies established in 1869 Railway companies disestablished in 1880 Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey 1869 establishments in New Jersey

Formation and construction

Bankruptcy and formation of the NYS&W

Stations and possible future use

Constituent Railroads

Hudson Connecting Railway

Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad

See also

Bibliography

References

External links