The Newark Branch was a

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

of 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 ...

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 ...

, United States, running between

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

and

Paterson Paterson may refer to: People *Paterson (surname) *Paterson (given name) Places Australia *Paterson, New South Wales * Paterson River, New South Wales *Division of Paterson, an electoral district in New South Wales * Paterson, Queensland, a loc ...

and passing through the Broadway Section in North Newark, the origin of its name. Inaugurated in the 1870s, the line was last used for passenger service on September 30, 1966, but continues to be used for freight service on a portion of its length.

History

The Paterson and Newark Railroad, a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad, was founded in 1864 and by 1869 had developed a right-of way (ROW) along the western banks of the Passaic between the two cities for which it was named. The line was conceived as a connection between Newark and Paterson, where a transfer was possible to Erie's Main Line southbound service to 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 ...

and ferries across the Hudson River to New York or northbound to New York State and the Midwest. Service began by 1870 but was hindered by unresolved issues with landowners opposed to the seizure of their riverfront property. Originally a crossing of the Lower Passaic River was planned so trains from Newark could travel east using the

New Jersey Railroad The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company was an early railroad company in the state of New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1832 and opened its first line in 1834, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. It was consolidat ...

bridge, ROW, and terminal at Exchange Place in

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

. In 1871, construction began on a new alignment from Newark to Jersey City. The company was re-organized in 1872 and renamed the Paterson, Newark, and New York Railroad when a crossing was developed at the site of NX Bridge. Eventually trackage from the river crossing converged with the New York and Greenwoood Lake Railway, which crossed the Passaic to the north over the

WR Draw WR Draw is an out-of-service railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark, New Jersey, Newark and the Kearny Uplands, Arlington section of Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey. The Plate girder bridge, plate girder rim-bearing swi ...

. From that

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (2012 film), an American film * ''Junction'' (2024 film), an American film * ''Jjunction'', a 2002 Indian film * ''Junction'' (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (E ...

in the

Kearny Meadows Kearny may refer to: People *Cresson Kearny (1914–2003), American author and researcher **Kearny fallout meter ** Kearny air pump *Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American planter and political hostess, First Lady of North Carolina *Jillian ...

, the two lines continued east over the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, about 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban ar ...

on the DB Draw to the

Long Dock Tunnel The Long Dock Tunnel is a freight rail tunnel in Jersey City, New Jersey that is part of the North Jersey Shared Assets Area and used by CSX Transportation on the National Docks Secondary. The single track (formerly dual track) tunnel runs thro ...

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 ...

, terminating at Erie's

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal station, terminal on the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River located in the Harsimus section of Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad ...

Service

Passenger service on the line became known as the Newark Branch. From

, and later

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by eight NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, an NJ T ...

, service ran west to Harrison and Kearny. After crossing the Passaic into Newark, it ran west of and parallel to the river to Belleville, Nutley, Clifton and

with some continuing service to Glen Rock, Ridgewood,

Ho-Ho-Kus Ho-Ho-Kus () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,258, an increase of 180 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,078, which in turn reflected an i ...

, and Waldwick Like the

Bergen County Line The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either d ...

, the Newark Branch was a branch of the Main Line, both with service extending north to Waldwick laying over at nearby Waldwick Yard. Commuter operations on the Newark Branch were discontinued in October 1966.

Status and re-use study

By the 1960s, only one of the two tracks was in a suitable condition, The line became part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

and later

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. (NS). In 1977 the line was severed when the NX Bridge over the Passaic River was taken out of service and left in the open position. By 2002 the line east of the bridge was out of service. That was due to the loss of the last shipper on that portion of the branch, SparTech Poly-Com. A portion of the line along the west bank of the Passaic River, known as the ''Newark Industrial Track'', is still used to serve one customer in Clifton, Van Ness Plastics. In 2020, the

North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the 13-county northern New Jersey region, one of three MPOs in the state. NJTPA's annual budget is more than $2& ...

, in conjunction with the Passaic County Planning Board, produced the Paterson–Newark Transit Market Study report, which examined the potential of restoring passenger service on the line.

Notes

External links

*{{Cite web, url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B3TbGXnmwA, title=Walking The Newark Branch -The Movie, via=www.youtube.com Defunct New Jersey railroads Erie Railroad Railway companies established in 1864 Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Essex County, New Jersey Transportation in Passaic County, New Jersey Transportation in Newark, New Jersey Erie Railroad lines

History

Service

Status and re-use study

See also

Notes

External links