The Newark Bay Bridge 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) was a railroad bridge in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

that connected

Elizabethport Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

at the southern end of Newark Bay. Its third and final incarnation was a four-track vertical-lift design that opened in 1926, replacing a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

from 1904 which superseded the original

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

from 1887. The bridge served the

main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

of the CNJ, carrying daily interstate trains as well as commuter trains.

History

Between 1887 and the late 1980s, the rail bridge across Newark Bay existed in three forms. As train service grew in both frequency and complexity through the early 20th century, the bridge was replaced twice to accommodate additional trackage and heavier trains.

Original bridge (1887)

The first railway structure to span the bay was erected in 1887, and consisted of simple wooden trestle pile bridge approaches joined near the eastern side of the waterway by a steel center-pier

. Built within a

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against dir ...

channel, the

moveable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...

allowed marine traffic from

Kill Van Kull __NOTOC__ The Kill Van Kull is a tidal strait between Staten Island, New York and Bayonne, New Jersey in the United States. It is approximately long and wide and connects Newark Bay with Upper New York Bay. The Robbins Reef Light marks the ...

to access the

Port of Newark A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. At the turn of the century, the bridge was a main artery of both the

and

Philadelphia & Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly calle ...

, but its light and outmoded construction had reportedly become inadequate to handle the heavier and more-frequent trains of the day. Plans to replace the span were considered as early as 1901 and solidified by August 1902, with engineers settling on a Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge as the preferred design and a budget of at least $1,000,000.

Bascule bridge (1904)

The new movable bridge, configured as twin dual-track mirrored bascule leaves, promised many benefits in comparison to the outdated swing-bridge. Its twin gasoline engines could quickly raise its superstructures to the minimum required distance to accommodate low-height vessels like

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s (which made up roughly 80% of the channel's traffic), and the rails could be more thoroughly secured to the bridge deck at its leaf joints (thus permitting higher train speeds). Additionally, another parallel span could be added if it became necessary to double the crossing's trackage– especially considering that four land-side tracks already met the bridge on either end of its approaches. Construction of the bridge was unique in that it was completed in phases along the existing active

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

, all while ensuring uninterrupted rail service. The first phase involved reconstruction of the fixed trestle approaches; train operations were restricted to a single track while the other half of the trestle was demolished and replaced with "concrete on timber platforms supported by piles." The bascule's western leaf was then built (in the upright position) directly on-top-of the existing trestle, allowing trains to pass through its unfinished superstructure. On February 14, 1904, that section of trestle was demolished and the leaf was lowered for the first time. Following rapid installation of the railbed, the new bascule immediately entered service with a total downtime of less than 12 hours. In the following weeks, the existing swing-bridge section was replaced with a temporary trestle and the eastern leaf completed in a similar manner to its twin.

Vertical-lift bridge (1926)

The lift spans were a pair of two-track spans over two separate shipping channels; the longer span being long, while the shorter span was , giving a navigable width of and respectively. Vertical clearance was open and closed. Each span was capable of independent movement, as well as any combination of tandem movements. Bridge movement, interlocking, and signals were controlled from a large manned structure on the operational midpoint between the east and west drawspans and above the tracks. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the bridge was critical piece of the

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

's logistic network, allowing 300 or more trains per day to supply troops and material for American efforts in the

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

. Despite the operational flexibility and safeguards built into the bridge, increase in marine traffic and ship size only made the bridge a greater maritime hazard. At the same time, however, decline in rail traffic did not make it any less of a hazard to the railroad. On September 15, 1958, a commuter train plunged off the south span which had been opened for marine traffic, killing 48 people, including former

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

second baseman

Snuffy Stirnweiss George Henry "Snuffy" Stirnweiss (October 26, 1918 – September 15, 1958) was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1943 and 1952, spending most of his MLB career with the New York Ya ...

. On May 19, 1966, the French freighter S.S. ''Washington'' collided with the northeast lift span, rendering two tracks unusable. Despite an eventual 2nd Circuit judgment in CNJ's favor, the span was never repaired, as the two affected tracks were deemed redundant by the railroad due to the sharp decline in rail traffic and the momentous change in the railroad's operations, which occurred less than a year after the accident. Elizabeth across Newark Bay

After the

Aldene Plan The Aldene Connection is a connection between two railroad lines in the Aldene neighborhood of Roselle Park, New Jersey, United States, one formerly belonging to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the other formerly of the Lehigh Valley R ...

went into effect in May 1967, the only passenger service on the bridge was the Bayonne- Cranford shuttle, known as the "Scoot". The last freight train crossed the bridge in 1976, prior to the formation 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 busin ...

; the last passenger train left Bayonne's Eighth Street Station on August 6, 1978. Despite Bayonne's efforts to save the bridge, demolition of the central lift spans began in July, 1980 after the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

declared the structure a navigational hazard to ships. The trestle and approaches were removed in 1987–1988 when it became apparent that a replacement span was no longer feasible. Removal of the piers began in 2012.

References

External links

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CRRNJ Newark Bay crossingsbridgesnyc: Central Railroad of New Jersey Newark Bay Bridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crrnj Newark Bay Bridge Railroad bridges in New Jersey Bridges completed in 1864 Bridges completed in 1926 Central Railroad of New Jersey Bridges in Union County, New Jersey Bayonne, New Jersey History of Elizabeth, New Jersey Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey 1926 establishments in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Elizabeth, New Jersey Vertical lift bridges in New Jersey Bridges in Hudson County, New Jersey Trestle bridges in the United States Parker truss bridges in the United States