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 ...
railroad which was created around 1954. It took over the activities of the Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad , initials HMRR. This railroad owned only of mainline but leased about 1906 the longer route of the Hoboken Shore Road operated since 1897 by the Hoboken Railroad Warehouse and Steamship Connecting Company, initials HRRWH&SSConCo or HRRW&SSCCO.
The long route of the HBS run along the Hoboken waterfront, serving as a
switching and terminal railroad
A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It genera ...
for all connecting carriers between the
Erie
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
yard in
Weehawken
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.
car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tugb ...
transfer bridge. It used electric operation till the 1930s and was abandoned in 1978, after the demise of the Hoboken Piers and decline of traffic.
History
Hoboken Shore Road
In 1784 John Stevens purchased the land of today's city
Hoboken
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...
from the
State of 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 Ri ...
. After his death in 1838 his heritage was managed by the Hoboken Land and Improvement Company (HLIC), which held the subsidiary ''Hoboken Railroad Warehouse and Steamship Connecting Company'' (HRRWH&SSConCo) founded at September 17, 1895. The railroad began operation as ''Hoboken Shore Road'' on September 20, 1897.
Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad
In 1902 the ''Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad'' (HMR) was incorporated. Its task was to extend the Hoboken Shore Road further South to connect with the DL&W in
Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. In the same year the HMR leased the railroad operation from the HRRWH&SSConCo for 99 years.
When the United States joined the Allies in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in the year 1917, the government seized all the piers and properties of German transatlantic shipping companies, namely the
Hamburg America Line
The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...
and the
North German Lloyd
Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of t ...
. Furthermore, the Government bought all the shares of the ''American Warehouse & Trading Company'' for 2.45 Mil. $ on July 1, 1917 and therefore gained control over the HMR. After the war in the year 1924, it was discussed to sell the railroad to the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
, but it had not sufficient funds for the purchase. Therefore, it got sold in September 1927 to the ''Hoboken Railroad & Terminal Company'' owned by the Paul Chapman Company, which sold it in 1932 to
Seatrain Lines
Seatrain Lines, officially the Over-Seas Shipping Company, was a shipping and transportation company conducting operations in the Americas and trans-Pacific regions. Seatrain Lines began intermodal freight transport in December 1928 by transporting ...
.
Hoboken Shore Railroad
After the death of Paul Chapman in 1954, the Hoboken Shore Railroad was created. Its 4000 shares were all owned by the HRRWH&SSConCo, which was owned by
Webb and Knapp
Webb and Knapp was a real estate development firm.
The company is most famous for developing the Roosevelt Airfield, which was the launching site of the transatlantic flights of Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. It was also the firm at which ...
, but was up for sale. Traffic declines when industry and shipping in Hoboken closed or moved to other places. The railroad operated till 1977 and was officially abandoned 1978.
Road Description
The ''Hoboken Shore Road'' built by ''Hoboken Railroad Warehouse and Steamship Connecting Company'' operated a 1.411 mile long main line, which started from the Erie yard in
Weehawken
Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 17,197.
and was running along the shore. The Northern end point was at 18th Street & Park Avenue, the Southern end point was at 5th Street & River Street. From the main line sidings branched of serving the local industry. At the 11th Street a
car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is a specialised form of lighter with railway tracks mounted on its deck used to move rolling stock across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go. An unpowered barge, it is towed by a tugb ...
transfer bridge was operated, which connected the railroad to the
Delaware, Lackawanna and 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). The total network had a length of 7.068 miles.
The ''Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad'' operated only 0.221 mile of main line and was therefore called the shortest railroad of US. It connected at 5th Street & River Street to the ''Hoboken Shore Road'' and continued South till 1st Street. Furthermore, it owned about 1.375 miles of yard tracks.
Operation
The railroad started shortly after opening to traffic with the electric operation on January 6, 1898. The
contact wire
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipmen ...
was installed at a height of in order to allow the brake men to circulate on the roofs of the freight cars during switching.
By 1911 the railroad had four electric locomotives in operation and switched in a daily 10-hour shift between 100 and 150 cars. Electric operation was ceased in the 1930s when the
GE boxcab
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ener ...
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 ...
traffic declined. By 1954 the railroad had 38 employees and owned 2 shunting locomotives.
Roster
Hoboken Shore Road
Electric Locomotives
Snow Sweeper
Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad
Hoboken Shore Railroad
Hoboken Shore Railroad continued to use the 44-ton switchers and also purchased an
observation car
An observation car/carriage/coach (in US English, often abbreviated to simply observation or obs) is a type of railroad passenger car, generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of th ...
.
See also
*
Timeline of Jersey City area railroads
__NOTOC__
For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater (the Northern end of the line along the Hudson River), South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east o ...