The North Hudson Railway Company built and operated a

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

system in

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

and southeast Bergen County, New Jersey before and after the start of the 20th century. It was founded by

Hillric J. Bonn John Hillric Bonn (1829 – November 15, 1891) was the first president of the North Hudson County Railway and remained so until his death in 1891, a period of twenty-six years. He also was one of the founders of the Eldorado Amusement Park in Weeh ...

who became the first President in 1865 and served for 26 years until his death, and eventually taken over by the

Public Service Railway Transport of New Jersey (TNJ), earlier Public Service Transportation and then Public Service Coordinated Transport, was a street railway and bus company in the U.S. state of New Jersey from 1917 to 1980, when NJ Transit took over their operations ...

. In its endeavors to overcome the formidable obstacle of ascending the lower

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 ...

, or

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 ...

, it devised numerous innovative engineering solutions including funicular wagon lifts, an inclined elevated railway, an

elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They a ...

and

viaducts A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide va ...

. The oldest predecessor line of North Hudson County Railway opened 1861. Three companies were consolidated in 1874 to form the North Hudson County Railway Company. North Hudson acquired the Pavonia Horse Railroad Company in 1891, opened the Hudson & Bergen Traction Company in 1893, and opened the Palisades Railroad in 1894. North Hudson County Railway included of at-grade and of elevated trackage. Bonn was always involved in other road and real estate projects in the county. He resided 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.

, where a street is named in his honor.

Wagon lifts

Weehawken Wagen Lift from Hackensack Plank Road

Two

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...

wagon lifts were built in 1893. The Hoboken lift travelled from near the foot of

Paterson Plank Road Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey. The route, originally laid in the colonial era, connects the city of Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront. It has largely been su ...

to Ferry Street, next to Pohlmann's Hall in

Jersey City Heights The Heights or Jersey City Heights is a district in the north end of Jersey City, New Jersey, atop the New Jersey Palisades overlooking Hoboken to the east and Croxton in the Meadowlands to the west. The southern border of The Heights is ge ...

. The Weehawken lift ascended from the foot of

Hackensack Plank Road The Hackensack Plank Road, also known as Bergen Turnpike, was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey. Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill a ...

to West Hoboken (now Union City). The remnants of the lift ascend to under Troy Tower, a residential high rise.

Hoboken Elevated

The Hoboken Elevated was a long

elevated railway An elevated railway or elevated train (also known as an el train for short) is a rapid transit railway with the tracks above street level on a viaduct or other elevated structure (usually constructed from steel, cast iron, concrete, or bricks ...

trestle that ran from Hudson Place near the Lackawanna Terminal, up to

next to the wagon lift at Pohlmann's Hall. The line continued west over private property to Central Avenue and then south over that avenue to the

Hudson County Courthouse The Hudson County Courthouse or Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Courthouse is located in Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. The six-story structure was originally built between 1906 and 1910 at a cost of $3,328,016.56. It is ...

on Newark Avenue near

Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'' whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is ...

. The portion from Hoboken Terminal to Palisade Avenue opened January 25, 1886, under cable power. The extension to Newark Ave opened June 19, 1892, with electric cars, passengers changing at Palisade Avenue. Through electric service began in December 1892. Within the next few years North Hudson's streetcar lines were converted to electric trolley operation, and ramps were constructed at Palisade Avenue and Newark Avenue so that trolleys could go up onto the elevated railway. It was then operated by trolleys until it closed in 1949.

Eldorado Elevator

The Eldorado Elevator rose from the West Shore Ferry Terminal at Weehawken to meet the streetcar line that travelled along a trestle to a

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

in the Palisades which ran parallel to the

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

, a

pleasure garden A pleasure garden is a park or garden that is open to the public for recreation and entertainment. Pleasure gardens differ from other public gardens by serving as venues for entertainment, variously featuring such attractions as concert halls ...

, and then proceeded east and north to the Nungesser's Guttenberg Racetrack.

Hillside Line

From 14th Street in Hoboken, the line ran west and with a series of trestles and horseshoe curves ascended the Palisades to West Hoboken and beyond. Part of the system near 14th Street's Wing Viaduct is a

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office with ...

-designated place.

Palisade Line

Horseshoe curves carried cars from the Edgewater ferry up the cliff to

Palisades Amusement Park Palisades Amusement Park was a 38-acre amusement park located in Bergen County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. It was located atop the New Jersey Palisades lying partly in Cliffside Park and partly in Fort Lee. The pa ...

References

Inline citations

General references

* * * * *

External links

{{Commons category, Public Service Railway
"History of the North Hudson County Railway" From its beginnings to the present day"
HathiTrust Digital Library. Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Bergen County, New Jersey New Jersey streetcar lines Defunct public transport operators in the United States Tram, urban railway and trolley companies Defunct New Jersey railroads North Hudson, New Jersey Railway companies established in 1874 1874 establishments in New Jersey