The Ogden Mine Railroad was a

mine railroad A mine railway (or mine railroad, U.S.), sometimes pit railway, is a railway constructed to carry materials and workers in and out of a mine. Materials transported typically include ore, coal and overburden (also called variously spoils, waste, ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

from 1866 until 1941.

History

It was built in 1866 to transport iron ore from the mines on

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

Mountain in

. Ore was carried to Nolan's Point on

Lake Hopatcong Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about in area. Located from the Delaware River and from Manhattan, New York City, the lake forms part of the border between Sussex and Morris counties in the state's ...

, where it was loaded on barges and towed to the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

. Due to its dependence on water transport, the railroad only operated during the ice-free seasons. The railroad also served the Dodge, Ford, Schofield, Weldon, and Hurd iron mines, located along the route from Sparta Mountain to Lake Hopatcong. For a few years, zinc ore from the

Sterling Hill Mine The Sterling Hill Mine, now known as the Sterling Hill Mine Tour & Museum of Fluorescence, is a former iron and zinc mine in Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. It was the last working underground mine in New Jersey when it c ...

in Ogdensburg was packed up a terraced road to the Ogden Mine, where it was transported by rail to the lake. In 1872, the New Jersey Midland (which became the New York, Susquehanna, and Western) extended its line to Ogdensburg and the zinc traffic on the Ogden Mine RR ceased. Initially, the railroad had no connections to other lines. All equipment and materials were transported by barge to Nolan's Point, where the railroad machine shops were located. The railroad operated its own steamship to tow barges across the lake. In 1881, 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) leased the Ogden Mine line for 999 years, paying 5% annually on the Ogden Mine capital stock. The CNJ created the Lake Hopatcong Railroad to connect the CNJ's

High Bridge Branch The High Bridge Branch was a branch line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) that started in High Bridge, New Jersey at a connection with the CNJ main line and continued north to iron-ore mines in Morris County. The High Bridge Branch ...

line with the Ogden Mine terminus at Nolan's Point. The main obstacle to be overcome in construction was Brookland Mountain, which stood between Nolan's Point and the junction with the High Bridge branch. The line climbed from below at Lake Junction to just south of Minisink Road. In places the

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

rose more than 4 %, and some sections averaged 3%. By 1882, the connection was in operation and the Ogden Mine's dependence on the Morris Canal ended. Iron ore traffic peaked in 1880 at about annually, then fell off as the

Mesabi Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. ...

mines came into production. By the 1890s, the New Jersey iron mines were ceasing operations. The

Edison Ore-Milling Company The Edison Ore-Milling Company was a venture by Thomas Edison that began in 1881. Edison introduced some significant technological developments to the iron ore milling industry but the company ultimately proved to be unprofitable. Towards the end ...

set up by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

provided a brief revival when he constructed his experimental ore concentration plant at the Ogden mines, but his operation closed in 1900. During the ten years of the Edison plant's construction and operation, the railroad carried materials and a modest amount of the concentrated ore, but ore production never reached high levels. Unexpectedly, weekend excursions to Lake Hopatcong provided substantial passenger traffic. Lake Hopatcong is New Jersey's largest lake, and city dwellers to the east were attracted to the lake's hotels and activities as a summer escape from the city. Passenger service started in 1883, and by 1888 the station at Nolan's Point was rebuilt to handle the estimated 50,000 visitors each summer during the 1890s. In winter, icehouses cut ice from the lake and stored it in large warehouses along the shores, where it was later transported by the railroad. The traffic fell when

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

curtailed demand for ice, and never recovered. By the 1930s, the automobile had ended the excursion traffic, and with the iron mine and ice house closures, the railroad had little traffic. The CNJ abandoned the line and it was torn up in 1941 for iron to feed the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

industry.

Trails and traces

In Mount Arlington, south of the Minisink Road, the railbed is preserved as a trail in the Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area. There is a raised railbed between Martin View Road and Mase Road parallel to Camille Drive. There is a stone bridge that was built to cross a stream. Local residents use this trail for recreation, although it is not part of the Berkshire Valley Wildlife Area. It has the local nickname "black tracks" due to the black ore spread on the railbed to prevent erosion. The railbed between Minisink Road northward across Route 15 to Lake Shawnee has been obliterated by housing developments and highway improvements. The railbed north of Lake Shawnee is largely preserved as a trail in the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, a Morris County park. North of the park one structure still stands, the stone viaduct over Milton Road near the former Mahola station. Traces of the line north of Mahola and Glen Road, ending at the former Edison works and abandoned Ogden Mines, are preserved in the Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area.

References

* * {{cite book, title=Thomas Edison's "Ogden Baby", The New Jersey & Pennsylvania Concentrating Works, first=Rodney P., last=Johnson, year=2004 Defunct New Jersey railroads Predecessors of the Central Railroad of New Jersey Transportation in Morris County, New Jersey Transportation in Sussex County, New Jersey Railway companies established in 1864 Railway companies disestablished in 1941 American companies established in 1864