The Paterson and Ramapo Railroad was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that operated mostly 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 ...

, connecting the city of and Paterson, New Jersey with

Suffern, New York Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.Paterson and Hudson River Railroad The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was a railroad that operated in New Jersey and connected the cities of Jersey City and southeast Paterson. The railroad was started in 1833. The company was the first in the United States to build moveable ...

, one of the earliest railroads in the United States, and the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Er ...

in Suffern. The two Paterson railroads provided a shorter route from Suffern to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

than did the

New York and Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

. The road served freight customers from the beginning, notably cotton mills in

Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey Ho-Ho-Kus () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. 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 increas ...

. Several other factories, including a paper mill, were built due to the railroad. The railroad opened in fall, 1849. The steam locomotives to operate on the line were ordered from

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a 19th-century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. It built more than six thousand steam locomotives for railroads around the ...

in Paterson. In 1852, the New York and Erie Railroad leased the track rights of the P&HR and P&R and made their lines the new New York and Erie Railroad mainline.Erie Railroad Home Page (Erie Lackawanna Historical Society)
(Accessed November 30, 2008.) It added a

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

to make a track as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson Ramapo Railroad Defunct New Jersey railroads Railway companies established in 1841 Railway companies disestablished in 1852 Defunct public transport operators in the United States Predecessors of the Erie Railroad American companies established in 1841 American companies disestablished in 1852 1841 establishments in New Jersey