The Newark Branch was a

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

of 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 Erie ...

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 ...

, United States, running between

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Paterson with stops in the Broadway Section in North

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

. Inaugurated in the 1870s, the line was last used for passenger service on September 30, 1966. However freight service still remains on a section of the branch.

History

The Paterson and Newark Railroad, a subsidiary of the Erie Railroad, was founded in 1864 and by 1869 had developed a right-of way (ROW) along the western banks of the Passaic between the two cities for which it was named. The line was conceived as a connection between Newark and Paterson, where a transfer was possible to Erie's Main Line southbound service to the

Hudson Waterfront The Hudson Waterfront is an urban area of northeastern New Jersey along the lower reaches of the Hudson River, the Upper New York Bay and the Kill van Kull. Though the term can specifically mean the shoreline, it is often used to mean the contigu ...

and ferries across the Hudson River to New York or northbound to New York State and the Midwest. Service began by 1870 but was hindered by unresolved issues with landowners opposed to the seizure of their riverfront property. Originally a crossing of the Lower Passaic River was planned so trains from

could travel east using the

New Jersey Railroad The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...

bridge, ROW, and terminal at Exchange Place in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.NX Bridge The NX Draw (sometimes colloquially known the "Annie Bridge") is an out-of-service railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark, New Jersey, Newark and Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey. It is the 13th bridge from the river's mouth at ...

. Eventually trackage from the river crossing converged with the New York and Greenwoood Lake Railway, which crossed the Passaic to the north over the

WR Draw WR Draw is an out-of-service railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark and the Arlington section of Kearny, New Jersey. The plate girder rim-bearing swing bridge, originally built in 1897 and modified in 1911 and 1950, is the 14 ...

. From that

junction Junction may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Junction'' (film), a 2012 American film * Jjunction, a 2002 Indian film * Junction (album), a 1976 album by Andrew Cyrille * Junction (EP), by Basement Jaxx, 2002 * Junction (manga), or ''Hot ...

in the

Kearny Meadows Kearny may refer to: People *Cresson Kearny (1914–2003, American author and researcher **Kearny fallout meter ** Kearny air pump * Eleanor Kearny Carr (1840–1912), American planter and political hostess, First Lady of North Carolina *Jillian ...

, the two lines continued east over the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

on the

DB Draw DB Draw is a derelict railroad swing bridge crossing the Hackensack River between Secaucus and Kearny, in New Jersey, United States. It was built in 1889 by the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad, (reorganized in 1895 as the Erie Railroad) a ...

to the

Long Dock Tunnel The Long Dock Tunnel is a freight rail tunnel in Jersey City, New Jersey that is part of the North Jersey Shared Assets Area and used by CSX Transportation on the National Docks Secondary. The single track (formerly dual track) tunnel runs throu ...

through

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. Rail ...

, terminating at Erie's

Pavonia Terminal Pavonia Terminal was the Erie Railroad terminal on the Hudson River situated on the landfilled Harsimus Cove in Jersey City, New Jersey. The station opened in 1861 and closed in 1958 when the Erie Railroad moved its passenger services to nearby ...

Service

Passenger service on the line became known as the Newark Branch. From

, and later

Hoboken Terminal Hoboken Terminal is a commuter-oriented intermodal passenger station in Hoboken, Hudson County, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, it is served by nine NJ Transit (NJT) commuter rail lines, one Metr ...

, service ran west to

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places In Australia: * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin In Canada: * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Po ...

and Kearny. After crossing the Passaic into

, it ran west of and parallel to the river to Belleville, Nutley,

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

and Paterson with some continuing service to Glen Rock,

Ridgewood Ridgewood may refer to: Geography Australia *Ridgewood, Western Australia Canada * Ridgewood, Ontario *Ridgewood, Edmonton, Alberta United Kingdom *Ridgewood, East Sussex United States *Ridgewood Heights, California * Ridgewood, Illinois *Ridge ...

Ho-Ho-Kus 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 increase ...

, and Waldwick Like the

Bergen County Line The Bergen County Line is a commuter rail line and service owned and operated by New Jersey Transit in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The line loops off the Main Line between the Meadowlands and Glen Rock, with trains continuing in either direc ...

, the Newark Branch was a branch of 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 ...

, both with service extending north to Waldwick laying over at nearby Waldwick Yard. Commuter operations on the Newark Branch were discontinued in October 1966.

Status and re-use study

By the 1960s, only one of the two tracks was in a suitable condition, The line became part 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 ...

and later

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

. (NS). In 1977 the line was severed when the

NX Bridge The NX Draw (sometimes colloquially known the "Annie Bridge") is an out-of-service railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark, New Jersey, Newark and Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey. It is the 13th bridge from the river's mouth at ...

over the Passaic River was taken out of service and left in the open position. By 2002 the line east of the bridge was out of service. That was due to the loss of the last shipper on that portion of the branch, SparTech Poly-Com. A portion of the line along the west bank of the Passaic River, known as the ''Newark Industrial Track'', is still used to serve several industries in Newark. In 2020, the

North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) is the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for the 13-county northern New Jersey region, one of three MPOs in the state. NJTPA's annual budget is more than $2&nb ...

, in conjunction with the Passaic County Planning Board, produced the Paterson - Newark Transit Market Study report, which examined the potential of restoring passenger service on the line.https://www.njtpa.org/NJTPA/media/Documents/Planning/Subregional-Programs/Studies/Passaic%20Essex%20Paterson-Newark%20Transit%20Study/PNTMS_Final-Report_Executive-Summary.pdf?ext=.pdf

Notes

{{reflist Defunct New Jersey railroads Erie Railroad Railway companies established in 1864 Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Transportation in Essex County, New Jersey Transportation in Passaic County, New Jersey Transportation in Newark, New Jersey Erie Railroad lines

History

Service

Status and re-use study

See also

Notes