Backwards Tunnel | |
![]() View through south portals, 2011 | |
Location | Cork Hill Road, 310 feet North of Passaic Avenue intersection, Ogdensburg, New Jersey |
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Coordinates | 41°05′09″N74°36′06″W / 41.0859°N 74.6017°W Coordinates: 41°05′09″N74°36′06″W / 41.0859°N 74.6017°W |
Area | 0.6 acres (0.24 ha) |
Built | 1871 |
Architect | Arnold, Justin; Mr. Simpson |
Architectural style | Double Stone Arch |
NRHP reference No. | 05001483 [1] |
NJRHP No. | 4305 [2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 28, 2005 |
Designated NJRHP | September 12, 2005 |
Backwards Tunnel, also known as the Ogdensburg Railroad Arch, is located in Ogdensburg, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The tunnel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 28, 2005. [3]
The tunnel was built in 1871 by the New Jersey Midland Railway in order to cross the Wallkill Valley. New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway took over control of the tunnel in 1881 when the Midland Railway Line was merged into it. The tunnel was first referenced as the Backwards Tunnel in 1976 because it was thought that the tunnel should have been wider over the road than over the river. Ogdensburg declared the tunnel a borough historic site in 1991. A flood in 2000 which caused two nearby dams to burst damaged the tunnel. A book was published in 2009 about the history of the tunnel. [4]
The tunnel is a double stone arch design and is a 180 feet long. The one arch which Cork Hill Road runs through measures 16 feet wide and 15 feet tall. The other arch which the Wallkill River flows through measures 20 wide and 16 feet tall. [5] The rail line ran on top of the tunnel.
Sussex County is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. Its county seat is Newton. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area and is part of the state's Skylands Region, a term promoted by the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth, & Tourism Commission to encourage tourism. As of the 2019 Census estimate, the county's population was 140,488, making it the 17th-most populous of the state's 21 counties, a 5.9% decrease from the 149,265 enumerated in the 2010 United States Census, in turn an increase of 5,099 (3.5%) over the 144,166 persons enumerated in the 2000 Census. Based on 2010 Census data, Vernon Township was the county's largest in both population and area, with a population of 23,943 and covering an area of 70.59 square miles (182.8 km2).
Hardyston Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 8,213, reflecting an increase of 2,042 (+33.1%) from the 6,171 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 896 (+17.0%) from the 5,275 counted in the 1990 Census.
Ogdensburg is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,410 reflecting a decline of 228 (-8.6%) from the 2,638 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 84 (–3.1%) from the 2,722 counted in the 1990 Census.
The New Jersey Midland Railway was a 19th-century predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that operated in Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York.
Papakating Creek is a 20.1-mile-long (32.3 km) tributary of the Wallkill River located in Frankford and Wantage townships in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. The creek rises in a small swamp located beneath the eastern face of Kittatinny Mountain in Frankford and its waters join the Wallkill to the east of Sussex borough.
Wallkill Valley Regional High School is a four-year public high school and regional school district serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from four municipalities in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. The school is located in Hardyston Township, approximately 40 miles (64 km) northwest of New York City.
The Skylands Region is a region and marketing area of the State of New Jersey located in the Northern and Central part of the state. It is one of six tourism regions established by the New Jersey State Department of Tourism, the others being the Gateway Region, Greater Atlantic City Region, the Southern Shore Region, the Delaware River Region and the Shore Region. The area officially encompasses Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties; the northwestern part of the Passaic County fits in with the Skylands Region, but it is part of the Gateway Region and not the Skylands Region. One could also say that the westernmost part of Bergen is also part of the skylands. The area features uplifted land, rolling hills and mountains characteristic of North Jersey. The region contains 60,000 acres of state parkland, and a diverse geography filled with lakes, rivers and picturesque hills.
The Montgomery Bell Tunnel, also known as the Patterson Forge Tunnel, is a historic water diversion tunnel in Harpeth River State Park in Cheatham County, Tennessee. Built in 1819, the 290-foot (88 m) long tunnel is believed to be the first full-size tunnel built in the United States, and is the first used to divert water for industrial purposes. It was designated a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1981, and a National Historic Landmark in 1994.
Pochuck Mountain is a ridge in the New York-New Jersey Highlands region of the Appalachian Mountains. Pochuck Mountain's summit and most of its peaks lie within Vernon Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, although the south-western portion of the ridge lies within Hardyston Township, and the north-eastern tip of the ridge extends over the New York state line into Orange County. The ridge marks the eastern edge of the Great Appalachian Valley, and it divides the watersheds of the Wallkill River and its tributary Pochuck Creek. The two rivers meet at Pochuck Neck, marking the terminus of the ridge.
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 closed in 1986, and it became a museum in 1989. Along with the nearby Franklin Mine, it is known for its variety of minerals, especially the fluorescent varieties. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
The Ogdensburg Borough School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from Ogdensburg, in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States.
Lisbon Railroad Depot is a historic railway station located at Lisbon in St. Lawrence County, New York. Lisbon was first served with a station in the 1850s by the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad. The current building was built in 1930 as the second reconstruction of a railway depot at Lisbon by the Rutland Railway. It is a one-story, frame building, measuring 23 feet by 68 feet with a hipped roof and wide overhanging eaves. It closed as a depot in 1961 and is now the town museum.
Dock Bridge is a pair of vertical lift bridges crossing the Passaic River at Newark, Essex County and Harrison, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, used exclusively for railroad traffic. It is the seventh crossing from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 5.0 miles (8.0 km) upstream from it. Also known as the Amtrak Dock Vertical Lift, it carries Amtrak, NJ Transit, and PATH trains. It is listed on the state and federal registers of historic places.
The Allamuchy Freight House is located in Allamuchy Township, Warren County, New Jersey, United States. This freight house was built in 1906 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2002. It was built by the Lehigh and Hudson River Railway and is the only freight house on the line still extant.
The Quakertown Passenger and Freight Station is a historic train station and freight depot located at Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The two buildings were designed by Wilson Bros. & Company in 1889 and built by Cramp and Co. for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in 1902. The passenger station is constructed of dark Rockhill granite and Indiana limestone and is in a Late Victorian style. It is 1 1/2 stories tall and measures 25 feet wide by 97 feet, 6 inches, long. It has a hipped roof with an eight-foot overhang. The freight station is a 1 1/2-story, rectangular stone block building measuring 128 feet by 30 feet. Also on the property is a large crane that was used for freight movement. The Quakertown station had passenger rail service along the Bethlehem Line to Bethlehem and Philadelphia until July 27, 1981, when SEPTA ended service on all its intercity diesel-powered lines. SEPTA still owns the line and leases it to the East Penn Railroad. Other towns, stations, and landmarks on the Bethlehem Line are Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Perkasie Tunnel, and Perkasie station.
Sterling Hill is a mountain in Sussex County, New Jersey. The peak rises to 833 feet (254 m), and overlooks the Wallkill River and Ogdensburg to the southeast. It is part of the Pimple Hills.
Neepaulakating Creek is a 2.4-mile long (3.8 km) tributary of Papakating Creek in Wantage Township in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. It is one of three streams feeding the Papakating Creek, a major contributor to the Wallkill River. Although the stream was dammed in the 1950s to create Lake Neepaulin as the focal point of a private residential development, the stream did not receive a name until 2002. Residents chose a name that combined elements of the names "Neepaulin" and "Papakating", and submitted a proposal to the United States Board of Geographic Names. The name was approved in 2004.
Lake Neepaulin is a small man-made freshwater lake located in Wantage Township in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. Located in the watershed of Papakating Creek, a tributary of the Wallkill River, the lake was created in the 1950s by damming an unnamed mountain stream as the feature of a private residential development. The stream, now known as Neepaulakating Creek, did not receive a name until 2002.
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Wyckoff is a railroad station in Wyckoff, New Jersey. It was built by the New Jersey Midland Railway around 1870 and later served passengers on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad (NYS&W) until service was abruptly curtailed in 1966. New Jersey Transit has considered the feasibility of restoring service.