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The High Bridge Branch is a branch line that was operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). As built, the branch 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 followed the South Branch of the Raritan River for much of its duration.
Portions of the branch are operated by the Dover and Rockaway River Railroad.
The High Bridge Branch connected to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) and the Wharton & Northern Railroad just west of Wharton, New Jersey and to the Mount Hope Mineral Railroad and the Dover & Rockaway Railroad in Wharton. It originally connected with the Chester Branch of the DL&W at Chester north of U.S. Route 206, but from Long Valley to Chester became the Chester Branch when the railroad was extended north from Long Valley to the Wharton area. The line once carried both freight and passengers, with iron ore being its primary commodity.
The High Bridge Branch was not included in the Conrail network in 1976. The section north of Bartley remained in use under a state subsidy agreement. The Bartley-High Bridge section was converted to the Columbia rail trail; the section from the crossing of the High Bridge Branch and the DL&W Chester Branch to Main Street, Wharton was abandoned; the portion in Wharton is being converted to a rail trail.
The Bartley-Kenvil section was purchased by Morris County from the State of New Jersey on 1986 and leased to regional short line operator Morristown & Erie Railway (M&E). Shortly thereafter, a new track connection was built east of Kenvil with the former DL&W Chester Branch named Ferromonte Junction.
Freight customers were sought after county acquisition. first was R. P. Smith & Co., a brick customer near Route 10 in Ledgewood. Service began on May 2, 1988. Within the next few years, the railroad was opened to Flanders to a plastic extruding company and ultimately to Bartley where Toys "R" Us built an almost fully automated regional distribution center of 1/2 million square feet with a footprint to expand to 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2). The line currently ends in Bartley, just south of Toys "R" Us. Frank Reilly, Executive Director of the Morris County Department of Transportation Management and M&E president were responsible for current operations on the line.
Few remnants remain of the line; occasional rotting wooden ties can be found along the rail trails. The former CNJ wye connection is still partially present in High Bridge in the parking area for the trail as is the Ken Lockwood Gorge Bridge above the South Branch Raritan River. In April 1885, the bridge collapsed as a train was going over it, sending several freight cars and at least one locomotive into the river. [1]
There is a small section of track preserved in Califon and a small museum in the restored former Califon passenger station. The freight station in Flanders (on Hillside Avenue) is now a jeweler's store.
The remaining northern section of the High Bridge Branch has been owned by Morris County and managed under the auspices of the County's Department of Transportation (MCDOT) since 1986. It is operated under a lease agreement by the Dover & Rockaway River Railroad (D&R), effective July 1, 2017. The branch starts at Ferromonte Junction, which is a switch on the Chester Branch. Until October 2013, the only active customer on the line was Blue Ridge Lumber which unloads cars at the Kenvil Team Track off U.S. Route 46. In October 2013, Triumph Plastics began receiving carloads of plastic at their facility in Flanders, NJ which marked the first revenue freight train to operate beyond Kenvil since 2008. [2]
South of Bartley to High Bridge is owned by the Hunterdon and Morris County Park Commissions with an easement in perpetuity by the Columbia Gas Company. Bartley to just east of Kenvil is owned by the Morris County Department of Transportation, and just east of the County ownership in Kenvil is privately owned. A portion of the former railroad in Wharton is owned by Wharton Borough.
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, a distance of 395 miles (636 km). Incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853 primarily for the purpose of providing a connection between the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania's Coal Region and the large markets for coal in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both East and West, eventually linking Buffalo with New York City.
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846, for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, wares, merchandise, and minerals in Pennsylvania and the railroad was incorporated and established on September 20, 1847, as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad Company.
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the New 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 the Northeastern United States.
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The Dover and Rockaway Railroad was a section of railroad track completed in 1881 connecting Dover, NJ and Rockaway, New Jersey. It formed an important link in the developing U.S. railroad system, connecting major trunks to the New York harbor for freight and provided passenger service to central and southern New Jersey.
The Lehigh and Hudson River Railway (L&HR) was the smallest of the six railroads that were merged into Conrail in 1976. It was a bridge line running northeast–southwest across northwestern New Jersey, connecting the line to the Poughkeepsie Bridge at Maybrook, New York with Easton, Pennsylvania, where it interchanged with various other companies.
The Morris and Essex Railroad was a railroad across northern New Jersey, later part of the main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.
The Warren Railroad was a railroad in Warren County, New Jersey, that served as part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's mainline from 1856 to 1911.
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The Hibernia Mine Railroad was a mine railroad in Morris County, New Jersey that operated between Hibernia and Rockaway from 1863 to 1946.
The Black River and Western Railroad is a freight and heritage railroad operating in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, between Flemington, Lambertville and Ringoes. The railroad operates vintage steam and diesel powered locomotives.
Morristown & Erie Railway is a short-line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey, chartered in 1895 as the Whippany River Railroad. It operates freight rail service in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas on the original Whippany Line between Morristown and Roseland, as well as the Morris County-owned Dover & Rockaway Branch, Chester Branch, and High Bridge Branch. The M&E also operated the Maine Eastern Railroad from November 2003 to December 31, 2015.
Phillipsburg Union Station is an inactive railroad station in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States, at 178 South Main Street. Opened in 1914, Union Station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) and shared with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and was situated where the lines merged before the bridge crossing the Delaware River. Designed by Frank J. Nies, the architect who produced many of DL&W stations now listed state and federal registers of historic places, the 2 1/2 story, 3 bay brick building is unusual example of a union station and a representation of early 20th century Prairie style architecture. The Phillipsburg Union Signal Tower, or PU Tower, is nearby.
The Dover & Rockaway River Railroad is a short-line railroad operating in Morris County, New Jersey. On July 1, 2017, it took over operation of three Morris County owned rail lines previously operated by Morristown and Erie. The DRRV is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC.
The Chester Branch is a rail line formerly extending from Chester Junction, near Dover, New Jersey, about ten miles southwest to the vicinity of Chester, New Jersey. Originally built to connect the iron industry at Chester with the Morris and Essex Railroad, it was always operated by the latter and became, with the rest of the Morris and Essex, a branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.