Upper Hack Lift

Last updated
Upper Hack Lift
NJT Train 1117 Crossing the Upper Hack Lift Bridge.jpg
Upper Hack Lift
Coordinates 40°46′41″N74°05′24″W / 40.778015°N 74.089906°W / 40.778015; -74.089906 (Upper Hack Lift Bridge)
CarriesOne track of NJ Transit Main Line
Crosses Hackensack River
Locale Secaucus and Lyndhurst, New Jersey
Official nameUpper Hack Bridge
Other name(s)Upper Hackensack Lift, Erie Lift, West Secaucus Bridge
Maintained by NJ Transit
Characteristics
Design Lift bridge
Longest span127 feet
Clearance below 8 ft (lowered); 110 ft (raised)
History
OpenedMarch 1959
Location
Upper Hack Lift

Upper Hack Lift is a lift bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Main Line across the Hackensack River at mile 6.9 between Secaucus, New Jersey and Lyndhurst.

Contents

History

UpperHackLift.jpg

It was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1958 and completed in March 1959 [1] to serve the Boonton Branch and replaced an older swing span from 1901 on the site, which had been damaged by shifting currents. The new single-track lift bridge cost $5.5 million, [2] financed through a five-year bank loan. [3]

Following a 1963 route realignment, Erie Main Line service began using the bridge, with Erie Lackawanna, NJDOT and later NJ Transit Main Line commuter service continuing to use the route. It was repainted in 1994 to its current turquoise blue color.

Upper Hack is the only single-track lift bridge in New Jersey (excluding the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge connecting to Staten Island). It is visible to motorists on the New Jersey Turnpike's western spur between Interchanges 15W and 16W.

Remnants of the older swing span are visible just to the north of the current lift span, as concrete abutments and piers remain. [4]

The current drawbridge schedule at Upper Hack (as stated by U.S. Coast Guard, 33 CFR 117.723) allows the bridge to open on signal unless the bridge tender is at the nearby HX Draw on the Bergen County Line upstream. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad</span> Former U.S. Class 1 railroad

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of 395 miles (636 km). The railroad was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1853, and created primarily to provide a means of transport of anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeast Pennsylvania to large coal markets in New York City. The railroad gradually expanded both east and west, and eventually linked Buffalo with New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJ Transit Rail Operations</span> Commuter rail division of NJ Transit

NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail service in Orange and Rockland counties in New York under contract to Metro-North Railroad. The commuter rail lines saw 45,838,200 riders in 2022, making it the third-busiest commuter railroad in North America and the longest commuter rail system in North America by route length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morristown Line</span> Commuter rail line in New Jersey

The Morristown Line is an NJ Transit commuter rail line connecting Morris and Essex counties to New York City, via either New York Penn Station or Hoboken Terminal. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound Midtown Direct trains use the Kearny Connection to Penn Station; the rest go to Hoboken. Passengers can transfer at Newark Broad Street or Summit to reach the other destination. On rail system maps the line is colored dark green, and its symbol is a drum, a reference to Morristown's history during the American Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moveable bridge</span> Bridge that moves to allow passage, usually of watercraft

A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with drawbridge, and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical definition used in some other forms of English, in which drawbridge refers to only a specific type of moveable bridge often found in castles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lackawanna Cut-Off</span> Rail line between Port Morris, New Jersey, and Slateford, Pennsylvania

The Lackawanna Cut-Off was a rail line built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W). Constructed from 1908 to 1911, the line was part of a 396-mile (637 km) main line between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York. It ran west for 28.45 miles (45.79 km) from Port Morris Junction in Port Morris, New Jersey, near the south end of Lake Hopatcong about 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of New York City, to Slateford Junction in Slateford, Pennsylvania near the Delaware Water Gap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delair Bridge</span> Bridge in and Pennsauken Township, NJ

The Delair Bridge is a railroad bridge with a vertical-lift section that crosses the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, just south of the Betsy Ross Bridge. The two-track bridge is part of Conrail Shared Assets Operations and is jointly used by Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX Transportation freight trains, as well as by the New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Station</span> NJ Transit rail station

Mountain is a New Jersey Transit station in upper South Orange, Essex County, New Jersey, United States, along the Morris and Essex. The station, built in 1915, was designed by Frank J. Nies. It has been listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places since 1984 and is part of the Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseville Avenue station</span> Former NJ Transit rail station

Roseville Avenue was a transfer station on New Jersey Transit's Morris & Essex Lines in Newark, New Jersey, United States. The station was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in 1903 as part of a project to lower the tracks below the road surface to eliminate grade crossings. It serviced Newark's Roseville neighborhood. It once had two tracks on the Lackawanna mainline and two low-wall platforms, with an additional platform along the Montclair Branch. The station remained in service during most of the 20th century, until New Jersey Transit closed the station on September 16, 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paulinskill Viaduct</span> Bridge in Hainesburg, New Jersey

The Paulinskill Viaduct, also known as the Hainesburg Viaduct, is a reinforced concrete railroad bridge that crosses the Paulins Kill in Knowlton Township, New Jersey. When completed in 1910, it was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Hack Lift</span> Bridge in Jersey City, New Jersey and Kearny

The Lower Hack Lift is a lift bridge carrying the New Jersey Transit Morristown Line across the Hackensack River at mile 3.4, Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Boonton Branch refers to the railroad line in New Jersey that was completed in 1870 and ran 34 miles (54.8 km) from Hoboken to East Dover Junction as part of the Morris & Essex Railroad (M&E). Although the branch hosted commuter trains, the line was primarily built as a freight bypass line. The term "branch", therefore, is somewhat of a misnomer since the Boonton Branch was built to higher mainline standards than the Morristown Line, the line that it bypassed. As a result, the Boonton Branch better meets the definition of a "cut-off" rather than a branch. Some of the towns that the Boonton Branch passed through included Lyndhurst, Passaic, Clifton, Paterson, Wayne, Lincoln Park, Mountain Lakes, and its namesake, Boonton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WR Draw</span> Bridge in Newark and Kearny, New Jersey

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 14th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 8.1 miles (13.0 km) upstream from it. Last used for regular passenger service in 2002, it is welded in closed position as its height is not considered a hazard to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newark Drawbridge</span> Railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, New Jersey, U.S.

The Newark Drawbridge, also known as the Morristown Line Bridge, is a railroad bridge on the Passaic River between Newark and Harrison, New Jersey. The swing bridge is the 11th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 5.85 miles (9.41 km) upstream from it. Opened in 1903, it is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyndhurst Draw</span> Bridge in Clifton and Lyndhurst, New Jersey

The Lyndhurst Draw is a railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Clifton and Lyndhurst in northeastern New Jersey. Built in 1903, it is owned and operated by New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court Street Bridge (Hackensack River)</span> Bridge in Hackensack and Bogota, New Jersey

The Court Street Bridge, also known as the Harold J. Dillard Memorial Bridge, is a vehicular movable bridge crossing the Hackensack River between Hackensack and Bogota in Bergen County, New Jersey, which owns it. Located 16.2 miles (26.1 km) from the river mouth at Newark Bay, the swing bridge, which opened in 1908 and underwent major rehabilitation in 2010–2012, is the most-upstream bridge on the river required by federal regulations to open on request.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholson Cutoff</span>

The Nicholson Cutoff is a rail line segment of the Sunbury Line rail line and formerly a rail line segment of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad main line and the Delaware and Hudson Railway South Line. The Nicholson Cutoff and the rest of the Sunbury Line is owned by Norfolk Southern Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain View station (Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad)</span>

Mountain View was a station on the Boonton Branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Located in the Mountain View section of Wayne Township, New Jersey, the station was at the Parish Drive bridge over the tracks. The station was 20.8 miles (33.5 km) away from its terminus at Hoboken Terminal on the shores of the Hudson River, where connections would be made to New York City via ferry and the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad. The western terminus. Denville, was 12.8 miles (20.6 km) away, where connections with the Morris and Essex Railroad were available. Just west of the station was Mountain View junction, where a connection was made to the Erie Railroad's New York and Greenwood Lake Railway was made.

References

  1. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, 1958 Annual Report http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/before/dlw-ar-58.html
  2. Taber, Thomas Townsend; Taber, Thomas Townsend III (1980). The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century. Vol. 1. Muncy, PA: Privately printed. p. 139. ISBN   0-9603398-2-5.
  3. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad 1958 Annual Report
  4. Wong, Kevin (1999). "Abutment for former Lackawanna swing span by Upper Hack." Photograph.
  5. (2)