Weehawken Terminal

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Weehawken
Weehawken Terminal.jpg
Weehawken Terminal and yard, circa 1955
General information
Coordinates 40°46′18″N74°00′46″W / 40.771639°N 74.012750°W / 40.771639; -74.012750
Operated by New York Central Railroad (NYC)
Line(s) West Shore Railroad
Tracks16
Train operatorsNYC, NYO&W
Connections BSicon TRAIN3.svg Ferry symbol.svg
History
Opened1884 (1884)
Closed1959 (1959)
Services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station
Terminus Weehawken Ferry Cortlandt Street
Terminus
Ridgefield Park West Shore Railroad
Main Line
Terminus
New Durham
Map of the five train-to-ferry transfer points along the west shore of the Hudson River circa 1900

Weehawken Terminal was the waterfront intermodal terminal on the North River (Hudson River) in Weehawken, New Jersey for the New York Central Railroad's West Shore Railroad division, whose route traveled along the west shore of the Hudson River. It opened in 1884 and closed in 1959. [1] The complex contained five ferry slips, sixteen passenger train tracks, car float facilities, and extensive yards. The facility was also used by the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. The terminal was one of five passenger railroad terminals that lined the Hudson Waterfront during the 19th and 20th centuries; the others were located at Hoboken, Pavonia, Exchange Place and Communipaw, with Hoboken being the only one still in use.

Contents

Today, the site is the location of Weehawken Port Imperial, an inter-modal transit hub used by New Jersey Transit buses, the Hudson Bergen Light Rail [2] and New York Waterway. [3]

Weehawken Ferry

Weehawken waterfront, c. 1900, with Weehawken Terminal at left WestshoreRRWeehawkenimg096.jpg
Weehawken waterfront, c. 1900, with Weehawken Terminal at left
New York Central's New Jersey Junction Railroad connected to facilities on the Hudson River waterfront to the south, 1921. The ROW later became River Line (Conrail) and eventually the HBLR. New Jersey Junction Railroad 1921.jpg
New York Central's New Jersey Junction Railroad connected to facilities on the Hudson River waterfront to the south, 1921. The ROW later became River Line (Conrail) and eventually the HBLR.

A patent for a ferry route from Weehawken to Manhattan was first granted by Governor of New York Richard Coote in 1700. It was a sail and row service later superseded by steamboat service, notably at Hoboken in 1834. [4]

The route then operated sporadically for years, and became the object of a legislative investigation in 1870. [5] It was purchased by the New Jersey Midland Railway in 1871. From 1913 until the 1927 opening of the Holland Tunnel, it was a component of the National Old Trails Road and the Lincoln Highway, two of the oldest transcontinental highways in the United States. Both began at Times Square, crossed the river and traveled up Hudson Palisades along Pershing Road. In addition to 42nd Street, boats also traveled to Cortlandt Street Ferry Depot in lower Manhattan. The Weehawken was the last ferry to the terminal on March 25, 1959 at 1:10 am, ending 259 years of continuous ferry service. [6]

In 1986, New York Waterway reinstated passenger ferry service to Weehawken with the construction of a new ferry terminal. [7] [8] Ferries travel to Pier 79, Battery Park City Ferry Terminal. and Pier 11/Wall Street. [9]

Railroad lines

The West Shore Railroad maintained extensive routes to the north and west. [10] The New York Central bought the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway on November 24, 1885 and reorganized its new acquisition as the West Shore Railroad on December 5, immediately leasing it for 475 years from January 1, 1886. Trains departed the terminal and traveled under Bergen Hill, as the southern portion of the Hudson Palisades is known, in the Weehawken Tunnel: a tunnel that had been built in the three preceding years. [11] They traveled inland and north along the Palisade ridge between the competing Erie Railroad Northern Branch and Pascack Valley Line. At Haverstraw the route returned to the river and proceeded north to Kingston and Albany, and eventually to Buffalo. Suburban service to the Northern Valley in Bergen County and Rockland County included stops at Bogota, Dumont, Tappan, and Nyack. In the early 1990s there were studies made to consider the revival of service along the right-of-way to Nyack. [12] [13]

The NYO&W mainline ran to Oswego, a port city on Lake Ontario. It had branch lines to Scranton, Pennsylvania and to Kingston; Port Jervis; Delhi; Utica and Rome in New York. Using the same tunnel, the New York Central also operated the New Jersey Junction Railroad south to Jersey City and the New Jersey Shore Line Railroad north to Edgewater. The NYO&W last had passenger service to Weehawken on September 10, 1953. [14] Portions of those rights-of-way became part of Conrail's River Line and subsequently the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail.

Other transportation

Streetcars at Weehawken Terminal ca. 1911 Weehawken Terminal 1911.jpg
Streetcars at Weehawken Terminal ca. 1911

Between 1892 and 1949 streetcars, initially operated by the North Hudson County Railway and later the Public Service Railway as lines 19 Union City, 21 West New York, 23 Palisade, 25 Weehawken, ran along Pershing Road providing local access to the terminal.

For a brief period in the 1890s the terminal was also served by a massive elevator structure which transported passengers to a trestle where they could board additional streetcars. The trestle streetcars serviced three well-known entertainment venues — the Eldorado; a pleasure garden which overlooked the Eldorado; and Nungesser's Guttenberg Racetrack. [15] [16]

Site

US Airways Flight 1549 and ferry in Hudson with Pier D in background Plane and ferry in the Hudson 2.jpg
US Airways Flight 1549 and ferry in Hudson with Pier D in background

The Weehawken waterfront is located north of Weehawken Cove on a long narrow strip of land between the Hudson River and Hudson Palisades that, in the last centuries, has been transformed from an estuary flood zone once called Slough's Meadow [17] to an extensive rail and shipping port. The site was redeveloped in the late 20th century into a residential and recreational area. The United Fruit Company once maintained the largest banana warehouse in the USA nearby, which has since been refurbished as commercial space. [18] The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway is a partially-completed promenade along the bulkhead that was created as part of the redevelopment of the area.

In 2009, the site was used by emergency services in the rescuing of passengers for US Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency landing on the Hudson River. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson–Bergen Light Rail</span> Light rail system in New Jersey, United States

The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit (NJT) and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, at the city line with West New York, and North Bergen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Jersey City, New Jersey-area railroads</span>

For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exchange Place, Jersey City</span> Commercial district in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad that ran from Weehawken, New Jersey, on the west bank of the Hudson River opposite New York City, north to Albany, New York, and then west to Buffalo. It was organized as a competitor to the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, but was soon taken over by that company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exchange Place station (Pennsylvania Railroad)</span> Former intermodal terminal in Jersey City (closed 1961)

The Pennsylvania Railroad Station was the intermodal passenger terminal for the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) vast holdings on the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay in Jersey City, New Jersey. By the 1920s the station was called Exchange Place. The rail terminal and its ferry slips were the main New York City station for the railroad until the opening in 1910 of New York Pennsylvania Station, made possible by the construction of the North River Tunnels. It was one of the busiest stations in the world for much of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln Harbor station</span> Hudson–Bergen Light Rail station in Weehawken, New Jersey

Lincoln Harbor is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) located at Waterfront Terrace, north of 19th Street, in Weehawken, New Jersey. The station opened on September 7, 2004. There are two tracks and an island platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal</span> Former intermodal terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey

The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replacing an earlier one that had been in use since 1864. It operated until April 30, 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavonia Terminal</span> Former intermodal terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey

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 Hoboken Terminal. The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway also ran commuter trains from the terminal and various street cars, ferries and the underground Hudson and Manhattan Railroad serviced the station. The station was abandoned in 1958 and demolished in 1961. The site was eventually redeveloped into the Newport district in the late 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hackensack Plank Road</span>

The Hackensack Plank Road, also known as Bergen Turnpike, was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey. Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill and across the Hackensack Meadows from the Hudson River waterfront to the city for which it was named. It was originally built as a colonial turnpike road as Hackensack and Hoboken Turnpike. The route mostly still exists today, though some segments are now called the Bergen Turnpike. It was during the 19th century that plank roads were developed, often by private companies which charged a toll. As the name suggests, wooden boards were laid on a roadbed in order to prevent horse-drawn carriages and wagons from sinking into softer ground on the portions of the road that passed through wetlands. The company that built the road received its charter on November 30, 1802. The road followed the route road from Hackensack to Communipaw that was described in 1679 as a "fine broad wagon-road."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bergen Hill</span> Lower part of the Hudson Palisades, New Jersey, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hudson, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

North Hudson is the area in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, mostly atop the Hudson Palisades. It comprises Weehawken, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, and North Bergen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Waterfront</span> Place in Hudson and Bergen

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 contiguous urban area between the Bayonne Bridge and the George Washington Bridge that is approximately 19 miles (31 km) long. Historically, the region has been known as Bergen Neck, the lower peninsula, and Bergen Hill, lower Hudson Palisades. It has sometimes been called the Gold Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulls Ferry</span> Populated place in Hudson County, New Jersey, US

Bulls Ferry is an area along the Hudson River, just north of Weehawken Port Imperial in the towns of West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen in New Jersey. It takes its name from a pre-Revolutionary settlement belonging to the Bull family, who operated a row-and-sail ferry to the burgeoning city of New York across the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadyside, Edgewater</span> Populated place in Bergen and Hudson Counties, New Jersey, US

Shadyside is the southernmost neighborhood of Edgewater, New Jersey that overlaps the waterfront of neighboring North Bergen, New Jersey. It likely takes its name from the fact that its position on the west bank of the Hudson River is sometimes in the shadow of the Hudson Palisades. It lies north of the neighborhood Bulls Ferry, a major river crossing of the period. Shadyside was developed in the late 19th century as a manufacturing village, and railroad terminal for New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway at the end of the Edgewater Tunnel, and site of a major explosion at a glucose plant in 1906. North of this are the neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Undercliff, and Burdett's Landing . The Public Service Railway operated streetcar lines from the Edgewater Ferry Terminal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pershing Road (Weehawken)</span> Road ascending the Hudson Palisades in Weehawken, New Jersey

Pershing Road is a road located entirely in Weehawken, New Jersey that travels for 0.42 miles (0.68 km) on the Hudson Palisades between Boulevard East and Weehawken Port Imperial, and carries the designation Hudson County Route 682. At County Route 505, the road meets 48th Street, one of the very few two-way streets in the urban grid of North Hudson, which travels west to Bergenline Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard. It is named for World War I hero John J. Pershing. Earlier names have included Clifton Road, named for the estate on whose land it was located, and Hillside Road, which would speak to its location.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hudson County Railway</span>

The North Hudson Railway Company built and operated a streetcar system in Hudson County and southeast Bergen County, New Jersey before and after the start of the 20th century. It was founded by Hillric J. Bonn who became the first President in 1865 and served for 26 years until his death, and eventually taken over by the Public Service Railway. In its endeavors to overcome the formidable obstacle of ascending the lower Hudson Palisades, or Bergen Hill, it devised numerous innovative engineering solutions including funicular wagon lifts, an inclined elevated railway, an elevator and viaducts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Imperial</span> Intermodal transit hub in Weehawken, New Jersey, US

Port Imperial is an intermodal transit hub on the Weehawken, New Jersey, waterfront of the Hudson River across from Midtown Manhattan, served by New York Waterway ferries and buses, Hudson–Bergen Light Rail, and NJT buses. The district lies under and at the foot of Pershing Road, a thoroughfare traveling along the face of the Hudson Palisades, which rise to its west. The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway runs along the shoreline and is abutted by recently constructed residential neighborhoods, Lincoln Harbor to the south and Bulls Ferry to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Midtown Ferry Terminal</span> New York City passenger bus and ferry terminal

The West Midtown Ferry Terminal is a passenger bus and ferry terminal serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and northeastern New Jersey. It is located at Pier 79 in Hudson River Park adjacent to the West Side Highway at West 39th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The facility first opened in 1986 with the start of NY Waterway commuter ferry service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ridgefield Park station</span> Railroad station in New Jersey, U.S.

Ridgefield Park station, also known as West Shore Station, was a railroad station in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, at the foot of Mount Vernon Street served by the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad (NYSW) and the West Shore Railroad, a division of New York Central (NYCRR). The New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W) had running rights along the West Shore and sometimes stopped at Ridgefield Park. First opened in 1872 it was one of three passenger stations in the village, the others being the Little Ferry station to the south and Westview station to the north. Service on the West Shore Railroad began in 1883. The station house, built at a cost $100,000 opened in 1927. Southbound service crossed Overpeck Creek and continued to terminals on the Hudson River waterfront where there was connecting ferry service across the Hudson River to Manhattan. Northbound near Bogota the parallel NYSW and West Shore lines diverge and continue into northern New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and upstate New York. Passenger service ended in 1966.

References

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  2. Weehawken Tunnel Photos (The Subway Nut.com) Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .
  3. Waterway routes and schedule [ permanent dead link ].
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  9. "NYC.gov website". Archived from the original on May 22, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
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  11. Berliner, Harvey L.; Campo, David W.; Dickerson, Charles N.; Mack, Glenn (November 2003), "Design and Construction of the Weehawken Tunnel and Bergenline Avenue Station for the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail Transit System" (PDF), Transportation Research Circular, Transportation Research Board, E-C058: 389–406, ISSN   0097-8515, archived (PDF) from the original on July 9, 2023, retrieved November 27, 2023
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  14. American rails, 'New York, Ontario & Western Railway' https://www.american-rails.com/nyow.html Archived February 17, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
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  16. North Hudson Railway
  17. New York Historical Society (1995). Jackson, Kenneth T. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp.  398–400. ISBN   0-300-05536-6.
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  19. Applebome, Peter (January 17, 2009). "A Small Town's Recurring Role as a Rescue Beacon". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2010.