The New Jersey Railroad was one of the first railroads in New Jersey, later became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line to New York City, and is now mostly part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. It ran from a connection with the Camden and Amboy Railroad's Trenton Branch at New Brunswick to Exchange Place Terminal in Jersey City.

Contents

1 History 1.1 Branches 2 The line today 3 References

History

The NJRR was chartered on March 7, 1832. On September 15, 1834, regular trips began from Newark to the west side of the new Jersey Palisades in Jersey City; the rest of the trip to the Hudson River was done by horsecar. The cut through the Palisades opened in 1837, and steam power was first used on the line on December 2, 1838.[1]

On October 28, 1837, the viaduct over the Raritan River at New Brunswick was completed. At New Brunswick, the Camden and Amboy Railroad's Trenton Branch and the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad continued to Philadelphia; joint service began on January 1, 1839.

The Millstone and New Brunswick Railroad was operated by the NJRR, and was later bought by the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company.

The NJRR was merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad-owned United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company on May 18, 1872, along with the Delaware and Raritan Canal and Camden and Amboy Railroad.

Branches

A branch to Bonhampton opened in 1860. A new freight dock at Harsimus Cove on the Hudson River, served by the new Harsimus Branch, opened in 1868. The current alignment in Newark opened in 1870, and the old curvy alignment became the Centre Street Branch.

The line today

West of Kearny Junction, the line is part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. From Kearny Junction east to the east side of the Palisades, PATH and Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line occupy the right-of-way, side by side. East of the Palisades, the elevated structure to Exchange Place Terminal has been torn down, as has the elevated structure to Harsimus Cove , but PATH follows the alignment of the former underground. Only the easternmost part of the Centre Street Branch remains; the Bonhampton Branch, later the Bonhamtown Branch, is still used for freight.

References

• Corporate Genealogy - United New Jersey Railroad
• Railroad History Database