Railroad Forums
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JLo wrote:I believe that there was a plan by DL&W to extend it westward, but it would have had to tunnel or find some way through the Chester Hills (I believe the original name the Passaic & Delaware before it became a DL&W branch line). That was certainly cost prohibitive for a small branch line. In fact, the farms and mines of Long Valley and Chester were already served by existing lines, such as the CNJ's High Bridge Branch, the Rockaway Valley and the DL&W's Chester Branch.I always wondered why the DL&W electrified this line, but not the Boonton, which was probably more important than the single tracked branch to Gladstone.
Port Jervis wrote:The DL&W built the Boonton Line as a freight bypass around the towns on the M-E line, and as such the electrification for passenger service on a mainly freight line was less important. Also, recall that the configuration of the line was altered more than once. Originally the Boonton line connected with what is now the Main Line in the Paterson area. All of the DL&W lines with electrification stemmed from the same trunk (the M-E Line, the Montclair Branch, and the Gladstone Branch). After the formation of the EL, part of the line was torn up to favor the alignment of an ex-Erie branch to Jersey City (changed to Hoboken). However, it changed again with the Montclair Connection in recent years. So, of course now it seems sensible to do electrify as there is only a relative short gap in the electrifed territory which came about through the rerouting of the line onto the electrified trunk.JLo wrote:I believe that there was a plan by DL&W to extend it westward, but it would have had to tunnel or find some way through the Chester Hills (I believe the original name the Passaic & Delaware before it became a DL&W branch line). That was certainly cost prohibitive for a small branch line. In fact, the farms and mines of Long Valley and Chester were already served by existing lines, such as the CNJ's High Bridge Branch, the Rockaway Valley and the DL&W's Chester Branch.I always wondered why the DL&W electrified this line, but not the Boonton, which was probably more important than the single tracked branch to Gladstone.
njmidland wrote:As someone mentioned, the Passaic & Delaware, or New Jersey West Line Railroad was one of the routes that the Lehigh Valley was looking at to extend beyond the Delaware River and reach the Hudson River. Depending on whose history you read you can debate how serious this was, but it was serious enough for the DL&W to buy it to prevent LV expansion into their territory. Once it became a DL&W property I think any plans to reach the Delaware River ended.The Passaic Valley & Peapack was to extend WSW from Bernardsville as the New Jersey West Line through about Potterstown (crossing the CNJ) to meet the Easton & Amboy (Lehigh Valley) at about Grandin. Packer, subsequently built on across NJ on the Easton & Amboy, and all plans for the NJWL were dropped. The DL&W leased, then purchased it and it became the P&D. Extension was made to Peapack by the DL&W but never really anticipated going further because of the terrain north of there.
CarterB wrote:Perhaps the worst railroad ever built in the northeast.
The Rockaway Valley [RIP 1913] did go through Peapack, but the two lines never joined.
http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/HISTORICALM ... R_1876.jpg
Well into the EL years, the Gladstone Branch was often referred to as the "P&D."Even later. I came to EL territory with Conrail, and remember hearing the term P&D.
philipmartin wrote:Didn't the numbers on the automatic signals have an alpha prefix that reflected the P&D heritage? Do they still, since the resignaling?Well into the EL years, the Gladstone Branch was often referred to as the "P&D."Even later. I came to EL territory with Conrail, and remember hearing the term P&D.
