MORRIS AVE IN UNION NJ

[msernak]

Back in the 1970's when I was a kid, they tore up Morris Avenue in Union NJ (I think Route 28 or 82) and under the pavement were trolley tracks. I heard they once went to Elizabeth NJ and when they passed the Kean mansion, they actually had to run behind the mansion instead of staying on Morris Ave. Can anyone confirm?? I also remember the remnants of a car barn in Westfield NJ in the 1980's. I think it was converted into a girl scout building of some sort. Once again, can anyone confirm??

[AndyB]

As far as the tracks in Morris Ave. in Union, they would have been the Morris County Traction line.
An interurban line of sorts. The line connected Elizabeth, Conn. Farms (Union), Springfield, Summit, Morristown and as far as Lake Hopatcong. The line used Public Service tracks from the arches in Elizabeth to the City Line. From the City line west it ran on its own tracks in Morris Ave or on private ROW parallel to Morris Ave. They did not run the big interurban cars that the midwest is famous for. Actually thay ran some real oddballs with three axels.
Have not been able to locate a fine detailed map of the area. But an old county map I once saw show it in the street at Morris and North Aves. near the mansion.

[AndyB]

As for the car house in Westfield it was located at Grove St. and Boynton Ave. Sorry no other info.

[Ken W2KB]

I vaguely recall the tracks in Union in the 1960's when they had not yet been paved over, though obvious long out of service.

[AndyB]

That is amazing. MCT shut down early in the '30s by the 1960s they were long out of service. I am amazed that they were still there and not pulled out for a WW-2 scrap drive. Do you recall where you saw them (cross street) I'll go there with a metal detector. If not to far down 6"-8" you can locate them.

[Ken W2KB]

I don't recall precisely where. Next time I'm in the area I'll go off of Route 22 - I suspect I will recognize the area -- probably 3 or 4 blocks worth.

[SemperFiSep11]

The tracks, I believe, did not run behind the Kean mansion, but rather, according to the history of the Morris County Traction, in front. Mrs. Kean was very upset at the idea of having to view the working class (a Republican no doubt hehe) travelling in front of her home so she used the proceeds of her land sale to the MCT to construct the stone wall which is still visible.

[james1787]

There are tracks that are still buried under pavement on parts of Morris Avenue in Summit, NJ. I remember several years back when they repaved the street that you could see the rails still there on the Bridge that goes over the Dover / Gladstone NJT lines. Back in Highschool my friend and I did some exploring and found the old bridge remnants that brought the line into Chatham from Summit. I know there was a Turntable back by a car dealership near the Summit / Chatham border. My dad still remembers the Trolleys that ran there many years back when he was a kid.

[Ken W2KB]

I drove someone to the airport the other day and on the way home, diverted to Morris Ave in Union. The area I remember that had the double tracks was in the vicinity of the municipal building and westward to and somewhat beyond Stuyvesant as I recall from looking at the area again.

[JimBoylan]

Some of the overpasses over the DL&W West of Morristown near Convent Station are wide enough for this trolley line beside the train tracks.

[AndyB]

While at the N.M.R.A. Convention in Philadelphia, I came across a new (2005) book "Morris County Traction Company" by Larry Lowenthal and William Greenberg.
Excellent!
A lot of photographs, maps, and information on the building and history of the Company.
I had no idea how extensive their operation was.
50 miles of track! Seven million passengers a year. They even operated into the basement of Public Service's Newark Terminal by using the Cedar St. Subway.

[TheBaran]

A section of long-buried trolley track is showing itself at the intersection of Morris Avenue and Church Mall in Springfield (small road just north of the intersection of Morris Avenue and Mountain Avenue). The track is about 8 to 10 feet long, is pretty well exposed and curves north from Morris Avenue toward Church Mall. A smaller section of the companion rail is starting to become exposed as well (unless repairs are made soon, both pieces of track will be fully visible). The road at the intersection is getting worse and the cracking is starting to outline the curve of the original trolley alignment.