Please help...II’m trying to find the current location of a grade crossing called Sandford’s crossing in Kearny N.J. my great great grandfather was a gateman for the old Delaware lackawanna western back in 1913 to at least 1920. According to the census they lived on sandford’s crossings as well. The grade crossing “sandford’s crossing Morristown branch” was eliminated in 1922. Reading on its history the crossing was located where Newark turnpike crosses the d.l.w.r.r in Kearny N.J. that area has been redeveloped a few times since the 20s and I can’t find any old photos of the crossings before the 20s. Public service did allow for a trestle for the street cars to be built over that crossing. From pictures I have of my great great grandmother it looks like they lived in the current Amtrak Hudson interlocking station which was erected by p.r.r in 1911. Unless there was an identical tower east that has been torn down. If I could find some old maps or pictures of that crossing from before the 20s I would be so grateful. . I did come across a forum where someone stated the MMC moved the crossings but I thought it was eliminated before The state took over.
Jamskeeter wrote:Please help...II’m trying to find the current location of a grade crossing called Sandford’s crossing in Kearny N.J. my great great grandfather was a gateman for the old Delaware lackawanna western back in 1913 to at least 1920. According to the census they lived on sandford’s crossings as well. The grade crossing “sandford’s crossing Morristown branch” was eliminated in 1922. Reading on its history the crossing was located where Newark turnpike crosses the d.l.w.r.r in Kearny N.J. that area has been redeveloped a few times since the 20s and I can’t find any old photos of the crossings before the 20s. Public service did allow for a trestle for the street cars to be built over that crossing. From pictures I have of my great great grandmother it looks like they lived in the current Amtrak Hudson interlocking station which was erected by p.r.r in 1911. Unless there was an identical tower east that has been torn down. If I could find some old maps or pictures of that crossing from before the 20s I would be so grateful. . I did come across a forum where someone stated the MMC moved the crossings but I thought it was eliminated before The state took over.I don't have any source for old maps, etc., but what is somewhat confusing or coincidental is that there is a Sandford Avenue in the western part of Kearny that runs from the north in a more or less southerly direction where it presently ends not far north of I-280. If one were to take a ruler and extend that Sandford Avenue south it would cross the DL&W close to the former Manhattan Transfer Station interlocking tower that you reference. There is a rail line that diverges from the DL&W and leads north, I believe that it may have interchanged with the Erie further north and/or served freight customers along it in Kearny and North Arlington. Perhaps Sandford Avenue crossed trackage that then was part of this line and that is the true location? PS Railway did have a line that ran west from Jersey City along the Newark Turnpike so the bridge much further to the east over the DL&W makes sense. Quite a mystery to solve.
