Harrison Branch

Here's what it looked like in 1935. That and the Secaucus operations. Railfan heaven.

http://historical.maptech.com/getImage. ... g&state=NJ

GandyDancer wrote:Here's what it looked like in 1935. That and the Secaucus operations. Railfan heaven.

http://historical.maptech.com/getImage. ... g&state=NJ

Thats the map i was looking for too... thanks for the post...

The Worthington building is the former Worthington Pump company that manufactures among other things, pumps for the US Navy. They owned that entire complex at one time. The movie studio thing never happened up to now and as far as I know, is a dead issue.

Across the street and one block west of this pace is the Pecters Baking Company. Excellant rye bread.

Sullivan has it pretty much right. As a kid in the early 70s I used to play there. Omega is housed in part of the old Kingsland Shops (Lackawanna Shops I believe). As is the now closed Bennedict Miller Co. Years ago there was a paper mill that got a couple of box cars. And a nasty chemical company that got some tanks. Sika Chem used to get some tanks too.

" While the cantenary supports did cross 5 tracks back then, they were removed to build I-280. "

Double-check that Doug ( and me too )....

The 4-5 wider catenary spans I referenced that survive today are down near the Kearney Connection ( MidTown Direct ). In fact, NJT retained these ( along with 1-2 new catenary structures ) to string new wire for the added westbound elevated connection track that briefly makes a 4-track ROW on the former DL&W 3-track main. As you stated, it does appear they were originally built in 1931 to span the 3-track main plus 2 leads into/out of this yard.

I'll have to look more closely at the cat structures to the west up near that Harrison exit off I-280. I don't recall the highway construction in the mid/late 1970's needing to replace wider cat structures for newer ones spanning just the 3-track main.

Back to the east end....with a question.

There are I believe 4 'boxed' portals underneath the angled concrete bridge/flyover that carries the ex-Pennsy main ( NEC ) over the ex-DL&W main. Up until construction commenced on the Kearney Connection, only 2 of the portals ( southern most ) were used for the DL&W tracks ( 2 thru one portal and 1 thru another ). NJT 'reopened' use of the 3rd portal to lay the eastbound connection track from the ex-DL&W around and looping up to the eastbound side of the NEC. In fact, NJT had to do some minor demolition work on the eastern corner support wall between this 3rd portal and the inactive 4th portal due to tight track curvature clearance needs.

My question is did these 2 northernmost portals originally host the 2 yard lead tracks under the ex-Pennsy ? It appears a distinct possibility as that bridge/flyover has to be 80+ years old and obviously had more than the 3-track DL&W main planned for when erected.

Thoughts ?

Much thanks !

Tom, it's possible that the four boxed underpasses were used for the four tracks tied to Manhattan Transfer - Jersey City service. Just a guess, but there were two passenger tracks and two H&M tracks, and one freight track.

There were two Pennsy passenger tracks from Manhattan Transfer to Jersey City, one eastward, one westward. They used the outer side of each MT platform. The Pennsy tracks to and from NY usually used the inner side of each MT platform.

There would normally be a need to get the westward track (JC to MT) and both H&M tracks through the NY embankment. The eastward MT to JC track would already be properly aligned relative to the embankment.

I suspect there was also a fright track for trains from Meadows to access the Center Street branch, the First Street freight house in Harrison, etc. H&M, of course, had to be on the north side to access the river and Newark's Saybrook Streeet / Park Place station.

At first, I though the PSCT #43 trolley line might also need an opening, but it remained on the north side of Harrison Ave and had its own underpass of the High Line near the current location of the USPS and Harrison Ave.

>>The movie studio thing never happened up to now and as far as I know, is a dead issue. <<

Correct, especially now since a movie production facility was built at the former Army (nee Navy) base in Bayonne.

Back when the yard was there, we did not venture to the extreme east end of the yard so its mostly a mystery to me. I surmise that one of the the unused portals may have been left for futher use when the Penny main was built to NYC. Back then, overbuilding was common. The EL may have used it as an access road to the area east of the PRR. I think one portal took the Center St. branch, 2 for the EL mains and one for the access road. I'm not sure about this.

FYI memory-Watching the Broadway Limitied and the Lake Cites run side by side going west in the evening in the summer. EL E-8's pacing PC GG1's. How cool would that be today?

Most of track is still there in Lyndhurst, just buried below lots of dirt, train were still running on that branch until the mid 90s with recycleing trains.

Dougster wrote:The EL may have used it as an access road to the area east of the PRR. I think one portal took the Center St. branch, 2 for the EL mains and one for the access road. I'm not sure about this.

FYI memory-Watching the Broadway Limitied and the Lake Cites run side by side going west in the evening in the summer. EL E-8's pacing PC GG1's. How cool would that be today?

I believe that you're right about the access road. I distinctly recall seeing wheeled maint. vehicles under the NEC at that location in the mid '50's.

Memories - My best view there was from a stopped NEC train of a pair of PRR E-units running light on the Center St. branch meeting EL E-units hauling Stilwells in the opposite direction.

I've also seen this called the Harrison Cut-off.

Lackawanna484 wrote:The Kingsland Connector has a bridge over the Belleville Turnpike (Route 7) at the foot of the long hill. This location often floods in high tide, or after a heavy rain. The roadway is a heavy truck route, so flooding creates serious problems. It's also the main garbage truck route to the Meadowlands Dump.

The Hudson County (Kearny) and Bergen County (North Arlington) border runs underneath this trestle, and the counties asked NJT if they could remove the bridge, and raise the roadway. NJT declined, but the matter might be revisited in the future.

The Belleville Turnpike is a state road, so it would be NJDOT, not the counties, asking to remove the bridge. The counties might be pressuring NJDOT, of course.

EnCap has plans to take up the tracks by the BCUA Transfer station in NA. How far they plan to go I don't know. The line is underwater in Kearny right under the Booton Line. That whole area is sinking.

Tri-State mentioned extra "portals" beneath the PRR high line, on the north side of the DL&W main-- then the next post discussed PRR/H&M tracks as if they might have gone thru those portals. Which they couldn't have-- right?

However, it seems there once was a PRR track that descended from the NW side of the high line on the north side of the DL&W; I assume that tree-covered embankment north of the new connecting track carried that PRR track down to ground level somewhere around the east end of the DL&W Harrison yard.

There are now two empty signal truss bridges on the high line, one at the west end of the bridge over the DL&W and the other maybe 800? feet east of there. Until the recent changes these carried signals controlled by Hudson that (once upon a time-- wonder when?) protected the power switch to the downramp track.

MikeW wrote:EnCap has plans to take up the tracks by the BCUA Transfer station in NA. How far they plan to go I don't know. The line is underwater in Kearny right under the Booton Line. That whole area is sinking.

Very true.. and kind of sad too...


-- Pictures --

http://www.deviantart.com/view/12924098/ - 360* Panoramic Shot from under the Former Boonton Line

http://www.deviantart.com/view/12835564/ - General condition of rails in Kearny.