Wharton & Northern Railroad Info needed

I'll try to answer some of this.

The connection was south\east of Green Pond RD. If you go down that way maybe half a mile you will find the remains of the Morris County Central engine house, Then a lil further down you will find the ROW of a wye track going into the woods. The interchange yard was right here. Further down the WnN ROW turns south along the side of the reservoir.
If you follow the ROW down past the end of the reservoir you can see where the original line went. From here the ROW goes through a swamp, crosses Jacobs road and then enters "The Dump" The dump is owned by Rockaway Twp. The other side of the dump is on green pond rd. It's at the bottom of the steep hill south of Green Pond itself. Basically right by Egberts Lk. GPR crossed the WnN on a culvert here. I found a half filled culvert under GPR near here but I don't think it's the same one, It looked way to small to me. This was about 12-14 years ago. From GPR the ROW goes down through the woods almost parallel with GPR to Lk. Denmark. At one time the WnN had a branch to the upper Hibernia mines. Parts of this ROW can be found along Upper Hibernia Rd. and LK Denmark RD. I used to go 4 wheeling on the ROW right off of Valley RD. The ROW runs right next to this road in places.

From Lk Denmark. The ROW is blocked off to Snake Hill Rd. After SHR it enters the arsenal and is way off limits. I have heard there isn't much left inside the arsenal. On the other side near Rt 15. The tracks are still in place except where they cross 15. You can still see some crossing signal remains there though. From Rt. 15 the tracks go through the new big development being built between 15 and 80. Between here and the Rockaway river, You can find the remains of the WnN engine house, A wye and the original WnN ROW to Wharton. This original ROW can be seen on 80 west directly across from the JCPnL yard. The ROW is blocked with a small section of guard rail, It's also right next to a power line ROW.
Getting back to the engine house. It's just the lower walls left, The last time I was there it was covered with tarps and someone was living in it. From here the ROW is severely washed out in places and then it crosses the river on a burned bridge, crosses Mill Rd in Roxbury and then goes under 80 in the same underpass as Berkshire Valley Rd. It then goes under the Lackawanna and into a yard used by the MnE today.

Scrap,

Thanks for that nice response! You seem to know the area! Is Jacobs road still dirt>?? I know Snake Hill is a dirt road, but I don't remember the old ROW crossing.....Do you happen to when the last train ran on the W&N??

Thanks,
Steve

welder,

I seem to remember pictures in one of the books showing the CNJ Baldwins as regulars on the branch.

Going back years ago Morris County had planned on replacing the bridge over the RR on Green Pond Road after the railroad had been abandoned. I would say that was in the early to mid 1970's. Instead they removed the bridge and filled in the ROW.

The NYS&W embargoed their line west of Butler in 1971 so that killed the interchange with them at New Green Pond Junction. I do not think the CNJ had any other on line business on that branch by that time other than possibly the Arsenal.

I have also seen a picture on eBay taken of a May 17, 1953 NRHS special powered by the CNJ 810 (a steamer) at old Green Pond Junction. Old Green Pond Jct. was located on the hill behind the old water filtration plant on the Southbound side of Route 23.

Chris V

Hi gang!

I grew up in Rockaway Twp., and might be able to add some details.....I'll try to answer a few questions that don't seem to have been answered yet.

njt4172 -

Is Jacobs road still dirt>??

YES, PARTS OF IT STILL ARE

I know Snake Hill is a dirt road, but I don't remember the old ROW crossing

THAT IS BECAUSE IT DIDN'T, BUT THE ORELAND BRANCH CROSSED GREEN POND ROAD AND POSSIBLY LAKE DENMARK ROAD.

xXwelderXx -

anyone know how this happened???
CNJ train wreck at wharton Jct[/url]

THIS IS PROBABLY WHEN AN EL TRAIN CAME DOWN OFF THE "RUN THROUGH" CONNECTION OUT OF CONTROL, REAR-ENDING THE CNJ CABOOSE, KILLING SOME PEOPLE.

Scrap The U34CH -

After SHR it enters the arsenal and is way off limits. I have heard there isn't much left inside the arsenal.

UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO, THERE WAS STILL SOME TRACK IN THE ARSENAL, BUT IT IS PROBABLY ALL GONE NOW. BACK IN THE 1980's WHEN I WAS IN A MODEL RR CLUB ON THE BASE, YOU COULD STILL CLEARLY SEE THE OLD ROW's, SOME OF THEM SWITCHBACKS WITH SERIOUS GRADES.

xXwelderXx -

Also what power did the W&N RR use? I know the CNJ took over but did the W&N have their own power at one time?

YES, BUT FOR ALL PRACTICAL PURPOSES, THE W&N HAS ALWAYS USED CNJ POWER AT LEAST SINCE THE 1920's TAKEOVER. WHEN THE CNJ FIRST BOUGHT THEIR BALWIN DOUBLE ENDERS, THEY WERE STENCILED AND LISTED IN COMPANY DOCUMENTS AS OWNED BY THE W&N, BUT THIS WAS FOR TAX/LEASE PURPOSES ONLY. 2-8-2 MIKADOS, FOLLOWED BY CNJ BABYFACE BALDWINS, FOLOWED BY LEASED N&W/WABASH F-7's WERE USED AS POWER THRU THE YEARS.

Hope I've helped answer some questions.

Car Floater
S. Plainfield, NJ by way of Rockaway Twp.

The best info on the W&N is Lowenthal's Book, Iron Mine RR of Northern NJ. As for the W&N steam power, there was 10 steam locos, I haven't found anyone around to tell me what they were, few pictures in the Iron Mines Book. There's another book at the Morris County Library, US Army wrote in 1931 on the history of the base. There's a 1926 RR track map of the base in this book. Also search The Library of Congress website, under the American Memory section, enter in "Picatinny" in the search function, some pictures of the base. Wharton has its own Historical Society too, They meet at the Wharton Library, haven't contacted them yet, so I don't know what more information they can provide. There's also a website that has some pictures & map of the Wharton Blast Furnace.

-Phil

Blast Furnace
Library of Congress
Wharton Library

Alright, It was late and I was tired as hell last night when I made that post, And some of it is wrong and some is hard to understand. Tonight I'm tired as hell but it's earlier so maybe I'll do better LOL!!!!

I haven't been on the ROW in Rockaway in at least 10 years so this might be bad info today.

Anyway, The newer 1958 section of the WnN around Sharoletsburgh has some heavy ballast left behind. If you follow it past the point where the old line goes off, You come to a "X" intersection. The ROW goes straight and heads around the edge of a swamp. When it gets near Jacobs Rd. There was a section about 30 feet long that was blasted out to keep you from going through. The blasted section was about 6-10 feet deep. I have no idea if Jacobs is still dirt but, If you head down Jacobs toward GPR, There was a sheep farm on the left. Right after this the road turned to dirt, turned sharply to the right and went up the side of a STEEP hill. At the bottom of this hill is where the ROW crossed. To the right The ROW runs right next to the road but at a lower level then was the blasted section, to the left was the Rockaway dump.

I took a long ride on my bike on my way home tonight and took Green Pond Rd down from 23 to 80, So I took notice of the spot where the ROW crossed. If your heading down GPR toward 80, As you get to the bottom of the hill just south of Green Pond, On the left you will see a fence with a double gate. The WnN crossed right around here, Then ran around the side of Egberts LK. The half filled culvert I found years ago is a lil farther south at the very bottom of the hill. There are short guard rails on both sided of the road here. I have no idea what this culvert was used for but. There is a clear ROW of some sort leading from it.

Further down GPR, You will pass a golf course on the right, After this you start down a hill. LK Denmark Rd will be on the right. If you look to the left here you will see a drive way going off into the woods. I am not sure but I suspect this driveway was built on the old ROW to the mines, It looks like that anyway. The other parts of the mine branch that I know of are 1, Off upper Hibernia Rd. 2, Off of LK Denmark Rd.

On Upper Hibernia, After Split Rock Rd, goes off to the left, you will go through a bunch of turns, On the left you will see a good size garage used by either a construction co, or a Landscape co. around this garage you can see a RR ROW clear as day in winter. UHR is blocked off just past this, So if you get to the end, you went too far, Don't worry though, There is a park there and you owe it to yourself to get out and walk around the old mine works up there!!!

If you turn off GPR onto Lk Denmark Rd. you will come to a "V" real quick, Take a right onto Valley Rd. Down a ways on the left you will start to see the WnN ROW just off the road. To the right there is some kind of factory building, Back when I used to go there, there was a huge pile of RR ties in the front. There was a company that scrapped old RR lines located here at one time. I don't know what line the ties came from though. Again, This was a long time ago so things may have changed. I have no idea if this factory was ever served by the RR. If you follow Valley to where the pavement ends there was an old abandoned house on the right, Continue down the dirt road and you can make a left and come right out on the WnN ROW. Back then it was blocked by logs both ways.

Back on Lk. Denmark, heading away from GPR, You can see the mine branch ROW on the right in several places. The other poster was right, The WnN DID NOT cross Snake Hill Rd. I was confusing the ROW with another dirt road we used to 4 wheel on. When Lk Denmark Rd. gets down by the lake it turns sharp to the left. The WnN Row is to the right here. It enters the arsenal here and is blocked by a gate. I have never been down the ROW between here and the Rockaway dump the whole way. It is blocked in several places so, I would guess the best way to travel this part is to walk. I may do that this winter.

It has been quite a while since I have had a 4X4 that I could take in the woods without worrying about scratching\denting it so I haven't been to a lot of these places in years. However I am in the process of putting an S-10 Blazer together and I don't intend to keep it nice. Therefore I will be re exploring some of my old 4 wheeling haunts again soon. Reports to follow!!

Hi Scrap!

Wasn't tryin go say you were wrong at all about your previous post (in fact it's been years since I walked it), I was just trying to help get the details right. If I may, I'll run down some points from your e-mail.

If your heading down GPR toward 80, As you get to the bottom of the hill just south of Green Pond, On the left you will see a fence with a double gate. The WnN crossed right around here, Then ran around the side of Egberts LK.

< OK, I THINK YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT JUST AS YOU ARE COMING OFF GREEN POND ROAD "HILL", AND MAKING THE LAST TURN BY THE BARN, RIGHT? IF SO, THIS ROADBED WAS ACTUALLY A SPUR TO THE COPPERAS MINE (AS WELL AS ONE OR TWO OTHERS) THAT SAT ALONG THE MOUNTAIN. I BELIEVE THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL GREEN POND RAILROAD THAT WAS THE IMPETUS FOR THE LATER DAY W&N. I USED TO HAVE A FRIEND WHO LIVED OVER BY EGBERTS LAKE, AND WE HIKED BACK TO THE MINES MANY TIMES ALONG THE ROADBED TO THE MINES.>


The half filled culvert I found years ago is a lil farther south at the very bottom of the hill. There are short guard rails on both sided of the road here. I have no idea what this culvert was used for but. There is a clear ROW of some sort leading from it.

<THIS WAS THE CROSSING OF THE "MAIN LINE", AND SITE OF THE FAMOUS "HUMPBACK" BRIDGE. THIS WOODEN BRIDGE WAS A SITE HAZZARD FOR DRIVERS ON GPR, SO NOT LONG AFTER THE RR WAS RIPPED UP, ROCKAWAY TWP REMOVED IT. I DON'T REMEMBER IT, BUT APPARENTLY IT WAS QUITE RICKETY.>

Further down GPR, You will pass a golf course on the right, After this you start down a hill. LK Denmark Rd will be on the right. If you look to the left here you will see a drive way going off into the woods. I am not sure but I suspect this driveway was built on the old ROW to the mines, It looks like that anyway. The other parts of the mine branch that I know of are 1, Off upper Hibernia Rd. 2, Off of LK Denmark Rd.

<YES, THAT'S THE OLD ORELAND BRANCH, THAT HAS GOTTEN A MUCH MORE "IMPROVED" TRAIL BED SINCE THE STATE HAS MADE ALL THE LAND IT RUNS THRU GREEN ACRES PROPERTY. YOU CAN FOLLOW THE BRANCH ALL THE WAY TO UPPER HIBERNIA.>

On Upper Hibernia, After Split Rock Rd, goes off to the left, you will go through a bunch of turns, On the left you will see a good size garage used by either a construction co, or a Landscape co. around this garage you can see a RR ROW clear as day in winter. UHR is blocked off just past this, So if you get to the end, you went too far, Don't worry though, There is a park there and you owe it to yourself to get out and walk around the old mine works up there!!!

<UNTIL THEY DID SOME MASSIVE PRE-DEVELOPMENT WORK IN THE 1980's THAT ELIMINATED ALOT OF FOUNDATIONS AND THE MINE
CAVE-IN "DITCH", THERE WAS MORE TO SEE AT ONE TIME. BUT ACTUALLY, SINCE THEN, IT HAS MADE THINGS EASIER TO WALK AROUND, BECAUSE MOST OF THE BRUSH AND FORREST WAS REMOVED, BUT IT'S GROWING ALL BACK IN AGAIN!>

If you turn off GPR onto Lk Denmark Rd. you will come to a "V" real quick, Take a right onto Valley Rd. Down a ways on the left you will start to see the WnN ROW just off the road. To the right there is some kind of factory building, Back when I used to go there, there was a huge pile of RR ties in the front. There was a company that scrapped old RR lines located here at one time. I don't know what line the ties came from though. Again, This was a long time ago so things may have changed. I have no idea if this factory was ever served by the RR. If you follow Valley to where the pavement ends there was an old abandoned house on the right, Continue down the dirt road and you can make a left and come right out on the WnN ROW. Back then it was blocked by logs both ways.

<YEAH, I THINK THIS IS A RAILROAD SALVAGE OUTFIT, I DON'T REMEMBER THE NAME. THEY ARE THE ONES RESPONSIBLE FOR HAULING OLD NJT COACHES UP TWISTING GPR A FEW YEARS BACK - WHAT A SITE TO SEE! OTHER THAN THE ORELAND BRACH, THERE WAS NO INDUSTRY OF THE W&N NORTH OF THE ARSENAL TILL GP JUNCT (EXCLUDING THE GP MINES).>

When Lk Denmark Rd. gets down by the lake it turns sharp to the left. The WnN Row is to the right here. It enters the arsenal here and is blocked by a gate. I have never been down the ROW between here and the Rockaway dump the whole way. It is blocked in several places so, I would guess the best way to travel this part is to walk. I may do that this winter.

<THE ORELAND BRACH FOLLOWS LAKE DENMARK ROAD FOR A BIT THRU SOME PEOPLES FRONT YARDS (DIFFICULT TO SEE, BUT THE LAND CONTOUR DOES SHOW IT) BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT MET THE MAIN.
I HAVE WALKED PARTS OF IT SOUTH OF EGBERTS LAKE TO THE AREA OF THE SALVAGE COMPANY, IT WAS VERY SWAMPY AND OVERGROWN. MUST HAVE MADE FOR A LONELY, YET PRETTY RIDE. I ALWAYS ASSUMED THE W&N WAS ON THE FAR SIDE OF LAKE DENMARK, BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE I HAVE NEVER WALKED THAT FAR.>

Car Floater

There's also some detail on the W&N in the Morris County book on the Morris canal. Although the focus is on the canal, there are street maps, track maps, on Rockaway, Roxbury, Wharton, etc.

I'll post some info when I get home...

Lowenthal's book is very good

I have attached a link to a map showing the Wharton & Northern right of way and tax map info.

Believe it or not most of the right of way property is still in tact. There are arrows pointing to the W&N mainline on the left and the connection with the branch near the bottom left. On the right side a little above center shows the right of way of the branch east of Green Pond Road.

The gray blob on the left on the photo is the no fly area over Picatinny.

The right of way is on the east side of Lake Denmark.

I hope this helps.

Chris

http://community.webshots.com/photo/132 ... 7674rObygK

I haven't posted in a while, but I would like to share some memories.

Before 9/11, Picatanny was open and I used to drive around and explore during an extended lunch, geologic survey maps by my side. Now it's secure and impossible to get into. I visited the museum there, and the curator gave me a small brochure about the Picatinny RR. They had all kinds of ordnance on display. Really fasciniating.

From what I remember, there was track going everywhere! The space between the rails had been filled with asphalt in many places to make a nice jogging trail.

The track coming in from Rt 15 branched out into a 3 track yard. The yard ended at the old gate and the rail was cut. But you could see where it continued on. That yard is still physically connected all the way down to Lake Jct.

I then tried to follow where the W&N went. I think one of the jogging trails must have connected to the yard, along with some other trackage. Then there was a small level parking lot which would have been about 3 or 4 tracks wide which had no more rail and was paved over. From there north, the ROW was still very visible on an embankment.

I did find the engine house down in a lower area. This was for the Picatinny RR. I think it had 3 stalls. The track and switches were all still intact but unused. It looked like they were about to install a sewer under the throat, so I don't know if they cut the rails. Never got back there. On the west side there was this track that kind of looped around and had sidings everywhere. On the south end were these munition storehouses (batteries?), spaced about a 1/4 mile apart. There was road and rail going past every one of these building, and there had to be several rows of these buildings.

I also found many building that were in the process of being demolished. I did find narrow gauge rails embedded in a sidewalk, somewhere. I had heard that Picatinny had much narrow and dual gauge trackage at some point in the past.

There was one area where I could not get to, which would have been on the west side of Lake Denmark. It was still gaurded and secured, and I didn't want to push my luck, but I know that there was rail going up that way, too.

I never took pictures, because I felt really strange being there.

Bob S.

A couple of questions regarding the W&N:

I went over the tracks yesterday where they cross over Mill Road and Little Lane. This is southeast of Picatinny, outside of Wharton. It's been a while since I last paid much attention (a few years or more), but it looks like someone's been deliberately piling brush on the tracks since I last took note.

Would this be right-of-way owners trying to keep people/dirt bikes/quads off the ROW, or nearby landowners trying to keep folks out?

Also, anyone know when Lake Denmark was dammed? Lowenthal's Iron Mine RRs of N. NJ book gives 1886-1887 as the tiime of RR construction. Since the RR hugs the Lake Denmark waterline for a ways, I was curious if it had been dammed already by the time the RR was built.

I'm reading thru Lownthal's book right now. I used to mountain bike some along the W&N, Mount Hope Mineral RR, and Ogden Mine/Hopatcong line (the part thru Malon Dickerson park), so it's pretty interesting reading the history of these places I used to travel.

Thanks.
- Roger

FWIW, I believe the Lake Denmark part of the base was originally (and still?) US Navy property. The Navy had a firing range and testing facility at LD which received explosives from the Hercules Powder plant downline in Roxbury.

It's possible the firing range may have unexploded ordnance, etc. It took several years to detect and destroy shells left at Vieques firing range.

...Larry Lowenthal's MINING RAILROADS OF NORTH JERSEY is a must for best descriptions and maps. OTher books only touch on the subject. Now I do have a 1948 Morris County map that shows a lot, but this book is better!