Lower Boonton to become the Essex-Hudson Greenway?

Maverickstation1 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 20, 2022 4:50 pm Here is the story from the Kearny Observer this past November where Kearny's Mayor Santos stated he has issues
with the rail trail project that have not been addresses.

Thanks. >>>"or reconstruction of the Passaic and Hackensack River bridges."<<< Passaic is unclear, but the project specifically does not intend to utilize the Hackensack RR bridge. The trail at the river diverts to the south and will utilize the sidewalk on the recently constructed and opened new Route 7 Wittpenn Bridge to cross the Hackensack.

In more recent news, the purchase has yet to close, but the deadline has been extended to June 30, 2022.

https://www.essexhudsongreenway.org/sta ... y-project/

Ken A.

It's a done deal, NJ has purchased the ROW from NS. I'm impressed with how fast this proposal moved forward.
https://www.nj.com/hudson/2022/09/essex ... -park.html

NJ moves rather quickly with rail trails for some reason. The one on the former Barnegat Branch IIRC materialized very very very fast, same with the Henry Hudson Trail.

erie910 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 20, 2022 11:11 pm The subject really should be "Lower Greenwood Lake to become …." This section of the railroad never was a part of the Lackawanna Boonton Line.

This morning's NYT article on the Greenway called it "the old Boonton Line," which stuck in my craw. Even the official project doc linked in the article refers to it as "the Old Boonton Line." No, the DL&W's "old Boonton Line" ran through Paterson. The EL specifically referred to the new route it cobbled together after the merger as the "Greenwood Lake-Boonton Line." And as you say, the Greenway is all on the Greenwood Lake portion. Why can't they be accurate and call it the "old Greenwood Lake Line"?

Let's see if the Bergen Arches rail/bike trail moves along as fast. Here's hoping.

JohnFromJersey wrote: ↑Thu Sep 15, 2022 9:09 pm NJ moves rather quickly with rail trails for some reason. The one on the former Barnegat Branch IIRC materialized very very very fast, same with the Henry Hudson Trail.

It materialized fast but was built in sections that took years to do. Lacey didn’t get the trail until 2013.

Mod Note: Merged concurrent threads from NJT and Jersey Railfan forums.

Bracdude181 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 16, 2022 12:49 pm It materialized fast but was built in sections that took years to do. Lacey didn’t get the trail until 2013.

I am of the opinion that the Barnegat Branch Rail Trail should've been preserved as a railroad ROW. The area has become pretty dense and developed since the Barnegat Branch was abandoned 40-ish years ago, and would make a pretty good commuter line, especially in the summers.

That being said, that ship has sailed, and I doubt the local and county governments, much less the residents of that area, will give up that rail trail.

Apparently, they are really moving along with converting the old Boontown line to the greenway. They have ripped up a good chunk of the tracks from it, and it appears they are getting ready to prepare the ground for paving.

Pretty crappy that rail gets ripped up faster in NJ than it ever gets laid down.

https://www.facebook.com/wheeler666/pos ... ouMLtwVUil

Let me know if that link is view-able.

Interesting video, they are really cranking along on ripping up the ties and rail. I wonder if the catenary poles are going to be removed.

The road paving / hot mix/ aggregate industry apparently has a strong foothold in NJ politics. SO projects involving this get pushed to the top of the list. Sad but true.

Dcell wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 11:11 am Interesting video, they are really cranking along on ripping up the ties and rail. I wonder if the catenary poles are going to be removed.

No. Those never were and are not catenary poles/structures. That is Public Service Electric and Gas Company ("PSE&G") standard H-frame construction used for electric transmission lines where the right of way was not sufficiently wide for regular lattice towers. PSE&G acquired the rights from the railroad to install the transmission line when the railroad was still very active so PSE&G utilized H-frame design which did not impede rail operations. My recollection is that the electric transmission line is 230,000 Volts and most definitely essential to grid operations. I strongly suspect that a significant factor in determining the price paid by the State to acquire in fee simple the right of way from the railroad for the trail is the value for electric, and potentially pipeline and telecommunications infrastructure shared use.

Yes the overhead electrical lines near DB draw are PSE&G. At tyhe time they were put up, tho, there were talks about electrifying the greenwood lake ...so who knows for sure, but i was lead to believe AT THAT TIME, that the there was the possibility that those H poles could be used for catenary also. Its what I heard from ppl who were working for the EL at the time.

Other things u might not know about the area......There was a plan to build tracks to connect the Northern Branch to Bergen Jct without the backup move... and that another plan was to run the northern trains down thru bergen tunnel to Erie Grove St tower...then up the connecting RR to the Hill track, and up on to the DLW main east of East end tower.
There was a transfer run known as "the pusher" that regularly used that route to get from croxton to Hoboken yard.
FWIW. In the "what cuda been" dept.

Thanks Ken.