Abandoned Lackawanna Boonton Branch Industrial Branch

[MaRoFu]

There are a set of tracks that used to branch off the Boonton Branch just before it ends in Totowa. The crossings at Lackawanna Avenue and Route 46 have been paved over and dismantled. The line went down south and past some industrial buildings, and may have even went to the NYGL (Montclair-Boonton Line) near the former Great Notch Station. Sections of track still exist in the following places:

- In the industrial area south of Route 46
- Southwest, Northwest, and West of the Cadillac Dealership
- Small area between Bob's Furniture and Cadillac Dealership
- Area between Lens Crafters/Phoenix Down Corp and Foreman Mills
- East of jughandle at Union Blvd/Lackawanna Ave/Fulton St.

There may be other industrial branches around the area as well. If anyone has more info about these mysterious tracks please reply below.

[E&Lfan]

The spur used to serve the Passaic Valley Water Treatment plant with chlorine deliveries . Was probably the last active customer .

[Mark_K]

Specifically, there was (as of Nov 2015) also an intact stretch of track just west of the intersection of KingRD and Gordon DR in the industrial park.

Discarded rails and ties can be found in the woods immediately north of the now-obliterated crossing at Riverview Drive.

I've got low-quality smartphone photos if anyone's interested.

[JSX331]

That branch was originally called the "Water Branch" and used to be a a pretty straight shot from the DL&W main to the Water treatment plant. In the 1960s they built the industrial park there and changed the alignment of the tracks. According to some old (1979) Conrail track maps I have, there were five sidings on the south side of Rt 46: Clarkwood Printing (in the present day Kary Out Food building), Vacant (present day Bobs discount furniture building), Vacant (present Passaic County Prosecutors building), Caravan (still in business), and Passaic Valley Water Commission. There were at one time multiple spurs inside the water plant property. I used to work in that industrial park in the early 1990s and I recall Conrail pushing a black tanker (chlorine?) down to the water plant. That spur was abandoned very soon after. If you look at https://www.historicaerials.com/viewer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and go to the 1979 aerial photos, its all pretty clear.

[David Hutchinson]

I was told that deliveries were stopped to the water plant because they could not handle the longer, more modern tank cars.........