WR Draw
View from North Newark to West Arlington
Coordinates40°46′36″N 74°09′00″W / 40.7766256°N 74.1500386°W / 40.7766256; -74.1500386
CarriesNew York and Greenwood Lake Railway (1897-1966)
Boonton Line (1963-2002)
CrossesPassaic River
LocaleNewark and Kearny,
New Jersey
Other name(s)West Arlington Drawbridge,[1]
Bridge 7.57[2]
OwnerNew Jersey Transit
Preceded byMidland Bridge[3]
Characteristics
DesignSwing bridge
Clearance above40 feet (12 m)[4]
History
Opened1897[2]
Closed2002
Location

WR Draw is an out-of-service railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark and the Arlington section of Kearny, New Jersey. The plate girder rim-bearing swing bridge, originally built in 1897 and modified in 1911 and 1950,[2] is the 14th bridge from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 8.1 miles (13.0 km) upstream from it.[4] Last used for regular passenger service in 2002, it is welded in closed position as its height is not considered a hazard to navigation.[4]

The lower seventeen miles (27 km) of the ninety-mile (140 km) long Passaic River downstream of the Dundee Dam is tidally influenced and navigable.[4] Rail service across the river was generally oriented to bringing passengers and freight from the points west over the Hackensack Meadows to Bergen Hill, where tunnels and cuts provided access terminals on the Hudson River.

History

View to West Arlington
The bridge's substructure was modified to accommodate NJ Route 21, which passes underneath the bridge on the west end.

An alignment crossing the river at Arlington and North Newark was part of a grander scheme developed in the 1860s by the New York, Oswego, and Midland Railroad to run lines from Jersey City into northern New Jersey and beyond to Western New York, also opening up new areas for suburban development (including Belleville,[5] just north of the current bridge's western end). Originally, the plan called for incorporating the Montclair Railway which had been established in 1867.[6] Ultimately that plan was scuttled as a route was established farther north connecting to the New Jersey Midland Railway and Hudson Connecting Railway.[7]

Nonetheless, expansion on the Montclair Railway continued and a right-of-way (ROW) over the river was established circa 1872-1874,[7][8][9] The WR Draw's predecessor was known as the Midland Bridge,[3] a name recalled in Midland Avenue which descends from Passaic Street to the former West Arlington Station.[10] The line ran between Sterling Forest at the New York state line to Croxton, Jersey City. The financially unstable Montclair Railway went into receivership, and in 1875 became the Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway[6][7] In 1878 the company was re-organized as the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway (NYGL), under control of Erie Railroad.[11]

In 1887, the Erie created a new subsidiary, the Arlington Railroad, to create a new ROW in the Kearny Meadows which ran more directly to the WR Draw once the line had passed through the Long Dock Tunnel and crossed the Hackensack River.[6][12] In 1889, it opened the DB Draw over the river, providing the company a modernized ROW from its Pavonia Terminal for use by both the NYGL and the Newark Branch, which crossed the Passaic on the NX Bridge at the southern end of Kearny. Within Erie, the NX was known as Bridge 8.04, which indicated the number of miles from the Jersey City waterfront terminal.[13] The WR Draw was known as Bridge 7.57.[2]

In the mid-1890s, the Erie greatly expanded the infrastructure and service on the Greenwood Lake, taking over the Watchung Railway in 1895 and the Caldwell Railway and the Roseland Railway in 1897,[6] the former becoming the Orange Branch[14] and the latter two, the Caldwell Branch. The WR Draw was modified in 1911[2] when the Erie opened a new tunnel-cut, the Bergen Arches, in Jersey City, creating the Penhorn Creek Railroad to run through it and make connections to its lines on the west side of the Hudson Palisades.[6][15] The bridge was again modified in the 1950s when New Jersey Route 21 was constructed under its west end.[2]

In 1943, in a major re-organization, the New York and Greenwood Lake as well as other subsidiaries were absorbed into the Erie.[16] In 1960 the Erie and the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western (DL&W) merged, consolidating at Hoboken Terminal. In 1963, in conjunction with the construction of Interstate 80 in Paterson, the combined Erie Lackawanna Railroad's Boonton Line was rerouted over the WR Draw.[2][17]

Service over the bridge was diminished in phases. Numerous stations were taken out of use and the mainline was retracted in 1935. By 1966 service on the New York and Greenwood Lake was terminated. In 1976, the Erie-Lackawanna was taken over by Conrail which continued to run Boonton Line trains over the bridge. New Jersey Transit Rail Operations (NJT) took over Conrail's commuter lines in 1983. With the 2002 opening of the Montclair Connection,[18] NJT re-routed the Boonton Line to its Montclair Branch east of Montclair,[19] thus bypassing the ROW to the bridge. Service was discontinued to Rowe Street, Benson Street and Arlington stations.[18] DB Draw over the Hackensack River was also taken out of use and left in the open position.

In 2020, Norfolk Southern Railway (NS), which had acquired the line in 1999 from Conrail, officially abandoned an 8.63-mile (13.89 km) section (milepost WD 2.9 to milepost WD 11.5) of the rail line.[20] and the Open Space Institute (OSI) reached a preliminary sale agreement with NS for the property.[21][22][23] The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which manages state parks and forests, acquired the property on August 19, 2022. The state purchased the ROW from NS for $65 million for development of a new state park called the Essex–Hudson Greenway.[24][25][26][27][28]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Title 33 Code of Federal Regulations Sec. 117.739(j)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Solomon, Brian (2008), North American Railroad Bridges, Voyageur Press, ISBN 9781610604581
  3. 1 2 "Rowing on the Passaic Newark Oarsmen have a Fine Course" (PDF), The New York Times, April 20, 1890, retrieved February 19, 2012
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis" (PDF). United States Army Corps of Engineers. July 2, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ "The Midland Railroad and its New Jersey Connections - What Has Been Done and Present State of the Enterprise" (PDF), The New York Times, retrieved May 30, 2012
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Erie Railroad" (PDF). Inventory June 1918. June 30, 1918. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 Olsen, Kevin. "A Short History of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railroad". msuweb.montclair.edu. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  8. ↑ Krasner, Barbara (2000). Images of America: Kearny. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738504032.
  9. ↑ Portal Bridge Capacity Enhancement Project, New York, NY (2008). "Chapter 5.2: Historic Resources." Final Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f ) Evaluation.
  10. ↑ "GeoHack - West Arlington (Erie Railroad station)". GeoHack. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  11. ↑ "The Montclair Railway.; Handed Over To The New-York And Greenwood Lake Company" (PDF). The New York Times. December 18, 1878.
  12. ↑ "New Branch of the Erie" (PDF), The New York Times, March 23, 1887, retrieved June 6, 2012
  13. ↑ "Bridge 8.04". Erie Railroad Magazine. December 1948. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Railroad Facilities A new branch which will benefit New Jersey people" (PDF), The New York Times, November 16, 1880, retrieved June 6, 2012
  15. ↑ "Penhorn Creek Railroad". War of Yesterday. http://rails.jimgworld.com. January 29, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2012. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  16. ↑ "Erie Gets Jersey Line". The New York Times. New York, New York. July 2, 1942. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  17. ↑ Winshop, Donald (December 17, 2009). "The Montclair-Boonton Line Evolves". The Lines that we represent. Lackawanna Coalition. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  18. 1 2 "Rail Shuttle Buses To Transport Commuters Affected By Station Closures". Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit. August 27, 2002. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  19. ↑ "The Montclair-Boonton Line" (PDF). Newark, New Jersey: New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. 2002. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  20. ↑ 85 FR 41266
  21. ↑ Kofsky, Jared (July 1, 2020). "Land Sale Could Advance Proposal for Greenway Between Jersey City and Montclair". Jersey Digs. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  22. ↑ Winters, Jaimie Julia (April 1, 2021). "Essex-Hudson Greenway could be purchased by year's end". Montclair Local News. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  23. ↑ Israel, Daniel (November 12, 2021). "New Jersey to help acquire rail line for Essex-Hudson Greenway". Hudson Reporter. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  24. ↑ "New Jersey buys Norfolk Southern right-of-way for linear park". trains.com. November 16, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Murphy Announces Historic Acquisition of Former Rail Line and Intent to Create New 9-Mile Linear State Park & Transitway". Insider NJ. November 12, 2021.
  26. ↑ Koosau, Mark (September 17, 2022). "Gov. Murphy announces purchase of rail line for Essex-Hudson Greenway". Hudson Reporter.
  27. ↑ Gill, Brendan W. (January 10, 2022). "This green pathway through cities and suburbia will embody the best of New Jersey". Star-Ledger. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  28. ↑ Roll, Erin (July 18, 2020). "Proposed greenway trail in Essex County takes another step forward". Montclair Local News.
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