Edgewater Branch

The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad handled passenger and freight traffic from the coal mining region in the Wyoming Valley in and around Scranton, Pennsylvania through northern New Jersey. While it had a right-of-way along the foot of the western slope of Hudson Palisades that terminated in Jersey City north of Marion Junction, it did not own a line through Bergen Hill.{{cite web |title = North Bergen, New Jersey |publisher = NYSW |url = http://www.nysw.com/north_bergen.htm |access-date = October 4, 2013 |archive-date = May 8, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120508173028/http://www.nysw.com/north_bergen.htm |url-status = dead }}{{Harvnb|Kaminski|2010}}{{Page needed|date=September 2014}} The railroad paid substantial fees to both the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) (for passenger trains) and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western (DL&W) (for freight service) to use their lines to access terminals on the North River.{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1893/03/17/109695387.pdf |title=The Palisades Tunnel |work=The New York Times |date=March 17, 1893 |access-date=October 5, 2013}}

In 1892, the Hudson River Railroad and Terminal Company was incorporated as a New York Susquehanna and Western subsidiary.Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports, Volume 33 Interstate Commerce Commission, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931 Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad The NYS&W developed a terminal on what had once been a coal yard for oceangoing ships along the Hudson River shore.{{Harvnb|Kaminski|2010|p=119}}{{Harvnb|Hall|2005|p=28}} At the time, the Erie Railroad gained control of the NYS&W as a subsidiary. In 1907, the Erie Terminals Railroad took over control of the Edgewater and Fort Lee Railroad which ran to the Hudson County line and connected with the New Jersey Shore Line Railroad,{{Harvnb|Mohowski|2003|p=57}} eventually becoming part of a Belt Line along the shore.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/07/11/archives/port-board-cuts-railway-tangle-short-stretch-of-new-jersey.html |title=Port Board Cuts Railway Tangle – Short Stretch of New Jersey Waterfront Had Been Interchanging Freight by Round-about Routes Circling Far Inland |work=The New York Times |date=July 11, 1926 |access-date=October 7, 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B14F93A5C17738DDDAB0894DF405B858EF1D3 |title=Removes Last Bar to Belt Line Road – Jersey City's Consent to Track Laying Permits Port Plan to Proceed – System to Link Terminals – Port Authority to Rush Work on $500,000 Improvement to Freight Facilities |work=The New York Times |date=July 2, 1925 |access-date=October 7, 2013}}

Extensive railyards and car float operations supported the development of industries which dominated the shoreline for much of the 20th century.{{Harvnb|Adams|1996}}{{Page needed|date=September 2014}}{{cite web |last = Baptista |first = Robert J. |title = The Chemical Industry of Shadyside (Edgewater), New Jersey |publisher = Colorant.org |date = December 16, 2012 |url = http://www.colorantshistory.org/ShadysideChemInd.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017173722/http://colorantshistory.org/ShadysideChemInd.html |url-status = usurped |archive-date = October 17, 2007 |access-date = October 4, 2013}} Among them were Alcoa Aluminum, the Ford Motor Company, Lever Brothers, the Valvoline Oil Company, and Archer Daniels Midland.{{Harvnb|Hall|2005|p=26}} In 1940, the NYS&W became disbanded from Erie control, as part of their bankruptcy reorganization.{{Harvp|Tupaczewski|2002|p=3}} The NYS&W also abandoned their coal operations, but they still provided a coal barge route out of Edgewater for the World War II effort and the Marshall Plan, until the railroad closed their coal terminal in 1948.{{Harvp|Tupaczewski|2002|p=83}}{{Cite news |last=Gamble |first=Robert |date=June 27, 1953 |title=Old Railroads Never Die |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-old-railroads-never-die/157855459/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |work=Bergen Evening Record |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-old-railroads-never-die/157855459/ 2]; [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-old-railroads-never-die/157855526/ 3] |via=Newspapers.com}}

In 1946, the NYS&W formed a partnership with Seatrain Lines, where Seatrain would ship rolling stock overseas between Edgewater, Texas, Puerto Rico. During the 1950s, the Edgewater factories closed as industries globalized, facilities became obsolete, and customers switched to truck-shipping. The closure of Ford's Edgewater Assembly Plant in 1955 cost the NYS&W one of their primary sources of income.{{Harvnb|Mohowski|2003|p=172}}{{cite web |title = Independence Harbor |publisher = www.independence-harbor.com |year = 2019 | url = https://www.independence-harbor.com/our-history | access-date = October 4, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150321060236/https://www.independence-harbor.com/our-history |archive-date = March 21, 2015 |url-status = live }} In 1961, real-estate developer and millionaire Irving Maidman purchased the Ford plant for use as a rental warehouse, and he eventually purchased an Alcoa plant for the same purpose.{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=Michael |date=July 29, 1976 |title=Tax-fighter to pay half |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-tax-fighter-irving-maidman-to/157956045/ |access-date=October 27, 2024 |work=The Record |page=35 |via=Newspapers.com |volume=82 |issue=46}}{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Fred |date=June 12, 1977 |title=Decline and fall of the Susie Q |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-decline-and-fall-of-the-susie/157895387/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |work=The Sunday Record |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-decline-and-fall-of-the-susie/157895387/ 1]; [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-decline-and-fall-of-the-susie/157895520/ 24]; [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-decline-and-fall-of-the-susie/157895561/ 25] |via=Newspapers.com}}

In October 1962, Maidman purchased the NYS&W to ensure their freight operations in Edgewater remained active, and he began arranging for the railroad to lease some property in Edgewater for backup storage.{{Cite news |last=Nawyn |first=Bert |date=July 31, 1963 |title=Maidman, Susky President, Inherits a Headache, But He's Determined to Put RR on Paying Basis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news/68732778/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |work=The News |page=68 |via=Newspapers.com}} In 1968, Seatrain abandoned the NYS&W to form a new partnership with the U.S. government, and Maidman sued Seatrain for compensatory damages.{{Cite news |last=Prior |first=James |date=July 5, 1968 |title=Maidman Is Suing Seatrain Inc. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-record-irving-maidman-is-suing-seatr/157949914/ |access-date=October 27, 2024 |work=The Record |page=29 |via=Newspapers.com |volume=74 |issue=26}} In 1976, the NYS&W was forced into bankruptcy, after they experienced multiple financial problems and defaulted on New Jersey state taxes, and by that time, the Edgewater Branch was no longer profitable.{{Harvp|Tupaczewski|2002|p=85}}

In 1980, the NYS&W was sold to the Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO), and two years later, they sold the Edgewater Branch east of the tunnel, but they still performed some maintenance on the trackage. Throughout the 1980s, remaining businesses that the NYS&W served closed down to the point only two customers remained. In October 1989, the Edgewater Branch was embargoed on the basis of unsafe conditions of the tunnel, where chunks of the ceiling occasionally fell.

File:PalisadesTunnelFairview(NYSW).tiff

File:Edgewater Tunnel (NYS&W) Palisades.tiff

The Edgewater Tunnel is a former railroad tunnel through Bergen Hill, the Hudson Palisades. Originally opened in 1894, it was built to gain access to the Hudson River waterfront.{{cite news |last = Cheslow |first = Jerry |title = If You're Thinking of Living In: Edgewater; Factory Town Is Now Bedroom Community |work = The New York Times |date = July 30, 1995 |url =https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/30/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-edgewater-factory-town-is-now-bedroom-community.html |access-date = May 18, 2012 }} About {{convert|200|ft|m|abbr=on}} underground and about {{convert|1|mi}} long, its western cut and portal is located in the Fairview Cemetery in Fairview and the eastern portal is located in Edgewater. The right-of-way was removed from service in about 1992 and the track was removed shortly thereafter.

A pipeline now runs through the tunnel between Hess facilities in Bogota and Edgewater. A power cable, part of the Hudson Project, running from a Bergen Generating Station substation through the tunnel and under the Hudson to Midtown Manhattan, was completed in 2013.{{cite web |url=http://hudsonproject.com/project/technical-info/ |title=Technical Info |work=Hudson Project |access-date=October 4, 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/nyregion/crew-lays-power-cable-beneath-the-hudson.html?_r=0&gwh=467E21D791D6C71546CEA19943EE5FC4 |title=Crew lays power cable the Hudson |work=The New York Times |date=December 27, 2012 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |author=McGeehan, Patrick}}

The branch line remains in partial use between Undercliff Junction in Ridgefield{{Google maps|url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Delaware+Township,+Monmouth+County,+New+Jersey&hl=en&ll=40.430746,-74.944267&spn=0.23128,0.528374&sll=40.469826,-75.019058&sspn=0.231145,0.528374&hnear=Delaware+Township,+Monmouth+County,+New+Jersey&t=m&z=12|title=Undercliff Junction, Ridgefield, Bergen County, New Jersey 07657|accessdate=March 8, 2015}} and the bridge at US Route 1/9 in Fairview east of Route 1/9, but trackage through the cut and tunnel was removed in October 1992. The right-of-way itself has not been abandoned.{{cite web |title = New Jerey's Rail Network |publisher = NJDOT |date = November 15, 2012 |url = http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/gis/maps/railroads.pdf |access-date = October 4, 2013}} By the early 2000s, the Edgewater yard was ripped up and redeveloped as a shopping mall and condominium complex.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, planners and government officials realized that alternative transportation systems needed to be put in place to relieve increasing congestion{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/nyregion/road-and-rail-north-jerseyans-hit-the-road-often-a-survey-finds.html?n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fT%2fTransit%20Systems |title=Road and Rail North Jerseyans hit the road often survey finds |work=The New York Times |date=April 16, 2000 |last=Demasters |first=Karen}} along the Hudson Waterfront{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/27/nyregion/kean-proposes-transit-plan-for-waterfront.html |title=Kean Proposes Transit Plan For Waterfront |work=The New York Times |date=June 27, 1989 |access-date=September 1, 2009 |last=Kerr |first=Peter}} It was decided that the most efficient and cost-effective system to meet the growing demands of the area would be a light rail system.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/29/nyregion/transitway-to-follow-the-hudson.html |title=Transitway to Follow the Hudson |work=The New York Times |date=October 29, 1986 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |last=Hanley |first=Robert}}{{cite web |url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/hudson/ |title=Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System, USA |work=Railway Technology.com |access-date=May 15, 2011}} When a new transportation network was proposed, it was suggested that the tunnel be used for what became the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, but that idea was ultimately rejected in favor of the Weehawken Tunnel.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/05/nyregion/road-and-rail-one-county-s-transit-decongestant.html |title=Road and Rail; One County's Transit Decongestant |work=The New York Times |date=November 5, 2011 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |last=Chen |first=David}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/15/nyregion/road-and-rail-champions-seek-use-for-old-tunnel.html |title=Road and Rail: Champions Seek Use for Old Tunnel |work=The New York Times |date=October 15, 1995 |access-date=October 4, 2013 |last=Chen |first=David}} The Hudson Waterfront/River Road corridor has seen extensive residential and commercial development and subsequent congestion since that time, and further studies of a more comprehensive transportation strategy have been conducted.{{cite web |url=http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/documentcenter/view/1007 |title=River Road/Hudson Waterfront Circulation Study – Hudson and Bergen Counties |publisher=North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority |access-date=October 4, 2013 |date=June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012040158/http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/documentcenter/view/1007 |archive-date=October 12, 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title = River Road/Hudson Waterfront Corridor Strategy: A Phase Two Study |publisher = North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority |date = June 2013 |url = http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/documentcenter/view/1975 |access-date = October 4, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131012035356/http://www.co.bergen.nj.us/documentcenter/view/1975 |archive-date = October 12, 2013 |url-status = dead }}

The station along the line at the Vince Lombardi Park & Ride is part of the proposed Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project.{{cite web |url=https://www.njtransit.com/passaic-bergen-hudson-transit-project|title=Passaic Bergen Hudson Transit Project |website=Projects & Reports |publisher=NJ Transit|access-date=August 26, 2021}}{{citation |title = Senate, No. 2153 P.L.2017, CHAPTER 195 |date = August 7, 2017}}

• New Jersey Midland Railway
• Timeline of Jersey City area railroads
• Timeline of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
• List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey
• Northern Branch Corridor Project

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |last = Adams |first = Arthur G. |title = The Hudson River Guidebook |publisher = Fordham University Press |year = 1996 |location = New York |isbn = 0-8232-1679-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/hudsonriverguide0000adam |url-access = registration }}
• {{cite book |last=Hall |first=Donald E.| author2=Edgewater Cultural & Historical Committee| title=Edgewater |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |series=Images of America| year=2005 |location=Charleston, SC |isbn=0-7385-3725-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aivT42nBM50C |ref={{harvid|Hall|2005}} }}
• {{cite book |last=Kaminski |first=Edward S. |title=New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway in New Jersey |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location = Charleston, SC |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G1ENevqcHHcC |isbn=978-0-7385-7367-0 |series=Images of Rail}}
• {{cite book |last=Mohowski |first=Robert E. |title=New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-8VcwgnbOYC |isbn=0-8018-7222-7 }}
• {{cite news |last=Slocum |first=John W. |title = Tunnel Inspected as Bomb Shelter Experts Praise Mile Rail Passage in Palisade| work=The New York Times |date=July 23, 1960}}
• {{cite book |last=Tupaczewski |first=Paul R. |title=New York, Susquehanna and Western in color |location=Scotch Plains, NJ |publisher=Morning Sun Books |year=2002 |isbn=1-5824-8070-2 }}

• [http://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=40.81455&lon=-74.00097&datum=nad83&zoom=4 Topoquest: USGS Map]
• [http://wikimapia.org/3491917/Fairview-Tunnel-Ventilation-Shaft Wikimapia Fairview-Tunnel-Ventilation-Shaft]
• [http://raildata.railfan.net/waterfrontmap.html Map: Hudson River terminals c.1950]

Category:New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway

Category:Fairview, New Jersey

Category:Edgewater, New Jersey

Category:Railroad tunnels in New Jersey

Category:Buildings and structures in Bergen County, New Jersey