Passaic and Harsimus Line

{{Short description|Freight rail line in northeastern New Jersey, USA}}

File:Newark Av freight bridge from PATH jeh.jpg]]

File:National Docks Secondary crossing under Passaic&Harrsimus Line at end of Bergen Hill Cut.jpg the P&H crosses over the National Docks Secondary]]

File:Harsimus stem piers jeh.jpg]]

Image:Current north Hudson County railroads.png

The Passaic and Harsimus Line, part of Conrail Shared Assets Operations, serves freight in northeastern New Jersey. It takes trains from the Northeast Corridor and Lehigh Line near Newark Liberty International Airport northeast and east into Jersey City. It is part of CSX's main corridor from upstate New York to the rest of the east coast.

Route description

The line begins at a junction with Amtrak's Northeast Corridor at Lane Interlocking {{Coord|40.69188|-74.1982|name=LANE Interlocking}}.PRR Interlocking Diagram for LANE, dated Jan 1, 1968. [http://broadway.pennsyrr.com/Rail/Prr/Maps/Itlk/lane.gif Retrieved] 12/26/2010. near Waverly Yard {{Coord|40.695856|-74.194566|name=Waverly Yard}}. It runs next to the Northeast Corridor, just to the east, along what was originally Track 0 (the old P&H Branch east of the yard is now abandoned).

After about a mile, the Greenville Secondary splits to the east to the Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge, and the P&H Line passes under the Lehigh Line and turns east. Access to the Lehigh Line eastbound is provided from the Greenville Branch via a track into the Oak Island Yard {{Coord|40.70867|-74.138103|name=Oak Island Yard}}; another track leaves the Oak Island Yard to join the P&H Line headed northbound.

After crossing the Passaic River on the Point-No-Point Bridge{{Cite web|url=http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/1997/02/12/97-3484/drawbridge-operation-regulations-passaic-river-new-jersey|title = Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Passaic River, New Jersey|date = 12 February 1997}} {{Coord|40.741672|-74.121095|name=Passaic and Harsimus Line Bridge over Passaic River}}, the P&H Line passes over PATH and turns east, parallel to PATH. A track splitting just before the overpass accesses the area south of PATH. The P&H Line then heads east through West Hudson and then across the Harsimus Branch Lift Bridge over the Hackensack River to Marion Junction {{Coord|40.737665|-74.07372|name=Marion Junction}}, where the Northern Running Track goes north, with most rail traffic.

The P&H Line past Marion Junction is now a secondary connection through the Journal Square Transportation Center {{Coord|40.732141| -74.063114|name=Journal Square}} to the National Docks Branch via a short section of the former River Line. The former River Line in Hoboken and Weehawken is now used for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.

History

The P&H Line, before passing to Conrail, was the Pennsylvania Railroad's P&H Line. Before that, it was the Waverly and Passaic Branch south of the bridge over PATH, the PRR's main line from there to the River Line, and the Harsimus Branch where track no longer exists, east along the Harsimus Stem Embankment to Harsimus Cove.

References

External links

Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NJ-43, "[http://loc.gov/pictures/item/nj0966/ Conrail Bridge]" (documentation of Hackensack River lift bridge)

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Hackensack River

|bridge = Harsimus Branch Lift Bridge

|bridge signs = Conrail

|upstream = Wittpenn Bridge

|upstream signs = 20px

|downstream = PATH Lift Bridge

|downstream signs =50px

}}

Category:Conrail lines

Category:Pennsylvania Railroad lines