Port Morris Junction
Encyclopedia
Montclair-Boonton Line
The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street,...
and the Lackawanna Cut-Off. Built by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western (Lackawanna) railroad, it sits in the Port Morris section of Roxbury Township, New Jersey
Roxbury Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,883 people, 8,364 households, and 6,532 families residing in the township. The population density was 1,117.4 people per square mile . There were 8,550 housing units at an average density of 400.0 per square mile...
, south of Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...
.
Soon after rail service arrived in the 1850s, the Lackawanna Railroad built a rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
on the eastern side of the Morris Canal
Morris Canal
The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s....
, and used it to shift coal from railcars to barges. After the canal was abandoned and filled in 1924, the yard was used primarily to store freight cars awaiting movement to their destinations. As Lackawanna officials cast about for a way to shorten travel time from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, the yard was one reason they picked Port Morris to be the eastern end of the Lackawanna Cut-Off.
Opened on December 24, 1911, the junction served the Lackawanna until October 17, 1960; the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until April 1, 1976; and Conrail until January 1979. Conrail abandoned the Cut-Off in 1983 and pulled up key tracks at the junction in October 1984.
In the early 1980s, NJ Transit took over the operation of commuter trains through the old junction area, and later that decade, began operating a rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
there. Commuter trainsets begin their weekday morning eastbound runs at Hackettstown
Hackettstown, New Jersey
Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 9,724. The town is located in the eastern most region of the Lehigh Valley....
, Mount Olive, Netcong
Netcong, New Jersey
Netcong is a Borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,580. Its estimated population in 2006 was 3,292...
or Lake Hopatcong and proceed to Denville
Denville, New Jersey
Denville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,635. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county...
where they travel to Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
via the Morristown Line
Morristown Line
The Morristown Line is one of New Jersey Transit's commuter lines and is one of two branches that run along the Morris and Essex Lines. Out of 60 inbound and 58 outbound daily weekday trains, 28 inbound and 26 outbound trains use the Kearny Connection to Secaucus Junction and New York Penn...
or the Montclair-Boonton Line
Montclair-Boonton Line
The Montclair-Boonton Line is a commuter rail line of New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. It is part of the Hoboken Division. The line is a consolidation of three individual lines: the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad's Montclair Branch, which ran from Hoboken Terminal to Bay Street,...
. Connections along the way allow travel to New York City. Westbound travel runs this pattern essentially in reverse. (As of 2011, there is no weekend service west of Dover
Dover, New Jersey
Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey on the Rockaway River. Dover is west of New York City and west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188.-Geography:...
.)
As of 2011, the junction is to be rebuilt, with tracks to be relaid on the Cut-Off to support commuter service to Andover, New Jersey
Andover, New Jersey
Andover is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 606.Andover was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township.-Geography:Andover is located at ...
, 7.3 miles (11.8 km) northwest of Port Morris Junction. Further reconstruction is slated to extend service to Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, 88 miles (142 km) from Port Morris.
Sources
- The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Nineteenth Century (1 volume) and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in the Twentieth Century (2 volumes) by Thomas Townsend Taber III, Lycoming Printing Company, 1977, 1980, 1981.
- The Lackawanna Railroad in Northwestern New Jersey by Larry Lowenthal and William T. Greenberg, Jr., Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., 1987.
- Farewell to the Lackawanna Cut-Off (Parts I-IV), by Don Dorflinger, published in the Block Line, Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., 1984-1985.
Related Organizations
- Penn-Jersey Rail Coalition
- North Jersey Rail Commuter AssociationNorth Jersey Rail Commuter AssociationThe North Jersey Rail Commuter Association is a not for profit railroad advocacy organization that was formed and incorporated in the USA in 1980. During its history, the organization and its members have been involved in the successful advocacy of a number of projects involving NJ Transit Rail...
- Lackawanna Coalition
- New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers