BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — The state of New Jersey is purchasing an abandoned rail right-of-way from Norfolk Southern Railroad to turn it into a linear park, a project Gov. Phil Murphy is comparing to New York City’s landmark High Line Park.
WNBC-TV reports Murphy on Friday announced the state’s purchase of the 9-mile-long, 100-foot-wide route from Montclair to Jersey City for $65 million. “This is our High Line moment, and we intend to make the most of it,” Murphy said.
The Essex-Hudson Greenway will connect eight communities. The Open Space Institute, which has led the effort to create the park, reached agreement with NS on the land in 2020, but funding was not secured until Friday. No date has been projected for when the first portion of the park might open.
Further west the Greenwood Lake branch was integrated into the west end of the Lackawanna Boonton cut-off–but these nine miles were only used by Boonton trains after a section the east end of the Boonton Line was severed near Patterson for the Interstate Highway system.
The furthest east portion of the Boonton Line was integrated with the Erie Mainline (on the Boonton alignment) from the outskirts of Patterson to the junction with the Morris and Essex line near Hoboken. This remains the route of Hoboken-Suffren-Port Jervis “Erie Mainline” trains.
All very complex–but the 9 miles shown here were New York & Greenwood Lake/Erie RR tracks until the EL merger and the reconfiguration of the Boonton route. Much more recently Boonton/Greenwood Lake traffic was rerouted again–this time onto the Lackawnna Montclair branch via a short stretch of new trackage built in Montclair–which joins the Morris & Essex mainline near the Lackawnna Newark station.
If you intend to walk on this park once it opens, especially near the eastern part, bring LOTS of bug spray. This land is charitably called the “Jersey Meadows”; most of us would just call it a swamp.
I just looked at it on Google Maps, and holy cow you’re right. There appears to be a swing bridge in that stretch, so with the potential cost the repurpose it, they’ll build out that stretch last.
Thanks for the map. I heard this on local NYC area news, but no map.
From what I know of this it was part of the old Lackawanna ( DL&W) Boonton line it was built as a low grade line mostly for fright to by pass the steep grades on the Morris & Essex line. With fright traffic an the decline in the 60’s part of it was sold off to build part of interstate 80 ending it as being a through route. I think that the old Boonton has been connected to the old NY & NJ to be a longer but through route.
This being a railfan site, history of the line would be appreciated. I’d don’t know the line’s provenance but a whole lot of you do. Please post.
That is former New York & Greenwood Lake Railway, an Erie subsidiary, ROW that hosted commuter trains well into the NJ Transit era until it was bypassed with a connection built at Montclair, New Jersey.
My Mistake Mr Carleton I though it was the NY & NJ but I see on my map it was the NY & GL oops.