History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I, Part 56

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 840

USA > New Jersey > Essex County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I > Part 56
USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I > Part 56

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The Watchung Branch is a short road extending from North Newark to Orange, a distance of about three miles, entering the latter city at the westerly end of Main Street, near St. Mark's Church. Trains are run in connection with the Greenwood Lake road to and from New York.

The New York and Fort Lee Railroad is used almost exclusively for oil, coal and live stock. It was incorporated in 1862, and is now maintained and ope- rated by the Erie, and the particulars of operations, expenditures, &c., are kept as part of the general ar- counts of that company.

The Hackensack and New York Railroad Com- pany, incorporated in 1556, and completed the latter part of 1861, also has its terminus at Long Dock.

The road extends from Hackensack to Erie Junction, a distance of about 6 miles. It is leased to the New Jersey and New York Railroad Company at an annual rental of $8, 100, and is equipped and operated by that Company. The amount of capital stock paid in is =115,000.

The Central Railroad of New Jersey, which has its terminus at Communipaw, originated with the Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad, which was incorporated by the Legislature in 1831.

On the 31st of March the stock was all subscribed for at Elizabethtown, and on the 28th of April in the same year a meeting of the shareholders was held at Noor's tavern in the same town, when the following directors were elected : Isaac H. Williamson, William Che wood, Thomas Salter, Edward Price, Abraham Brittin, John Allen, Isaac Southard, Thomas A. Hart- will and Willi un Halsted. The road was promptly built and put into operation, the passengers and freight ling at first transferred at Elizabethport to steam- boats, which ran regularly from that point to New York. Shortly after the completion of the road from Somerville a track was laid connecting with the New

The company have excellent terminal facilities at Communipaw, running large and handsomely fur- nished ferry boats to the foot of Liberty Street, New York.

The Newark and New York Railroad is a branch of the Central, diverging from the main traek, and running through Lafayette and West Bergen across the meadows to Newark, with handsome iron bridges crossing the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers near their point of confluence. The road was chartered 'March Ist, 1866, and went into active operation under control of the Central in 1869. A branch road was opened in 1872, from Newark to Elizabethport, where it con- meets with the main line. The terminus of these roads in Newark is on Broad Street, between Mechanic and Fair Streets.

The Long Branch Division of the Central was built under two separate charters. One was for the New York and Long Branch Railway, extending from Long Branch to Perth Amboy, crossing the Raritan River with the longest drawbridge in the United States, Of this road Anthony Reckless, of Red Bank was the first President. The other charter was for the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad, which was obtained of the Legislature in 1868. Its first President, Col. A. W. Jones, sold the charter to the ('entral road ; but subsequently endeavoured to trans- fer it to the Pennsylvania Railroad, that corporation being anxious to control the traffic to and from New York over their Woodbridge and Perth Amboy branch. This project, however was defeated in the courts, and the whole line from Elizabethport to Long Branch was built and operated by the Central Railroad Com-

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ANCIENT STAGE LINES AND ROUTES.

pany. It was opened for travel in the summer of 1875. On Feb. 14, 1877, the property and business of the C'entral Railroad Company was placed in the hands of a Receiver, and for several years it was managed suc- cessfully by the late Judge Francis S. Lathrop. On the death of that gentleman, Hon. Henry S. Little was appointed Receiver. He succeeded in bringing the road out of the Chancellor's hands, and in 1583, a new organization was effected with Mr. Little as President. Soon after the road was leased to the Philadelphia and Reading Company, who now main- tain and operate it, together with all its branches.

The present directors of the Central are as follows : Henry S. Little, John Kean, Franklin B. Gowen, Ed- ward C. Knight, Robert Garrett, Sidney Shepard, Henry (. Kelsey, Samuel Sloan, and J. Kennedy Tod. Mr. Little is President ; Mr. Kean Vice-Presi- dent ; J. W. Watson, Treasurer; Saml. Knox, Secre- tary; W. W. Stearns, General Superintendent, and 11. P. Ballwin, General Passenger Agent.

The Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad con- meets the C'entral road with the North Pennsylvania Railroad, forming a through line from New York to Philadelphia. It was chartered in 1874 and was opened on May 1, 1876. The Trenton Branch was put into operation in 1877.

The report of the Central Railroad Company for 1883, including the Long Branch Division as far as Perth Amboy, and the Newark and New York and Newark and Elizabeth branches, is as follows : capi- tal stock paid in, $18,563,200; bonded debt, $36,476,- 100; car trusts, $2,560,200 ; floating debt, less cash and accounts receivable, $2,432,411.69; road and appen- dages, $17,313,083.44 ; equipment, $14,768,051,02. Cost of road and equipments, less car trusts, $4,550,000; 1 .. and S. equipment in Pennsylvania, $2,310,000. Income from passengers, $1,696,249.41 ; from freight, $4,331,611.69; from other sources, $518,873.55; total, $6,546,734.65. Expenditures during the year for working the road, including maintenance of way, motive power and contingencies, 83,601,702.39. Divi- dend paid during the year, one and a half per cent. in cash, $278,448.

For the Long Branch Railway, from Perth Amboy to Bay Head Junction, leased to the Central Railroad Company and operated by the Philadelphia and Read- ing and the Pennsylvania companies under a disputed agreement now in litigation pending the existence of an injunction granted in connection therewith, the company made the following report for the year end- ing December 31, 1883: capital stock paid in, $2,000,- 000; bonded debt, $1,500,000; floating debt, $29,214,- 84. Cost of road and equipments, 83,309.726.23. Dividends paid in cash semi-annually, $35,000. In- come from passengers, $423,774.17; from freight, $108,003.64; from other sources, $12,612.09; total, $544,389.9). Expenditures, $579,772.86.

New York, West Shore, and Buffalo Railway Company .- With the growing importance of the

Hudson County water front as an eastern outlet for the commerce of almost the entire country, this new candidate for a share of the carrying trade has been quietly but with remarkable vigor and energy, and at an expense of several millions of dollars, pushing toward completion its great terminal work at Wee- hawken. The line promises to become one of great importance to this State, as it makes another great thoroughfare to the West. The road-bed, extending from Weehawken to Buffalo, a distance of four hun- dred and twenty-five miles, with all its appurte- nances, has been constructed in a first-class manner, and was opened for public travel in the summer of 1583, passengers being taken from Buffalo to Jersey City by way of Bergen Junction. Aside from its important share of through business between the points named, it is believed that no line of road in New Jersey has more important connections or bet- ter prospects for local traffic, both east and west. About nineteen miles of the road are within this state, passing through Hackensack, West Englewood, and Norwood, to the New York State line near Tap- pan. It thence continues through Nyack aud Haver- straw, from whence it follows the west shore of the Hudson to Albany, traversing a country abounding in most delightful and romantic scenery, and embrac- ing in its course the vicinity of many popular sum- mer resorts.

One of the great features of this road is the termi- nal accommodations at Wechawken in the way of wharves and docks, which bid fair to surpass any other on the Hudson river. The tract of land upon which these improvements are being made, comprises four hundred and forty acres, of which one hundred and sixty-five acres, lying on the upland, north of the docks, are reserved for burbling purposes. The prop- erty has a frontage of six thousand seven hundred and ninety feet, extending northerly as far as, and including the old Abattoir and the National Stock Yard. The general plan for the frontage embraces eleven piers, with docks intervening, running back eleven hundred aud forty feet, and from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty feet in width, with an average depth of twenty-six feet of water at low tide. The piers are from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in width. On pier No. 8, a mam- moth grain elevator, one hundred and four feet wide by three hundred and seventy-two feet in length, was built in 1881. The foundation rests upon seven thousand piles, varying from eighty-five to one hun- dred and fifteen feet in length. A similar building was erected on pier No. 9. Piers 2 and 3 have been completed and are covered with sheds, seven hundred and eleven by one hundred and ninety-four feet. These are intended for the accommodation of ocean steam- ships and storage of their merchandise. Pier 1 is in use for river purposes, lighterage, ete., adjoining which are two transfer slips for the accommodation of the double track floats, each capable of transporting

202

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

seventeen loaded freight cars. South of these is a pier intended for express business, but at present used for emigrant purposes. The total frontage of pier heads and sides of docks is thirty thousand two hundred and ninety feet, or but a few feet short of five miles and three-quarters.

The depot building and ferry house surpasses in size and beauty of design any railroad structure in New Jersey. There are six ferry slips with large storage rooms between each, one of which is the emigrant's waiting room, sixty by sixty feet. Between these slips and the depot is a covered passage way, sixty feet wide and five hundred and thirty feet long. The main building is three hundred and fifty-five by ninety feet and may be briefly outlined as follows : A waiting room ninety by ninety feet, with truss roof, having a lantern in the centre seventy-five feet above the floor, from whence an electric light will illuminate the whole room. The walls are finely paneled in red cherry with yellow pine wainscoting, and all elabo- rately ornamented in the Eastlake style. North of this is the gentlemen's smoking room, thirty-seven feet square, and offices for depot purposes. Above these rooms are the offices of the General and Divis- ion Superintendents, train dispatchers and the freight department, opening upon a balcony extending on three sides of the waiting-room, and connecting with other offices on the second floor. The dining-room is thirty-seven by sixty-five feet, with a kitchen over it. The ladies' waiting-room is thirty-seven by fifty- three feet, and adjoins the telegraph and ticket offices. The ferry department has a main waiting-room fifty two by forty feet, and above this are the offices of the engineers' department.

West of the main building is a covered passage way two hundred and sixty-five by forty feet, connecting with the train sheds, of which two of a temporary character, six hundred and fifty feet long and fifteen feet wide, are now in use. The permanent train shed will retain the same length and be two hundred and seventy feet in width, covering fourteen tracks, of which number eleven are now laid. Two sheds and three tracks especially for the transhipment of milk lie south of the main tracks, and still further south is a round-house with stalls for thirteen furnishing gas for lighting the depot, ferries, ears and boats. A coal pocket on the southwest corner of the track, will be constructed with a trestle and chutes for supplying the locomotives with coal. A ten inch main conducts water for all purposes from the Hoho- ken reservoir. A double track on the line of the old New York and Fort Lev Railroad, connect- the eom- pany's works with the Erie oil docks and stock yards at Hoboken.

With a breadth of enterprise rarely exhibited by auch youthful corporations the West Shore Company determined in the early days of the enterprise to tunnel through the rocky hights of Weehawken and

reach the level land lying west of Union Hill. The tunnel was commenced in February, 1881, and com- pleted in September, 1883, at a cost of one million and a quarter dollars. It is about 4,000 feet long, and is bored through solid rock nearly its entire length. At the mouth the rocks are 90 feet high. The tunnel is laid with a double track, and is bell-shaped at the month to allow of divergence of the tracks as they approach the yard. The distance from the bluff at the mouth of the tunnel to the pier line, is 1,700 feet. The yard contains twenty-three miles oftrack. West of the tunnel, at New Durham, extensive improve- ments are also being made.

From the depot a new avenue, known as Clifton Drive, is being constructed, making a gradual ascent by a curve of the steep bluff, and connecting with the Boulevard at Union Hill ; a distance of about three- quarters of a mile.

Passengers since the middle of May 1884, have been brought direct to the Wechawken Ferry, excepting those who are traveling through to Philadelphia or points further South, and these are still taken to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's terminus at Jersey ('ity. The ferry connects at the foot of Forty-second Street, New York, where a handsome ferry building similar in style to that on the Jersey side, has been erected by the West Shore Company. The Company own property at the foot of Harrison Street, where the principal ferry houses on the New York side will ultimately be located, with perhaps another at Fourteenth Street. In addition to the old boats of the Weehawken Ferry, the Company completed in May 1884, four very handsome boats which are now running from their new slips, to the ferry at Forty- second Street.

The West Shore Company are joint owners of the terminus with the New York, Ontario and Western Railroad Companies. The first named Company have absorbed by purchase or lease the Jersey City and Albany Railroad, the Midland Terminal and Ferry Company, the old Wechawken Ferry and the Open C'ut and General Storehouse Company. Until quite recently Horace Porter was the President. His resig- nation leaves the office vacant. The other officers are : Theodore Houston, Vice President ; John 1 .. Nesbit, engines, and in its vicinity the gas-house and tanks, : Secretary ; F. E. Worcester, Treasurer ; J. D. Layng, General Manager; E. L. Corthell, Chief Engineer ; C. D. Bradley, Division Superintendent ; (. D.thorhan, Assistant General Superintendent. Of the New York, Ontario and Western Company, E. F. Winslow is the President ; J. E. Childs, General Superintendent and W. Katte, Chief Engineer.

The whole of the engineering work at the terminus has been done by Mr. Katte, assisted by Mr. J. Pier- son Coleman. At least six millions of dollars have been expended on this work, in addition to the cost of the tunnel.

The last report ( December 31, 1883,) shows a capital stock paid in of $35,455,400; bonded debt $43,036,000;

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ANCIENT STAGE LINES AND ROUTES.

floating debt $$$1,186, 5%, Cost of road and equip- ments $78,506,966,82.

In June, 188-1, on application of the I'mted States Trust Company, Trustee of the first mortgage made by the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway Company, under date of August 5, 18%], to secure an issne of $50,000,000 of five per cent. bonds, ex-Judge Horace Russell and Theodore Houston, the Vice President, were appointed by Judge t'harle. F. Brown of the New York Supreme Court, Receivers of ull the property of the Company. The immediate liabilities of the West Shore at that time were $1,500,- 000 for labor, suplics and traffic accounts. This was outside of the amount awarded by the committee ap- pointed to determine the obligations of the road to the North River Construction Company-$7,500,000. The Construction Company's claim was for 9,000,000, and it was to have been satisfied if the proposition lind been carried out by the turning over of $75,000,- 000 of second mortgage bonds. The Receivership puts an end for the present to this plan. In addition to the foregoing amounts, the Railway ( ompany con- tracted for $4,000,000 worth of equipments made under the Car Trust, but that was arranged >> that the amount to be paid any one year would not exceed $500,000.

At the same time a bill of complaint was filed against the Company in the United States Circuit Court at Trenton, by Cortlandt Parker, counsel for the United States Trust Company, of New York. The bill set forth the acts under which the two corporations were created and exist, and stated that the West Shore Railroad issued $50,000,000 of first mortgage bonds at various times, bearing date August 5, 1881, and interest at five per cent., to be paid semi-annually at its othre in New York, or its office in London, Eng- Jaud. The mortgage was made upon the entire railway from Weehawken, N. J., to Buffalo, N. Y .. together with several branches to Middletown, Albany, and Rochester, the rolling stock, franchises, &c. The mortgage contained a stipulation that the company should pay all taxes, assessments, and governmental charges, and would not suffer anything to occur whereby the lien should be impaired until the bonds were fully satisfied and discharged.

In these conditions it was alleged the company had made default by the failure to pay the interest on certain bouds, and also by failure to pay a large number of taxes and assessments imposed both in New York and New Jersey, which are prior liens upon the mort- gaged property. Judge Nixon granted an injunction and appointed Horace Russell and Theodore Hons- ton Receivers, and fixed the amount of their bond at $50,000 cach. The order gives them power to employ counsel, to purchase lands and complete the road and manage it for the benefit of the creditors and stock- holders.

A meeting of bondholders representing $12,000,000 of bonds was held in New York on the 5th of August,

18%4, when Receiver Russell stated that since the West Shore had been in the Receiver's hands it had earned operating expenses, notwithstanding the in- complete condition of the road. Resolutions were passed instructing a committee, consisting of .l. M. Colgate, HI. F. Spaulding, J. D. Probst, George M. Pullman and M. Bartoil, to see that the United States Trust Company took steps to foreclose the road and buy it in the interest of the bondholders.

Orange and Newark Horse-Car Railroad Com- pany. This company was the first to establish a line of street-ears through Newark, obtaining a charter from the Legislature in 1859. The enterprise way urged with great zeal by the people of Orange, who haul been in a constant turmoil for years with the Morris and Essex Railroad Company, owing to a lack of facilities to reach New York. The project sluin- bered for a year or two, partly owing to an effort made by Owen MeFarland and others of Newark to procure an injunction restraining the company from laying a track in Market Street. This case was de- cided in favor of the company by the Court of Errors and Appeals in December, 1860. The excitement then prevailing throughout the country arising from the secession movement in the South, and the pros- peet of war, delaved the enterprise, and it was not until the fall of 1861 that measures were adopted looking to the speedy buikling of the road. The first track laid was through Market Street from the depot to Roseville in the early spring of 1862, and on May 23, a trial trip was made over the whole length of the road to Orange. Regular trips were run on June 6, and on the succeeding 4th of July, the Broad Street Line, from Market to Orange Street, was operated. The first organization of the company in 1560 was as follows: William Pierson, M.D. (then for the first time Mayor of Orange), President ; John C. Denman, Vice-President ; Nehemiah Perry, Treasurer; Martin R. Dennis, Secretary. Director -- William Pierson, Lowell Mason, Jr., James Trippe, Ira M. Harrison, N. Perry, M. R. Dennis, John C. Denman, John P. Jackson, Henry R. Remsen.

In 1861 several changes in the Directors were made. Messrs. Harrison, Trippe, Jackson and Mason re- signed, and David A. Hayes, Anthony Q. Keashv, William A. Ripley and Jesse Starr (of Camden) were appointed to fill their places in the Board. Jerome B. Ward was for a short time, Superintendent. Dr. (. B. Guthrie and John S. King then came into the Board, suerceding Messrs. Remsen and Starr, and Martin R. Dennis was made Secretary and Treasurer in 1861. The road was built under a contract with Mr. John T. King, who at that time was a resident of Orange.

In 1865 Martin R. Dennis was made Superinten- dent, and was succeeded by Enos Freeman in 1872. when Mr. Dennis was elected President. Mr. B. F. Fessenden was chosen General Superintendent in 1874, and retained this office until the change in the

204

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

management in the winter of 1883-4. In 1876 Fred- erick T. Kirk was appointed to the position of Secre- tary and Treasurer, succeeding Charles B. Thurston and Charles Place. Mr. Kirk still remains in the same capacity with the present company. After the death of Mr. Dennis, William H. Baldwin was made President, and retained that office until the winter of 1883-4.

The road had been controlled for years by the United Railroad Company, and under the lease, sub- sequently, by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. In November, 1883, a number of capitalists purchased the interest of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and elected the same officers who were in charge of the other line- in which they were interested, which were the Irvington, Bloomfield and Harrison Lines. There is ! as yet no consolidation of these lines, but they are now operated under the same control, and the accommo- dation of the public is greatly increased.

The present management of the Orange and New- ark Line is as follows :

S. S. Battin, President ; H. F. Totten, Superinten- dent; l'rederick T. Kirk, Secretary and Treasurer. Directors-S. S. Battin, Theodore Runyon, F. Wol- cott Jackson, A. L. Dennis, John 11. Ballantine, Wil- Jiam Clark, Daniel Dodd, Robert F. Ballantine, A. Q. Keasbey.

The routes traversed by this line are as follows : Broad Street cars, from the stables in Clinton Avenne up Broad Street and Belleville Avenue to Mount Pleasant Cemetery, where a transfer is made to smaller cars running up Washington Avenue, to the depot of the Greenwood Lake Railroad. Roseville Line, from Ferry Street through Bowery, Market, Bank and Warren Streets to Roseville at the bound- ary line of East Orange. Orange, cars from the Market Street depot through Market, Broad and Orange Streets to Main Street, East Orange, and thence up Main Street to the stables in Lincoln Avenue near Scotland Street, Orange.

Belleville Line by transfer cars at the cemetery, the through cars between Belleville and the Market Street depot having been taken off' in the spring of 1×84. The whole distance covered is 13.29 miles.

The report of the Orange and Newark Horse-Car Railroad Company, made to the State Comptroller, for the year ending December 31st, 1882, was as fol-

('afatal Stock paid in . $2×1,000.00

Bold delat Orange & Newark Company 035,500,00

Belleville & Newark, 200,0000,00

1: «dvd mortgage on real estate 17,000,00

( t df w wal equipmenta .

1,035, 007.75

Int ist n fouded deht . . 59, 7900,00

Int ne ton bond and mortgage on real estate 1,110,00

14 il atl mortero paid .

3,000, 00)

No dividends were paid during that year. The in- come from pasengers and tolls was $255,336.71; ex- penditures for working the road, including repairs, maintenance of way, motive power and contingent,

$189,241.62. No report has yet been made of the business of 1883.

The Newark and Bloomfield Street Railway Company, bought at a foreclosure sale January 17th, 1876, the property of the old Newark, Bloomfield and Montclair Horse-Car Railroad Company, whose line originally ran up Bloomfield Avenue, along Mount Prospect Avenue, north of the old Bloomfield road, and entered Bloomfield by way of Franklin Street.

The original projeet of this company was to eon- tinne the road to Montelair, and also to extend a road from the northerly termination of Mount Prospect Avenne to Franklin. Neither of these projected roads were ever built. During the winter of 1875 the old route to Bloomfield was abandoned, and in 1876 the new management laid the track as at present, directly up Bloomfield Avenue from the quarries. The Directors of the new organization were P. HI. Ballantine, Orson Wilson, A. Lemassena, Jr. (Secre- tary), A. Q. Keashey, William G. Francisco, S. S. Bat- tin, who was President and Treasurer, 1I. F. Totten, Superintendent. Since the transfer of the stock of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in the Orange and Newark Road the following officers and directors have been elected : President, S. S. Battin ; Secretary, W. L. Mulford; Directors-A. Q. Keasbey, John H. Ballantine, S. S. Battin, A. Lemassena, Jr., R. Gum- ersell, Henry Congar, R. F. Ballantine.

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History of Essex and Hudson counties, New Jersey, Vol. I, Part 56

Author: Shaw, William H Publication date: 1884 Publisher: [United States :] Number of Pages: 840

Author: Shaw, William H
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: [United States :]
Number of Pages: 840