High Bridge Branch - Timeline

Timeline

• 1868: the private 1.2-mile (1.9 km) High Bridge Railroad is built to connect the Taylor furnace at High Bridge to the Jersey Central (CNJ) mainline.
• 1872: The High Bridge Railroad obtains a charter to build from High Bridge to a connection at German Valley (Long Valley) with the Chester Railroad, a Morris and Essex branch leased by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western (DL&W).
• 1874: CNJ purchases the Longwood Valley Railroad (chartered in 1867) and completes construction from German Valley to Port Oram (Wharton). The line is opened in 1876.
• 1876: CNJ High Bridge Branch is completed and opened for service. With branches on the northern portions extending to iron ore mining operations in Morris County.
• 1881: CNJleases the Ogden Mine Railroad and begins construction of the Lake Hopatcong Railro ad connection to the High Bridge Branch.
• 1881: CNJ leases the Dover & Rockaway (organized in 1880) for 999 years. The lease connects the High Bridge Branch to the Hibernia Mine Railroad.
• 1882: High point of the railroad traffic with 118 cars filled with iron-ore using the tracks in one day.
• 1885: The most memorable train wreck in the history of the High Bridge Branch occurred on the morning of Saturday, April 18, 1885 when the central and southern spans of the 250' long Gorge Bridge (now called the Ken Lockwood Gorge Bridge) collapsed as a heavily laden iron ore train drawn by a powerful Baldwin 4-6-0 locomotive (#112) named Columbia, just started to cross the southern span of the wooden Howe Truss bridge.
• 1890: The Hibernia Mine Railroad is leased by the CNJ.
• 1890s: An estimated 50,000 passengers per year ride the excursion trains to Lake Hopatcong on up to six daily passenger trains during the summer months.
• 1930: CNJ purchases the Wharton & Northern Railroad, obtaining a connection with the New York, Susquehanna, and Western at Green Pond Junction. The purchase includes 68% of the Mount Hope Mineral Railroad. By that time, those roads carried freight, but had no scheduled passenger service.
• 1930s: Last passenger train runs on the line.
• 1971: CNJ petitions to abandon the High Bridge Branch, but the planned Sears, Roebuck & Company warehouse in Mount Olive Township saves the branch.
• 1972: CNJ discontinues operations in Pennsylvania and transfers operations to the Lehigh Valley. In order to continue to serve customers in Scranton, PA and maintain interchange there, CNJ in conjunction with the Erie Lackawanna establishes trains ES-99/SE-98 which operate over the CNJ mainline from Elizabethport to High Bridge, the High Bridge Branch from High Bridge to Lake Junction, and the Erie Lackawanna from Lake Junction to Scranton.
• 1976: CNJ becomes part of the federally created Conrail system. The High Bridge Branch line is deactivated by Conrail, because it duplicates other routes in the newly created system.
• 1980: The line up to just beyond the Sears warehouse in Flanders is maintained, but the portion south of it from Bartley to High Bridge abandoned.
• July 1, 1986: portion of the High Bridge Branch from Kenvil to Bartley was purchased by the County of Morris; leased for operation and maintenance to the M&E, a regional shortline operator, who continues to operate it today under a lease agreement with the County.
• 1988: first portion of the County owned High Bridge Branch (Kenvil - Ledgewood) was opened on May 2, 1988 with NS business car "Blue Ridge" and one box car load of bricks from Georgia as the entire train. Several officials were on board for the historic re-opening of the northern portion of the railroad.
• 1990s: Columbia Gas Transmission of West Virginia construct a gas line under the former rail bed, and the surface rights for the former High Bridge Branch line are transferred to the Hunterdon County Department of Parks and Recreation and Morris County Parks and Recreation for use as a recreational trail, known as Columbia Trail.
• 1995: A New Jersey Department of Transportation Rail Freight Program grant was obtained by the County to restore the railroad to FRA Class 2 track.
• 2004: The Columbia Trail was resurfaced by the county parks departments.
• 2009: M&E occasionally operates a special passenger train over the High Bridge Branch as a fund raiser for various non-profit organizations.