New Jersey West Line Railroad - Unfinished Section in Summit, Millburn, and Union

Unfinished Section in Summit, Millburn, and Union

Although only the section between Bernardsville and Summit was opened by the NJWL, right-of-way was acquired from Summit to Newark and construction was started. To varying degrees this portion was graded, bridge abutments were built, wooden trestles were installed, and portions of track may have been laid. Work stopped by 1873, but the property was not sold off until 1901. Later development has obscured much of the right of way.

In Summit the crossing of the Morris and Essex was at a point south of Kent Place Boulevard and west of High Street. At this time the Morris and Essex ran north of its present alignment so the crossing is on the north side of the present railway just east of the point where the Gladstone Branch diverges. Crossing Kent Place Boulevard, the NJWL alignment ran through what is now school grounds (the current location of Summit High School), across Morris Avenue, and behind the houses on the south side of Bedford Road. East of Woodland Avenue, Llewellyn Road follows the right of way, and east of Bellevue Avenue, a 1929 map shows another small street called Lyric Lane also on the right of way. The line took a turn southeast just before reaching the Morris and Essex Turnpike and entered Millburn just north of Hobart Gap Road. To some extent all of this route in Summit follows property lines.

In Millburn, the NJWL routing through Short Hills is totally obscured. Short Hills was developed starting in 1874, right after the New Jersey West Line failed, so its street plan bears almost no relation to the path of the railroad. The NJWL would have crossed about the junction of Hobart Gap Road and White Oak Ridge Road, and then would have gone north to run along the south side of Western Drive, which was possibly named for the NJWL with a possible station location around Taylor Place or Highland Avenue. Early maps naturally show the NJWL property, but the chances of it being built diminished quickly as the 1870s went on.

Some remains can be found east of Glen Avenue. First the curving southern end of Woodcrest Avenue follows the NJWL alignment, and this curve continues to a dry-stone wall that can be seen on the west side of Brookside Drive (park in the dirt space on the east side of the road to view it). From here a timber trestle was constructed across the valley that was known as the Ghost Bridge (shown here at getnj.com) since no track was ever laid on it. East of the river, the graded right of way can still be seen inside the South Mountain Reservation. It starts as an embankment and continues into a wide cut, passing the site of an old quarry, continuing past the present-day parking lot opposite Lackawanna Place, and continuing straight to Glen Avenue, and onward as a property line to the Morris and Essex tracks. The portion from the quarry to the M&E had track laid for some decades into the early 20th century as a freight siding serving the quarry, so it is well preserved.

The remaining portion in Millburn south of the M&E is totally obscured by later construction, but across the border in Union are two interesting remains. First a street named West Line Avenue runs from the river to Valley Street, and then on the other side of Valley Street a pair of streets called East Side Avenue and West Side Avenue flank the right of way for the short distance down to Springfield Avenue. The neighborhood around these latter two streets is formed entirely of narrow streets and small lots. Its relation to the NJWL is not known.

East of Springfield Avenue the right of way is impossible to discern today. It ran southeast following generally Vauxhall Road and crossed the river into Hillside near Brookside Avenue, Union, where there were traces of a bridge abutment. It then turned northeast, crossing modern U.S. Route 22 near Liberty Avenue and entering Newark just west of Elizabeth Avenue. The proposed route in Newark is obscure.