Main Line (NJ Transit)

Main Line
A Main Line train led by a GP40PH-2 at Ramsey.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail
System	New Jersey Transit Rail Operations Metro-North Railroad
Locale	Northern New Jersey and Hudson Valley, New York, United States
Termini	Hoboken Terminal Suffern
Stations	18
Daily ridership	9,160[1]
Operation
Owner	NJ Transit Rail Operations
Operator(s)	NJ Transit Rail Operations
Rolling stock	F40PH-3C/GP40PH-2/ALP-45DP/PL42AC locomotives Comet/Multilevel coaches
Technical
Track length	152.9 km (95.0 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Route map Port Jervis Line to Port Jervis 30.6 mi 49.2 km Hillburn Yard former Erie Piermont Branch 30.5 mi 49.1 km Suffern NY–NJ border 29.1 mi 46.8 km Mahwah Route 17 27.9 mi 44.9 km Ramsey Route 17 26.5 mi 42.6 km Ramsey 24.6 mi 39.6 km Allendale 23.5 mi 37.8 km Waldwick Yard 23.2 mi 37.3 km Waldwick 22.1 mi 35.6 km Ho-Ho-Kus 20.9 mi 33.6 km Ridgewood 20.2 mi 32.5 km Bergen County Line via Fair Lawn at Ridgewood Junction 19.4 mi 31.2 km Glen Rock – Main Line Route 208 17.7 mi 28.5 km Hawthorne NYS&W Passaic River Paterson – River Street 15.6 mi 25.1 km Paterson I-80 former Erie Main Line closed 1963 South Paterson closed 1980s former Boonton Branch closed 1963 G.S. Parkway Newark Branch US 46 12.2 mi 19.6 km Clifton 10.6 mi 17.1 km Passaic 9.3 mi 15 km Delawanna Route 3 Route 21 Passaic River via Lyndhurst Draw 8.2 mi 13.2 km Lyndhurst Route 17 7.6 mi 12.2 km Kingsland Harrison–Kingsland Branch Kingsland Tunnel N.J. Turnpike (Western Spur) Hackensack River via Upper Hack Lift 20.2 mi 32.5 km Bergen County Line via Fair Lawn N.J. Turnpike (Eastern Spur) 3.5 mi 5.6 km Secaucus Junction NEC former alignment Morris & Essex Lines via Waterfront Connection former NY&GL Boonton Line Bergen Tunnels 0.0 mi 0 km Hoboken Terminal Hudson River

The Main Line (or Erie Main Line) is a rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north-south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.^[2]

The Bergen County Line splits off the Main Line just west of the Secaucus Junction transfer station and rejoins it at Ridgewood. Trains on both lines are push-pull, powered by diesel locomotives (ordinarily on the west end of the train).

History

The Erie Railroad's main line ran from Jersey City to Chicago via Binghamton, New York, Buffalo, Akron, Ohio, and Marion, Indiana, with a spur to Cleveland. The section in New Jersey and lower New York State saw frequent commuter service to the waterfront Pavonia Terminal, Jersey City, with connections to the Pavonia Ferry to Lower Manhattan.

The Erie Railroad's major long-distance passenger trains to Chicago, the Erie Limited, and the Lake Cities, ran along this section, through Passaic, Paterson, Ridgewood, on to Port Jervis, northwest to Binghamton, New York State's Southern Tier, Jamestown, and west to Chicago. The final run of this route was on January 4, 1970.^[3]

Trains at the Erie Lackawanna rail yard in Waldwick on April 25, 1970

In 1963, the Erie Main Line south of Paterson to its connection with the Bergen County Line at Carlton Hill in Rutherford was abandoned and service began using the former Lackawanna Boonton Branch south of Paterson via the Lyndhurst Draw and Upper Hack Lift bridges as the route through downtown Passaic was abandoned. Boonton Line service began using the Erie's Greenwood Lake division up to its junction the Lackawanna Boonton Branch at Mountain View in Wayne as the Lackawanna right-of-way in Paterson was used for the construction of Interstate 80. The Erie Jersey City terminal was abandoned circa 1959 after all Erie service had moved to the Lackawanna Hoboken Terminal.

Service under Erie Lackawanna introduced new GE U34CH diesels and Comet I cars in 1970 which lasted under NJ DOT and Conrail into the NJ Transit era. Metro-North took over service north of Suffern in 1983. Service was increased along with the opening of the Secaucus Transfer Station in late 2003.

Service

Departing the historic 1907-built Hoboken Terminal, the yards for the coaches to the left, trains pass over two city streets and the Hudson Bergen Light Rail before entering the Bergen Tunnels under the Bergen Hill section of Hudson Palisades. Midway through the tunnel there are air shafts allowing light through and venting out the diesel fumes. Exiting the tunnel, the train curves right onto the Main Line at West End interlocking in Jersey City. Until 1963 this was the DL&W Boonton Branch; about a mile ahead was the connection built circa 1956 with the Erie main line (that after 1963 became the Bergen County Line). Two trains collided head-on here in 1996, killing two engineers and a passenger. New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 15X is now on the Erie alignment, since in 2003 the Bergen County line was rerouted parallel to the Main Line to pass through Secaucus Junction.

At Secaucus Junction, all trains stop for passengers to change to and from Northeast Corridor Line, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line and Midtown Direct trains on the Morristown Line, the Gladstone Branch, and the Montclair-Boonton Line on the upper level.

The Main Line then runs through an industrial section of Secaucus. Shortly afterwards the Bergen County Line curves right on its new connection to the Erie alignment. The Main Line then crosses over the Hackensack River on the single-track Upper Hack Lift bridge, built in 1958.

Double track resumes under the New Jersey Turnpike's western spur after 0.4 mile of single track. The train continues through the Meadowlands and passes the first grade crossing at Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst. The line curves slightly and passes through the 1903 Kingsland tunnel. Kingsland station is shortly after the tunnel in an open cut. Just beyond Kingsland station is Lyndhurst station, on an embankment.

After Lyndhurst the train crosses the Passaic River on a swing bridge that has been bolted shut, although it is required by Federal regulation to be opened on 24 hours notice.^[4] The train passes under Route 3 and approaches Delawanna station.

Next stop is Passaic, on an embankment. After Passaic, the Main Line has a stretch through some industrial areas before the Clifton station, also on an embankment.

The Main Line passes under U.S. Route 46 and the Garden State Parkway before it crosses under and over several streets in south Paterson. It leaves the DL&W Boonton Branch alignment at about 40°53′10″N 74°10′01″W / 40.886°N 74.167°W / 40.886; -74.167 and reaches the Erie Main Line alignment at 40°54′18″N 74°09′50″W / 40.905°N 74.164°W / 40.905; -74.164. This connection was single track when built circa 1963, then double-tracked in a rehabilitation project in 2002. The line passes under Interstate 80 and heads into downtown Paterson. The Erie station in Paterson is elevated, with a center platform.

Continuing north the Main Line is elevated through Paterson, passing over streets. After several grade crossings in an industrial area, the tracks cross the Passaic River on a truss bridge. Hawthorne is the next stop, at grade level. After a long stretch, the train reaches Glen Rock station, at grade level at a crossing.

After Glen Rock the Main Line merges with the Bergen County Line at Ridgewood Junction. The line widens to three tracks (in Erie days the line was four tracks from here to Suffern NY). Ridgewood station is next, with Spanish-style design on the station building and with newly constructed high-level platforms.

Next is Ho-Ho-Kus, also at grade. Waldwick follows with an abandoned station building on the northbound side and a footbridge connecting the two platforms. Waldwick Yard is just north of the station with the restored WC tower on the southbound side by the yard. Just following Waldwick Yard is a grade crossing. North of the grade crossing (which has three tracks) the line becomes two tracks.

Allendale and Ramsey follow, both as grade-level stations. Ramsey-Route 17 station (opened August 22, 2004) is next. It is a park-and-ride facility located off of Route 17 South in Ramsey.

Mahwah follows and is the last station in New Jersey. Crossing over the New York state line the train arrives at Suffern, the last stop for most trains. Some trains continue via Metro-North's Port Jervis Line to the north end of passenger operations at Port Jervis. The yards are just to the north of the Suffern station, under the New York State Thruway overpass.

Rolling stock

All trains on the Main Line are push-pulled by diesel locomotives. Coaches used are from the Comet series, and often feature Metro-North owned Comet Vs as these are pooled with New Jersey Transit's coaches as part of the operating agreement. Trains running exclusively on NJT trackage may also utilize MLV cars hauled by a PL42AC. More recently ALP-45DP hauled trains have been used on this line as well. The other equipment can be EMD GP40PH-2, and EMD GP40PH-2B.

Stations

Zone [5]	Station[5]	Miles (km) from HOB	Date opened	Date closed	Connections / notes[5]
1	Hoboken Terminal	0.0 (0.0)	1903		NJ Transit: Bergen County, Gladstone, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, North Jersey Coast, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines Metro-North: Port Jervis Line Hudson-Bergen Light Rail: 8th Street-Hoboken, Hoboken-Tonnelle PATH: HOB-WTC, HOB-33, JSQ-33 (via HOB) NJT Bus: 22, 22X, 23, 54, 68, 85, 87, 89, 126 New York Waterway to Battery Park City
	Morris & Essex Lines (Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch) diverge
	Secaucus Junction	3.5 (5.6)	2003		NJ Transit: Bergen County, Gladstone, Meadowlands, Montclair-Boonton, Morristown, North Jersey Coast, Northeast Corridor, Pascack Valley, and Raritan Valley Lines Metro-North: Port Jervis Line NJT Bus: 2, 78, 129, 329, 353
Bergen County Line diverges
2	Kingsland	7.6 (12.2)	1903[6]		NJT Bus: 76
	Lyndhurst	8.2 (13.2)
3	Delawanna	9.3 (15.0)	1925		NJT Bus: 27, 74, 190
4	Passaic	10.6 (17.1)			NJT Bus: 190, 702
5	Clifton	12.2 (19.6)			NJT Bus: 705, 707
6
	South Paterson		1963	c. 1980
	Paterson	15.6 (25.1)			NJT Bus: 161, 703, 707, 712, 744, 746, 748
	River Street		1883	1977
7	Hawthorne	17.7 (28.5)	1867[7]		NJT Bus: 722
8	Glen Rock – Main Line	19.4 (31.2)	1848[8]
Bergen County Line converges
9	Ridgewood	20.9 (33.6)	1858[9]		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line NJT Bus: 163, 164, 175, 722, 746, 752
10	Ho-Ho-Kus	22.1 (35.6)	1848[8]		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line
	Waldwick	23.2 (37.3)	1886		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line
11	Allendale	24.6 (39.6)	c. 1850[10]		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line
12	Ramsey	26.5 (42.6)	1848		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line
13	Ramsey Route 17	27.9 (44.9)	2004		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line Metro-North: Port Jervis Line
14	Mahwah	29.1 (46.8)	1871		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line Short Line Bus: 17
	Suffern	30.5 (49.1)	1841[11]		NJ Transit: Bergen County Line Metro-North: Port Jervis Line Transport of Rockland: 59, 93, Monsey Loop 3, Tappan ZEExpress Short Line Bus: 17M/MD/SF
Port Jervis Line continues north

Bibliography

• Green, Frank Bertangue (1886). The History of Rockland County. New York, New York: A.S. Barnes.
• Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, Past and Present. Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens Semi-Centennial Association. December 1916. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
• Wardell, Patricia Webb (1994). Allendale: Background of a Borough. Allendale, New Jersey: Allendale Historical Society. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
• Van Valen, James M. (1900). History of Bergen County, New Jersey. New York, New York: New Jersey Publishing and Engraving Company. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
• Yanosey, Robert J. (2007). Lackawanna Railroad Facilities (In Color). Volume 1: Hoboken to Dover. Scotch Plains, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books Inc. ISBN 1-58248-214-4.

References

External links

• New Jersey Transit

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