Marion Junction
Encyclopedia
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. Currently, it connects CSX
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
's River Line
River Line (Conrail)
The River Line is a rail corridor located between Jersey City, New Jersey and Selkirk, New York, running along the west bank of the Hudson River. A parallel track, which was operated as part of the River Line from Jersey City to Weehawken, New Jersey, was known as the Weehawken Branch...
(via Conrail's Northern Branch
Northern Branch (Conrail)
The Northern Branch is a railroad line that runs from Jersey City, New Jersey to Northvale, New Jersey. The line was constructed in 1859 by the Northern Railroad of New Jersey to connect the New York and Erie Rail Road's Piermont Branch terminus in Piermont, New York to Erie's Pavonia Terminal in...
) to Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line
Passaic and Harsimus Line
Conrail's Passaic and Harsimus Line serves freight in northeastern New Jersey, as an alternate to the mainly passenger Northeast Corridor. It takes trains from the Northeast Corridor and Lehigh Line near Newark Liberty International Airport northeast and east into Jersey City, New Jersey, serving...
. The two lines merge towards the west, allowing through trains from upstate New York to continue towards the rest of the country. The track actually making the connection is known as the Marion Running Track.
History
The New Jersey Railroad (NJRR; later part of the Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
, PRR) and Paterson and Hudson River Railroad
Paterson and Hudson River Railroad
The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was a railroad that operated in New Jersey and connected the cities of Jersey City and Paterson. The railroad was started in 1833 and connected with the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad in Paterson. The two lines provided a shorter route from Suffern to New York...
(later part of the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
) both built their lines to this point in 1834 and November 28, 1833, respectively. It took four more years for the NJRR to cut through the New Jersey Palisades
New Jersey Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...
; prior to that, passengers and freight transferred to horse-drawn carriages over the hill. The junction was a simple one, with both lines merging towards the east, allowing both railroads to access the east side of the Palisades and the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
.
In 1861, due to congestion on the PRR cut, the Erie built a tunnel through the Palisades
Long Dock Tunnel
The Long Dock Tunnel is a tunnel in New Jersey that runs diagonally through Bergen Hill, a section of the New Jersey Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States...
(through its subsidiary, the Long Dock Company). Marion Junction was now a minor transfer point. The 1873 building of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also known as the Susie-Q, or simply the Susquehanna, is a Class II American freight railway operating over 500 miles of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several...
(NYS&W) turned it once again into a major transfer point, as the NYS&W's connection to the PRR and east to the Hudson River.
With the decline of the passenger railroads in the mid-20th century, Marion Junction lost much traffic. It was not in the best alignment for freight traffic between upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and south Jersey
South Jersey
South Jersey comprises the southern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation is a colloquial one, reflecting not only geographical but perceived cultural differences from the northern part of the state, with no official...
.
Around 1994, New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
paid to modify the junction to point west, as part of moving the River Line
River Line (Conrail)
The River Line is a rail corridor located between Jersey City, New Jersey and Selkirk, New York, running along the west bank of the Hudson River. A parallel track, which was operated as part of the River Line from Jersey City to Weehawken, New Jersey, was known as the Weehawken Branch...
to the west side of the Palisades, clearing the east side for the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...
. This made the junction the preferred (and in some cases the only) route for freight traffic.
See also
- Croxton, Jersey CityCroxton, Jersey CityCroxton is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey roughly bounded by Secaucus at Penhorn Creek , The Riverbend of the Hackensack River and the Hudson Generating Station and the Marion Section to the south and Truck 1-9 and Western Slope to the east...
- Long Dock TunnelLong Dock TunnelThe Long Dock Tunnel is a tunnel in New Jersey that runs diagonally through Bergen Hill, a section of the New Jersey Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States...
- List of New Jersey railroad junctions