Ogden Mine Railroad
Encyclopedia
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
from 1866, until it was abandoned in the 1930s.
1866 - 1881
The Ogden Mine Railroad was built in 1866 to transport iron ore from the mines on SpartaSparta Township, New Jersey
Sparta Township is a Township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 19,722...
Mountain in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Ore was carried to Nolan's Point on Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in the state of New Jersey, USA, approximately 4 square miles in area. The lake is located in the mountains of northern New Jersey, north of Netcong and along the border between Sussex and Morris counties.The lake is within the borders of four...
, where it was loaded on barges and towed to the Morris Canal
Morris Canal
The Morris Canal was an anthracite-carrying canal that incorporated a series of water-driven inclined planes in its course across northern New Jersey in the United States. It was in use for about a century — from the late 1820s to the 1920s....
. Due to its dependence on water transport, the railroad only operated during the ice-free seasons.
The railroad also served the Dodge, Ford, Schofield, Weldon, and Hurd iron mines, which were located along the route from Sparta Mountain to Lake Hopatcong. For a few years, zinc ore from the Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg, New Jersey
Ogdensburg is a Borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,638.The borough was formed based on an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 26, 1914, from part of Sparta Township, based on the results of a referendum...
was packed up a terraced road to the Ogden Mine, where it was transported by rail to the lake. In 1872, the New Jersey Midland (which became the New York, Susquehanna, and Western
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...
) extended its line to Ogdensburg and the zinc traffic on the Ogden Mine RR ceased.
1881 Central Railroad of New Jersey Lease
Initially the railroad had no connections to other lines. All equipment and materials were transported by barge to Nolan's point, where the railroad machine shops were located. The railroad operated its own steamship to tow barges across the lake. In 1881, the Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
(CNJ) leased the Ogden Mine line for 999 years, paying 5% annually on the Ogden Mine capital stock. The CNJ created the Lake Hopatcong Railroad to connect the CNJ's High Bridge Branch
High Bridge Branch
The High Bridge Branch was a branch line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey that started in High Bridge, New Jersey at a connection with the CNJ main line and continued north to iron-ore mines in Morris County...
line with the Ogden Mine terminus at Nolan's Point, and by 1882 the connection was in operation and the Ogden Mine's dependence on the Morris Canal ended.
The obstacle to be overcome was Brookland Mountain, which stood between Nolan's Point and the junction with the High Bridge branch. The line climbed from below 700 feet at Lake Junction to 1000 feet just south of Minisink Road. In places the grade rose more than 4%, and some sections averaged 3%.
1880s - 1920s
The iron ore traffic peaked in 1880 at about 100,000 tons annually, then fell off as the Mesabi RangeMesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a vast deposit of iron ore and the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. Discovered in 1866, it is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. The deposit is located in northeast Minnesota, largely in...
mines came into production. By the 1890s the New Jersey iron mines were ceasing operations. The Edison Ore-Milling Company
Edison Ore-Milling Company
The Edison Ore-Milling Company was a venture by Thomas Edison that began in 1881. Edison introduced some significant technological developments to the iron ore milling industry but the company ultimately proved to be unprofitable...
set up by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
provided a brief revival when he constructed his experimental ore concentration plant at the Ogden mines, but his operation closed in 1900. During the ten years of the Edison plant's construction and operation, the railroad carried materials and a modest amount of the concentrated ore, but ore production never reached high levels.
Unexpectedly, weekend excursions to Lake Hopatcong provided substantial passenger traffic. Lake Hopatcong is New Jersey's largest lake, and city dwellers to the east were attracted to the lake's hotels and activities as a summer escape from the city. Passenger service started in 1883, and by 1888 the station at Nolan's point was rebuilt to handle the estimated 50,000 visitors each summer during the 1890s.
In winter, icehouses
Icehouse (building)
Ice houses were buildings used to store ice throughout the year, prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.During the...
cut ice from the lake and stored it in large warehouses along the shores, where it was later transported by the railroad. The traffic fell when prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
curtailed demand for ice, and never recovered afterward.
Decline and Abandonment
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
industry.
In Mount Arlington
Mount Arlington, New Jersey
-History:While Mount Arlington is now mostly a suburban residential community, it was once a thriving resort town. In the era before the world wars and the advent of air travel, it was a welcome respite for the residents of nearby New York City and Newark....
, south of the Minisink Road, the railbed is preserved as a trail in the Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area. The railbed between Minisink Road northward across Route 15 to Lake Shawnee has been obliterated by housing developments and highway improvements. The railbed north of Lake Shawnee is largely preserved as a trail in the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation, a Morris County
Morris County, New Jersey
Morris County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, about west of New York City. According to the United States 2010 Census, the population was 492,276. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Morristown....
park. North of the park one structure still stands, the stone viaduct over Milton Road near the former Mahola station. Traces of the line north of Mahola and Glen Road ending at the former Edison works and abandoned Ogden Mines are preserved in the Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area.