by JayDee
At the north end of Hudson County, NJ, right on the border between North Bergen and Fairview, is James J. Braddock (formally North Hudson County) Park. During the days when the Public Service Trolley Line ran from Weehawken to Palisades Park, it passed straight through the park, running north to south. A portion of the line ran right across, on a very low trestle, the man-made lake that sits at the center of the park.
My question is why?
If the park (and the lake), which was built circa 1910, preceded the trolley line, why build the line directly over the lake and incur the cost of the trestle? Why not just detour around the lake? It’s not as if there was any shortage of room to do so.
And, if the lake came after the trolley line, why put it directly under the existing roadbed, and again, add all that cost, etc.
Finally, does anyone have any pictures of this trestle? I have been hearing about this from various older town residents since I was a kid, yet no one can explain why the line ran over the lake in the first place.
My question is why?
If the park (and the lake), which was built circa 1910, preceded the trolley line, why build the line directly over the lake and incur the cost of the trestle? Why not just detour around the lake? It’s not as if there was any shortage of room to do so.
And, if the lake came after the trolley line, why put it directly under the existing roadbed, and again, add all that cost, etc.
Finally, does anyone have any pictures of this trestle? I have been hearing about this from various older town residents since I was a kid, yet no one can explain why the line ran over the lake in the first place.