Bergen Junction Interlocking

Thursday, March 21, 2013

This is the second in a series of questions concerning the merging of the Erie and Lackawanna passenger operations in New Jersey. Trains of the Erie Railroad began using the Lackawanna Railroad's Hoboken Terminal on October 13, 1956. At first this was done only by Erie long-distance and non-rush hour commuter runs. An Erie trains leaving from Hoboken would proceed westward over the Lackawanna Morristown Line to West End Interlocking and from there would follow the Lackawanna Boonton Line to Bergen Junction Interlocking where it then regain its home rails on the Erie Main Line.

My question are this:
1) Bergen Junction was the name of the interlocking on the Erie Mainline and it was approx. 3.2 miles from the Erie Pavonia Avenue Terminal. What was the name of the corresponding interlocking on the Lackawanna Boonton Line?

2) Was there a track connection between the two railroads at this location prior to 1956?

3) I believe that this was a two track connection which left the Lackawanna Boonton Line at grade. Was the connection on the Erie side at grade as well or was there some kind of flying junction?

4) Presumably this connection remained in use until 2003 when the Secaucus Junction Station opened. I have ridden trains through this area on several occasions and seen evidence of abandoned trackways and trestles. Are there any identifying marks that might help we locate the specific location?

Thank you again for your responses and your expertise.

Larry, RedbirdR33

I don't have a timetable from that period, but here are some answers to the best of my knowledge and recollection:

1) I believe the entire complex was called Bergen Jct.; I never saw or heard any other name. Incidentally, the entire interlocking was signaled with Erie-style searchlights, with 3 heads.
2) I don't believe there was a connection prior to the move to Hoboken.
3) It was a succession of parallel crossovers, entirely on the flat.
4) I remember traces of the divergence of the NY & Greenwood Lake -- it looked like the 2 center tracks of the Erie 4-track line formed the (Erie) Main Line, while the outside westbound track at one time ducked under the 2 Main Line tracks and came in parallel to the eastbound GL track, and then both tracks passed under the Boonton Line (but my recollection is pretty hazy after all this time). With the move to Hoboken, GL trains just crossed over from the WB Boonton Line to the EB and then diverged down to become the GL single track (the other track came out of the east end of Croxton and swung west to parallel the single GL track until they merged before crossing the DB drawbridge). It looked like the track had been removed from the duckunder long before that, however.

Hope this is of some help. With any luck, someone may have timetables or track diagrams.

I thought Bergen Jct was in Rutherford on the Erie, where the Main and the Bergen County line split.

CarterB wrote:I thought Bergen Jct was in Rutherford on the Erie, where the Main and the Bergen County line split.

Your thinking of "Rutherford Junction" which was located at MP 8.9 (from Hoboken). This was the location where the Bergen County Railroad (as it was then called) split form the Main Line. This was prior to the Passaic re-alignment.

Larry, RedbirdR33

<i>I don't have a timetable from that period, but here are some answers to the best of my knowledge and recollection:</i>

Thank you very much for that information. Its helping to fill in the gaps.

Larry, RedbirdR33

I'd be interested in any detail you can come up with.

CarterB wrote:I thought Bergen Jct was in Rutherford on the Erie, where the Main and the Bergen County line split.

Call letters don't always stand for what you might think they do. Rutherford JCT was BJ, but Bergen JCT was created after the merger and was not assigned a call sign as far as I have been able to see based on books and diagrams I have. However, in 1974, both Rutherford JCT (BJ) and Bergen JCT where controlled by the operator at HX.

<I>Call letters don't always stand for what you might think they do. Rutherford JCT was BJ, but Bergen JCT was created after the merger and was not assigned a call sign as far as I have been able to see based on books and diagrams I have. However, in 1974, both Rutherford JCT (BJ) and Bergen JCT where controlled by the operator at HX.</I>

HX was also the name of the drawbridge over the Hackensack River . The operator there must have been a busy fellow.

I believe that it might be more accurate to say that Bergen Junction was created at the time of the merger of the passenger services (1956) and not the actual corporate merger of the two companies which occurred in 1960. I have Erie Railroad Employee Timetable No 60 effective April 24, 1960 and it lists Bergen Junction as a station on the Main Line.

Best Wishes, Larry, RedbirdR33

RedbirdR33 wrote:I believe that it might be more accurate to say that Bergen Junction was created at the time of the merger of the passenger services (1956) and not the actual corporate merger of the two companies which occurred in 1960. I have Erie Railroad Employee Timetable No 60 effective April 24, 1960 and it lists Bergen Junction as a station on the Main Line.

Being that passenger trains began using Hoboken a few years before the merger, you are probably correct. The Erie trains had to link up with the DLW tracks somehow.

There was a brief period right after the connection was cut in when the Erie public timetables showed both Jersey City and Hoboken in the same schedule, with weekday rush-hour trains using Jersey City and the off-peak and weekend trains using Hoboken -- I don't think that lasted more than a year or so before they decided that things were working out and moved everything to Hoboken. I imagine those timetables are worth something today; I should have kept some. (Presumably the employee tts showed the same -- they'd be worth even more.)

<i>I don't think that lasted more than a year </i>

You're right about that. Erie Railroad through trains and off hour suburban trains began using the Lackawanna's Hoboken Terminal on October 13, 1956 and by March 23, 1957 all Erie trains except for the Northern Branch were operating out of Hoboken. It would be nice to have a timetable from that period.

The only trains still using the Pavonia Avenue Terminal were those of the Erie Northern Branch and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad. At this time service on the Pavonia Avenue - Chambers Street Ferry was reduced to two boats serving six Northern Branch and about twenty Susquehanna trains a day. Northern Branch trains continued to use the Pavonia Avenue Terminal until December 12, 1958 when they finally moved to Hoboken. The Erie Ferry service ended on this day as well with the ARLINGTON making the last crossing.

I understand that Susquehanna trains continued to use the old Pavonia Avenue Terminal until 1961 when service was cut back to Susquehanna Transfer. I have not been able to verify this from a reliable source.

I appreciate the information that I have received from you and the others. I have a few more questions to ask and then will try to put something together and lay it out clearly. Its difficult at times to unravel a jig saw puzzle that began almost 60 years ago.

I am taking a few weeks off and heading down south to see how Mickey Mouse runs his railroad.

Again thank you for the information and feedback.

Larry, RedbirdR33

OK, I don't know how much typing I can do, but I was there (and worked for the EL) when all this track was active. I have DLW and ERIE ETT's back into the 1940's.

Here's the deal....

Bergen Jct was located about 1/2 mile west of West End Jct, on the EL (former DLW) main line to patterson. It was built as part of the re-route of Erie trains to Hoboken. It was controlled from the dispatchers office in Hoboken.

5 tracks came into Bergen Jct from the Southeast.
1 track from "croxton tower", which was the jct of the orig Erie main to jersey city, the northern Br., and the bergen tunnel freight line. It was located at the south end of Croxton yard. (The letters for it escape me at this time.), and
4 tracks from West End Jct.

5 tracks left the jct to the Northwest.....
2 tracks of the Bergen County line to Ridgewood Jct
2 tracks of the EL (formerly DLW) main line to patterson
1 track that curved west and downhill to connect with the Greenwood lake line just east of DB draw.

New line definitions of lines after EL re-alignment...

The old BC line went from Rutherford Jct (BJ) to ridgewood jct (WJ).
The "new" BC line went from Bergen jct to HX via the new connecting tracks, HX to BJ on what was the orig Erie main line, and the from BJ to WJ as always
(the bergen county line connected with the old erie main to jersey city just east of HX draw. The connection was all part of the HX interlocking.)

The Ex-erie Greenwood lake line now started at West End, instead of at Croxton tower. The original Greenwood lake like from DB to Croxton tower, were now known as "the freight tracks"

The original Erie Mainline went from Jersey City to Croxton tower, to HX, BJ, and thru passaic to patterson, and westward.
The new EL main went from Hoboken to west end, and out the old DLW main to Patterson Jct, up the old Newark br to Patterson, were it rejoined
the original Erie main line.

Too bad I can't draw you a track diagram here. It's not all that complicated.

<i>OK, I don't know how much typing I can do, but I was there (and worked for the EL) when all this track was active. I have DLW and ERIE ETT's back into the 1940's.</i>

PD: Thank you very much for that detailed information. I'll be away for a few weeks but I look forward to going through that post in detail when I returned.

Larry, RedbirdR33