Transportation Milestones Around the CNJ Jersey City Terminal, now Liberty State Park
10,000 B.C.E. The Leni Lenape (which means “original people”) were hunting and raising crops, such as corn, beans and squash, in the area which has become New Jersey.
1524 Giavanni da Verrazano was the first European to explore the New Jersey coast.
1609 Henry Hudson sailed into the mouth of what became known as the Delaware River and anchored for the night. He then continued on to the New York Bay region where he is credited with discovering the Hudson River. He anchored his Half Moon in Weehawken cove. Shortly after, the Swedes and British claimed settlements in New Jersey along the coast.
1629 Michael Pauw received the first Dutch land grant on the west bank of the Hudson River (Jersey City), known as Pavonia.
1630 The area of Harsimus was an island claimed by the Dutch West India Company that developed into present day Jersey City.
1633 The first houses were built in the Dutch settlement ast Communipaw, now called Jersey City.
1661 Jensen’s Ferry service was begun between Communipaw and Manhattan.
1664 The British took over the Dutch New Amsterdam colony and granted the land between the Hudson and the Delaware to John Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. They named it “New Jersey” after the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel.
1776 The Declaration of American Independence from Britain was signed.
The Hudson River was under siege by two British Frigates and their tenders in July and August. The newly independent Americans drove the British back down the River from Peekskill to New York Harbor.
George Washington’s ‘Flying Camp’ was located at Paulus Hook, Jersey City. However, the fort was held by the British during the remainder of the Revolutionary War.
1787 The United States Constitution was signed.
1805 Robert Fulton built the first ship dry-dock in Jersey City.
1824 The Morris Canal and Banking Company was chartered by the State of New Jersey to build a canal from Phillipsburg to Jersey City.
1831 Elizabethtown and Somerville (E&S) Rail Road Company was incorporated.
1836 The Morris Canal, completed to the Passaic River in 1831, was extended to the Hudson River at what is now the northern border of Liberty State Park
Opening of the E&S Rail Road from the ferry dock, foot of Broadway, Elizabethport, to the Union Hotel at Water Street (now Elizabeth Ave.) and Broad Street, Elizabethtown, by the horse-drawn Town Car. Passengers were transported to and from NYC via ferryboat.
1839 Opening of the E&S from Elizabethport to Plainfield for steam operated locomotive "Eagle" and train.
1847 The Colgate Palmolive Company established its first factory on the Jersey City waterfront.
1848 John Taylor Johnston, a lawyer, at age 28, became the second president of what became the CNJ. He is credited with building the railroad from a 25-mile local passenger carrier to a 400-mile Anthracite coal carrier and one of the principal terminal railroads on New Jersey / New York Harbor. In the process, he must be given credit for creating much of the land which now makes up Liberty State Park. Johnston was the first to introduce uniforms for railroad employees and remained president until 1876. He later became the first president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Belgian block paved Johnston Avenue was named for him; it has been more recently renamed Zapp Drive. Perhaps it should be reverted to Johnston Avenue...
1849 The "E&S of 1846" was sold to the Somerville & Elizabethtown and name was changed to The Central RR of NJ (CNJ).
1860 The CNJ purchased the American Dock & Improvement Co., the owner of rights to the shore of the South Cove (Communipaw Bay) along the Hudson River. At the time this was a shallow fishing ground off the old section of Jersey City known as Communipaw, south of the Morris Canal Big Basin. A vast section of this land was filled in over a period of decades, partly with NYC garbage. The CNJ’s Terminal was built on this fill. In terms of acreage, it was the largest waterfront terminal possessed by any of the railroads at the New Jersey / New York Harbor.
The New Jersey legislature granted permission to the CNJ to extend its line over Newark Bay to the Hudson River at Communipaw Cove, Jersey City, and construction began.
1861 During the Civil War the government called on the railroads to carry troops between New York and Washington via the CNJ, LV, East Pennsylvania, Northern Central and Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroads.
The CNJ had more double-track railroad than any other New Jersey railroad.
1862 The first federal tax, to help pay for the Civil War, was imposed on railroads.
The CNJ advertised as a link in the shortest route to Chicago and the west (898 miles - in 36 hours, via connecting railroads).
1863 An old seafarer named Christopher Moss is said to have started the Penny Ferry service to carry workers from Washington Street, Jersey City across the Morris Canal basin to the new CNJ “island” rail terminal then under construction. It was involved in the 1879 Jersey City Ferry War and was still running as late as 1928.
1864 The CNJ was extended nearly a mile across Communipaw Cove tidal flats on a wood piling trestle to the new Terminal building. The CNJ bridge over Newark Bay and extension of line from Elizabethport to Communipaw (Jersey City) was opened for passenger traffic. Communipaw ferry connection to New York was re-established for steam operation with the ferryboats "Central" and "Communipaw."
The CNJ began filling the tidal flats at Communipaw Cove to provide acreage for rail yards.
CNJ began operating sleeping cars between Jersey City and points west of the Delaware River, first in NJ in regular service.
The LV merged the Lehigh & Mahanoy RR into its system providing in conjunction with the CNJ "the shortest and best route from Lake Erie to NY."
1865 By the end of this year the passenger and ferry Terminal buildings, a freight house, and coal pockets in Jersey City had been completed. At Communipaw the engine house and machine shops were enlarged and a block of dwelling houses were erected.
1866 CNJ began freight service at the Jersey City Terminal.
The first CNJ ferryboat named ELIZABETH was launched.
Johnston Avenue (it was named after CNJ President, John Taylor Johnston and renamed Audrey Zapp Drive by Liberty State Park officials in the 1980's) was built with Belgian block from the former shore line to the CNJ Terminal.
1867 CNJ Directors decided to operate their railroad on Sundays. In protest, director William E. Dodge sold his stock and resigned.
Service at the CNJ Terminal was expanded to include the movement of freight cars on carfloats to Manhattan piers. This served as the equivalent of railroad freight houses for Manhattan customers. The CNJ was in the forefront in providing this innovative service.
1868 A track connection was made with the Lehigh and Susquehanna (L&S) RR at Easton, making a through route to Wilkes-Barre, PA. The L&S became a principal supplier of coal to the CNJ.
The Jersey Central became the first railroad in America to introduce uniforms for employees. It consisted of a blue coat, pants, vest, cap with "CRR" and gilt buttons.
1869 The CNJ was hard at work filling in more of Communipaw Bay (South Cove), destroying local fisheries and oyster beds and creating air and water pollution in the process.
1870 CNJ Main Line tracks were relaid with steel rails replacing the former iron.
By this year through sleeping car service was established in cooperation with the LV to the west.
1871 The CNJ leased the L&S RR from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, giving the CNJ a continuous line from Jersey City to Wilkes-Barre, PA.
The LV leased the Morris Canal properties for 99 years.
1872 The CNJ Newark and Elizabeth Branch was completed from Elizabethport to Brills (Jct.) on the Newark and New York RR. This provided a by-pass route during outages of the Newark Bay Bridge.
CNJ stockholders voted to dissolve the merger with the DL&W made only six months prior.
1873 The Reading, in concert with the CNJ, LV, DL&W, and Delaware & Hudson Railroads established the first American cartel in an attempt to fix the price of anthracite shipment and to limit volumes.
1876 Construction of the Statue of Liberty began with the assistance of Gustave Eiffel. Newspaper publisher, Joseph Pulitzer helped raise the final $100,000 for the statue’s foundation and base.
The CNJ, in cooperation with the Philadelphia and Reading RR (Reading), began operating trains between Jersey City and Philadelphia via Bound Brook.
1877 The CNJ entered receivership.
1879 The first recorded CNJ sponsored outing utilized the CNJ steamboat Kill von Kull to take railroad families from Jersey City Terminal to Coney Island for the day.
1880 CNJ locomotive #507 set a world speed record running the 89.4 miles between Jersey City and Philadelphia in 98 minutes.
1882 The first Labor Day celebration was held in New York City in September.
1883 The CNJ leased all of its railroads to the Reading. Shortly thereafter, the Reading itself became insolvent.
1884 NJ imposed additional taxes on railroads, costing the CNJ $200,000 more annually.
1886 The Statue of Liberty was unveiled by President Grover Cleveland. The statue later became the outstanding logo for the Jersey Central.
B&O RR began service between Washington, DC and Jersey City utilizing the Reading RR into NJ and the CNJ east of Bound Brook.
1887 The CNJ broke their lease with the Reading and became independent.
Through coal trains between Pennsylvania and Elizabethport or Jersey City began.
A coal trans-shipping pier was built by North River Coal and Wharf Co. at the Jersey City waterfront on land leased to it by the CNJ.
CNJ began using Woodruff Parlor Cars on trains.
1888 A CNJ promotion to get more customers in their suburban territory by advertising and reducing fares resulted in an increase of 796,814 riders annually.
The LV completed a new main line from So. Plainfield to Roselle. LV freight trains then used the CNJ from Roselle to LV docks at the Big Morris Canal Basin in Jersey City. LV passenger trains continued to use the PRR Exchange Place Terminal in Jersey City via Metuchen.
1889 The current CNJ terminal in Jersey City was opened and the four track main line was completed to Bound Brook. During the peak years 40,000 to 50,000 passengers used the facility daily.
The LV completed their own railroad line between Roselle and Jersey City withdrawing from the CNJ.
Ellis Island was designated an immigration station.
1890 Royal Blue Line trains, a cooperative arrangement between the CNJ, Reading and B&O Railroads inaugurate service between Jersey City and Washington.
From this year to 1915 9,000,000 of the 12,000,000 immigrants who passed through Ellis Island reached the US interior via the CNJ.
1892 The Ellis Island Immigration Station opened as the principal immigration station in the US. It is estimated that 12 million immigrants entered the US through Ellis Island. Two thirds of the immigrants who boarded ferries for the mainland were taken to the CNJ Jersey City Terminal where they were led to trains that would take them to their new homes.
CNJ locomotive #385 set a world speed record of 105 miles per hour between Plainfield and Westfield. Current speed on that stretch of line, now operated by NJ Transit is 79 miles per hour.
The CNJ was leased to the Port Reading RR, a subsidiary of the Reading.
1898 The second big California gold rush induced the B&O to begin the first transcontinental passenger trains from Jersey City to San Francisco without change of cars.
1900 Beginning in this year the CNJ filled in the remainder of Communipaw Bay using old Morris Canal boats, filled with rock to form a bulkhead. This would expand its filling of tidal flats and shallow water southward as far as Black Tom Island in several stages.
1901 The first CNJ ferryboat named ELIZABETH was destroyed in a spectacular fire between Jersey City Terminal and NYC.
1902 The CNJ inaugurated the "Queen of the Valley," an express passenger train between Jersey City and Harrisburg, PA.
A speed record between the CNJ Jersey City and Washington, DC of 226 miles in 4 hours and 7 minutes, including stops for locomotive changes and stations, was set during a heavy snow storm by the B&O.
1903 The Central Railroad of New Jersey Employees Association was founded - the first such organization in the nation.
1904 The second CNJ ferryboat named ELIZABETH was built.
1905 The CNJ purchased the lighterage company that had formerly delivered its freight to NYC and began to perform the maritime work itself. It was about the last railroad at the Port to do so.
The CNJ Athletic Association was established and a large tract of land was set aside near the Jersey City Terminal for an athletic field.
1910 The retail coal pockets and trestle along Johnston Avenue, which were leased to Communipaw Coal Co., were destroyed by fire.
1911 A new 6,000-ton capacity concrete retail coal pocket and trestle facility was completed to replace the one destroyed in 1910. It was leased to Burns Brothers. Coal was delivered from the pockets to locations in NYC via horse-drawn wagons and later by trucks using the CNJ ferries.
1913 LV passenger trains began using the CNJ between Oak Island Junction and CNJ Jersey City Terminal.
1914 Expansion of the CNJ Jersey City Terminal, including the construction of the Abraham Lincoln Bush Train Shed, and a double decked ferry shed was completed.
Sections 2 and 3 of the CNJ’s filling of Communipaw Bay were completed, giving the railroad a huge site for future development of rail yards and industry, with over a mile along the waterfront. This CNJ activity is responsible for the majority of the land area of Liberty State Park.
1915 The CNJ claimed there were 60,000 passengers per day passing through their Jersey City Terminal in this year. Peak numbers exceeded 100,000 during special events and trains for some of these happenings had to be run in as many as 28 sections to handle all the riders.
1916 Black Tom explosion, south of the Jersey City Terminal involved scores of boatloads and carloads of ammunition delivered by the CNJ and LV. The blast wave extensively damaged and weakened the CNJ Train Shed.
1917 The US Government took over all railroads for the duration of World War I.
For two years Ellis Island served as a detention center for enemy aliens, a way station for Navy personnel, and a hospital for the Army.
1918 Through passenger trains of the B&O and LV Railroads were shifted from the CNJ Jersey City Terminal to Pennsylvania Station in New York City by the United States RR Administration. B&O freight trains continued using the CNJ. LV commuter trains were routed to the PRR Exchange Place Terminal.
1919 Pier 18, one of the most modern coal re-shipping facilities in the world was completed at Jersey City. It was 950' long and was equipped with two McMyler car dumpers, each with a capacity of 40 cars per hour.
1920 Government operation of railroads ended.
1921 Reports of unfavorable conditions among children living on canalboats in England, and rumors that unfavorable conditions also existed among children living on waterways in the United States, led the Federal Children’s Bureau (Industrial Division of the Children’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor) to make an inquiry into the situation in this country. Of the total of 354 children found living on canalboats in the study, 179 were found on boats operating on New York Canals, and most of these boats visited New York Harbor. During 1920 the total number of boats operated on the New York canals was 798, but only 71 were visited by the study. The study was reprinted with many historic photos added in 1977, edited by Thomas F. Hahn and published by the American Canal and Transportation Center.
1922 The Morris Canal properties passed into the hands of the State of New Jersey. The Jersey City Big Basin properties were excluded and remained a part of LV rail and marine operations for many more years. They are now part of Liberty State Park.
1925 The first commercially successful diesel-electric locomotive in America, with an American Locomotive Co. carbody, powered by an Ingersoll-Rand diesel was completed by General Electric, in Erie, PA and operated under its own power to the Ingersoll-Rand Phillipsburg plant. It was sold to the CNJ as their No. 1000, shipped to Jersey City, and carfloated to the CNJ Bronx terminal where it operated successfully until 1952.
1926 B&O passenger trains were forced to return to CNJ's Jersey City Terminal by the PRR; those of the LV did not. The B&O commenced providing free bus connections for its patrons between points in New York City and train-side at the CNJ Jersey City Terminal.
The Railway Labor Act, passed on 20 May, required employers to bargain collectively and not discriminate against their employees for joining a union. The act also provided for them settlement of railway labor disputes through mediation, voluntary arbitration, and fact-finding boards.
1927 The Longshoremen’s and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act was enacted.
1928 Special trains were operated under contract to the American Zeppelin Transport Co. to carry zeppelin passengers and mail between Lakehurst and the CNJ Jersey City Terminal with ferry connection to NYC. The CNJ also operated special trains for sightseers to each arriving and departing zeppelin.
The CNJ began operation of its own shipyard, just south of Pier 18, the McMyler coal dumpers. The Marine Repair Yard had two floating dry docks and made major and minor repairs to the 167 vessel CNJ fleet as well as the steamers, ferryboats, tugboats, carfloats, barges, lighters, etc. of other railroads and private industries. Some 400 men repaired over 400 vessels per year.
1929 The first edition of the new Jersey Central News, for CNJ employees was produced.
The CNJ "Blue Comet" train with fine quality dining service was established between Jersey City Terminal and Atlantic City via Elizabethport and Winslow Junction.
The CNJ "Bullet" train was established between Wilkes-Barre and Jersey City Terminal.
1930 The "Williamsporter," jointly operated by the CNJ and Reading, was established between Williamsport, PA and Jersey City Terminal and Railway Post Office service was begun on that train.
A pioneering coast to coast transportation service was begun using B&O passenger trains at night time and Boeing Air Transport and Northwest Airways airplanes during daylight hours because it was to dangerous to fly at night at the time.
1931 The B&O introduced the world's first completely air-conditioned passenger train, the "Columbian," between Jersey City Terminal and Washington, DC.
The B&O inaugurated "Rail - Air Passenger Service" between Jersey City Terminal and Los Angeles/San Francisco.
1933 The Reading assumed control of the CNJ under Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) authorization.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt traveled between the White House and his home in Hyde Park, NY by rail, frequently using the CNJ-Reading-B&O route. Buck Benny Rides Again was the code name used to indicate that Roosevelt was on the train.
1934 A bulk cement handling plant to transfer cement from covered hopper cars to barges, with a capacity of 4 cars per hour, was erected on Dock 10.
1935 The B&O introduced its new streamlined "Royal Blue" train between the CNJ Jersey City Terminal and Washington, DC, employing the first streamlined diesel electric locomotives in long distance service in the US.
1937 The Port of New York Authority released a report of their study of the development of what was an extension of the Hudson and Manhattan rapid transit system on CNJ tracks through Jersey City and Bayonne as well as extensions to Staten Island and Paterson. It would have provided rail connections directly into Manhattan for CNJ passengers. The plan was not implemented.
The Reading began "Crusader" service with a new stainless steel streamlined train between Philadelphia and CNJ Jersey City Terminal via Bound Brook.
Billions of dollars of gold reserves was moved from NYC vaults to a new gold vault at Fort Knox. The shipments continued for two years and were alternated between the CNJ and the PRR so as not to establish a pattern. The CNJ movements were on armored vehicles from NYC via their ferryboats to Jersey City Terminal where they were transferred to trains via the CNJ main line for the first part of its journey.
With the destruction of the zeppelin Hindenberg at Lakehurst, the special CNJ connecting trains ceased.
1938 The Railroad Enthusiasts, Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, and Railroad Magazine sponsored an advertised trip over the B&O from the CNJ Jersey City Terminal, Elizabeth, and Plainfield to Harper's Ferry, VA. A stop was scheduled at Brunswick, MD for inspection of the yard and engines there. The locomotive George H. Emerson was expected to pull the train on the same day round trip. Fare was to be $4.50...
North Jersey Chapter National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) announced an "Extraordinary Excursion" over the CNJ from Jersey City Terminal to Bridgeton, Bivalve, Lakehurst, Tuckerton (former Tuckerton RR) and the Raritan River RR to New Brunswick and return. Blue Comet equipment, including diner was to be used and a sightseeing gondola was to be attached to the train. Fare was to be about $2.50... The CNJ was to handle all the reservations! The trip, was apparently too good to be true, as it was rescheduled to the spring of the following year with several changes.
Through sleeping car service between Jersey City Terminal and New Orleans was begun by the B&O in cooperation with the CNJ, Reading, and Louisville & Nashville Railroads.
1939 Principally because of heavy New Jersey taxes, the CNJ filed a petition for reorganization under federal bankruptcy statues.
North Jersey Chapter NRHS arranged an "Excursion" over the CNJ from Jersey City to Bridgeton (including a stop at the round house), Bivalve, Lakehurst, and Tuckerton (former Tuckerton RR) and return. Blue Comet equipment, including diner (serving 85 cent lunch and $1 dinner) was used. Fare was $4.25.
Railroad Enthusiasts advertised a three day railfan journey via the B&O from Jersey City, Elizabeth, and Plainfield to N&W's great shops at Roanoke, VA with stops at Silver Spring and Luray Caverns. Round trip fare from NY was $13.60, with air-conditioned hotel $2 per night and breakfast 50 cents.
Ellis Island was used as a Coast Guard Station from this year to 1946.
1940 The CNJ Jersey City Terminal Restaurant began offering new club breakfast combinations at the bargain price of 20 to 40 cents.
1941 Last run of the CNJ "Blue Comet" train. All three of the observation cars used on this train survive: No. 1169, Tempel, @ Tuckahoe, NJ; No. 1178, De Vico, @ in URHS collection partially restored @ West Boonton Yard; and No. 1179, Biela, @Clinton Station Diner, I-78 West of Clinton. Blue Comet coaches also survive.
1943 The US office of Defense Transportation ordered the CNJ to discontinue 68 of 338 weekday suburban passenger trains due to shortages caused by World War II. President Roosevelt, acting through Secretary of War Stimson, took possession of the CNJ and other railroads to avoid a threatened interruption of vital transportation service.
1944 The CNJ adopted its most famous symbol, a new Statue of Liberty emblem, which was applied to all railroad and marine equipment. At the same time the words “Jersey Central Lines” was substituted for the old “New Jersey Central.”
1945 The last trip of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt over the CNJ was from the Jersey City Terminal to Warm Springs, GA, where he died two weeks later. He had made 142 unpublished trips over the CNJ since he was first elected President in 1932.
1947 The CNJ adopted a new slogan - “The BIG Little Railroad” - and shortly thereafter released a promotional sound color motion picture bearing that title.
The second CNJ ferryboat named ELIZABETH was scrapped.
1948 First run of the CNJ-Reading "Wall Street" train was made between Jersey City Terminal and Philadelphia.
The first practical demonstration of television aboard a moving train was on B&O's "Marylander" between Washington and Jersey City Terminal.
The seventh annual CNJ employee boat ride and outing from Jersey City Terminal to Playland, Rye Beach, NY used two Meseck Lines excursion steamers.
The Railroad Hour, a radio series of musical dramas and comedies was sponsored by the Association of American Railroads. The first of the series was broadcast on ABC, track-side from the CNJ Jersey City Terminal under the Train Shed on 4 October.
1949 The ICC approved a plan of reorganization for The Central RR Co. of NJ.
The last trolley lines in Jersey City and Hudson County, operated by Public Service, were abandoned.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the CRR of NJ corporate name the Jersey Central Lines published a 16 page ‘Historical Highlights’ brochure.
At the request of CNJ management the employee’s Big Little Railroad Show vocalists sang carols and popular songs of the season for several hours each Christmas eve afternoon in the Jersey City Terminal. They performed from the balcony for commuters and employees on their way home annually until the Terminal closed.
1950 The CNJ "Philadelphia Flyer" and Scranton Flyer" trains were discontinued.
The third CNJ ferryboat ELIZABETH was rebuilt from the deck up on the hull of the ferryboat LAKEWOOD after a huge fire in this year. It later became a floating restaurant on the Delaware River at Philadelphia. After it was abandoned it was towed to sea and sunk as part of a fishing reef in 2005.
A storm of hurricane proportions occurred on 25 November, which raised the tide at Jersey City a foot above all previous high water records, flooding the Jersey City Terminal.
1951 CNJ dining car service between Jersey City Terminal and Allentown ended; only dining car service between Jersey City and Philadelphia remained.
1952 CNJ canceled all passenger service west of Allentown.
The CNJ Jersey City yards were relieved of 50% of their westbound classification work, which was transferred to the CNJ’s newly modernized freight classification yards at Allentown, PA.
The Bloomfield Junior High School Model Railroad Club, guided by teacher, Mr. Cahill, and including Billy McKelvey walked to the DL&W Bloomfield Station to take a MU train to Hoboken and ferry to Barclay St., NY, where they walked to Liberty St. to take the CNJ ferry to the Jersey City Terminal. There they were given a tour of the carfloat operations, a ride to the Yardmaster’s tower on Alco diesel switcher #1020, where they ascended to the top level for photos, and permitted to inspect the locomotive servicing facilities at Communipaw engine terminal.
CNJ’s first diesel locomotive, No. 1000, after working at their Bronx Terminal for 27 years was returned to New Jersey and worked intermittently at their Jersey City Terminal.
All CNJ ferryboats were equipped with short-range radar as an aid to safe and dependable operations regardless of fog and other conditions that effect visibility.
1953 Due to replacement of steam locomotives by diesel locomotives, one-half of the former steam locomotive facilities at Communipaw were dedicated to diesel locos or were abandoned.
CNJ 0-6-0 steam locomotive No. 113, which worked in the Jersey City Terminal coal yards for most of its life was sold to the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. for use at Mt. Carmel, PA. The locomotive was eventually acquired by the RR Project 113 of Minersville, PA and after 55 years of dereliction was restored to steam operation in 2009.
North Jersey Chapter NRHS sponsored a Gala Spring Trip from the CNJ Jersey City Terminal to Green Pond Junction covering the Wharton & Northern, Mount Hope Mineral RR and the High Bridge Branch. The eight car train with 497 passengers was pulled by CNJ Pacific locomotive #810. (This was the first railfan trip taken by Bill McKelvey, who got to go for the $2.50 half fare rate.)
Railroad Enthusiasts and Railway & Locomotive Historical Society sponsor a Scenic Tour of the Reading Catawissa Branch from Jersey City, Elizabeth and Plainfield with a stop at Cranford to view the round house (still standing) and steam locomotives. Two B&O dining cars were included in the consist.
1954 Last regularly scheduled CNJ steam powered passenger service ran from Jersey City Terminal to Cranford.
CNJ 4-4-2 Camelback steam locomotive No. 592 departed Jersey City Terminal on loan to the B&O Railroad Museum. A diesel locomotive towed #592 and a vintage passenger coach south to Baltimore, MD where they remain on display.
North Jersey Chapter NRHS sponsored a Farewell Rail Camera Tour using the last operating camelback in America, CNJ camelback locomotive #774, from Jersey City via Elizabethport to Freehold, Bay Head Junction, and Atlantic Highlands. Adult fare for the day was $4.50!
The Ellis Island Immigration Station closed.
1955 Electric Railroaders Assn. sponsored a trip on the Wharton & Northern and High Bridge Branches using CNJ steam locomotive #774 from Jersey City and Elizabethport.
Railroad Enthusiasts sponsored a steam trip using CNJ #774 from Jersey City, Elizabeth and Plainfield to Jim Thorpe with B&O dining car service.
1956 The Newark Airport, Newark Bay to Holland Tunnel extension of the NJ Turnpike was completed. It is a primary route for auto and bus traffic to reach Liberty State Park. Two interchanges are on the western edge of the Park.
1957 For its last run, CNJ No. 1000 hauled a special passenger train from Jersey City Terminal to Elizabethport and return on 13 June. It was then displayed for two weeks in the Jersey City Terminal. Then, No. 1000, the first successful diesel-electric locomotive in America, departed the Jersey City Terminal on loan to the B&O museum at Baltimore, MD. It had been built in Erie, PA with the prime mover supplied by Ingersoll-Rand Co. Of Phillipsburg; electrical equipment by General Electric; and carbody and trucks by American Locomotive Co.
Modern closed-circuit television was installed at Pier 18, Jersey City to speed handling of coal cars to the dumper.
1958 All B&O passenger service to and from Jersey City Terminal ended.
1959 The North Jersey Chapter NRHS and the Railroad Enthusiasts sponsored a Rail Camera Inspection Tour to the Reading, PA shops from Jersey City Terminal, Elizabethport and Plainfield.
A crew-less, runaway diesel locomotive, #1706 departed the Jersey City Terminal yards moving west. At Elizabethport it was shunted south toward Perth Amboy. The engine roared out of control at speeds averaging 40 miles per hour for 36 minutes until it was finally "caught" by another locomotive which got up to speed ahead of the runaway and stopped it. The throttle of the "ghost locomotive" was found wide open...
Morris Pesin, head of the Liberty Causeway and Park Association, began promoting a connecting road and causeway from Exit 14B of the NJ Turnpike to the Statue of Liberty. His plan included a miniature tram to shuttle passengers between the Statue of Liberty and large parking lots in what is now Liberty State Park.
From the Terrace, a 20th Century Fox movie starring Joanne Woodward and Myrna Loy, was filmed at the CNJ Jersey City Terminal using Reading RR 4-8-4 steam locomotive #2124.
1960 The Trolley Museum of NY sponsored a Rail Diesel Car (RDC) trip from Jersey City Terminal, Elizabethport and Plainfield to Rockaway and return.
First NJ state subsidy for commuter train operation was given to the CNJ.
1961 Railroad Enthusiasts operated a Rail-Camera Excursion from the CNJ Jersey City Terminal to Green Pond Junction and return using RDC's.
Trailer on Flat Car freight service to and from Jersey City began over CNJ, Reading, and B&O route.
Service with RDC's was inaugurated between Jersey City Terminal and Allentown; discontinued in 1964.
1962 The CNJ opened the Liberty Industrial Park on some of its former rail yard land, near exit 14 B on the NJ Turnpike extension to Jersey City and the Holland Tunnel.
1963 An Atlantic and Gulf Coasts strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association ended 25 January, after a 34-day strike following the expiration of a Taft-Hartley injunction.
Second day freight service was inaugurated between Jersey City and Chicago.
CNJ diesel switching locomotive No. 1087 rolled off the floatbridge while removing freight cars from a carfloat at Jersey City on 10 June. Merritt Chapman & Scott steam derrick MONARCH retrieved it from the shallow water and deposited it on land.
1964 The inability on the part of the International Longshoremen’s Association and the New York Shipping Association to agree on the terms of a new contract and the union’s rejection of recommendations made by a special Board of Mediation on the basis of a Department of Labor study of manpower utilization and job security led to a strike of all East and Gulf Coast ports on 1 October. The strike was immediately halted when the President invoked the 80-day injunction provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act. This was the sixth application of the act to East Coast longshoring.
1965 The longshore dispute erupted into a strike beginning 11 January, after New York longshoremen voted down an agreement reached just before the injunction expired. The strike lasted about a month in major ports, but all East and Gulf Coast ports were not back to work until another month had passed.
The CNJ completed arrangements with the City of New York to lease two radar- and radio-equipped diesel-electric ferryboats – the “Tides” and the “Narrows,” formerly in service between 69th Street, Brooklyn, and Staten Island – for use until the Aldene Plan took effect. The move was made necessary by the technical (mechanical) collapse of one after another of the CNJ ferries.
US Post Office mail service on the CNJ ended.
Frank T. Reilly began working for the CNJ as a clerk-typist in their Communipaw roundhouse in Jersey City (now the site of Liberty Science Center). He was promoted to a management position in the Employee Relations Department and later became Freight Sales Manager. In 1972 he left the CNJ to create the Morris County Department of Transportation and became its executive director until retirement. Frank has held the offices of the president of the Central Railroad of NJ Veteran Employees Association and president of the Central Railroad of NJ Historical Society and is currently president of the United Railroad Historical Society of NJ.
Ellis Island was added by Presidential Proclamation to the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
1966 CNJ began push-pull passenger train service. (A locomotive on one end of the train could be operated from a “Cab Car” on the other end of the train, saving time and labor in reverse moves.)
Steamtown, USA and High Iron Co. sponsored a Steam Safari using CPR locomotive #1278 (as #127) from Jersey City Terminal, Elizabeth and Plainfield to Jim Thorpe and return.
The last special Monmouth Park trains from Jersey City Terminal to the horse races ended.
The CNJ advertised that their Jersey City passenger terminal and the right-of-way leading to it would be auctioned on 17 November “subject to the implementation of the Aldene Plan.” The state of NJ stepped in and notified the CNJ that they would condemn the land before the sale and prohibited the CNJ from selling it. The state paid the CNJ $1.6 million for the land and the Terminal and took title to it on 29 December, with the stipulation that the CNJ could continue to use the land and passenger terminal until the Aldene Plan was implemented.
1967 Passenger service between Jersey City Terminal and Allentown, PA was discontinued; cut back to Hampton, NJ.
Under the Aldene Plan, CNJ passenger service to Jersey City Terminal was rerouted to Newark Penn Station via the LV route with a new connection provided at Aldene. CNJ ferry service ended and their Jersey City Terminal was closed.
The CNJ filed for final bankruptcy. Perry M. Shoemaker, CNJ President since 1962 and John E. Farrell became Trustees of the CNJ.
The CNJ was the major carrier of steel for the World Trade Center complex. It was delivered to their Steel Yard in Jersey City and loaded by CNJ cranes onto trucks for delivery to NYC.
An electrical grid power failure which extended across most of New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, and parts of Delaware and Maryland brought an abrupt halt to the normal activities of millions of persons.
1968 The CNJ Terminal and some of the harbor front properties were purchased with state and federal funds while the city of Jersey City donated 156 acres to help preserve this important piece of American history.
Funny Girl, a Columbia Pictures movie starring Barbara Streisand and Omar Sharif, was filmed at the CNJ Jersey City Terminal.
After expiration of an 80-day Taft Hartley injunction on 20 December, East Coast dockworkers shut down major Atlantic and Gulf ports in a dispute over wages and benefits. Cargo “containerization” was a key issue.
The Friends of Liberty Park organization was founded.
1969 Effective 1 January, four railroad brotherhoods - the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, the Switchmen’s Union of North America, and the Order of Railway Conductors and Brakemen - merged to form the United Transportation Union (AFL-CIO), having a combined membership of over 200,000. On the same date the 2,500 member Railway Patrolmen’s International Union merged with the 270,000 member Brotherhood of Railway, Airline, and Steamship Clerks. Later in the year the 2,000 member Railroad Yardmasters of North America (Ind.) Merged with the 4,000 member Railroad Yardmasters of America (AFL-CIO).
CNJ became part of the first "land bridge" rail route between west and east coasts, which by-passed the Panama Canal saving 10-20 days on Asia-Europe freight shipments.
The High Iron Co. operated a steam excursion with NKP locomotive #759 from Jersey City Terminal to Jim Thorpe, PA and return.
1972 New run through freight service was inaugurated between Jersey City and Harrisburg in cooperation with the Reading.
Freight pool service was begun with the Erie Lackawanna RR between Jersey City and Scranton via the CNJ Main Line and High Bridge Branch; it ended in 1976 with Conrail takeover.
The Pier 18 coal dumper property was for sale.
1973 One hundred and thirty-seven years of CNJ waterborne operations in NY harbor ended on 30 July. At the same time most of the trackage in what is now Liberty State Park was removed from service.
Governor Cahill revealed plans for a Liberty State Park, including a marina at the southeast corner, a transportation terminal, a mini rail shuttle line, a Bicentennial Festival Plaza, a visitor’s center, multi-level traveling exhibitions, a 5,000-seat indoor-outdoor amphitheater, an ecological center, a ceremonial plaza, botanical gardens, a children’s zoo, a pedestrian bridge over the Morris Canal basin, a fire museum, and a doll museum.
1974 The estimated $25,000,000 restoration of the abandoned CNJ Terminal was begun. By this time nearly all track and signal bridges in the Liberty State Park area had been removed. However, the ferry house, the yard towers, express building to the north of the Train Shed, coaling tower, round houses, and maintenance buildings were still standing. The ferry building contained a ferry concourse, offices and terminal support facilities, and provided cover for passengers between the Terminal and the ferry boats. Over objections of the architects, Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham, the state later demolished the 1914 ferry house which stood in front of the 1889 Terminal building and covered the floating bridges providing access to the ferryboats. The bridges, now exposed to the elements subsequently disintegrated.
1975 The remaining CRR of NJ Jersey City Terminal and the adjoining Train Concourse & Train Shed were added to the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
The Phase One Progress Report for Liberty Park outlined proposed improvements and venues including: Historical Museum, Immigration Museum; Maritime Museum; Transportation Museum; Conservation Museum; Working restoration of a 19th century Carousel; Water Terminal for service to lover Manhattan; Pedestrian bridge across the Morris Canal Basin; Heliport; Direct connection to the PATH system; etc.
1976 Conrail took over operation of the CNJ and five other bankrupt railroads. B&O freight train operation over CNJ ended. Lehigh Valley Railroad freight operations alongside the Morris Canal Big Basin ended.
The State of New Jersey dedicated Liberty State Park (LSP) as New Jersey’s Bicentennial gift to the nation. The Park opened and restoration of the CNJ Terminal Building was begun. Restoration of the attached Train Shed was not included.
The celebration of our Nation's 200th birthday, featured Operation Sail, a gathering of tall ships from around the world which were paraded up NY Harbor and the Hudson River.
The CNJ Pier 18 McMyler coal dumpers were scrapped.
1977 The Conrad Plan proposed a light rail line connecting Jersey City and LSP with Uptown NYC, Newark Airport and beyond.
Ferry service from LSP to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty began.
Bus service between Journal Square and LSP was initiated.
The Geddes plan for LSP proposed: Commercial development with shops and restaurants for the present marina area; a farm demonstration; plus an antique railroad and fire engine museum for the CNJ Terminal Train Shed area.
An International or World’s Fair was proposed for LSP to include The American Dream; Land of Sesame Street; Wonders of the World; the Great Fair and other commercial development. It drew great opposition.
1978 The Citizens Committee of Hudson County proposed a transit system to extend the Cranford to Bayonne rail shuttle northward to LSP with connections to PATH and the Erie Lackawanna Hoboken Terminal.
1979 A proposal to locate the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in LSP was opposed by Morris Pesin, Chairman of the Coalition to save LSP.
The CNJ corporate existence officially ended when the CNJ came out of bankruptcy and the surviving entity became Central Jersey Industries..
1981 The CNJ ferryboat Cranford was towed to sea and sunk off the coast at Brielle. It had been a restaurant for many years at Brielle.
1983 A new LSP Master Plan called for the creation of a public corporation to expedite the building of facilities like a golf course, marinas, campgrounds, an amphitheater, an aquarium, a lodge, and a science center.
1984 The public development corporation for LSP was created.
A former US Coast Guard Lightship (No. 107, built in Bath, ME in 1923) was rescued from North American Metals ship-breakers yard in Bordentown, NJ and relocated to Liberty Landing Marina, where it served as the Lightship Bar and Grill for many years. Located at the eastern end of the Morris Canal Big Basin, it now houses Sandy Hook Yacht Sales and classrooms for Offshore Sailing School.
Ellis Island was closed for a major restoration.
1985 The Nature Interpretive Center at Liberty State Park opened.
1986 The LSP development corporation got Liberty Landing Marina built at the former Morris Canal Big Basin. A battle over the building of a golf course ensued and the supporters of LSP as a green park defeated it.
The Squeeze, a Tri Star Pictures movie starring Michael Keaton, was filmed at both the CNJ Jersey City and NJ Transit Hoboken Terminals.
The Centennial of the Statue of Liberty was celebrated.
1988 The Friends of LSP was incorporated as an all volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of open space and the continued improvement of the Park.
The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey was established and incorporated.
1989 Centennial and rededication of the CRR of NJ Jersey City Terminal building. Governor Thomas H. Kean was the keynote speaker and is now a Champion for our Train Shed restoration iniative. At that event the CNJ Vets Association presented a large bronze plaque to the Park which summarized the history of the CNJ in what had become LSP.
The Friends of the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Heritage Center organization was formed.
1990 The National Park Service restored and opened the Main Building on Ellis Island as an Immigration Museum, following a $140 million restoration.
1992 Centennial of the Ellis Island Immigration Station.
The Friends of the Central Railroad of NJ at Jersey City was established and published their Vol. 1, No. 1 of Jersey Central News. Frank T. Reilly was their president and editor. In it they launched a proposal called “Rail Link” - to restore active railroad service into the Train Sheds using tracks 16 through 20 for static displays and operational trains. Phase one was to place a single track to connect Conrail (Phillips Street) with the restored CRR of NJ Terminal, passing Liberty Science Center. Phase two called for a rail shuttle between the Terminal and Liberty Science Center (Hudson Bergen Light Rail System was not yet a reality). Phase three proposed using historic trolley cars between the CRR of NJ Terminal and the south visitor area, paralleling the Hudson River with a stop near the Interpretive Center.
1994 The Central Railroad of New Historical Society was created.
Lehigh Valley Railroad covered lighter No. 79, after spending several years at Liberty Landing Marina, the eastern end of the Morris Canal Big Basin in Jersey City, was moved to Red Hook, Brooklyn. It was built in 1914 and was rescued by David Sharps and his Waterfront Museum in 1985. It is the only surviving wooden example, of hundreds of its kind, still remaining afloat.
1994-5 Conrail operated dirt trains moved fill from Wayne to LSP to provide cover for nearly 400 contaminated acres east of Freedom Way in the Park.
1995 The CNJ Main Line was placed on the National Historic Register.
A presentation to promote the CNJ Jersey City Terminal as the site for the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Museum was made to the Museum Commission by member Ross Rowland.
1998 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that most of Ellis Island (24 acres), located in the Hudson River next to the Statue of Liberty, falls under New Jersey’s jurisdiction.
1999 Liberty Landing Marina, in the Morris Canal Big Basin opened at Liberty State Park.
2000 The initial operating segment of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail System opened and began service Liberty Stare Park.
Curtis & Ginsberg Architects completed the Liberty State Park Train Shed Historic Preservation Master Plan
2001 The Three Penny Ferry between the foot of Washington Street, Jersey City and Liberty State Park (across the Morris Canal big basin) was re instituted at a greatly increased fare ($1.00) over the original three pennies.
On September 11th On Sept. 11th terrorists hi-jacked four commercial passenger jet planes and crashed two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in NYC. The resulting fires caused the collapse of both 110 story towers as well as four adjacent office buildings. Many other nearby buildings were damaged. About twenty eight hundred lives were lost and 700 of these were New Jersians. Twenty three NY Waterway ferries rushed to the scene aiding in the rescue effort. In that first terrible day, NY Waterway evacuated 160,000 people, many of them injured, from Manhattan. Ferries were utilized to evacuate victims and transport rescuers to and from Liberty State Park and other points. The CNJ Terminal area was quickly put to use as a refuge for thousands fleeing lower Manhattan by boat. It played a part of the largest waterborne evacuation in U.S. history. To help fill transportation voids, new ferry services were established. One of them connected Liberty State Park with South Street Seaport for Academy, Suburban and NJ Transit bus passengers. A bus loading area was quickly constructed adjacent to the Liberty Landing Marina.
2002 The first annual Jersey Central Railroad Heritage Festival was held at the Jersey City Terminal and Concourse. As part of the festival a CNJ oral history project was begun by LSP officials.
2005 The third CNJ ferryboat named Elizabeth, built in 1901 was towed to sea and sunk off the coast of Cape May to become part of an artificial reef for fishermen. The Elizabeth’s 45-ton, 17-foot tall vertical steam engine was removed and donated to the Independence Seaport Museum at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia.
2006 Metrovest Equities won approval of their proposed hotel/convention center on city-owned land west of LSP ; west of Phillip Drive and south of Jersey City Boulevard.
2007 The Central Railroad of New Jersey Veteran Employees Association unveiled their granite milepost monument to past employees of the CNJ between tracks 10 and 11 under the Train Shed. Speakers at the event called for restoration of tracks to bring rail equipment to the location for display, interpretation, and historic rail ride experiences.
2008 Bill McKelvey and Bob Barth met with Frank Gallagher, Administrator of LSP to explore how to proceed with the iniative to return rail access to LSP. We were advised that a feasibility study would be required. With the assistance of members of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center the Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy was approached to enquire if they might do such a study for us. They agreed and a studio of 13 graduate students was formed and proceeded with a LSP Rail Access Feasibility Study.
The All Points West music and arts festival/concert event drew nearly 65,000 attendees to Liberty State Park for the three day event. Most attendees arrived from NYC via ferry boats.
Public presentations were made of the positive conclusions of the Bloustein Studio and a final report was completed. A heritage trolley connection between the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Station/Liberty Science Center and the CNJ Terminal/Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry Docks as well as a rail connection to facilitate display of rail equipment were recommended.
Metrovest Equities updated their hotel and convention center plans to include a main structure of 12 stories with 350 rooms, a 500 to 700 seat banquet facility, 80,000 sq. ft. of conference space and possibly 150 condos.
2009 Three additional Bloustein studio sessions with a few students focused on refinements to the original Rail Access Feasibility Study.
A second All Points West festival/concert did not attain attendee or profitability expectations due to a four-hour delay on Sunday caused by heavy rains.
Former CNJ steam locomotive No. 113, which spent most of its life working at the Jersey City Terminal coal yards, now a part of Liberty State Park, was restored to steam operation by RR Project 113 at Minersville, PA
A fleet of nineteen traditional Dutch leeboard vessels crossed the Atlantic and arrived in NY Harbor aboard a Dutch Freighter. They were celebrating the 400th anniversary and were the direct decendents of the vessels which sailed the Dutch coast; across the Atlantic to Manhattan and up the Hudson River in the 17th century.
2010 The work of continuing forward with the implementation of the LSP Rail Access Study with Martin Robins and Bill Vigrass as consultants was funded jointly by United Railroad Historical Society and Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center.
Liberty Historic Railway was established as a non-profit, public benefit corporation to provide rail shuttle connections within Liberty State Park; to allow appropriate historic transportation equipment to be displayed and interpreted; and to jump-start the restoration of the deteriorating Terminal Train Shed
The Red Bull Air Race was held over harbor water between the CNJ Terminal and Ellis Island. Spectator bleachers and an air control tower were set up in LSP.
2011
2012
2013
Our thanks to Frank Reilly, Tom Gallo, and Walt Grosselfinger, Tom Flagg and others for their help with this compilation.