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The New York Central Railroad

1) The Company

The New York Central Railroad had only a small footprint in the state of New Jersey. This Web Page will only focus on the portion that was located in the Garden State

The New York Central began in New Jersey with the formation of the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad. This railroad was chartered in 1880 from the ashes of a previous railroad: The Jersey City & Albany. The "West Shore" railroad ran from Ridgefield Park, NJ to Tappen, NY.

A few years after the West Shore began operation, it relocated its southern 'terminal' to Weehawken. At Weehawken, it connected with a ferry service to deliver its passengers and freight to New York City.

On December 5, 1895, the West Shore went bankrupt, and the New York Central started most of the trackage it every had in the Garden State under lease. The stations that survived until the end were Weehawken, North Bergen, Little Ferry, Ridgefield Park, West View, Bogota, Teaneck, West Englewood & Bergenfield. Although, only freight was carried in the later years.

In addition to the West Shore, the NYC build a small line to connect with Erie. This line ran from Weehawken to the Erie tracks. This railroad, the New Jersey Shore Line, ran for a total distance of less then a mile.

This stretch of track was operated up until the date that the New York Central and Pennsylvania merged to become the Penn Central Transportation Company in 1968.

2) The Equipment

Most types of the NYC freight equipment did operate out of the West Shore. This included steam power such as the Mohawks and EMD Diesels.

3) The Named Trains

I'm not sure that any named trains operated from the Weehawken Terminal in NJ.

4) What's Left

Very little remains today. Ferries operate from Weehawken, but at a new terminal. The old freight yards are now condos. I'm not sure about the state of the stations.

5) For More Information

I'm not much of a NYC fan. I will defer this until I have some recommendations.

New York Central: 12/28/1825* - 2/1/1968

*With the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad.