Misplaced Pages

Hackensack Drawbridge: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 12:16, 17 October 2012 editKablammo (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers50,410 edits →Description: modify first sentence; source gives weight of steel; bridge may have contained other materials for ties, signals, etc.← Previous edit Revision as of 08:06, 22 October 2012 edit undoBgwhite (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users547,151 edits Do general fixes and cleanup, typos fixed: Intitial → Initial using AWB (8459)Next edit →
Line 80: Line 80:


==Steamship collision== ==Steamship collision==
On 3 February 1946, the ] '']'' crashed into the drawbridge, shearing off two of the bridge's ]. The collision was the result of a mix-up in signals between the ] and a tug. It was later determined that mishandling on the part of the ''Jagger Seam'' was the cause of the accident.<ref>{{cite web | title = Petition of Texas Co. 99 F.Supp. 340 (1951) United States District Court S. D. New York. | publisher = Leagle | date = July 11, 1951 | url = http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=3&xmldoc=195143999FSupp340_1371.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985&SizeDisp=7 | accessdate = 2012-10-10}}</ref> Intitial estimates indicated that rail service over the Hackensack would be delayed for three months,<ref>{{cite news|title=Steamer Wrecks Bridge in Jersey |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B16FD3E5D107A93C6A91789D85F428485F9|work=]|date=4 February, 1946 |accessdate=8 October, 2012|page=24}}</ref> with the CNJ projecting that it would take that long to procure enough steel to reconstruct the bridge.<ref name=age/> After the accident, trains continued to run from Kearny to ].<ref name=fre>French, pg. 32.</ref> Similarly, service east of the drawbridge continued to run between the ] and ].<ref name=age>''Railway age'', pg. 329.</ref> On 3 February 1946, the ] '']'' crashed into the drawbridge, shearing off two of the bridge's ]. The collision was the result of a mix-up in signals between the ] and a tug. It was later determined that mishandling on the part of the ''Jagger Seam'' was the cause of the accident.<ref>{{cite web | title = Petition of Texas Co. 99 F.Supp. 340 (1951) United States District Court S. D. New York. | publisher = Leagle | date = July 11, 1951 | url = http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=3&xmldoc=195143999FSupp340_1371.xml&docbase=CSLWAR1-1950-1985&SizeDisp=7 | accessdate = 2012-10-10}}</ref> Initial estimates indicated that rail service over the Hackensack would be delayed for three months,<ref>{{cite news|title=Steamer Wrecks Bridge in Jersey |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B16FD3E5D107A93C6A91789D85F428485F9|work=]|date=4 February 1946 |accessdate=8 October 2012|page=24}}</ref> with the CNJ projecting that it would take that long to procure enough steel to reconstruct the bridge.<ref name=age/> After the accident, trains continued to run from Kearny to ].<ref name=fre>French, pg. 32.</ref> Similarly, service east of the drawbridge continued to run between the ] and ].<ref name=age>''Railway age'', pg. 329.</ref>


In October 1946, the CNJ asked the ] (ICC) for permission to abandon the line.<ref>{{citation | last = | first = | title = Asks to Abandon Line Central Railroad of New Jersey Files Plea With the ICC | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 23, 1946 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B13FF3B5C107A93C1AB178BD95F428485F9 | accessdate = 2012-10-10}}</ref> In October 1946, the CNJ asked the ] (ICC) for permission to abandon the line.<ref>{{citation | last = | first = | title = Asks to Abandon Line Central Railroad of New Jersey Files Plea With the ICC | newspaper = The New York Times | date = October 23, 1946 | url = http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B13FF3B5C107A93C1AB178BD95F428485F9 | accessdate = 2012-10-10}}</ref>
Line 103: Line 103:
==Sources== ==Sources==
*{{cite book|title=Federal supplement|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1952|publisher=West Pub. Co|location=|oclc=|page=|pages=|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8qcyAAAAIAAJ|volume=99}} *{{cite book|title=Federal supplement|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1952|publisher=West Pub. Co|location=|oclc=|page=|pages=|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8qcyAAAAIAAJ|volume=99}}
*{{cite book|title=Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1910|publisher=New York|location=|oclc=319031308|page=|page=32|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_8703086_000/index.html}} *{{cite book|title=Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1910|publisher=New York|location=|oclc=319031308|page=32|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_8703086_000/index.html}}
*{{cite book|title=Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City|last=French|first=Kenneth|authorlink=|year=2002|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=|isbn=9780738509662|page=|page=128|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=R2ugCDdKZEYC|volume=}} *{{cite book|title=Railroads of Hoboken and Jersey City|last=French|first=Kenneth|authorlink=|year=2002|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|location=|isbn=9780738509662|page=128|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=R2ugCDdKZEYC|volume=}}
*{{cite book|title=Railway age|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1946|publisher=Simmons-Boardman|location=|oclc=|page=|pages=|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5bMlAAAAMAAJ|volume=120}} *{{cite book|title=Railway age|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1946|publisher=Simmons-Boardman|location=|oclc=|page=|pages=|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5bMlAAAAMAAJ|volume=120}}
*{{cite book|title=Railway signaling and communications|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1922|publisher=Simmons-Boardman Pub. Corp|location=|oclc=1604369|page=|pages=|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2JnmAAAAMAAJ|volume=15}} *{{cite book|title=Railway signaling and communications|last=|first=|authorlink=|year=1922|publisher=Simmons-Boardman Pub. Corp|location=|oclc=1604369|page=|pages=|accessdate=9 October 2012 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=2JnmAAAAMAAJ|volume=15}}
Line 111: Line 111:
==Further reading== ==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=Costliest Railroad, Half Abandoned|title=]|date=August 1946|last=Schmidt, Jr.|first=W. H.}} * {{cite book|title=Costliest Railroad, Half Abandoned|title=]|date=August 1946|last=Schmidt, Jr.|first=W. H.}}
⚫ ]


==External links== ==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Hackensack Drawbridge}} *{{Commons category-inline|Hackensack Drawbridge}}


⚫ <!-- Moving in a northward direction, this bridge was the first structure along the Hackensack River. Trains Magazine referred to the Newark and New York branch as the "costliest" railroad line of it's type as much of the line was sunken through Jersey City. This permitted faster run times since there were no grade crossings to slow rail traffic. The line also gave the CNJ a second, or detour route, since trains running along it's mainline to and from it's Jersey City terminal could also use it's Newark and Elizabeth branch, and then the ] and HD Draw, to reach the Jersey City terminal bypassing the CNJ mainline through Bayonne, including the massive Newark Bay Drawbridges. In the ensuing investigation, the CNJ was willing to reconstruct the bridge, but the Department of The Army, required that a lift style bridge be built instead, which would have increased the cost manifold. The railroad was giving the option of either building a lift style bridge, or removing what remained of HD Draw. The CNJ opted to dismantle what remained of the bridge, and this severed the Newark and New York branch as a through route.
⚫ -->

⚫ ]
] ]
] ]
Line 121: Line 124:
] ]
] ]


⚫ <!-- Moving in a northward direction, this bridge was the first structure along the Hackensack River. Trains Magazine referred to the Newark and New York branch as the "costliest" railroad line of it's type as much of the line was sunken through Jersey City. This permitted faster run times since there were no grade crossings to slow rail traffic. The line also gave the CNJ a second, or detour route, since trains running along it's mainline to and from it's Jersey City terminal could also use it's Newark and Elizabeth branch, and then the ] and HD Draw, to reach the Jersey City terminal bypassing the CNJ mainline through Bayonne, including the massive Newark Bay Drawbridges. In the ensuing investigation, the CNJ was willing to reconstruct the bridge, but the Department of The Army, required that a lift style bridge be built instead, which would have increased the cost manifold. The railroad was giving the option of either building a lift style bridge, or removing what remained of HD Draw. The CNJ opted to dismantle what remained of the bridge, and this severed the Newark and New York branch as a through route.
⚫ -->

Revision as of 08:06, 22 October 2012

Bridge in Jersey City and Kearny
Hackensack Drawbridge
Sketch of Hackensack DrawbridgePhotograph of the drawbridge from a 1912 publication.
Coordinates40°43′7.35″N 74°6′14.35″W / 40.7187083°N 74.1039861°W / 40.7187083; -74.1039861
CarriedNewark and New York Railroad
CrossedHackensack River
LocaleJersey City and Kearny
Other name(s)HD Draw
OwnerCentral Railroad of New Jersey
Characteristics
Designswing bridge
MaterialSteel
Height75 feet (23 m)
History
Opened1869
Collapsed1946
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 391: A hemisphere can only be provided with DMS degrees for longitude.
Location

The Hackensack Drawbridge (also known as the HD Draw) was a double-track railroad movable bridge across the mouth of the Hackensack River between Jersey City and Kearny, New Jersey. It was operational until 1946, when a steamship crashed into it.

Built and maintained by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), the bridge was part of the Newark and New York Railroad, a rail line characterized as the "costliest railroad" by W. H. Schmidt Jr., a columnist for Trains. Opened on July 23, 1869, the line was routed between terminals at Newark and Jersey City, where passengers could transfer to ferries to New York. It also crossed the Passaic River and the Kearny Point peninsula. Freight cars regularly traversed the bridge to deliver to various industries in Harrison.

Description

Sketch of bridge appearing in 1909 survey of rail lines.

The Hackensack Draw was constructed of 4,111,046 pounds (1,864,739 kg) of steel. The motor for the drawbridge was operated at Switch Station No. 4-A, which was located on the eastern approach of the bridge. It had one panel designated for power. From the west side of the rail via tunnel, four tracks converged into three, and then into two tracks to pass over the Hackensack Drawbridge. A July 30, 1909, survey of the drawbridge shows that the base of the bridge was roughly 25 feet (7.6 m) over the Hackensack River, and that it was roughly 75 feet (23 m) tall from base to the top. By 1913 the rail line, including the bridges across the rivers, was raised about 30 feet (9.1 m) to avoid conflicts with maritime traffic in the newly developing port The draw span of the PD Draw over the Passaic had been relocated 185 feet (56 m) upstream to create another bridge on an new alignment in 1912. By 1922, plans were made to improve the drawbridge's railway signal layout, increasing the number of interlocking levers, ground signals and bridge signals. The drawbridge tower employed three levermen.

In 1897, a train carrying nearly 200 people derailed while crossing the bridge; there were no injuries. In 1940, the Port of New York Authority (now Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) cited the bridge as a navigational menace and called for its replacement. With war impending, the War Department in 1941 asked CNJ to replace the swing bridge with a vertical lift to afford better access to the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company on Kearny Point. Plans were made, but the shortage of steel prevented the project from being constructed.

Steamship collision

On 3 February 1946, the coal-steamer Jagger Seam crashed into the drawbridge, shearing off two of the bridge's spans. The collision was the result of a mix-up in signals between the collier and a tug. It was later determined that mishandling on the part of the Jagger Seam was the cause of the accident. Initial estimates indicated that rail service over the Hackensack would be delayed for three months, with the CNJ projecting that it would take that long to procure enough steel to reconstruct the bridge. After the accident, trains continued to run from Kearny to Newark. Similarly, service east of the drawbridge continued to run between the West Side Avenue station and Communipaw Terminal.

In October 1946, the CNJ asked the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) for permission to abandon the line. Without any further funding for repair of the Hackensack Drawbridge and with the route severed in two, the railroad was deemed "half-abandoned". The ICC sympathized with the CNJ, saying "'twas a pity". While the Newark Branch operated unil 1967, service in Jersey City was discontinued. Ultimately, the bridge was dismantled, but remains of its piers are still visible in the Hackensack River.

Gallery

Photographs of the drawbridge open (left) and closed (right).
Photographs of the drawbridge open (left) and closed (right).

See also

Notes

  1. Heights approximated from the sketch of the survey, appearing in Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad.

References

  1. ^ Colleti, Richard. "Towers of the CNJ". Jersey Central. National Railroad Historical Society. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  2. ^ (23 June 1940). Authority Calls Hackensack Span Menace; Wants Drawbridge Rebuilt or Abandoned, The New York Times (reporting that the Port of New York Authority was recommending that the bridge be either rebuilt or abandoned because it offered limited clearance)
  3. ^ French, pg. 32.
  4. Federal supplement, pg. 341.
  5. ^ Schmidt, W.H. (May 1946), "Costliest Railroad Now Half Abandoned", Trains, pg. 52.
  6. "Opening of the Newark and New-York Railroad". New York Times. July 24, 1869. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  7. ^ Railway signaling and communications, pg. 465.
  8. Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad, pg. 29.
  9. Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal Railroad, pg. 15.
  10. "Dredge Hackensack River Improving Newark Meadows Section for Development". New York Times. February 9, 1913. Retrieved 2011-02-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. "An Unusual Bridge-Moving Operation", Popular Mechanics Magazine, p. 26, July 1912, retrieved 2012-08-08
  12. Railway signaling and communications, pg. 476.
  13. Railway signaling and communications, pg. 478.
  14. "Accident of Jersey Central; Train with 200 Passengers Off the Track on a Bridge Near Newark.", The New York Times, May 17, 1897, retrieved 2012-10-10
  15. Plans and Specifications submitted by the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey for Alterations of the Hackensack River Bridge (Report). Howard, Needles, Tamman, and Bergendoff. May 19, 1941. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  16. "Petition of Texas Co. 99 F.Supp. 340 (1951) United States District Court S. D. New York". Leagle. July 11, 1951. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  17. "Steamer Wrecks Bridge in Jersey". The New York Times. 4 February 1946. p. 24. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
  18. ^ Railway age, pg. 329.
  19. "Asks to Abandon Line Central Railroad of New Jersey Files Plea With the ICC", The New York Times, October 23, 1946, retrieved 2012-10-10

Sources

Further reading

  • Schmidt, Jr., W. H. (August 1946). Trains.

External links

Categories: