Timeline of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway

This is a timeline of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway and its direct predecessors. It also contains foundational American railroad history dates, important historical events which impacted the railroad (e.g. financial panics), and other nearby railroads' major events affecting the NYS&W.

Timeline 19th Century 1815 The first railroad charter in the United States is granted to the New Jersey Rail Road Company to link Trenton on the Delaware to New Brunswick on the Raritan, crossing the state's midsection. 1826 The Quincy Granite Railway is the first commercial railroad in the United States, though still using horses. 1828 John Langdon Sullivan surveys the first route across northern New Jersey with the intent of transporting Pennsylvania coal by rail to Paterson, New Jersey. NJ has iron but needs PA coal to smelt it. 1829 August 8: Trial run of Stourbridge Lion at Honesdale, Pennsylvania for the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad. It is the first locomotive to run in the United States. 1830 August: Tom Thumb is test run between Baltimore and Relay, Maryland for the B&O. The first American-built steam locomotive to operate on a common-carrier railroad 1831 The Morris Canal opens to transport coal across North Jersey December: A convention is held in Owego, New York which eventually leads to the formation of what will become the Erie Railroad the following Spring. The Erie will control the NYS&W from 1898 to 1940. 1832 March 8: The state of New Jersey charters a railroad, its fifth, based on Sullivan's 1828 survey route across the state: The New Jersey, Hudson, and Delaware (NJH&D) April 24: The Erie Railroad is chartered in New York state. 1837 Panic of 1837; The NJH&D charter languishes and no work is done 1854 The Sussex Railroad opens, built by Abram Hewitt from Waterloo to Newton, to bring iron ore from Andover mines to Trenton for smelting, and service to Newton. It is the rebuilt Sussex Mine Railroad. 1857 Panic of 1857; NJH&D can't get together enough money and sells its charter to the Pennsylvania Coal Company. 1866 DeWitt Clinton Littlejohn forms the New York and Oswego Midland Railway 400 miles to the west of New York City to connect Oswego, New York with the port of New York Hoboken Ridgefield & Paterson chartered on March 15 1867 NJH&D grades in Butler and Bloomingdale to preserve its charter by doing some work New Jersey Western Railway chartered to build west from Paterson Sussex Valley Railroad chartered to build south from the New Jersey/New York state line south to the Delaware Water Gap 1868 NYOM begins work eastward in New York state; it has no charter to build in New Jersey 1869 April 1: Hudson Connecting Railroad chartered May 10: First transcontinental railroad completed NJW begins building both east and west from a junction with the Erie Railroad in the Spring from Hawthorne, just across the Passaic River from Paterson. Cornelius Wortendyke is in charge. 1870 The New Jersey Western Railway becomes the New Jersey Midland Railway. This consolidates NJH&D, NJW, SVRR, Hoboken Ridgefield & Paterson, Hudson Connecting Railway. December 20: the first locomotive runs on the NJM: 'Passaic' built by Rogers in Paterson 1871 NJM completes west to Butler, first train April 27 July 1: NJM begins 99-year lease of Middletown, Unionville & Water Gap Railroad, to connect with NYOM 1872 Combined NYOM/NJM line opens from Middletown, New York, to Jersey City; first train May 1 1873 July 9: First train runs across the railroads from Oswego, New York, to Jersey City via NJM September 4: NYOM lease of NJM begins October: Panic of 1873; NYOM goes into receivership on Sept. 19, Abram S. Hewitt appointed Receiver November 17: NJM assumes control of the NYOM line from Jersey City to Middletown 1875 NJM falls into receivership with James McCulloh and Garret Hobart as receivers 1880 New Jersey Midland Railway reorganized out of receivership as the New Jersey Midland Railroad. Wortendyke and Littlejohn are out, Garrett Hobart is in as president. The New York and Oswego Midland Railroad is reorganized out of bankruptcy as the New York, Ontario and Western Railway 1881 Each new extension of the railroad is another company: Paterson Extension Railroad, Midland Connecting Railway, New York and Scranton Construction Company in New Jersey, Pennsylvania Midland Railway in Pennsylvania June 10 - July 1: NJM, Paterson Extension Railroad, Midland Connecting Railway, North Jersey Railroad, Water Gap Railroad, Pennsylvania Midland Railway all reorganize together as the first corporate incarnation of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad. Sussex Railroad taken over by the DL&W NYSW builds at least from Beaver Lake to Branchville Junction/Warbasse/Hyper Humus Frederic A. Potts is the first NYSW president 1882 First trains to Lackawanna interchange at Gravel Place, Pennsylvania run in the Fall May 1: Paterson Extension Railroad opens September: Lodi Branch Railroad bought, it would last until 1896 when the shorter Hackensack and Lodi Railroad was built. 1883 Blairstown Railway bought; the companies reorganize as the second corporate incarnation of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad 1884 The Panic of 1884 1885 July 13: Passaic and New York Railroad (The Passaic branch) chartered; begins operating in 1886 and would last until 2020 1887 The railroad is double-tracked from Paterson to Jersey City 1889 Charles Mercer Heald replaces Frederic A. Potts as NYSW President 1890 Simon Borg replaces Charles Mercer Heald as NYSW President 1891 The shops at Wortendyke are destroyed by fire; they are rebuilt in 1892 1892 The Edgewater Branch is chartered; the terminal there opens in 1894 March 31: Hudson River Railroad and Terminal Co. organized to build at Edgewater; NYSW wants its own coal dock away from DL&W Wilkes-Barre & Eastern Railroad chartered to build from Stroudsburg to the Wyoming Valley; begins operating in 1893 1893 The Panic of 1893: NYSW reorganizes its subsidiaries into the parent company, keeping the NYSW Railroad name; the third corporate incarnation of the railroad. 1894 The western end of the NYSW is cut back from Gravel Place to Stroudsburg 1895 Amos Lawrence Hopkins replaces Simon Borg as NYSW President April 2: L&NE formed; its route includes trackage rights over 18 miles of NYSW from Hainesburg Jct north to Swartswood Jct, It lasts just over 66 years, through October 1961 1896 The Susquehanna Connecting Railroad is chartered to build from a WB&E connection at Suscon north to Minooka, Pennsylvania; it opens in 1897 Hackensack and Lodi Railroad built to connect to Lodi station. Original Lodi Branch Railroad abandoned in favor of this route. Fully merged into NYSW in 1953. It lasts until 2020 as the NYSW Lodi Branch. 1897 November 25: The Susquehanna Connecting Railroad is completed 1898 In January, J.P. Morgan's co. begins buying NYSW stock for the Erie Railroad. In February, Erie Leases the NYSW. In July it begins control until 1940. Eben B. Thomas replaces Amos Lawrence Hopkins as NYSW president 20th Century 1901 Panic of 1901 Frederick Underwood replaces Eben B. Thomas as NYSW president 1902 A fire in NYSW main office destroys corporate records 1911 NYSW moves from Pennsylvania Railroad terminal in Jersey City to the Erie terminal, with freight switching from Marion (PRR) to Croxton (ERIE) yards 1912 May 23: L&NE coal trains begin running from Hainesburg Jct. to Little Ferry, over NYSW; previously trains only ran north to Swartswood Jct. 1913 Lease of MUWGRR given up 1917 December 28: Due to World War I the United States Railroad Administration takes control of NYSW until February 29, 1920 1920 The two-year Depression of 1920-1921 In the next decade the Erie spends money on the NYSW, including scrapping old locomotives In the next decade the decapods arrive 1923 Recovering from USRA WWI operations, NYSW posts $5.5M gross earnings, the most it had ever done, but expenses pile up 1926 John J. Bernet replaces Frederick Underwood as NYSW president September 2: Kingston, Pennsylvania, western terminal of WB&E; terminal building sold due to lack of traffic 1929 May 27: Charles E. Denney replaces John J. Bernet as NYSW president October: The great stock market crash begins The Great Depression 1936 Major areal storms and flooding 1937 Bonds due First NYSW bankruptcy filing. Eventual sole trustee appointed is Walter Kidde WB&E files for abandonment 1939 March 25: the last Wilkes Barre & Eastern train runs. The line is abandoned that year. 1940 March: Erie control of NYSW ends NYSW opens a joint office with NYOM in Manhattan Walter Kidde buys the ACF Streamliners for the NYSW, and service between Paterson and New York City begins 1941 The western end of the NYSW is cut back again; to Hainesburg from Stroudsburg NYSW gets its first diesels, an order of ALCO RS-1s and ALCO S2s 1943 Walter Kidde dies, Henry K. Norton is installed to replace him as the new trustee 1947 Last NYSW steam locomotive operations on the railroad until the #142 is purchased in 1991 (though the Morris County Central would operate on a segment of the NYSW from 1974-1980) 1948 November: Last NYSW steam engines scrapped: decapods 2435 & 2492 1950 NYSW buys Budd RDCs 1951 NYSW buys stainless passenger coaches 1953 The courts declare the NYSW reorganized, now-former-trustee Henry K. Norton becomes railroad president Lodi Branch fully merged into NYSW 1955 Henry K. Norton retires; is replaced as NYSW president by James M. Baths July: The Ford Motor Company Edgewater Assembly Plant closes and the NYSW loses an important customer 1956 James. M. Baths is replaced as NYSW president by Ralph E. Sease June: NYSW files with the New Jersey Board of Public Utility Commissioners to eliminate all passenger train service 1957 The entire New York, Ontario and Western Railway is abandoned due to the recession starting this year The New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad begin merger talks; they would merge in 1968. 1958 NYSW financial difficulties; Stainless coaches bought just a few years before are sold off and fewer trains run overall NYS&W abandons the Hanford Branch 1959 June 21: the last Sunday passenger train runs 1960 The Paterson City branch is sold to the City of Paterson June: Interchange partner L&NE files for abandonment October 17: Erie and DL&W merge to form Erie Lackawanna. Passenger service eastern terminus moves from Jersey City to Susquehanna Transfer after the merger 1961 October 31: The last Lehigh and New England freight train over the NYSW; L&NE is shortly abandoned and NYSW loses its westernmost connection and customer. 1962 Real estate developer Irving W. Maidman buys control of NYS&W and replaces Ralph E. Sease as railroad president Three EMD GP18s are ordered with a government loan; NYSW takes delivery in August. They have a new "yellowjacket" paint scheme which the railroad would use from then on for its freight operations August 30: the last train runs west of Sparta Junction; operations now confined between Butler and Little Ferry 1963 February: A 9-to-0 US Supreme Court ruling keeps passenger service going on the NYSW September 1: John C. Clark is elected Railroad president 1965 Delaware Otsego Railroad formed in New York State; will eventually purchase NYSW in 1980 as the Delaware Otsego Corporation October: Herbert J. Draney is elected railroad president, replacing John C. Clark. 1966 June 30: The last NYSW commuter train runs with one day's notice to customers. Railroad president Irving Maidman previously offered passengers $1000 each to stop riding. 95 years of passenger service ends. Irving Maidman petitions to have NYSW included in the Penn Central merger 1968 February 1: Completing a process begun in 1957, the New York Central and the Pennsylvania Railroad merge to form Penn Central, without the NYSW February 29: Railroad president Herbert J. Draney retires and is replaced by William A. Logan by late March. NYSW embargoed between Sparta Junction and Oak Ridge