Phillipsburg Tramway, New Jersey

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The city of Phillipsburg had a tram network from 1871 to 1931 . In addition to the urban lines, which were under the management of various companies based in neighboring Pennsylvania for almost the entire history of the company , there was also the Phillipsburg – Port Murray tram , which was always independently operated and therefore not dealt with here, from 1906 to 1925 . The city network extended beyond the city limits to Easton (in Pennsylvania) and Alpha . It was operated with 550 volts direct current.

history

On April 9, 1867, the Phillipsburg Horse Car Railroad Company (PHCR) was founded in Phillipsburg , which in 1871 opened a horse-drawn tram from the city's station on Union Square through South Main Street to Andover Furnace (near Andover Street). The line had a track width of 4 feet 8 inches (1422 mm), which was half an inch narrower than standard gauge . Turntables were built at both endpoints. The depot was north of Union Square on North Main Street. In the same year, on May 5, 1871, The Center Square and Delaware Bridge Passenger Railway Company was founded in Easton , as it was intended to extend the horse-drawn tram to Easton. Since Easton was in Pennsylvania, a separate company had to be established there for the section. It was not until 1885 that this extension went into operation across the Delaware River and through Northampton Street to Center Square in Easton, where a turntable was also built, which was replaced a short time later by a turning loop around the square.

In July 1892, the Easton Transit Company acquired the railway, but formally leased it and continued to operate it independently. At the end of 1894, the Phillipsburg horse-drawn tram was electrified and gauged to the track gauge of 1588 mm (Pennsylvania gauge) used in Easton. A new line was opened the following year. It ran from Union Square through North Main Street, Old Belvedere Road (area built over by Highway 22), on its own railroad track (now about Memorial Parkway), Summit Avenue, Lewis Street and Heckman Street to the factory of the Standard Silk Company the street Silk. In May 1899, the Lehigh Valley Transit Company leased the railroad, but left management with the Easton Transit Company. Although she spur the Easton tram to standard gauge, but not the routes in Phillipsburg. The lease was renewed on December 1, 1900, but canceled on May 2, 1904 for economic reasons. The Easton Transit Company was again the leaseholder of the railway. Around this time, a second, single-track depot was built in North Main Street (in this area today Andrews Alley), next to today's Memorial Parkway, in order to be able to supply planned route extensions. There were no expansion options on the area of ​​the existing depot. The building of the second depot is still standing, while the building of the original depot was demolished when Highway 22 was built.

In 1906 the south line was extended to Alpha. It ran through South Main Street, Russell Avenue, Hawk Avenue (Third Avenue), William Street, First Avenue, on its own track parallel to the railroad, through Central Avenue to the corner of Fifth Avenue. In addition, in 1907 an extension of the north line along Heckman Street, Center Street (now Roseberry Street) to the Ingersoll-Rand Company factory went into operation. On the other side of the railway there was a change to the standard gauge Phillipsburg – Port Murray tram , the terminus of which had been on South Main Street / Sitgreaves Street since 1906, where it was also possible to change trains .

On July 1, 1913, the Lehigh Valley Transit Company bought the railway, which was converted to standard gauge that same year. Formally, the PHCR was still under lease, which continued to operate. Since the horse-drawn railway age was long over, it was decided to rename the company to the Phillipsburg Traction Company on October 11, 1916 . The management finally passed on March 1, 1922 to the Lehigh Valley. The route on South Main Street to Alpha was closed on October 13, 1931, and at midnight on October 31, 1931, the last tram on the northern line entered the depot and the Phillipsburg tram was subsequently dismantled.

business

During the time of the horse-drawn tram, a car drove to the Andover Furnace every 30 minutes. After electrification, the cycle was compressed to 10 minutes. The extension to Alpha was driven every 20 minutes, the other cars continued to end at the Andover Furnace. The north line was also used every 10 minutes.

vehicles

The vehicles of the Phillipsburg tram were painted red and consisted of two-axle closed cars.

The four carriages 1 to 4, which had been built in 1871, were available to the horse-drawn tram. The manufacturer is unknown. With the electrification of the railway, these cars were also electrified and equipped with motors. Two horse-drawn trams from Easton were also taken over and electrified. In 1894, the Easton Transit Company bought ten Brill's railcars, at least some of which were used in Phillipsburg.

For the route extensions opened in 1906 and 1907, the six railcars 160 to 165 from Brill were added in 1907, followed by another six in 1914 (no. 170-175). These are likely to have replaced the original vehicles converted from former horse-drawn trams. A car, No. 180, was then procured. The railway also had a self-made work car (No. 7) and a track cleaning car (No. 4). Otherwise - except in the times when this was not possible due to the different gauges - vehicles from Easton were also used in the Phillipsburg network, including open railcars.

literature

  • Randolph L. Kulp (Ed.): History of Lehigh Valley Transit Company . National Railway Historical Society, Lehigh Valley Chapter, Allentown, Pennsylvania 1966.
  • Joseph F. Eid, Jr., Barker Gummere: Streetcars of New Jersey . Self-published by J. Eid, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9801026-2-8 .