West Orange – South Orange tram

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The West Orange – South Orange tram was a tram operator in Orange , West Orange and South Orange in the US state of New Jersey . It existed from 1895 to 1927.

history

On August 17, 1894, Frank Brewer founded the South Orange and Maplewood Street Railway Company , which wanted to build a standard-gauge electric tram route from West Orange to South Orange and Maplewood . However, the plan to connect Maplewood was soon postponed and the railway was never to reach this location. Construction began from the west side of South Orange station on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad . From here the route ran through South Orange Avenue and turned directly after the bridge over the Rahway River onto a separate railway body parallel to the river. Part of the route is now Meadow Brook Lane. On October 12, 1895, the line went into operation to Tremont Avenue, where the railroad depot was located. The route ran largely through the swampy floodplain, which is why it was known as the Swamp Line . The power was supplied with an operating voltage of 550 volts direct current via an overhead line.

The extension took place in 1897. After a bankruptcy, a South Orange and Maplewood Traction Company was founded on November 1, 1897 , which leased the railway. The merger of the two companies took place under the name of the new company on July 29, 1901. The extension to West Orange station of the Erie Railroad went into operation a few days after the re-establishment on November 10, 1897. The route continued northwards along the river and passed the valley station of the mountain railways on Orange Mountain . Further north the train turned into Whittingham Place. To the east of Valley Road, another section began on its own railway track, which was here in the area of ​​the city of Orange. The train crossed Main Street and ended next to the train station at St. Mark's Church. A track connection to the Erie Railroad was built here. In Main Street were the tracks of the Orange Line of the Newark tram , to which a connecting curve was also built later. Although the line ended at West Orange train station, the end point was in the district of Orange, right on the city limits. The total length of the track was about four kilometers. It had been laid out on two tracks, only the crossing of Main Street at West Orange station was single track.

On October 1, 1903, the North Jersey Street Railway leased the line, which also operated the Newark tram. In 1907, management was transferred to the Public Service Railway , which initially operated the line as the South Orange and Maplewood Line , and from January 3, 1916 as the Montrose Car Line . The railway company initially remained independent as a subsidiary. The car sequence was initially 15 minutes, for which two railcars were needed. From April 22, 1912, a 10-minute cycle was introduced in rush hour traffic, so that a third car had to be used. Conductorless operation was introduced on the line on August 4, 1921 in order to save costs. By October 22, 1923 at the latest, the wagon sequence in rush hour traffic was extended to 12 minutes and shortly thereafter again to 15 minutes, so that there was a uniform cycle again all day. The rail depot was also closed on October 22, 1923 and the vehicles were transferred to the Orange Tram depot on Washington Street. From November 30, 1925, the cars of the Montrose Line were housed in the Roseville depot of the Newark tram.

On August 2, 1927, a flood flooded the route of the railway next to the Rahway River. The operation had to be stopped and was not resumed. From then on buses served the route. The railway company continued to operate as the operator of this bus line and only merged on June 18, 1940 with the operator company then known as Public Service Coordinated Transport .

vehicles

When the railway opened, five Brill multiple units were available. Four of them were closed, one open. In addition, the vehicle fleet consisted of a general cargo trailer, a work motor car, a freight car and a non-powered rail cleaning car.

literature

  • Joseph F. Eid Jr. and Barker Gummere: Streetcars of New Jersey. Self-published, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9801026-3-5 (pages 340–341)
  • Edward Hamm Jr .: The Public Service Trolley Lines in New Jersey. Polo IL: Transportation Trails, 1991. ISBN 0-933449-12-7 (pages 176-177)