Morris County, New Jersey Tram
The district of Morris County in the US state of New Jersey had a standard-gauge streetcar network from 1904 to 1928 , which opened up large parts of the district. The network had a route length of about 80 kilometers and had track connections with the Newark tram and the Elizabeth tram , on whose tracks the trains reached downtown Newark and Elizabeth , respectively. The network was operated by the Morris County Traction Company (MCT) throughout its existence , most recently with headquarters in the district capital of Morristown .
history
prehistory
At the end of the 19th century the county with around 54,000 inhabitants (1890 census) was still very rural. The most important places in the district were served by various railway companies with railroad lines, including lines of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey . To connect the stations to the places as well as the places not accessible by railways and to provide a more frequent, cheaper means of transport than the railroad, three entrepreneurs joined together and founded the Morris County Traction Company on June 8, 1899 . These entrepreneurs were Robert Dumont Foote (1863-1924) from Morristown, John Henry Capstick (1856-1918), a later Congressman from Boonton and George W. Stickle (1854-1932) from Rockaway . They planned a total of 31 individual route sections:
| serial no. | Line route | serial no. | Line route | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chatham - Madison - Morristown - Morris Plains - Mount Tabor - Denville - Rockaway - Dover - Wharton - Kenvil - Ledgewood - Lake Hopatcong / Landing - Netcong - Stanhope (in Sussex County ) | 17th | Landing - Mount Arlington - Lake Hopatcong - Hurdtown | |
| 2. | Morristown - Mt. Kemble Avenue - Van Doren's Mill | 18th | Middle Valley - Long Valley | |
| 3. | Millington - Long Hill Road - Myersville - Green Village - Spring Valley Road - South Street - Morristown | 19th | Netcong - Budd Lake | |
| 4th | Morristown - Mendham - Chester - Long Valley - Hackettstown (in Warren County ) | 20th | Lincoln Park - Pompton River | |
| 5. | Madison - Greenwood Avenue - Ridgedale Avenue - Hanover | 21st | Pompton River - Butler - Smith's Mills | |
| 6th | Morristown - Mount Freedom - Succasunna - Ledgewood | 22nd | Morristown - Morris Street - Whippany Road - Whippany | |
| 7th | Morris Plains - Union Hill - Franklin Road - Dover | 23. | Morris Plains - Route 202 - Parsippany-Troy Hills - Boonton - Montville - Pompton Plains | |
| 8th. | Millington - Berkeley Heights (in Union County ) | 24. | Morristown - Columbia Turnpike - Afton | |
| 9. | Denville - Old Bloomfield Avenue or Route 46 - Pine Brook | 25th | Whippany - Route 10 - Hanover | |
| 10. | Chatham, Main Street - Passaic Avenue - Lower Chatham Bridge (county line) | 26th | Convent Road (now Park Avenue) - Madison Avenue | |
| 11. | Chatham, Main Street - Summit Avenue - Edwards Mills (county line) | 27. | West Park Place, Morristown | |
| 12. | Rockaway - Green Pond Road - Newfoundland (in Passaic County ) | 28. | Elm Street, Morristown | |
| 13. | Dover - Union Turnpike - Woodport | 29 | Danforth Street (now Danforth Road), Madison | |
| 14th | Boonton - Boonton Avenue - Butler | 30th | Madison - Convent Road (now Park Avenue) - Columbia Turnpike | |
| 15th | Newfoundland - Berkshire Valley Road - Berkshire Valley | 31. | Morristown, Madison Avenue - Old Turnpike Road (parallel to the railroad) - Convent | |
| 16. | Succasunna - Kenvil - Howard Boulevard - Mount Arlington |
The network should therefore open up almost every settlement in the county. For reasons that have not been handed down, however, the company was neither formally set up nor started with construction, although sufficient financial resources were available. In 1903 Frederick H. Alleman arrived from Harrisburg in Morris County and offered to support the railroad company. He had previous experience with tram operations in Pennsylvania. Thanks to his efforts, the society was established in mid-1903. Co-founder Robert D. Foote became the first president and Alleman became general manager. It was initially planned to build the main line from Chatham to Netcong / Stanhope (route 1), but Alleman expanded the planning beyond Chatham via Springfield and Union to Elizabeth in neighboring Union County . All other 30 planned route sections were postponed and, with the exception of a part of route 17, should never be built.
In the end, however, some routes were built that were not included in the original planning. Alleman's plan was to build a branch line from Denville via Boonton to Singac in addition to the main line, where the network could be connected to an existing line of the Paterson tram . In addition, branches from Springfield to Westfield in Union County and via Maplewood to Newark in Essex County were planned.
Construction of the network
On August 12, 1903, the city of Dover became the first parish in the county to grant the MCT a concession to build and operate an electric tram within its city limits. The neighboring parishes of Rockaway, Wharton, and Randolph soon followed. The condition was that the route was operated at least every half hour from 5 a.m. to midnight and the fare within Dover and for trips from Dover to Rockaway and Wharton could not be higher than five cents. In Dover, the main office of the railway company was established at 105 North Sussex Street, and in the 1910s the administration moved to Morristown, where it resided on Park Place.
Construction began immediately in Dover and in early 1904 in Wharton and Rockaway. First, on July 1, 1904, the section from the depot of the train in East Dover east of Carrol Street through Blackwell Street to Blackwell Street / Prospect Street in the west of Dover was opened as the first tram in Morris County. The depot is still used as such today for the buses of the Lakeland Bus Lines . Shortly thereafter, the line was extended to the west to Wharton. A problem arose on West Blackwell Street when the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad did not allow their railroad to cross. The passengers first had to change trains here and cross the railway on foot. Only at the end of the following year did the tram company open a bridge over the railway. The extension on the other side to Rockaway was opened in 1904. The route now began in downtown Rockaway on West Main Street.
At the same time as the route through Dover, work was also being carried out on a second route in the south of the district. It ran from Millburn via Springfield to Summit and opened in late 1905. The terminus in Summit was initially on Chapel Street, then from mid-1907 on Orchard Street and from the end of 1907 at the train stations in Summit (corner of Park Avenue and Overlook Road). In early 1906 a branch line from Springfield to Union was put into operation, where the first terminus was at the "Meeker Inn" (corner of Morris Avenue / Stuyvesant Avenue). It was extended to Elizabeth in 1909, where it was first necessary to transfer to the Elizabeth tram on Cherry Street to reach the center of the city. In late 1908, an extension from Millburn through Millburn Avenue to the parish line of Maplewood went into operation. Thus initially there were two independent networks around Springfield (Eastern Division) and around Dover (Western Division). The section in Main Street from Millburn to the depot became an operating line and was shut down until 1914 with the closure of the Millburn depot, which cannot be precisely dated.
At the end of 1906 the branch from Main Street / Blackwell Street in Wharton via Mine Hill , Kenvil and Succasunna to the CNJ's Ledgewood station on Main Street went into operation, the following year to Shippenport and in early 1908 to Lake Hopatcong / Landing station the DLW was extended. First, a change had to be made at the level crossing in Kenvil, as the DLW forbade the crossing of their route here as well, but this was later enforced in court.
The line was also extended at the other end of the Western Division's line, namely in 1907 to Franklin Avenue near the Rockaway station and in late 1908 to Denville. A chain of hills had to be overcome between Denville and Rockaway. The railway company blasted a swath through the hills and ran the route through them. The aisle still exists today and is known as the "Mendes Cut". It is located in the west extension of Broad Street in Denville. In the first few weeks there was still a change here, as the construction work was not finished until February 1909. With the gap at Mendes Cut closed, the line in Denville was also extended to the DLW station there. The further extension to Mount Tabor took place in mid-1909. Due to the extension of the route, the depot of the Western Division in Dover was expanded in 1910.
The district capital Morristown was not connected to the tram network until then. General manager and since 1907 also president of the railroad Frederick Alleman had promised in mid-1908 that the first tram would run in Morristown by the end of the year. Since he could not keep this promise, he resigned in December 1908. The following year, an island operation was opened in Morristown, which was administered by the Western Division. The route led from the fire station in the central square, Morristown Green (Speedwell Avenue / Water Street), through Speedwell Avenue to Five Corners (Route 202 / Hanover Avenue). A few weeks later it was extended to Morris Plains station. Since there was no depot in Morristown, the vehicles were parked at the terminal in Morristown at night.
In 1910, the MCT network was extensively expanded. The Western Division extended the route using the Hopatcong Shore Railroad , which led from Landing station to a powder factory. The railroad was partially electrified and a short, new tram route now ran in the summer months, from June to September, to Bertrand's Island. The section from Landing station to there was a shuttle service every 15 minutes. A short DLW branch led from Morris Plains to Greystone Park State Hospital, which still exists today. This railway line was also electrified and from mid-1910 the trams from Morristown used it. The two networks of the Western Division were linked in the same year by the opening of the connection from Morris Plains to Mount Tabor, and also supplemented by a branch line from Denville to Boonton. The Eastern Division was also under construction. In early 1910 the route in Summit had been extended to Maple Street. From July 23, 1910, the trams could also use the tracks of the Elizabeth tram operated by the Public Service Railway to the local train station, so there was no need to change trains at the city limits.
At the beginning of 1911, the extension to the DLW station went into operation in Morristown. On March 20, 1911, the Morris Railroad Company was founded to build and manage the line on its own rail track between Madison and Morristown parallel to the railroad. This was necessary because the DLW and property owners in Madison did not want to approve the construction of the route on the road. The Morris Railroad was therefore formally licensed as a normal steam train and they agreed a right of use for their route with the MCT. DLW sued against this, but the suit was dismissed in 1913. At the beginning of 1912 the tram route from Summit via Chatham to Madison was opened and it was not until February 1, 1914 that the networks of the Eastern and Western divisions could be connected. The division boundary was in Morristown at the transition to the route of the Morris Railroad. Simultaneously with the opening of the line through Chatham, a new depot was built on the outskirts of Summit, which soon replaced the depot in Millburn. From July 25, 1912, a subsidiary of MCT had set up a bus route between the ends of the line in Morristown and Madison, which was discontinued when the tram opened.
Some lines have now been double-tracked, for example in 1912 the section from the stations in Summit to shortly before Chatham, in May 1914 between Madison and Morristown, in sections up to 1916 the route from Maplewood to Springfield and in June 1922 the section between Sussex Avenue and Cutler Street in Morristown. This did not yet reach the maximum state of the network used by the MCT, which in 1925 agreed on a right of use for the Newark tram, so that from December 6, 1925, the MCT railcars from the Public Service Terminal in downtown Newark via public service tracks until Maplewood, where they switched to the MCT route.
The routes were opened as follows:
| date | division | route |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 1904 | Western film | East Dover, Depot - Dover, Blackwell Street / Prospect Street |
| July 19, 1904 | Western film | Dover, Blackwell Street / Prospect Street - Blackwell Street / level crossing |
| Western film | Dover, Blackwell Street / Level Crossing (West Side) - Wharton, Canal Bridge | |
| December 17, 1904 | Western film | Rockaway - East Dover depot |
| Late November 1905 | Western film | Bridge over the railroad next to Blackwell Street (Dover) |
| December 20, 1905 | Eastern | Millburn, Depot - Springfield - Summit, Chapel Street |
| January 15, 1906 | Eastern | Springfield - Union, Meeker Inn (Morris Avenue / Stuyvesant Avenue) |
| December 1906 | Western film | Wharton - Kenvil - Succasunna - Ledgewood Junction, CNJ Train Station (Main Street) |
| June 1907 | Eastern | Summit, Chapel Street - Summit, Orchard Street |
| August 1907 | Western film | Franklin Avenue (Rockaway Train Station) - Rockaway |
| Western film | Ledgewood, CNJ Train Station - Shippenport | |
| Late 1907 | Eastern | Summit, Orchard Street - Summit, Park Avenue / Overlook Road |
| Early 1908 | Western film | Shippenport - Lake Hopatcong / Landing Station |
| November 1908 | Eastern | Millburn, Main Street / Millburn Avenue - Maplewood, Millburn Avenue / Cypress Street |
| Late 1908 | Western film | Denville Mendes Cut - Rockaway, Franklin Avenue |
| Western film | Denville - Mendes Cut | |
| February 27, 1909 | Western film | Closing the gap at the Mendes Cut |
| Western film | Denville, DLW Train Station - Denville | |
| Mid-1909 | Western film | Mount Tabor, Station Road - Denville, DLW train station |
| June 22, 1909 | Eastern | Union, Meeker Inn - Elizabeth, Cherry Street |
| August 27, 1909 | Western film | Morristown Fire Station (Speedwell Avenue / Water Street) - Five Corners (Route 202 / Hanover Avenue) |
| September 18, 1909 | Western film | Five Corners - Morris Plains, train station |
| January 1910 | Eastern | Summit, Overlook Road - Maple Street |
| June 1910 | Western film | Lake Hopatcong / Landing Station - Bertrand's Island |
| June 29, 1910 | Western film | Morris Plains - State Hospital ("Greystone Park") |
| July 1, 1910 | Western film | Denville - Boonton |
| August 21, 1910 | Western film | Morris Plains - Mount Tabor, Station Road |
| February 1911 | Western film | Morristown, DLW Train Station - Morristown, Fire Station |
| February 9, 1912 | Eastern | Summit, Maple Street - Chatham - Madison |
| February 1, 1914 | both | Madison - Morristown, DLW train station |
| December 6, 1925 | Eastern | Track connection to the Public Service Railway in Maplewood |
Decline and shutdown
The excursion traffic to Bertrand's Island in the summer months developed well. The entry of the United States into the First World War was all the more decisive . At the end of 1917, the administration of all railways in the USA was nationalized due to the war. The Hopatcong Shore Railroad, which was important for armaments and connected a powder factory, was confiscated and the right to use the tram was revoked, so that by the summer of 1918 no trams could go to Bertrand's Island. The last electric route was on September 8, 1917, at the end of the driving season. Even after the nationalization of the railway administration was withdrawn in 1920, electrical operations were not resumed and the Hopatcong Shore Railroad was finally shut down in 1921. This meant that one of the most lucrative tram routes was permanently eliminated.
The changeover of many Americans to their own vehicles also meant a significant decrease in the number of tram passengers. The increasingly difficult economic situation of the company caused the management to file for bankruptcy on July 23, 1923. In addition, the Dover depot burned down on December 9, 1923, and with it seven railcars (316, 318, 350, 400, 404, 455 and 462) that were difficult to replace. The decision to switch from trams to buses was taken in the mid-1920s. At that time, MCT's own bus lines were already running as feeders to the tram. First, in April 1926, the line from Springfield to Elizabeth was closed. In early 1928 the rest of the network followed in several stages. On February 20, 1928, after all tram lines had already been closed, the Public Service Coordinated Transport Company took over the MCT, which was formally dissolved on March 10, 1928.
The routes were closed down as follows:
| date | division | route |
|---|---|---|
| until 1914 | Eastern | Millburn, Depot - Main Street / Morris Avenue (operating route only since 1908) |
| September 8, 1917 | Western film | Lake Hopatcong / Landing Station - Bertrand's Island |
| April 5, 1926 | Eastern | Springfield - Union - Elizabeth |
| January 15, 1928 | Western film | Denville - Boonton |
| Western film | Dover - Wharton | |
| January 29, 1928 | Western film | Morris Plains - Denville - Dover - Kenvil - Lake Hopatcong / Landing Station |
| February 5, 1928 | both | Maplewood - Millburn - Springfield - Summit - Madison - Morristown - State Hospital |
Routing
Millburn-Morristown
The route began in Millburn at the depot, which was on Essex Street. In the place of the depot building there is now a parking garage. The route then ran parallel to the railroad north of Essex Street to Main Street. There is now a parking lot on the route. It then turned onto Main Street and initially headed south. In Springfield, the route turned onto Springfield Avenue and shortly thereafter onto Morris Avenue heading west. West of the Millburn Avenue intersection, the route was initially next to the Morris Turnpike before turning onto its own track. Broad Street in Summit is on this route today. At the western end of this separate track, the railroad met Park Avenue, which it followed past the two Summit stations. To the west of town center, the route turned into Morris Avenue and at its western end into River Road. North of Chatham Road, the route then continued on its own track to Chatham. The Summit depot was located just after the curve from River Road onto its own track.
At Chatham, the route turned onto Main Street, which led to Madison. In Madison, the railway line ran through Park Avenue and Elm Street. Immediately before the rail bridge over Elm Street, the route turned north onto its own railroad track that belonged to the Morris Railroad. It was right next to the railway line that is still used today. Today the Traction Line Recreation Trail , a cycling and hiking trail , is located on most of this route . In Morristown, the tramway left the railroad just before today's Interstate 287 and reached Morris Avenue. Here was the border between the Eastern and Western divisions. The double-track section ended at the curve that led the tramway away from the railway line. At this point, the worst accident in the history of the MCT occurred when two railways collided head-on after one of the railcar drivers ran over a stop signal. 20 people were injured.
Maplewood – Millburn
The MCT route began on the Maplewood city limits on Millburn Avenue / Cypress Street. On the other side of the Rahway River was the turning loop of the Newark tram, to which there was a track connection from 1925. The Newark cars started at the Public Service Terminal in the tunnel station. They took the Cedar Street Subway to Washington Street and drove through it, Market Street (in the opposite direction High Street and Warren Street), Springfield Avenue and Millburn Avenue to the junction in Maplewood. In Millburn, the MCT tracks led through Millburn Avenue to Main Street, where they met the main line of the Eastern Division.
Springfield-Elizabeth
The branch line to Elizabeth began at the intersection of Morris Avenue / Springfield Avenue in Springfield and led through Morris Avenue to Union. At the corner of Meekers Inn (Stuyvesant Avenue) the railway line left Morris Avenue and continued parallel and south of it on a separate track. Around the campus of Kean College, the train reached Morris Avenue again shortly before Elizabeth, on which it ran up to the city limits on Cherry Street. Here the trains changed to the tracks of the Elizabeth tram and drove through Morris Avenue to Elizabeth station .
Morristown-Wharton
The route began on the division line in Morristown, east of Interstate 287. It ran through Morris Street to Morristown Green, the central square in the city. To the south around the square, the railroad continued through Speedwell Avenue to Morris Plains. North of the Morris Plains train station was the track crossing with the DLW route to the State Hospital, which is only used by freight traffic. There was a connecting curve to this railway line, which was used in the regular service to the hospital. Today Grannis Avenue is on the route of this route.
The main line of the Western Division continued on its own railroad west along the railway line. At the level of the bridge of Route 10 over the railway, the tram crossed the railway line on its own steel yoke bridge. Route 10 was built later. The tram line now ran parallel to the railway, but east of this, to Mount Tabor. Shortly before the Mount Tabor station, the train turned onto Main Street, through which it reached Denville north past Denville station. At the height of today's bridge of Route 46 over Main Street, the route turned onto its own railway body, which is now covered by Route 46. This is where the Denville station was located, into which the route of the Boonton branch also ran. Shortly afterwards, the own rail track led back into Main Street, which was then called Bloomfield Avenue in this area. To the west of Denville, the tracks turned back onto their own rail track, on which Broad Street is located today in Denville and at the other end of Rockaway. In between is the Mendes Cut, an incision through the hill through which the tram once went. The railway line then reached the center of Rockaway via Beech Street and East Main Street.
The route crossed Rockaway on West Main Street. Immediately to the west of the intersection with New Street, the route turned parallel to New Street onto its own railroad track. This then led shortly afterwards in a south-west direction, parallel to Main Street, crossed the Morris Canal on its own bridge and immediately afterwards again reached West Main Street south of Nichols Drive. West Main Street makes a slight curve here, the route of the tram ran in a straight line. Through West Main Street and Rockaway Road she reached the depot in East Dover next to Blackwell Street, which is now a bus depot. The route crossed Dover on Blackwell Street, crossed the DL&W railway line on a wooden yoke bridge and continued through Main Street in Wharton to the center of the village, where it ended at the bridge over the Morris Canal , north of Mill Street. At Main Street, corner of Route 46, the route branched off towards Lake Hopatcong.
Denville – Boonton
The line began at Denville station and branched off from the main line here on its own track. It led eastward next to Bloomfield Avenue. For the route to Boonton, a separate railway body was first built east past Arrowhead Lake and Cooper Pond. The Arden Road is partly on this track. When they got north of Birchwood Lake, they found that the entire area was marshland and could not support a track. The already leveled route was then abandoned and construction continued further south. The new route runs south of Arrowhead Lake over Great Bay. At Arrowhead Lake, the Mosswood Trail is now on the railway line. The embankment is still visible to the east of it. South around Sunset Lake, the route reached the boulevard, next to which it ran to Boonton. In Boonton the railway line turned into West Main Street and ran through it to the station. The terminus was on Division Street.
Dover – Lake Hopatcong
The route to Lake Hopatcong branched off the main route of the Western Division on Main Street / Blackwell Street in Wharton. It led on Route 46 through Mine Hill to Kenvil. West of the DLW Kenvil station, the train turned into Kenvil Avenue and reached Succasunna, where it turned into Main Street. The train continued through Main Street to Ledgewood. At the level of the former CNJ Ledgewood station, the road is now interrupted; at the time the tram passed here, it was still continuous with a level crossing. North of Ledgewood, Main Street and with it the tram met again on Route 46, on which the railway line continued. Soon after, she turned onto Landing Road in Shippenport and reached Lake Hopatcong Station. From 1910 to 1917, the tracks led through Lakeside Boulevard to the Hopatcong Shore Railroad, which ran parallel to the lake shore and northwards. Mount Arlington Boulevard is now on the route. The tram line branched off from the railway line at Bertrand Island Road and ran on its own track to Bertrand's Island.
business
After the opening of the first route from Rockaway via Dover to Wharton in 1904, the section from Rockaway to the depot in East Dover was driven every hour and the rest of the route to Wharton every half hour. There were no line names or numbers at the MCT. Alternative routes were not possible in the network, so that the route was clearly indicated when the destination was specified. In May 1912 the line was extended from Elizabeth to Madison and operated every 20 minutes. The Maplewood tracks ended at Springfield. This was revised after a short time and the Maplewood cars drove again every half hour to Madison, while the cars from Elizabeth ended in Springfield and only drove every hour. With the opening of the gap between Madison and Morristown, the line from Maplewood to Morristown was initially extended, while the cars to Wharton and the State Hospital also ended in Morristown. From March 1, 1914, the Maplewood cars drove through to Wharton, and then to Lake Hopatcong in the summer.
After the network was completed, the following lines ran:
| Lines | Length (km) | Wagon sequence (min) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maplewood - Millburn - Springfield - Summit - Chatham - Madison - Morristown - Morris Plains - Mount Tabor - Denville - Rockaway - Dover - Mine Hill - Kenvil - Succasunna - Ledgewood - Shippenport - Lake Hopatcong / Landing | 56.76 | 30th | June – September only |
| Maplewood - Millburn - Springfield - Summit - Chatham - Madison - Morristown - Morris Plains - Mount Tabor - Denville - Rockaway - Dover - Wharton, canal bridge | 46.56 | 30th | except June – September |
| Dover - Wharton, canal bridge | 4.38 | 30th | June – September only |
| Dover - Mine Hill - Kenvil - Succasunna - Ledgewood - Shippenport - Lake Hopatcong / Landing | 14.58 | 30 to Kenvil, otherwise 60 | except June – September |
| Lake Hopatcong / Landing - Bertrand's Island | 3.40 | 15th | June – September only |
| Springfield - Union - Elizabeth, train station | 9.59 | 60 | |
| Denville - Mountain Lakes - Boonton, train station | 7.89 | 30 in rush hour traffic, otherwise 60 | |
| Morristown - Morris Plains - State Hospital | 7.50 | 30th |
After the bankruptcy in 1923, the route network was changed. The year-round main line from Maplewood via Morristown to Lake Hopatcong / Landing, as well as a branch line from Rockaway via Dover to Wharton (line length 9.75 km) operated all year round. Another line reform brought about a division of the main line from May 2, 1926. Meanwhile, the extension to Newark was in operation and the line to Elizabeth closed.
| Lines | Wagon sequence (min) |
|---|---|
| Newark, Public Service Terminal - Irvington - Maplewood - Millburn - Springfield - Summit - Chatham - Madison - Morristown - Morris Plains - State Hospital | 30th |
| Morristown, Divisional Line - Morristown - Morris Plains - Mount Tabor - Denville - Rockaway - Dover - Mine Hill - Kenvil - Succasunna - Ledgewood - Shippenport - Lake Hopatcong / Landing | 30 to Kenvil, 60 to Landing |
| Rockaway - Dover - Wharton, canal bridge | 15th |
| Denville - Mountain Lakes - Boonton, train station | 30th |
Depots
There were three depots in the MCT network. The Western Division depot facilities were on the Rockaway suburbs near the Dover city limits on East Blackwell Street, just before its eastern end. The main track of the tram was on the southern edge of the road. On the same side, between the road and the Rockaway River, was the three-track wagon shed built in 1904, the administration offices and a sand and coal warehouse. The hangar was only connected in the direction of Rockaway, so vehicles that wanted to move west had to change direction. However, this was possible without any problems because the line was single-track. The power station, which was built in 1910, was located to the west of the depot. It had its own access track with a bridge for coal discharge, which was connected to Dover. North of the road was a connecting track from Dover to the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The three-track main workshop of the railway was built here in 1910, with several sidings next to it.
The equipment at the Millburn and Summit depots is unknown. The Summit depot, opened in 1912, replaced the Millburn depot, which was closed in 1914 at the latest. Another power plant with its own coal siding was built in Chatham south of Summit Avenue in 1911. The East Dover and Summit depots were in operation until the railway was closed.
vehicles
The MCT vehicles did not have a uniform color scheme. Many of the cars were dark green, but there were also vehicles painted yellow and red. The MCT had no sidecars for passenger traffic, and no trains were formed. Many details about the vehicles have not survived and are therefore missing in the following overview. Around 1910, the vehicle numbers of the passenger railcars were changed to three-digit numbers, whereby the work cars with numbers below 100 kept them.
| Numbers | Year of construction (s) | Manufacturer | Art | Comments / whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 1903 | Jackson & Sharp | Robinson type, closed three-axle vehicle with two engines | Tw 2 converted into a snow plow before 1910 (in use until at least 1920), Tw 1 redrawn into 200 around 1910 and used as a sand wagon shortly afterwards, but retired around 1914 |
| 3-4 | 1904 | Jackson & Sharp | identical to Tw 1–2 | Tw 3 converted into a snow plow before 1910, Tw 4 used as a dispatcher's office before 1910 |
| 5-8 | 1905 | Jackson & Sharp | identical to Tw 1–2 | No. 5, 6 (stationed in Dover) converted into working railcars before 1910, No. 7, 8 (stationed in Millburn) redrawn as 201, 202 around 1910 and used as a sand wagon from 1914 |
| 9-12 | 1906/07? | Jackson & Sharp | possibly open | unsure whether these cars really existed, whereabouts unknown |
| 21-26 | from 1893 | Stephenson | closed two-axle vehicles | Two used Tw 1905 bought from the Baltimore tram , others possibly elsewhere, converted into work cars before 1910, ATw 23 scrapped in 1918, ATw 26 possibly sold to Atlantic City tram , the rest probably scrapped before 1912 |
| 50-55 | 1905/06 | Jackson & Sharp | closed four-axle vehicles | redrawn in 300–305 around 1910 |
| 56-61 | 1907 | Jackson & Sharp | identical to 50–55 | unsure whether these cars were actually delivered, whereabouts unknown |
| 62-63 | 1909 | Barber | closed two-axle vehicles | about 1910 redrawn as 100–101, then used as a tool trolley and redrawn as 102–103 or 103–104 ?, a Tw possibly sold to the Parkersburg, Marietta and Interurban Railway , whereabouts unclear |
| 310-319 | 1911 | Brill | Four-axle, semi-convertible, four-engine | No. 316, No. 318 destroyed in fire in 1923, No. 312, No. 315 sold to Niagara Gorge Railway in 1925 , No. 314 converted into flat freight sidecars around 1926, the remainder sold in 1928 |
| 350-355 | 1899 | St. Louis | closed four-axle, four-engine | Bought second-hand, number 350 destroyed in a fire in 1923, number 351, 353 scrapped approx. 1925, the rest of them converted into work cars |
| 375-379 | 1910 | Stephenson | Four-axle, semi-convertible | probably all decommissioned around 1920 |
| 400-409 | 1914 | Cincinnati | closed four-axle, four-engine | No. 400, 404 destroyed by fire in 1923, No. 401, 402, 405–407 sold to the Tacoma tram in 1928 , the rest also sold in 1928 |
| 410-414 | 1916 | Cincinnati | identical to Tw 400–409 | No. 410, 413 sold to Tram Tacoma in 1928, the rest also sold in 1928 |
| 450–464, 455 ", 462" | 1919 | Wason | Birney Safety Cars , closed two-axle vehicles, two-engine | 455, 462 destroyed in fire in 1923, 455 '', 462 '', 464 bought second-hand in 1924 from Pennsylvania – New Jersey Railway (ex 101, 102, 110), five sold in 1928 to a streetcar on Staten Island , four tw Sold to Tram Kankakee in 1928, three Tws sold to Tram Huntingdon in 1928, the rest also sold in 1928 |
| 500-509 | 1924 | Osgood-Bradley | closed four-axle, four-engine | five Tw 1928 sold to Tram Oshawa (there Tw 100-104), the remainder sold to Tram Milwaukee in 1928 (there Tw 30-34) |
Little details are known about power trucks.
management
| from | to | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 1907 | Robert D. Foote |
| 1907 | December 1908 | Frederick H. Alleman |
| December 1908 | 1909 | David Gring |
| 1909 | December 1919 | Henry R. Rea |
| December 1919 | March 10, 1928 | Joseph K. Choate |
| from | to | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | December 1908 | Frederick H. Alleman |
| December 1908 | May 10, 1909 | SM manifold |
| May 10, 1909 | December 1909 | George A. Gilfillan |
| December 1909 | July 1911 | Henry H. Archer |
| July 1911 | November 1912 | George A. Gilfillan |
| November 1912 | March 1913 | Joseph K. Choate |
| March 1913 | March 1923 | Claude O. Weidman |
| March 1923 | March 10, 1928 | Otto G. Schultz |
From July 23, 1923 the company was under bankruptcy administration. This task was President Joseph K. Choate and Joseph Patrick Tumulty from Jersey City passed, they held until October 31, 1927 was adopted as the company by the shareholder meeting. Tumulty was a lawyer and a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, and from 1911 to 1921 private secretary to US President Woodrow Wilson .
Sources and further reading
- literature
- Joseph F. Eid, Jr., Barker Gummere: Streetcars of New Jersey . Self-published by J. Eid, 2007, ISBN 978-0-9801026-2-8 .
- Edward Hamm, Jr .: The Public Service Trolley Lines in New Jersey . Transportation Trails, Polo, Illinois 1991, ISBN 0-933449-12-7 .
- Larry Lowenthal, William T. Greenberg, Jr .: Morris County Traction Company . Self-published, Denville, New Jersey 2005, ISBN 978-0-9662736-1-8 .
- Individual evidence
- ↑ Census data on census.gov (English)
- ↑ Lowenthal & Greenberg 2005, page 5.
- ^ Lowenthal & Greenberg 2005, page 6.
- ^ Lowenthal & Greenberg 2005, page 11.
- ↑ Lowenthal & Greenberg 2005, p. 109.
- ^ Lowenthal & Greenberg 2005, pp. 109ff.
- ^ Lowenthal & Greenberg 2005, pages 112f.
- ↑ Eid & Gummere 2007, page 548.