John Delach

For generations upon generations, the Hudson River stood as an absolute barrier between New York City and the rest of the continental United States with the exception of areas to the north and from the north, the route west from Albany to Chicago. Over time railroads that headed north and those that headed east to cities like Boston had tracks that extended into Manhattan. But it wasn’t until 1871 that the first rendition of Grand Central was constructed at the corner of Forty-Second Street and newly built, Vanderbilt Avenue. Originally named Grand Central Depot, it accommodated all of those railroads in one station.

Still, all the other trains from the south and the west stopped at the Hudson River including the multitude of commuter trains that carried daily passengers bound for Manhattan. The steam ferries that crossed over to Manhattan didn’t just carry passengers, they also carried wagons and, later, trucks carrying food, goods and merchandise destined for Manhattan destinations.

The southern most terminal was close to Ellis Island in Communipaw operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It opened in 1864 and also serviced trains operated by the Baltimore and Ohio, Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Reading Railroad with its ferries crossing the Hudson to the Liberty Street Ferry Terminal until 1967.

The ferry terminal was demolished, but the railroad terminal has been renovated into a museum as part of Liberty State Park.

The Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City was operated by the Erie Railroad. It also serviced six other railroads including the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad. The Erie ferries ran to Manhattan terminals at Chambers Street and 23^rd Street. Service began in 1861 and ended in 1958 when the Erie merged with the Lackawanna and shifted to the Hoboken Terminal.

The Jersey City terminal lay dormant and abandoned until the 1980s when developers re-discovered the waterfront. In the process, the name Pavonia disappeared and is now called, Exchange Place.

Just to the north of the Pavonia Terminal, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) built an imposing terminal in Jersey City that they also called Exchange Place. The ferry terminal supported five slips and the train stations were covered by a large dome that towered over the tracks. The original terminal opened in 1834 and the PRR acquired the terminal in 1871. The terminal was rebuilt twice, first in 1876 and, again, in 1888 to 1892.

The PRR ferries crossed the Hudson from the terminal to the railroad’s ferry terminal at Courtland Street.

Even though New York’s Pennsylvania’s station opened in 1910, the railroad continued to operate trains into and out of the Exchange Place, Jersey City terminal until 1961. The terminal and the surrounding tracks were demolished in 1963.

Heading north, the next complex was the Weehawken Terminal that opened in 1884. The complex included five ferry slips, sixteen train tracks, car float facilities and extensive yards. The principal users were the New York Central’s (NYC) West Shore Railroad and the New York, Ontario and Western Railway.

Ferry service that operated from the terminal to Cortland Street ended on March 25, 1959 when the Weehawken ended 259 years of continuous ferry service. Train service ceased the same day.

The Hoboken Terminal is the most northern of the ferry terminals, it is also the newest, built in 1911, the only survivor of the five facilities and… “is considered a milestone in American transportation combining rail, ferry subway, streetcar and pedestrian services.”

Granted the light rail and the ferry service are light years away from the original trolleys and steam ferries that served the terminal in olden days. Those trolleys stopped running in 1949 and the ferry service that operated between Hoboken and Cortland Street stopped running in 1959 and between Hoboken and Barclay Street in 1967.

New Jersey Transit operates today’s light rail service and New York Waterways, the passenger ferries. The Erie-Lackawanna Railroad went bankrupt in June of 1972 and a court ordered their commuter operations to be assumed by newly formed ConRail. ConRail disputed the court’s ruling and did nothing to improve service. Finally, the state of New Jersey had enough and on January 1, 1983, NJ Transit took over all commuter lines within the state.

Today, Hoboken terminal serves eight NJ Transit commuter lines and one Metro North railroad line. The terminal has been completely renovated and retains its classic features including the large Lackawanna R.R. sign facing the entrance on the land side, the seven ferry slips (although unused) and the railroad waiting room.

This little used waiting room leads to a large space nearly 500 feet long and 30 feet wide that originally connected the ferry slips to the terminal. The room offers views of New York City extending from the harbor to the George Washington Bridge. Planning is still developing to decide what to do with this unique space. What ever is decided should only enhance this treasure of by-gone American railroading when trains were the life-blood of our nation.

“On the Outside Looking In” will not publish next week but will return on September 9.