Most of you reading this newspaper, I would guess, are from Hoboken or a nearby town. I, on the other hand, am a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker. But I’m also a lifelong rail fan, which is where the connection to Hudson County comes in.
As a kid, I looked out the window whenever I rode the trains, on both subways and railroads. When I got home, I drew transit maps for hours. I knew not only the current routes, but subway and rail lines of the past as well. When I began visiting cities like San Francisco, Boston, and Newark that had trolleys, I fell in love with them too.
At the age of 18, I joined a railroad enthusiasts’ club, although my enthusiasm cooled somewhat when I found that few girls were members.
Back in ’85, I wrote a freelance article for a trade publication about the possibility of a light rail in the New York metro area. I concentrated on three things: the proposal for what later became the Hudson-Bergen light rail system; the proposal for a trolley line down Manhattan’s 42nd Street, and the plans by Bob Diamond, then a young engineering student, to purchase old trolleys and build his own trolley system in downtown Brooklyn.
Well, we know the 42nd Street light rail plan never got off the ground. As for Diamond, he bought a bunch of trolleys, mainly from Boston, got hold of some equipment, and, with the help of his volunteers, started laying tracks on streets in Red Hook. But then the city refused to give his organization any more money without in-kind contributions from private donors. The tracks were ripped up, many of his trolleys were junked, and no one seems to know where he is nowadays.
How different the Hudson-Bergen light rail proposal turned out to be! The contract was given in 1996, and the line opened in 2000, with new extensions every year or two. The Hudson-Bergen planners cleverly made use of the right-of-ways of now-defunct railways like the New Jersey Junction Railroad, the West Shore Railroad, and the Central Railroad of New Jersey, perhaps answering the prophet Ezekiel’s question, “Can these bones live?” Another portion is built on the roadbed of the old Morris Canal.
Wherever it runs, the line has spurred development. The west side of Hoboken used to be a rundown area, but if you look out the window of the light rail train as it goes through that area, it seems that there’s an apartment building under construction or a recently completed one on every block.
The streetcars are roomy and attractive, and the stations successfully blend elements of old and new. The line’s underground station in Union City is particularly interesting. I don’t understand the reason for the “validation” business, but that’s not a major problem. The Hudson-Bergen line requires you to buy your ticket in one machine, but then go to another, nearby machine and have the ticket “validated” with a date and a time. And, if you’re a transit buff like me, you can stand on the platform, see a one- or two-car train coming around the bend, and be reminded of the inter-urban streetcar lines of yesteryear.
West of Hudson County, in Newark, the “City Subway” light rail line has been operating for decades. I was a little bummed out when they replaced the historic “PCC”-model trolleys with more modern vehicles, but I’m glad to know that most of them got new homes in trolley museums across the U.S.
I love the 1930s WPA-type murals on the old underground stations, and am glad to know that the Newark system, too, has recently been expanded.
By contrast, look how long it has taken the still-unbuilt Second Avenue subway in Manhattan to get off the ground. Did someone say it was the early 1970s when some sections were dug, only to be abandoned when the New York had its financial crisis? Try 1929! That’s when it was first proposed.
Yes, New York has the Empire State Building, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum, etc., but when it comes to light rail transit, there’s not one doubt in my mind – it’s New Jersey that’s got it goin’ on! New Jersey, I salute you! – Raanan Geberer
Raanan Geberer is the managing editor of the revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle in Brooklyn, N.Y. Comments on this essay are welcome at graanan315@aol.com. Send your own essays to current@hudsonreporter.com.