Railroads

The first of the steam railroads to enter Newark, was the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company, which was chartered March 7, 1832. The first trips were made by horse power making eight trips each way to Jersey City every day. The trip lasted 30 minutes.

It wasn’t until December 2, 1835 that the first locomotive ran the route. Horses were still used to pull the cars over the Bergen Hill until the Bergen cut was completed on January 1, 1838. The road was extended south from Newark to Elizabeth in 1835, Rahway in 1836 and to Philadelphia in 1839. In 1862 the company built a more direct route between Jersey City and Newark, straightening the road at the meadows.

In 1867 the company consolidated with the Camden and Amboy Railroad, under the name of the United Railroads of New Jersey. In 1871 the United Railroads of New Jersey were leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for 999 years.