Editing River Line (Conrail)

{{Redirect|West Shore Line|the New York Central subsidiary|West Shore Railroad}}
{{Other uses|River Line (disambiguation)}}
{{merge|River Subdivision (CSX Transportation)|Selkirk Subdivision|West Shore Subdivision|target=West Shore Railroad main line|discuss=Talk:River Subdivision (CSX Transportation)#Merge proposal|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Current north Hudson County railroads.png|thumb|300px|right|A map of the River Line and former River Line at its south end; the River Line comes from the northwest corner, and used to turn east through the tunnel and then south along the river.]]

The '''River Line''' was a [[Conrail]] rail line located between [[Jersey City, New Jersey]] and [[Selkirk, New York]], United States. It ran along the west side of the [[The Palisades (Hudson River)|Hudson Palisades]] and, after passing through a tunnel at [[Haverstraw, New York]], along the west bank of the [[Hudson River]]. It was previously the [[New York Central Railroad|New York Central]]'s [[West Shore Railroad]] and Weehawken Branch. The River Line has since been split into several sections, following the 1999 division of Conrail assets between [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] and [[CSX Transportation]].

The majority of the line is now the [[River Subdivision (CSX Transportation)|CSX River Subdivision]], which runs from Control Point 2 (CP2) at the [[North Bergen Yard]] in [[North Bergen, New Jersey]] to Selkirk. The portion south of CP2, including the [[Weehawken Tunnel]], is now part of [[NJ Transit]]'s [[Hudson–Bergen Light Rail]]. Freight trains continuing south of CP2 now use the [[Northern Branch|Northern Running Track]], a portion of a former Erie Railroad line that has been upgraded to handle the traffic. At Selkirk, the River Subdivision ends at the [[Castleton Subdivision]], with the [[Port Subdivision]] continuing towards [[Albany, New York|Albany]]. The Castleton Sub was built in 1924 as part of a bypass for through freight trains around Albany.

==Conrail's defunct River Line and Weehawken Branch==
[[File:VIEW WEST, DETAIL, EASTERN PORTAL - New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad, Weehawken Tunnel, Weehawken, Hudson County, NJ HAER NJ,9-WEEHK,1A-5.tif|thumb|The River Line ran at the foot of the [[Bergen Hill]] parallel to the [[North River (Hudson River)|Hudson River]] until the former [[Weehawken Terminal]], where it veered west under the [[Hudson Palisades]] through a tunnel to [[North Bergen Yard]]. ]]
The River Line began at [[CP Waldo]], at a junction with the [[Passaic and Harsimus Line]] (P&H). The P&H Line runs west through what was the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[Bergen Hill|Bergen Hill Cut]], just north of [[PATH (rail system)|PATH]], through a re-aligned [[Marion Junction (New Jersey)|Marion Junction]].

At [[CP Nave]], the River Line junctioned with the [[National Docks Secondary]], which still runs south on the east side of the [[The Palisades (Hudson River)|Hudson Palisades]], with the [[Nave-Croxton Running Track]] running west through the old [[Erie Railroad]]'s  [[Long Dock Tunnel]]. The junction only allowed trains coming to/from the south on the National Docks to continue to/from the north on the River Line.

North of CP Nave, the River Line entered [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]]; it is now used for the [[Hudson-Bergen Light Rail]] (HBLR) north of this point. The HBLR runs around the west and north sides of Hoboken and into [[Weehawken, New Jersey|Weehawken]], where it turns west through a tunnel to [[CSX]]'s [[North Bergen Yard]], originally part of the [[New York Central Railroad|New York Central]]'s [[West Shore Railroad]].

From that point north, the River Line is still in use, but as [[CSX]] as the [[River Subdivision (CSX)|River Subdivision]], north toward [[Albany, New York]].

The Weehawken Branch was just east of the River Line, from somewhere in Jersey City north of [[CP Nave]] to Baldwin Avenue in Weehawken. It was operated by Conrail as a second track of the River Line.

The River Line was abandoned east and south of the [[Tonnelle Avenue]] overpass at the North Bergen yard. The short connection between the [[National Docks Secondary]] and the River Line was also abandoned, as was the Weehawken Branch.<ref name="gpo">{{cite web|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-12-08/html/00-30944.htm|title=Federal Register, Volume 65 Issue 237 (Friday, December 8, 2000)|publisher=gpo.gov|accessdate=2014-10-05}}</ref>

===History===
The first bit of the River Line, splitting from the P&H Line and passing over the National Docks, was built fairly-recently as a connecting track. North of there, the line was the [[New Jersey Junction Railroad]] to the Weehawken tunnel. Through the tunnel, it was the [[West Shore Railroad]]. Both of these lines were owned by the [[New York Central Railroad]].

The Weehawken Branch was built and owned by the [[Erie Railroad]]. It originally passed through the middle of Hoboken, but was later realigned to the west side, right next to the New Jersey Junction Railroad.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Annual Statements of the Railroad and Canal Companies|author=Treasury, N.J.C.T.|date=2008|publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=9780559759024|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPxWKIDKbZoC|page=231|accessdate=2014-10-05}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.stb.dot.gov/Decisions/readingroom.nsf/2fd5b0a40d03372185256f7a006623d0/4fc95495a8c9c98d852569a5006f78a6?OpenDocument STB - CSX Discontinuance Exemption AB-55 584X]
*[http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/ByDocketNumber?OpenView&Start=1953&ExpandView STB - Conrail Abandonment of the Weehawken Branch AB-167 766N]
*[http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/ByDocketNumber?OpenView&Start=2368&ExpandView STB - NS Discontinuance Exemption AB-290 212X]
*[http://www.trainweb.org/eastpenn/crprivl.html January 15, 1998 Conrail River Line timetable]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20151208222124/http://www.donwinter.com/Railroad%20Infrastructure%20and%20Traffic%20Data/Regions/New%20York%20City/Route%20Descriptions/North%20Bergen%20to%20Newburgh.htm Route description NB to Newburgh]}}

[[Category:Rail infrastructure in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Rail infrastructure in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey]]