CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge - Misplaced Pages

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Revision as of 20:08, 2 April 2011 by RjwilmsiBot (talk | contribs) (CiteCompletion, dates: 1, works/pubs: 1, titles: 1, using AWB (7670))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Not to be confused with Newark Bay Bridge. Bridge in New Jersey

Newark Bay
The Central Railroad of New Jersey Newark Bay Bridge travelled between Bayonne and Elizabeth, seen in the distance. It was demolished in the 1980s.
Coordinates	40°39′16″N 74°09′00″W / 40.6545°N 74.15°W / 40.6545; -74.15
Carries	Central Railroad of New Jersey
Crosses	Newark Bay
Locale	New Jersey
Official name	Newark Bay
Characteristics
Design	Vertical lift bridge, through Parker truss
Total length	2 miles (3.2 km)
Width	4 tracks
Longest span	299 feet (91 m)
Clearance above	216 feet (66 m)
History
Designer	John Alexander Low Waddell
Opened	1926
Closed	1980-1988
Location

The Newark Bay Bridge of the Central Railroad of New Jersey was a four track railroad bridge that had four main lift spans. It opened in 1926, replacing an outdated two track bascule span built in 1901, that in turn had replaced a wooden draw bridge that originally opened on July 29, 1864. The bridge connected Elizabethport and Bayonne at the southern end of Newark Bay. The designer of this bridge was J.A.L. Waddell. On September 15, 1958, a commuter train plunged off the south span which had been opened for marine traffic, killing 48 people, including former New York Yankees second baseman Snuffy Stirnweiss. In 1966 the French freighter S.S. Washington collided with the north east lift span, rendering two tracks unusable. When the Aldene Plan went into effect in May 1967 the only passenger service on the bridge was the Bayonne-Cranford shuttle, known commonly as the "Scoot". The last freight train crossed the bridge in 1976 just prior to the formation of Conrail, and the last passenger train left Bayonne's Eighth Street Station on August 6, 1978. Despite Bayonne's efforts to save the bridge, demolition of the central lift spans began in July 1980 after the United States Coast Guard declared the structure a navigational hazard to ships. The trestle and approaches were removed in 1987-1988 when it became apparent that a replacement span was no longer feasible.