Ever wonder what it was like to travel on a train back in 1872 in the Somerset Hills? Train service has always been a connector between Somerset Hills, Hoboken, and New York City.
Service runs on what is known as the Gladstone branch of the Morris & Essex Line of the New Jersey Transit system today, but it began operating as the New Jersey West Line with it’s maiden voyage on January 29, 1872 between Hoboken to Bernardsville. A later line extension was added, reaching out to Peapack and Gladstone that opened in 1890, allowing commuting and vacationing aristocrats to travel to the beucolic area known as the Somerset Hills. One fellow historian told me once that back in the day, if you wanted to find the wealthiest, you just had to travel to the end of the railroad line. Let’s take a look at the history of the railroad in the Somerset Hills.
John H. Anderson, President, Morris P. Blater, Treasurer
The Passaic Valley and Peapack Railroad was incorporated in March 1865. John H. Anderson of Bernards Township, the first president of the Passaic Valley and Peapack Railroad, was a principal promoter of the rail project and its financing, and the 1872 Bernards Township bond issue represented local municipal investment intended to support the railroad he was helping to develop through the Somerset Hills. Anderson was elected and allocated $1.2 million to get the project rolling. (Historic Preservation Office New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form Railroad Stations of New Jersey 1984).
Basking Ridge issued $127,000 in 1877 with a whole bunch of arguments between residents and the bondholders. After a legal battle that led all the way to the US Supreme Court, the bondholders finally won out in 1890. The railroad reached Basking Ridge and Bernardsville, introducing service in 1872.
BERNARDSVILLE SIDE HISTORY:
John H. Anderson was a Bernardsville businessman, landowner, and civic leader whose family homestead just up the hill from the Bernardsville village that later became Anderson Hill Road was also the the first president of the Passaic Valley and Peapack Railroad.
Living on the Anderson homestead during the height of the West Line Railroad development, (1870 – 1905), Anderson was part of the circle of local investors and promoters whose financial and political interests were closely tied to the development and success of the Somerset Hills rail corridor and the Gladstone extension. Contemporary references describe him in leadership roles, including service as president in connection with railroad related initiatives and funding efforts, reflecting his standing in the community. By 1911 the former Anderson estate had passed out of the family and was purchased by Colonel Edwin A. Ned Stevens and his wife Emily, members of the prominent Stevens family whose nearby holdings included the Annandale estate of Robert Livingston Stevens, linking the earlier Anderson ownership directly to the later Stevens presence along the same ridge.
John Smith Map Collection.
See what early travel was like on the steam locomotives of the 1800s.
The New Jersey West Line –
First Summit to Bernardsville…
Then Bernardsville to Gladstone
The West Line was originally envisioned in the late 1860s by Pennsylvania industrialist Asa Packer of Mauch Chunk, founder of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, who saw the route as a potential cross state corridor to move coal from Pennsylvania to eastern markets. Plans called for extending the newly opened Summit to Bernardsville segment west through stations at Far Hills, Peapack, Pottersville, Califon, High Bridge, Clinton, Bloomsbury, and ultimately Phillipsburg, where connection with his railroad system could be made, but financial troubles and the Panic of 1873 halted the project before it could be completed.
The Bernardsville station opened on January 29, 1872, when the first New Jersey West Line Railroad train departed Hoboken, stopped in Summit, and continued on to Bernardsville, New Jersey. Dubbed “The Millionaire’s Express,” the train promised respite from the commotion of the city while offering new business and residential opportunities in the Somerset Hills. Although the original West Line company intended to extend the railroad farther west toward Pennsylvania, financial troubles and the Panic of 1873 halted expansion after Bernardsville. The unfinished line was later acquired by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, which completed the western extension, reaching Far Hills (1887), Peapack (1888), and Gladstone (May 1891), transforming the route into a commuter branch that continues to operate today.
The Millionaire’s Express and the Parlor Car
Known as “the parlor car”, this car had comfortable oversized individual chairs lining each side of the aisle. The gentlemen’s section, where smoking was permitted, had 28 chairs, and the smaller, non-smoking ladies’ section had 17 chairs. Each seat in the smoking section had a silver-plated spittoon that was filled with fresh, soapy water each morning and afternoon.
Every other seat had a small white ivory button on the wall between the windows that, when pushed, summoned the white-jacketed attendant to take their order. The entrance to his tiny beverage station (more of a closet) had no door but instead had fancy carved wooden columns, one on each side. The last attendant on this car was James Moore, who assisted the millionaires onto and off the train at each station a millionaire boarded.
In 1930, this parlor car was equipped with air conditioning, a scarce feature at the time. It was the Carrier Ice Safety System, a large steel box suspended from the underside of the floor, in which 200-pound blocks of ice were placed each hot afternoon. A fan blew air over the ice, and the chilled air was blown into the passenger area. Now, this was commuting at its best for the wealthy.
Photo: Steve Hepler
This historically significant railroad car was built in 1912 by the Barney & Smith Car Co. of Dayton, Ohio, for the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western RR.
Rail Extension
Far Hills, Peapack, and Gladstone stations were later added in 1890, thanks to individuals like Grant Schley and C. Ledyard Blair, who needed rail access to support their estate projects (Froheim and Blairsden). The Passaic and Delaware Extension Railroad was chartered in 1890 and opened later that year, extending the line to its current terminus in Gladstone, New Jersey.
1890 to 1915
Rail service fueled the rise of the Somerset Hills estate community. Wealthy industrialists used the line for commuting to New York City. Gladstone became associated with country estates and leisure travel which later contributed to the line nickname Millionaires Express.
Take a look at the Gladstone Train station, that opened in 1890. Along with the Gladstone Station, the Bernardsville and Lyons stations are all on the New Jersey and National Registries of Historic Places.
Through the efforts and development from people like Grant Schley and others , the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad built the Gladstone extension line from Bernardsville to Gladstone. Service began officially on December 8, 1890. A train station was also constructed at Far Hills, around which a rural commercial center developed thus the major development to the village of Far Hills.
Gladstone’s original station opened in 1891 with its wood station and freight station remaining in service today. The head house has been on the state and federal registers of historic places since 1984.
Lyons Station was originally built in 1931 by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad to coincide with electrification and to serve the new VA Medical Center in Lyons (opened in 1930). It was the last station built by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad in New Jersey, commonly referred to as the “Delay, Linger, and Wait”.
The Lyons station was listed in the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on March 17, 1984, and in the National Register of Historic Places on June 22, 1984.
Train Service over the Years
It’s interesting to understand the differences in commuting over the years. In the almost 150 years of service, the train has gained a 33% efficiency (but boy, it just feels the same for some reason).
Mr. Local History ran a few numbers to find out just how long it took to get from New York City to the Somerset Hills now versus back in 1872 on those old-fashioned steam engine trains. What we found is that it takes pretty much the same amount of time now as it did back then. Take a look.
Electric and Diesel Hybrid Trains Take Over
Starting in 1928, electric service transformed rail traffic again. However, it wasn’t until 1954 that the line was decommissioned for steam engine traffic. Some areas saw electric trains as early as 1928. We know Far Hills got its first electric trains sometime in 1931.
Today, both electric and hybrid electric/diesel trains run the Morris Essex line to afford direct travel to New York City’s Penn Station. But the trip to Summit and Hoboken remains dedicated to electric rail service.
Additional Information
Train stations in the Somerset Hills are not just for commuters. What’s interesting is that train stations in Far Hills, Bernardsville, Lyons, and Millington all offer excellent food and coffee services, providing a great opportunity for conversation with coffee and sandwiches. Please stop by, grab something to snack on, and share a photo with us!
And don’t forget the Bernardsville Farmers Market, typically on Saturdays at their train station.
Thanks, Mayor, for reminding us! Trains and grains at the Bernardsville Farmers Market are held on Saturday mornings in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.
