Northside or Southside – Train Determines Socio Economic Town Dynamics

Part of our Mr. Local History Train Series…..

For years, the Mr. Local History research team has been digging into New Jersey’s railroad history. As we traced old rail lines town by town, something curious began to appear in our notes. In community after community, the rail line seemed to divide towns into two very different worlds. On one side of the tracks were larger homes, established neighborhoods, and long-standing residential districts. On the other side were factories, freight yards, or more modest housing. The pattern appeared often enough to raise a question.

The idea felt familiar. Anyone who remembers the classic film The Outsiders knows the phrase well: people from opposite sides of the tracks living very different lives. But was that just storytelling, or was there some truth to it here in New Jersey?

The more we looked, the more the question grew. Was there really a pattern across New Jersey railroad towns where one side of the tracks consistently became wealthier than the other? And if so, which side was it?

So the Mr. Local History researchers decided to test the idea. Instead of relying on anecdotes, we assembled a dataset of railroad towns across the state, focusing on communities where east-west rail lines clearly divide the town. Then we asked the question: in each town, which side of the tracks became the wealthier side? Let us look at what the data reveals.

Grock says – My percentage is 90%, based on an analysis of approximately 50 American towns divided by east-west running railroad tracks, because prevailing winds from the west often blow train smoke and industrial pollution southward making the north side cleaner and more desirable, northern areas tend to be cooler with less direct southern exposure appealing to affluent residents seeking comfort, and historical urban development patterns frequently placed wealthier suburbs and estates to the north away from southern floodplains or industrial zones.

Now we go to the New Jersey Railroad Specific.

Across the dataset of New Jersey railroad towns, the numbers show a measurable directional pattern in wealth distribution relative to east-west rail lines. Out of 71 towns analyzed, 45 show higher wealth north of the tracks, while 26 show higher wealth south of the tracks. This produces a statewide distribution of 63 percent north-side wealth and 37 percent south-side wealth.

Key Drivers for the North-South Differentiators

Once the numbers were assembled and the pattern began to appear, the next question naturally followed. Why did this happen? Why would so many New Jersey towns show a consistent north-south difference in wealth on opposite sides of the railroad tracks?

The answer is not a single cause but a combination of historical forces that shaped the development of railroad towns in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Geography, industry, transportation planning, and residential settlement patterns all played a role. When examined together, these forces help explain why certain sides of town became more desirable while others developed very differently. Several key drivers recur across New Jersey railroad communities and help explain the north-south differentiation observed in the data.

Topography and elevation
In many New Jersey railroad towns, the tracks were built in valleys where the grade was easiest for trains. This often left the higher ground on one side of town, which naturally became more desirable for residential development. Over time, wealthier neighborhoods tended to grow on the higher ground along the tracks, while the lower ground remained closer to industry and transportation infrastructure.

Industrial zoning along the rail corridor
Railroads attracted factories, freight yards, warehouses, and mills. These facilities were usually concentrated on one side of the tracks, where freight sidings and loading areas could be built. As industrial activity expanded, worker housing developed nearby, while higher-value residential areas gradually formed on the opposite side of town.

Railroads shaping town growth patterns
When railroads arrived in the nineteenth century,y they often determined where the town center would develop. Streets, businesses, and housing expanded outward from the station area, but expansion was rarely equal on both sides. Once development favored one side of the tracks, the pattern tended to repeat as towns grew over decades.

Commuter estate development in the late nineteenth century
With reliable rail service to New York City, wealthy commuters began building large homes and country estates in rail towns across northern New Jersey. These estates often clustered together in the most desirable areas of town, reinforcing existing residential patterns and permanently establishing which side of the tracks became the more affluent district.

Movies That Tell Similar Railroad Stories from Both Sides of the Tracks

Year	Movie	Quote Referencing One Side Of Town	Side Reference	YouTube Clip
1961	West Side Story	When you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way.	West Side Jets vs Sharks territory in New York	See Clip
1983	The Outsiders	The Socs are the jet set the West Side rich kids.	West Side Socs vs East Side Greasers in Tulsa	See Clip
1986	Pretty in Pink	She's from the wrong side of the tracks.	Wealthy school kids vs working class neighborhood	See Clip
1991	Boyz n the Hood	Either they don't know don't show or don't care about what's going on in the hood.	South Central Los Angeles vs rest of city	See Clip
1993	Menace II Society	This is Watts man.	Watts neighborhood vs other parts of Los Angeles	See Clip
1995	Friday	You from around here.	Territorial neighborhood identity across blocks	See Clip
2008	Gran Torino	Get off my lawn.	Old Detroit neighborhood vs changing immigrant side of town	See Clip
2013	Snowpiercer	The front is for the elite the tail is for the poor.	Front of train vs tail section class divide	See Clip
2019	Parasite	They are rich but still nice.	Hilltop mansion neighborhood vs lower flood plain district	See Clip

Thoughts?

Tell us what you think, what you know about the history, or what you love about the area……comments section below

More Mr. Local History Related Posts

The West Line Railroad: Fate That Created a Community Instead of an Industry

Somerset Hills Rail Travel & Commuting Over the Last 150 Years

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Town Data

Drop us a Note if you agree or disagree in the comments section below (Confidence levels vary)

Town	County	Railroad Line	Wealth	Confidence
Alpha	Warren	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Annandale	Hunterdon	CNJ Main Line	North	Low
Annandale	Hunterdon	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Asbury	Hunterdon	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Basking Ridge	Somerset	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	High
Berkeley Heights	Union	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Bernardsville	Somerset	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	High
Bloomsbury	Hunterdon	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Bordentown	Burlington	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Low
Bound Brook	Somerset	CNJ Main Line	North	Low
Bound Brook	Somerset	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Burlington	Burlington	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Low
Camden	Camden	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Low
Chatham	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Medium
Clinton	Hunterdon	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Convent Station	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Medium
Cranford	Union	CNJ Main Line	North	Medium
Denville	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
Dover	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
Dunellen	Middlesex	CNJ Main Line	South	Medium
East Orange	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	High
Elizabeth	Union	CNJ Main Line	North	Medium
Elizabeth	Union	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Medium
Fanwood	Union	CNJ Main Line	North	Medium
Far Hills	Somerset	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	High
Finderne	Somerset	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Gillette	Morris	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Gladstone	Somerset	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	High
Hackettstown	Warren	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
High Bridge	Hunterdon	CNJ Main Line	North	Low
Hoboken	Hudson	DL&W Morris and Essex	North	Medium
Lake Hopatcong	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
Lebanon	Hunterdon	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Lyons	Somerset	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Madison	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Medium
Maplewood	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	High
Metuchen	Middlesex	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Medium
Metuchen Junction	Middlesex	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Millburn	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	High
Millington	Morris	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Morris Plains	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Medium
Morristown	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Medium
Mount Arlington	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
Mount Tabor	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
Murray Hill	Union	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Netcong	Morris	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	Low
New Brunswick	Middlesex	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Medium
New Providence	Union	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Newark	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	North	Low
Newark	Essex	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Low
North Branch	Hunterdon	CNJ Main Line	North	Low
North Branch	Somerset	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Orange	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	High
Peapack	Somerset	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	High
Perth Amboy	Middlesex	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Phillipsburg	Warren	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Plainfield	Union	CNJ Main Line	North	High
Princeton Junction	Mercer	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Low
Rahway	Union	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Low
Raritan	Somerset	CNJ Main Line	North	Low
Roselle	Union	CNJ Main Line	North	Low
Short Hills	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	High
Somerville	Somerset	CNJ Main Line	North	Medium
South Orange	Essex	DL&W Morris and Essex	South	High
South Plainfield	Middlesex	Lehigh Valley Railroad	North	Low
Stirling	Morris	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	Medium
Summit	Union	DL&W Morris and Essex	North	High
Summit	Union	DL&W Gladstone Branch	North	High
Trenton	Mercer	Camden and Amboy / PRR	North	Medium
Westfield	Union	CNJ Main Line	North	High
White House	Hunterdon	CNJ Main Line	North	Low