Queen of the Valley

Jersey City, NJ - CartLegger - Sunday, June 15th, 2008 : goo

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A commute out of the past, long gone days in NJ.

Not the only people to pass through the now overgrown tracks of the Central Railroad of NJ Terminal.

"The opening of the new terminal (in 1989) occurred with the time of heaviest immigration to the United States from Europe. It is estimated that from 1890 to 1915 9-to-12 million immigrants were processed for entry at Ellis Island and entered the country via the terminal."

But after the Fed cut off immigration after 1924, commuters replaced immigrants...

"The popularity of the use of the terminal claims a record peak use of 21 million passengers in 1929. In 1926 a new drawbridge over Newark Bay was opened for service. Passenger use began to decline with the Depression and World War II. By the end of the war, competition hurt railway services; urban residents moved to the suburbs, cars and buses became the preference of commuters, Hudson River tunnels and bridges picked up traffic, and trucking and air freight for cargo surpassed railway transport."

The CRRNJ continued to have financial crises and in 1967 filed for final bankruptcy and closed the terminal in Jersey City. The terminal is now the focal point of the three-part historic centerpiece that it shares with Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty on the Jersey City waterfront. The partially restored terminal is used as a visitors' center and for exhibits and social and cultural events.

from "Jersey City, Past and Present".
www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/C_Pages/Central_Railroad_of_New_Jersey.html

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jack: my daughter lives in high bridge.

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