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Historical Context

The Northern Railroad of New Jersey was chartered in 1854. When it opened on May 28, 1859, it was the second railroad in modern Bergen County (following only the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad) with stage connections to Hackensack and other points. The northern terminal was Piermont, New York on the New York and Erie Rail Road, which had opened in 1841.

After running on the Erie for one mile, trains reached the Northern's own line at Sparkill, New York and ran for 21 miles to another junction with the Erie at Croxton in Jersey City, New Jersey. From there, trains ran on the Erie and the New Jersey Railroad for two and a half miles to the terminal later called Exchange Place. Passengers could continue by ferry to Chambers Street in Manhattan.

Because of its running over the Erie, the Northern was built to the same 6-foot broad gauge. By September 1859, there were three passenger trains in each direction, with one express running from Piermont to Jersey City in 70 minutes. Sometime in the 1860s the Northern began running service westward from Sparkill on the Erie's Piermont Branch as far as Monsey, New York.

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