Rails Through the Hanover Hills: The Morristown & Erie Railroad

The Morristown & Erie Railroad dates back to April 1895, when construction began on the Whippany River Railroad in Whippany, New Jersey, at the site of the community’s growing and prosperous paper mills. In October 1902, the Whippany River Railroad formed a second company, known as the Whippany & Passaic River Railroad, to extend the line seven more miles to connect with the Erie Railroad at Essex Fells. On August 28, 1903, the two railroads consolidated to form the Morristown & Erie Railroad Company. With more than 200 historic photographs, Rails through the Hanover Hills chronicles the activities of the Morristown & Erie Railroad from 1895 through the late 1960s. Discover rare images of the steam-powered locomotives that rolled along the banks of the winding Whippany River, trailed by carloads of coal, paper goods, and passengers, and meet the men who ran the trains, worked the stations and freight depots, repaired the track, and managed the company. View a variety of images from the railroad’s early days as well as the Morristown & Erie of today, as it continues to move forward in a vastly changing world.