Orange Branch Historical Society

Our next meeting is on Wednesday, August 26 at 8 p.m. We have a special program called “Rail Tales: Summit Park Line.” Dr. Robert Rubino, president of the Summit Park Line Foundation, will talk to us about the creation of a new rail trail in Summit. Attend via Zoom here. Sign up here for alerts about this event.

The Erie Railroad once had line called the Orange Branch that passed through Newark, Bloomfield, East Orange, Orange, and ended at the Erie Loop on Main Street in West Orange. On September 20, 1966, the last train left the station.

The mission of our historical society is to preserve the history of this line and advocate for landmarking the Orange Branch corridor, with the hopes of someday transforming the abandoned remains as a rail trail or a light rail.

“This photo was taken with my Kodak “Brownie” 620 box camera.  I rode to the locations on my Schwin bicycle. It was rare to see an EMD A&B F unit on the Orange Branch.  They were powering a work train which was demolishing the crossing watchman shanties, towers and wooden gates after passenger service ended,” said Bill McElvey. Credit: Bill McElvey.

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