Excerpt from Summer in the Palisades: A Description of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey and the Palisades
And all this magic change was wrought by a railroad. The quiet of the ancient hills was broken sixteen years ago by the shriek of a commonplace locomotive-a grimy, belching, hissing, thun dering locomotive, ever synonymous, in the rustic mind, with the destruction of all that characterizes rural joy and peace. But the Genius of Suburban Ease was not driven from its chosen home by this locomotive, but rather found its mystic realm strength ened and enlarged, and its devotees annually increased. Never, probably, in the history of railroads in this country, was there less perceptible prosperous future for a road than for the one that was projected through this section in 1854. But there were men who were strong in the belief that they could read in the horo scope of the coming years great results which would follow the de velopment of the region by a railroad penetrating its heart, and, willing to risk much to demonstrate their faith, in the above year obtained a charter for the building of such a road. The work was commenced, and completed, and in 1859 the first train of cars traversed the historic and romantic valley. This road was the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, and that the dreams of its projectors have been more than realized, the hourly trains that glide over the road, filled to repletion with passengers whose homes along the line were, literally, made by the iron thorough fare, alone bear ample witness.
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