Ride the Rockaway Loop
Presented by Richard King

Many of New Jersey’s earliest railroads followed crooked, circuitous routes that were later straightened or bypassed in the name of efficiency. The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad was a leading proponent of such improvements, and one notable byproduct of its efforts was the creation of the Rockaway Loop.

In 1848, the Morris & Essex Railroad chose a roundabout route to Dover via Rockaway in order to capture valuable iron ore traffic. This alignment remained part of the main line even after the DL&W leased the M&E in 1868 and completed the Denville Cut-Off and Boonton Line in 1870. It was not until 1903 that Morristown Line traffic was rerouted, leaving this segment as a vestige of an earlier era—thereafter known as the Rockaway Loop. Though reduced in status and just a single track, it continued to host commuter trains and limited freight service for decades.

The Mike Del Vecchio Library & Archive preserves a remarkable collection of photographs of the Rockaway Loop, assembled by the late Mike Del Vecchio. In this program, Richard King will take you on a journey along the nearly four-mile line, with particular emphasis on its final years leading up to abandonment in October 1948.

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