the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ho-Ho-Kus NJ, a historical plaque has been erected on East Franklin Turnpike in recognition of a set of original trolley tracks from the North Jersey Rapid Transit Line that are embedded in the sidewalk.
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Known as “The Trolley”, with its main sub-station located in Ho-Ho-Kus, this single-track electric rail system served a 16-mile route from 1909 to 1929.
The Borough and the County have preserved the tracks to provide residents and visitors insight into this beloved and popular form of transportation between area municipalities.
You may learn more additional facts about the history of this iconic remnant of the past by scanning the QR code.
The Mayor and Council is pleased to recognize Nancy L. Pianfetti, President of Ho-Ho-Kus Historical Association, for her fund-raising effort.
Background : The public referred to it as “The Trolley” or the Suffern Trolley. It ran in and out of Ho-Ho-Kus from late 1909 to 1929. It was a single-track system with by-pass tracks to allow for two-way traffic. When fully operational, the route started in East Paterson (Elmwood Park) with stops in Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Ridgewood, Ho-Ho-Kus, Waldwick, Allendale, Ramsey, Mahwah and Suffern, New York. (16 miles).
The Board of Directors had additional routes planned to expand the system to Tuxedo, Greenwood Lake, Spring Valley, New York and Hoboken, New Jersey.
Construction started in August 1908. Various delays were experienced because of land acquisition for the right of ways had not been all secured. Road crossings were a problem in Ridgewood and property owners wanted more money. In addition, the Erie Railroad crossings had not been properly concluded. But very limited non-revenue service was reported by late October 1909 to Ho-Ho-Kus. Regular revenue service was in place by mid June 1910. Service to Mahwah began in early 1911. Suffern service was established by 1912.
see more https://www.hhkborough.com/community/pages/north-jersey-rapid-transit-ho-ho-kus-trolley
That’s good stuff !
In the 1970s people still remembered the sound of the crash when trolleys heading in opposite directions collided.
If anyone is interested, there is a book available at the library on the history of this trolley line called Interurban Interlude; a history of the North Jersey Rapid Transit Company.
Great book and the author ej quimby was a unique character. Hohokus was a central part of a couple of stories in the book
if it was in service today, the passengers from paterson would be coming here to steal cars from the lazy residents who leave the key fobs in the vehicles
Not sure why your comment is necessary. That said if you had been around in the 40s and 50s you would have been shopping in Paterson. It was the Paramus of that era
For decades after the trolley ended the Public Service bus company ran the approximate route line 170 from ramsey to paterson. Service became hohokus to paterson in the 80s who knows what now