Warren Railroad Co. - 1850's dated New Jersey Unissued Railway Stock Certificate - Great Rail-Road History

Unissued Railroad Stock. Identified vignette of 'Delaware Water Gap'. This vignette is quite large and impressive. Portrait of man. Early! A great stock.

The Warren Railroad was a railway located in Warren County, New Jersey, which functioned as a segment of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's mainline from 1856 until 1911. It was chartered on February 12, 1851, through a special act of the state of New Jersey, with the purpose of establishing a link from the terminus of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) at the Delaware River to Hampton, New Jersey, on the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), in anticipation of a merger between the two railroads. The organization of the railroad took place on March 4, 1853, and construction commenced in June of that year. The challenging terrain made the construction of the Warren Railroad costly, necessitating extensive excavation, the building of three large bridges, and the creation of two tunnels.

DL&W initiated operations on the railway on May 28, 1856, running from Delaware, New Jersey, to Hampton, and continuing over CNJ to Jersey City. In October 1857, DL&W formally leased the Warren Railroad. Initially, the tracks were laid to a gauge of 6 ft (1,829 mm), which was consistent with the Pennsylvania tracks of the DL&W. A third rail was subsequently added to the CNJ's standard gauge track of 4 ft 8.5 in (1,435 mm). At the time of the railroad's opening in 1856, the Van Nest Gap Tunnel had not yet been finished, necessitating the use of a temporary track. The tunnel was completed in September 1862, after which the temporary track was removed.