Ogden Mine Railroad

The Ogden Mine Railroad was a mine railroad in the U.S. state of New Jersey from 1866 until 1941.

It was built in 1866 to transport iron ore from the mines on Sparta Mountain in New Jersey. Ore was carried to Nolan's Point on Lake Hopatcong, where it was loaded on barges and towed to the Morris Canal. Due to its dependence on water transport, the railroad only operated during the ice-free seasons.

The railroad also served the Dodge, Ford, Schofield, Weldon, and Hurd iron mines, located along the route from Sparta Mountain to Lake Hopatcong. For a few years, zinc ore from the Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensburg was packed up a terraced road to the Ogden Mine, where it was transported by rail to the lake. In 1872, the New Jersey Midland (which became the New York, Susquehanna, and Western) extended its line to Ogdensburg and the zinc traffic on the Ogden Mine RR ceased.

Initially, the railroad had no connections to other lines. All equipment and materials were transported by barge to Nolan's Point, where the railroad machine shops were located. The railroad operated its own steamship to tow barges across the lake.

In 1881, the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) leased the Ogden Mine line for 999 years, paying 5% annually on the Ogden Mine capital stock. The CNJ created the Lake Hopatcong Railroad to connect the CNJ's High Bridge Branch line with the Ogden Mine terminus at Nolan's Point. The main obstacle to be overcome in construction was Brookland Mountain, which stood between Nolan's Point and the junction with the High Bridge branch. The line climbed from below 700 feet (213 m) at Lake Junction to 1,000 feet (305 m) just south of Minisink Road. In places the grade rose more than 4%, and some sections averaged 3%. By 1882, the connection was in operation and the Ogden Mine's dependence on the Morris Canal ended.

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