WARNING: This tunnel is privately owned and poses a falling rock and debris hazard. Please do not enter the tunnel.

Our Photo of the Week celebrates a hidden historic engineering treasure, the Warren Railroad’s Oxford Tunnel, or Van Ness Gap Tunnel: the largest tunnel in Warren County at 3002 feet! 

I used the word ‘celebrates’ in the intro, but I am wondering if, just maybe, the words “Brings to Light” or “Introduces” should be precursors, and then, as a follow up, bring in the “celebrates” word?!  I say this because, I get the feeling, if I asked you two questions about this site – What is it? and Where is it? – most would respond, “Never heard of it!” 

Let’s begin our story and journey,  “ALL ABOARD!! Next stop, The Oxford Tunnel/Van Ness Gap Tunnel!!”

STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO OF THE WEEK:  Can’t tell you the number of times that I have been driving south on Route 31, driving up the hill after passing through the Oxford traffic light, and then just over that crest of the hill, looking right and observing the long, deep, narrow, gorge and clearing through the woods. Always had a reason not to stop and investigate!! 

Well, last Friday, I stopped and investigated!  I knew the tunnel was there, and I was expecting to see the tunnel entrance just over the guard rail!  I was not expecting to see how far down (or deep, if you will), that entrance would be.  I had to work my way down to the rail bed to get my photos!

Arrived home, downloaded the photos, and decided I really need to get a photo of the other entrance. WHERE IS THAT???

Checked the maps and, Saturday, was back in Oxford!!  Ever have that feeling you knew where something should be BUT you don’t know where to start to look!!??  Stopped and asked several people who were meeting in a parking lot, not far off Route 31. They had never heard of the tunnel, BUT they checked my information online and “Go down this road to Route 31 and make a real sharp quick left into Axford!” 

Followed their directions and I am looking at that tell-tale deep gorge heading into the woods.  Walked in, under, over, around a few fallen trees, avoiding water and mud, until finally I am at the tunnel entrance!!  I didn’t realize it at first, but did notice climbing my way out that entire gorge was about 10 degrees cooler than the surrounding ground level!

NOTE:  There used to be an entrance plaque placed on the tunnel entrance, but that plaque has been moved to and mounted at nearby Shippen Manor for safe keeping and for public display.

SOME BACKGROUND ON THE OXFORD TUNNEL

The Warren Railroad was chartered in 1851 to connect the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroads’ terminal point on the Delaware River (just south of the present day old generating station) with the Central Railroad of New Jersey’s Hampton Station, near the Musconetcong River and Route 31.  This would aid in connecting the coal mines of Pennsylvania with the markets in New York City.  The two railroads also were anticipating a merger at the time, but that merger never happened! 

Keep in mind, this linking with other railroads would lead to many challenges with track size, as you will see later. 

Terrain made the Warren expensive to build, requiring a large amount of excavation for three large bridges and two tunnels.  These are all in Warren County. Sounds like another RR adventure for a future Photo of the Week!

Construction started in 1854 and turned out to be quite a challenging engineering task!  Mid-19^th century technology against gneiss rock of northwestern New Jersey. Most frustrating was Oxford Mountain (now known as Scott’s Mountain) at Van Ness Gap, where the path of the railroad required a 3,002 foot long tunnel.  This tunnel would help them avoid laying track at a steep incline with difficult curves. 

Gneiss (noun): A course grained, metamorphic rock resembling granite, consisting of alternating layers of different minerals, such as feldspar, quartz, mica and hornblende and having a banded appearance.

In the words of the New York Times account of the tunnel construction, “The rock is of a syenitic formation, and during the progress of the job almost every form of underground operations proved necessary.  From the hard, seamless rock, offering the most stubborn resistance to construction, every degree of formation was encountered, to quicksand, with an unusual quantity of water.”

HISTORY OF OPERATION

DL&W began operating on the railway on May 28, 1856, from Delaware, New Jersey to Hampton and continuing over CNJ to Jersey City.  DL&W formally leased the Warren Railroad in October 1857.  The tracks were originally 6-ft gauge, continuous with the DL&W’s Pennsylvania tracks. A third rail was added to CNJ’s 4 foot-8 1/2 inch standard gauge track. 

When the railroad opened in 1856, the Van Ness Gap Tunnel was not yet completed, and a temporary track was used.  The tunnel was completed in September 1862 and the temporary track removed. Merger talks between the DL&W and CNJ broke down and on Dec. 10, 1868, the DL&W signed a lease for the Morris & Essex Railroad (M&E), effective January 1, 1869.  The DL&W then shifted their mainline off CNJ to the M&E with a new junction at Washington. 

While the Warren Railroad was straight from the DL&W’s former terminus at the Delaware River to the CNJ, its route to the M&E was circuitous.  Additionally, the section between the Washington and Hampton (later called the Hampton Branch) was deemed useless.  The M&E was originally built to a gauge of 4 feet 10 inches, but was converted to 4′ 8.5″ in July 1866.  After the DL&W lease, a third rail was added for 66 miles from Washington eastward to Hoboken from 1869-70.  DL&W’s tracks from Scranton to Washington were converted to 4′ 8.5″ in 1876.  The unusual third rail on the M&E was subsequently removed. 

The Lackawanna Cut-Off was built to minimize grades and curves, and to avoid the operational problems of the Warren Railroad.  The Cut-Off was completed in 1911, becoming the new mainline of the DL&W.  This relegated the Warren Railroad and the M&E line west of Port Morris Junction to a branch line known as the Lackawanna Old Road, starting the railroad’s decline.

OBSERVATION:  We have been talking about building bridges, tunnels, excavating and constantly changing track sizes then changing routes and starting all over again!!  I may not be a business person but this seems like a lot of work or RE-INVENTING THE WHEEL!!??  Just shows how strong the market demand for coal was!!

LINKS:  These sites will also showcase other interesting sites/sights, check them out just might be an adventure in there for you!!

Walking the Warren RR – A hiker’s guide from the Delaware section of Knowlton Twp. down to Hampton Borough off Route 31.

Hidden in New Jersey

Shippen Manor

Enjoy Your Open Space – however inside this tunnel is not Open Space, it is DARK & WET!!

Charlie Fineran  

Charlie Fineran is Allamuchy’s Director of Open Space, Allamuchy Township Environmental Commission Chairman and Allamuchy Historical Society President.