Port Morris Junction

Port Morris Junction was first constructed as a rail yard in the 1850s in order to transfer coal to canal barges on the Morris Canal. Once the canal was abandoned in 1924, Port Morris was then used as a place to store freight cars. Port Morris became a center for the Lackawanna, and included a roundhouse, along with other facilities at the yard. 

In 1908, the construction of the Lackawanna Cutoff began and Port Morris was decided as the best starting point for the new line. The Delaware, Lackawanna, & Western then constructed one of three towers on the cutoff at Port Morris, which opened as "UN" tower on December 23, 1911. 

Port Morris continued as a large rail facility, with it lasting through the Erie-Lackawanna merger in 1960, until the Conrail takeover in 1976, although largely downsized. In February of 1979, Port Morris Tower was closed, and eventually the entire Lackawanna Cutoff was abandoned in 1983 altogether, with Conrail ripping up the tracks in 1984. 

In 1983, NJ Transit also began utilizing the yard, first as a place of operations for their bridge department, and also as a place to store retired passenger coaches. In the 1990s however, NJ Transit built a commuter yard their to layover their trains over the weekends. 

As of 2024, the junction is planned to be rebuilt with the Lackawanna Cutoff Restoration Project, with a temporary track currently connected the stub track with the mainline. NJ Transit still utilizes Port Morris Yard today for facilities and commuter train storage.