HD Draw

HD Draw was a double track, movable railroad bridge that crossed the tidal Hackensack River between Jersey City, and
Kearny, New Jersey. The swing bridge was built by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and was part of it's Newark and New York branch. This line provided service between the Communipaw Terminal in Jersey City to the Broad Street station in
downtown, Newark, N.J. Moving in a northward direction, this bridge was the first structure along the Hackensack River.
The bridge coordinates are, 40.718709N & 74.103985.W
Trains Magazine referred to the Newark and New York branch as the "costliest" railroad line of it's type as much of the line was sunken through Jersey City. This permitted faster run times since there were no grade crossings to slow rail traffic.
The line also gave the CNJ a second, or detour route, since trains running along it's mainline to and from it's Jersey City terminal could also use it's Newark and Elizabeth branch, and then the PD Draw and HD Draw, to reach the Jersey City terminal bypassing the CNJ mainline through Bayonne, including the massive Newark Bay Drawbridges.
On February 3, 1946 a steam freighter crashed into the bridge and damaged two of the fixed spans beyond repair.
Newspapers reports the day after the accident stated that service could be disrupted for at least 3 months.
In the ensuing investigation, the CNJ was willing to reconstruct the bridge, but the Department of The Army, required that a
lift style bridge be built instead, which would have increased the cost manifold. The railroad was giving the option of either building a lift style bridge, or removing what remained of HD Draw. The CNJ opted to dismantle what remained of the bridge, and this severed the Newark and New York branch as a through route. Although the bridge was removed later in 1946, a number of the concrete trestles remained in place on both sides of the river, and they remain today (2012).

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