EAST SUMMIT

The bridge over Russell Place was constructed in 1905 at MP 6.63 as part of the railroad’s extension to Summit. It originally sat atop wooden bents that were part of a wooden trestle that spanned the length between the First (Springfield Mountain) and Second (Overlook Mountain) Watchung Mountains. The trestle was filled and the bridge received concrete piers in 1915. The bridge is a one span deck plate girder bridge for one track. The girders are 50 feet long. There is an underclearance of 20 feet. The condition was noted as fair in 1944, with no repairs needed. The bridge still stands as of 2025.

There were two different bridges over Ashwood Ave. at MP 6.70. The first was constructed in 1905 as part of the railroad’s extension to Summit. The bridge sat atop wooden bents that were part of the wooden trestle that stretched across East Summit. The bridge was constructed without proper authorizations from the City of Summit, which tore it down in consequence during the night of October 5, 1905. The bridge girders were dragged to a lot belonging to the railroad alongside Ashwood Ave. Legal counsel for the railroad made arrangements to secure proper authorizations and a second, new bridge was constructed. The second bridge was built by the American Bridge Co. in 1905. The original bridge languished in the same place until October 1942 when it was given as scrap to the war effort. The second bridge is a one span deck plate girder bridge for one track with sixty-six foot long girders. The underclearance is fifteen feet. The bridge still stands as of 2025.

This bridge was constructed in 1905 at MP 6.84. It was a three span steel bridge for one track. The main, center span was a 40 foot thru plate girder bridge. The spans on either side of the main span were made of I-beam stringers, one 8 feet in length and the other 18 feet. The bridge had an underclearance of 11 feet. The bridge’s condition was noted as fair in 1944, with no repairs needed. The bridge’s exceptionally low underclearance led to trucks striking the bridge numerous times. The railroad had applied with the City of Summit’s Street Committee to have the street’s grade lowered in February 1905, before the railroad was constructed, but the city denied the application. Known strikes occurred on June 11, 1921, on August 12, 1941, on October 3, 1941, and on April 30, 1986. The bridge’s low clearance led to its removal not long after the railroad was sold to NJDOT in 1995. A pedestrian bridge, for the Summit Park Line, was placed in the former location of the railroad bridge in 2022.

Once the railroad reached East Summit from the east, it needed to span the gap between First Watchung Mountain (Springfield Mountain) on the east and Second Watchung Mountain (Overlook Mountain) on the west. The railroad constructed a high wooden trestle across East Summit to bridge the distance. Overall, the trestle measured 1,600’ in length. It started at MP 6.51, just east of the Russell Place bridge and ended at MP 6.82, just short of the Morris Ave. bridge. Within the length of the trestle were the Russell Place and Ashwood Ave. bridges. There was also an extension from the trestle at MP 6.71 to reach the coal trestle for Muchmore & Hotchkiss Ltd. The trestle was filled with cinders acquired from the Lehigh Valley Railroad in 1915.

T. B. Miller Co. [1] (1911-1924)
Stephens Brothers [2] (1911-1924)
Stephens-Miller Co. (1924-2001)
38 Russell Place, Summit. 

Fuel & building supply yard; inbound coal, lumber, sand, bulk & bagged cement. 

Augustus W. Stephens and Marcy P. Stephens purchased the coal and lumber business of D. W. Day & Son, located at 517 Springfield Ave. opposite of Chestnut Street, in March 1902 and began conducting business under the banner “Stephens Bros.” The Day firm had been organized by Daniel W. Day in 1858. Shortly after the Stephens brothers purchased the property, however, the DL&W depressed their tracks through Summit which left Stephens Bros. without a freight siding. In September 1906, Thomas Benjamin Miller partnered with Edwin G. Hotchkiss to form T. B. Miller Co. They took over the Geo. V. Muchmore Coal & Lumber Co. yard at 255-269 Broad Street. The company’s operations were overseen by Glenn Miller and Ray W. Salmon. H. F. Dankel enticed both Stephens Bros. and T. B. Miller Co. to relocate alongside the RV at 38 Russell Place in June 1911. Stephens Bros. purchased a five acre tract and T. B. Miller Co. leased an adjacent eight acre parcel. Both companies were soon served by rail sidings. Evidently, Hotchkiss left his partnership with Miller and the old property reverted to Muchmore. On January 1, 1924, Augustus W. Stephens and Marcy P. Stephens transferred their interests in Stephens Bros. to T. B. Miller Co. which, in effect, merged the two adjacent fuel and building supply yards into one entity. The combined facility made possible greater service and efficiency than in the past. The new organization operated under the name of “Stephens-Miller Co.” The company shipped coal, lime, sand, and bagged cement. The company had three rail sidings inside its facility. The first track was alongside the RV and served the lumber shed.. Dimensional lumber and plywood would arrive in 40-foot boxcars from the Pacific Northwest, mostly Northern Pacific and Great Northern cars. Once in awhile there would be a Santa Fe car. A lumber car would come in about once a month. The middle track was on ground level and was partially buried, so it wasn’t really used. The third track travelled up a coal trestle measuring about twenty feet above ground level. Sand, gravel, and coal hoppers would be spotted up on the trestle to be dumped into the chute. Coal, sand, and gravel cars would come in about two to three times a week. Oftentimes, Stephens-Miller would want a lumber car spotted for unloading where it would foul the track for the trestle. So, when a car for the trestle came in, the crew would have to move it out of the way and then respot the car. The trestle track could hold eight cars. The end pits held sand, then gravel, then coal. Someone from the company would tie a rag on the handrail where they wanted a car spotted. After making the cut, the RV crew member would have to walk back inside the dark trestle on a couple of 2” x 10”s, twenty feet above ground level - not a fun task. In 1981, brothers Thomas, Richard, Kenneth, and Glenn Miller were running the company. In 1960, a separate division, Conklin-Miller Co., was opened in Bernardsville as an oil supplier. Stephens-Miller was torn down in 2001. The property is now occupied by the Summit Square condominium complex. Cars moved for Stephens-Miller via CNJ, Aldene: 1968 – 58 carloads in, 1969 – 42 carloads in, 1970 – 46 carloads in, 1971 – 43 carloads in.