On Sunday morning, June 24, 1906, trolley car 102 began its first steep trip from here up Orange (now called South) Mountain.
This was the first test for a new system — cable cars had previously been used to make this run, but the cable system cost too much to operate and had to be shut down after some financial setbacks. So the route up Orange Mountain was converted to trolley cars, fitted with a brand new safety braking system to handle the slope.
As an extra precaution, as the trolley cars crossed Gregory Avenue to begin the steepest part of the grade, they would attach an auxiliary safety cable to catch the car should the new brakes fail.
But on its first run on June 24, the trolley filled with local and company dignitaries, the motorman had good speed as he crossed Gregory — not wanting to lose his momentum, he didn’t stop to connect the safety cable.
Developers who owned land on the top of the ridge, eager to market it to commuters, had started the Orange Mountain Cable Company in 1887 to build a cable car to take people up from trolley and train lines in the Valley to the top of the mountain, avoiding the dangerous, steep curves of Northfield Avenue.
It took five years to build, but by 1892, it finally opened, and West Orange had its own cable car.
The two-car system operated with each car serving as a counter-weight to the other, with a large powerhouse at the top of the hill next to Cable Lake (now part of Montclair Golf Club) moving the cars up and down.
The cars were specially constructed for the line, with each passenger car accompanied by an open cargo platform large enough to hold an entire team of horses.
But outside of curious tourists, the line didn’t do enough business to stay afloat, and it closed in 1895 after only three years of operation.
Thinking it could be more successful with more modern technology, the Orange Mountain Traction Company relaunched with electric trolleys powered by overhead wires. After laying new tracks and putting up new wires, the new trolleys were ready to go by 1906.
Concerns that the route was too steep were dismissed by company officials who boasted about their newly patented innovative safety braking system, which would keep any trolley from rushing back down the hill.
When trolley car 102 reached the steepest part of the slope, in the rock cut, the wheels began to slip on the track. Panicking, the motorman applied the new brake — which stopped the car so suddenly that he was thrown into the brake lever, releasing it and sending the car rolling backwards down the hill, quickly gaining speed as it raced down the slope.
When the trolley reached Gregory Avenue, one person tried to jump off to safety — sadly, he would die from a fractured skull. The car shot across the road crossing and kept rocketing down the hill.
When the trolley car reached the bottom of the line at Valley Road, trolley 101 was waiting on the track. Car 102 smashed into it, sending 101 flying across the street into the lot next to D’Alessandro’s Hotel (the building is still there today as Suzy Q’s BBQ), destroying both.
Amazingly, although several of the passengers were badly injured, the only person killed was the man who jumped out at Gregory Avenue. But the idea of trolleys going straight up the mountain died with him — when developers tried a new route, they would do it with safer switchbacks.
(For more on that route and the Highland Park amusement park they created to drive interest, see my companion cache “Long Lost Amusement Park: Highland Park” at the top of the mountain!)
And now for the cache: You are near a busy area -- practice stealth and be sure to rehide well (this cache has been muggled and replaced 5 times). You’re looking for a small black bison tube, so BYOP. Congrats to Ragtime Fan and swampland'r for the joint FTF!