Waltz & Reece Cut

Deepest part of the Waltz & Reece Cut (2012 photo)

Waltz & Reece Cut is the deepest cut on the Lackawanna Cut-Off railroad line in northwest New Jersey. The cut is 0.68 miles (1.1 km) long, has an average depth of 37 feet (11.4 m), and a maximum depth of 114 feet (35.1 m).

Located between mileposts 48.3 and 49.0 in Byram Township, it sits on a tangent (straight) section of right-of-way just west of McMickle Cut and just east of Bradbury Fill.^[1]

It was built between 1908 and 1911 by Waltz & Reese Construction Company, which removed 822,400 cubic yards of fill material by blasting with dynamite or other methods. The line was abandoned in 1983.

In 2012, a single track was relaid through the cut as part of NJ Transit's plans to restart rail service in 2016.

This April 1910 construction photo shows a narrow-gauge train hauling fill material to the top of Waltz & Reece Fill. Waltz & Reece Cut is visible to far left; the top of Roseville Tunnel at center, on the horizon.

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