In the mid-1800s, steam railroads were coming into use across the region. The first railroad in this area was the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad, which began operating in October 1834. This line ran from Paterson to Snake Hill in Hudson County. About a decade later, the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad was constructed to connect Paterson, New Jersey, with Suffern, New York. The tracks we know today as the Main Line began operations in October 1848.

​

In 1850, the Union Railroad took control of both the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad and the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad. Just two years later, the Erie Railroad absorbed the Union Railroad. Today, this line forms part of the Main Line track system. The Erie Railroad also changed its eastern terminus from Piermont, New York, to Jersey City, New Jersey.

At the Rock Road crossing along the Main Line stood a small building that served as both a ticket office and a residence. The ticket agent worked on the first floor and lived upstairs. The building stood roughly where the old Glen Rock Savings Bank was later located, on the east side of the tracks. The present Main Line Station—now home to the Glen Rock Historical & Preservation Society—was constructed in 1905.

​

In 1876, Ridgewood Township was formed from part of Franklin Township. The new township included the area that is now the Village of Ridgewood, as well as sections of Midland Park and Glen Rock.

​

Between 1881 and 1884, the Erie Railroad constructed the Bergen County (Short Cut) Railroad. This line allowed Erie’s long freight trains to bypass the congested cities of Paterson and Passaic. The Bergen County Short Cut connected with the Erie Main Line at junctions in Rutherford and Ridgewood. A signal tower designated WJ was built at the Ridgewood junction. The tower stood in the angle formed between the two sets of tracks at the end of what is now the Valley Road section of Glen Rock.

Around 1910, when the Erie Railroad expanded its tracks to four lines and modernized its signal system, the original tower was abandoned. A new tower was constructed just over the line in Ridgewood on the east side of the tracks. After this tower burned down, it was replaced with the current structure on the same site, which retained the WJ designation. During the famous Blizzard of 1888, the railroad cut just north of the tower became clogged with engines buried in deep snow.

​

One of the telegraphers at the WJ tower was Emerson E. Horton, who lived on Rock Avenue (now South Highwood Avenue) in Glen Rock. Horton had originally worked for the contractor who built the Bergen County Short Cut. When construction was completed and the railroad took over operations, Horton was hired by the Erie Railroad as a pilot for the first trains operating on the new line. The pilot’s role was to ride with the engine crew and report on track and roadbed conditions along the route.