The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was a railroad that operated in New Jersey and connected the cities of Jersey City and southeast Paterson. The railroad was started in 1833.
A decade after opening, the railroad's importance increased when the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad was built connecting north Paterson to Suffern, New York just over the state line. Travelers could use a combination of the two lines (and another transportation method for the 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km) between the two Paterson terminals) to travel between Suffern and New York City faster than the New York and Erie Railroad. The lines were eventually connected. In 1852, the New York and Erie Railroad leased the track rights of the P&HR and P&R and combined their lines into the "Union Railroad", which soon became the new New York and Erie Railroad mainline.[3] Erie took ownership in 1953.[4]