{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name =NX Bridge | native_name = Annie Bridge | native_name_lang = | image = Erie-Lackawanna bascule E Newark jeh.jpg | image_size = 300 | alt = | caption = | official_name = | other_name = Bridge 8.04<ref name = eriemag/><br>Conrail 4th Avenue Bridge<ref name =USACE/><br> The Annie Bridge | carries = Newark Branch (until 1977) | crosses = [[Passaic River]] | locale = [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] and [[Kearny, New Jersey|Kearny]]<br>[[Northeastern New Jersey]] | owner = [[Norfolk Southern]] | maint = | id = | architect = | designer = | engineering = | design = [[Bascule bridge]] | material = | length = | width = | height = | mainspan = | spans = 1 | pierswater = | load = | clearance = {{convert|12|ft|m}}<ref name =USACE/> | below = | life = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = | complete = | cost = | open = 1922 | inaugurated = | toll = | traffic = | preceded = | followed = | heritage = | collapsed = | closed = 1977 | replaces = | coordinates = {{coord|40.7544|-74.1643|type:landmark_region:US-NJ|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |references = }}

The '''NX Draw''' (sometimes colloquially known the "'''Annie Bridge'''") is an out-of-service [[railroad bridge]] on the [[Passaic River]] between [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] and [[Kearny, New Jersey|Kearny]], [[New Jersey]]. It is the 13th bridge from the river's mouth at [[Newark Bay]] and is {{convert|6.5|mi}} upstream from it.<ref name =USACE>{{cite web | title = Lower Passaic River Restoration Project Commercial Navigation Analysis | publisher = United States Army Corps of Engineers (2nd revision) | date = July 2, 2010 | url = http://passaic.sharepointspace.com/Public%20Documents/2010-07-29%20USACE%20Lower%20Passaic%20River%20Commercial%20Navigation%20Analysis.pdf | accessdate = March 19, 2012 | archive-date = March 19, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150319155357/http://passaic.sharepointspace.com/Public%20Documents/2010-07-29%20USACE%20Lower%20Passaic%20River%20Commercial%20Navigation%20Analysis.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> The [[bascule bridge]] (sometimes called a jackknife bridge<ref name = eriemag/>), built by the [[Erie Railroad]] and once part of its [[Newark Branch]],<ref name =eriemag>{{cite magazine| title=Bridge 8.04| magazine=Erie Railroad Magazine| date=December 1948| url=http://www.railfan.net/lists/erielack-digest/199905/msg00376.html| accessdate=March 20, 2012}}</ref> has been abandoned in the raised position.<ref name=moveable>{{cite web |title=Moveable Bridges of New Jersey |publisher=www.geocities.com |year=2007 |url=http://www.geocities.com/transit383/bridges.html |accessdate=March 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022145205/http://geocities.com/transit383/bridges.html |archivedate=October 22, 2009 }}</ref>

== History == [[File:NX bridge afar 2023 jeh.jpg|left|thumb|From Kearny Avenue and the Newark Branch, on the boundary of Kearny and the [[Clark Thread Company Historic District]] in East Newark]]

The lower {{convert|17|mi}} of the {{Convert|90|mi|adj=on}} long Passaic River downstream of the [[Dundee Canal|Dundee Dam]] is [[tide|tidally influenced]] and [[Navigability|navigable]].<ref name="USACE" /> Rail service across the river was generally oriented to bringing passengers and freight from the points west over the [[New Jersey Meadowlands|Hackensack Meadows]] to [[Bergen Hill]], where [[List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey|tunnels and cuts]] provided access to rail [[List of historical passenger rail services serving New York City|terminals on the Hudson River]]. The NX is the third bridge to cross the river at its location, the first having been built in 1871.

===Post Erie era=== The bridge was built as a double-track structure, but after the elimination of commuter train service it was changed to have only a single track in service. Freight train service continued through the creation of [[Conrail]] in 1976, but the bridge was taken out of service by Conrail in November 1977. It has been locked in the raised (open) position ever since. The bridge is located within the [[North Jersey Shared Assets Area]] and is assigned to [[Norfolk Southern Railway]].<ref name="moveable" /> Conrail continued to serve both sides of the branch with local freight train service until 2002, when the eastern side of the branch was removed from active service, partly due to the loss of the last shipper on the branch, SparTech Poly-Com. A three-track trestle bridge over Passaic Avenue, just east of the NX bridge was removed in the mid-2000s to increase roadway clearance. On the west bank of the Passaic River, the Newark Industrial Track is still an active freight line serving several industries in the Newark area.

In 1982, the bridge was used in the filming of the movie ''[[Annie (1982 film)|Annie]]''. It was left in its open position during the filming, though the structure itself was painted black, and the rails were painted silver. It has since become nicknamed the "Annie Bridge". Since the filming, the bridge has received no maintenance.

==See also== *[[Timeline of Jersey City area railroads]] *[[List of crossings of the Lower Passaic River]] *[[List of bridges, tunnels, and cuts in Hudson County, New Jersey]] *[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://ltvsquad.com/Locations/urbanexploration.php?ID=97 Abandoned Railroad Drawbridge] *[http://www.wnyrails.net/railroads/erie/erie_home.htm Erie Railroad] *[[Historic American Engineering Record]] documentation: **{{HAER |survey=NJ-25-A |id=nj0891 |title=Erie Railway, New York Division, Bridge 8.04 (c.1875) |link=no}} (previous bridge) **{{HAER |survey=NJ-25-B |id=nj0892 |title=Erie Railway, New York Division, Bridge 8.04 (c.1900) |link=no}} (current bridge) *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1it1kNXiD54 Scene from ''Annie''] *[http://rails.jimgworld.com/psngrs.html Yearly update on Erie-Lackawanna Passenger Service]

{{Crossings navbox |structure = [[List of crossings of the Lower Passaic River|Crossings]] |place = [[Passaic River]] |bridge = NX Bridge |bridge signs = |upstream = [[WR Draw]] (unused) |upstream signs = |downstream = [[Clay Street Bridge]] |downstream signs = }}

[[Category:Bascule bridges in the United States]] [[Category:Erie Railroad bridges]] [[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey]] [[Category:Railroad bridges in New Jersey]] [[Category:Bridges over the Passaic River]] [[Category:Bridges in Newark, New Jersey]] [[Category:Bridges in Hudson County, New Jersey]] [[Category:Kearny, New Jersey]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1922]]