[3] By the mid-1870s it ran between Croxton and Sterling Forest at the New York state line, but the financially unstable railroad went into receivership, and in 1875 became the Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway[2][4] In 1878 the company was re-organized as the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway (NYGL), under control of the Erie.

Passenger service on the line north of Mountain View, to Greenwood Lake, was abandoned in stages.

Norfolk Southern operated on the Orange Branch until 2010 when the last remaining shipper Hartz Mountain closed their Bloomfield plant.

A short segment of the Orange Branch was brought back into use for passengers as part of the Newark Light Rail, with stations at Silver Lake and Grove Street.

[8] The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which manages state parks and forests, acquired the property on August 19, 2022.