The impetus for a brand new railway through Montclair was brought by the fact that the service to New York City was not to their liking. Local leaders, such as Julius Pratt, led the creation of the Montclair Railway to provide a rival service for the Morris & Essex Railroad, which also ran through Montclair. This new service, created in 1867, cost $4 million (1867 USD). However, the projection of ridership was only 2,000 and seemed comical at the idea of ever being constructed. Despite the dissent, the New York, Oswego and Midland Railroad Company helped finance the railway and it was completed in 1872, just before the Panic of 1873. This new service, however, was unable to show a profit until it became a part of the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway.