The Belvidere & Delaware River Railway Company(reporting markBDRV) also known as Delaware River Railroad or Bel-Del, is a class III railroad in the United States.[1] It was formed in 1995 when the Conrail Delaware Secondary line was purchased by the Black River Railroad System, which operates several railroad services in western New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. The Black River Railroad System also owns and operates the Black River and Western Railroad (BR&W). BR&W has leased 10 miles (16km) of trackage to BDRV since 2004.[2]
The BDRV right-of-way began as a segment of the original Belvidere Delaware Railroad, later controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), Penn Central (PC), and Conrail.
BDRV originally served the James River Paper plant in Milford, New Jersey, assuming the task from Conrail: service to the plant ended in July 2003 when the plant closed. Rail service to a lumber transload continued serving Milford into 2004 when service on this part of the line was finally terminated. Freight service to Corrugated Paper Group (now Georgia Pacific) in nearby Riegelsville, New Jersey terminated in 2005 when the firm switched from railroad to trucking for product shipment.
Passenger excursions
In 2002, the town of Phillipsburg partnered with the BDRV to launch an excursion operation between Phillipsburg and Carpentersville, after the town of Trenton, New Jersey, declined to support the proposed New Jersey Transportation Museum.[3] In March 2003, the BDRV acquired an Ex-New Haven Brill motorcar, M-55, from the Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut, and they contracted with the Edward Railway Motor Car Company in Mount Dora, Florida, to have it restored to operating condition.[3] It was subsequently used on the Mt. Dora Scenic Railroad before being moved to the BDRV.[3]
Later in 2003, the New York, Susquehanna and Western (NYS&W) Technical and Historical Society joined the partnership, after searching for a place to operate their recently-acquired steam locomotive, No. 142.[3] Ex-NYS&W No. 142 is a China Railways SY class 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive built by the Tangshan locomotive works in 1989 for export to the Valley Railroad in Essex, as No. 1647. In late 1991, it was sold to the NYS&W, where it was renumbered No. 142, and operated mainline excursions on NYS&W and, on occasion, NJ Transit.[3] In April 2004, No. 142 was ferried from the NYS&W’s Utica shops and over NJ Transit and Norfolk Southern to Phillipsburg.[3] On May 1, No. 142 hauled the BDRV’s inaugural train.[3]
In recent years, ex-Nickel Plate Road No. 811, an EMD GP9, has been used in frequent service on the line. The NYS&W Technical and Historical Society operates their trains with the label "Delaware River Railroad Excursions". All excursions originate out of Lehigh Junction in Phillipsburg with various station stops along the way depending on the season and/or any themed events that may be happening at the time.
In late 2010, the NYS&W Technical and Historical Society began clearing the line of vegetation south of Carpentersville, eventually reaching Milford. The borough of Milford hosts a yearly event called "Milford Alive,"[4] which has included rail speeder rides on the line.
In May 2023, passenger excursions reached Riegelsville,[5] where passengers disembark at a replica Pennsylvania Railroad station that formerly stood on the same site (still under construction).[6] As part of the track improvements to reach Riegelsville a siding that had previously been taken out by Conrail was put back in place; albeit slightly shorter than the original.
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