Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
Locale | New Jersey |
Dates of operation | 1830–1872 |
Founder | Robert L. Stevens |
Successor | United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 10 in (1,473 mm) |
Track length | 99.71 miles (160.47 km) |
The Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, usually shortened to the Camden and Amboy Railroad, was a railway company in New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1830 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America.
It was consolidated with two other railroads in 1872 to form the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (a forerunner of the Pennsylvania Railroad). Part of the company's original main line between Camden, New Jersey, and Bordentown, is used by the River Line.
The state of New Jersey chartered both the Camden and Amboy and the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company on February 4, 1830, to develop connections between New York City and Philadelphia. [1] The two companies, though remaining independent, agreed to cooperate and became known as the "Joint Companies." The Camden and Amboy was the first railroad to use wooden railroad ties and T-section rails. [2] The company completed a line between Bordentown, on the Delaware River, and South Amboy, in December 1832.
The line was further extended south from Bordentown to Camden, across the Delaware from Philadelphia, in September 1834. [3] In the absence of a bridge over the Delaware, passengers bound for Philadelphia transferred to boats at Bordentown or Camden. [2]
The Protection Act, passed in 1832, "prohibit[ed] any other railroad from building within three miles of the Camden & Amboy's termini." [4] This did not preclude the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company from building a line between Jersey City, New Jersey, and New Brunswick, New Jersey. The line was fully opened in 1837. [5] [6] Meanwhile, the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, a Pennsylvania company, was building a line between its two namesake cities.
In 1836, the Philadelphia and Trenton agreed to cooperate with the Joint Companies. [7] The Camden and Amboy linked these projects together by building from Bordentown to Trenton (1838), and then Trenton to New Brunswick (1839). [3]
The New Brunswick Division, as originally constructed, closely paralleled the Delaware and Raritan Canal between Kingston and Trenton. In 1864, a new alignment was opened that bypassed this winding route, extending from the Belvidere Delaware's line at Trenton. To maintain access to Princeton, the Princeton Branch, serving Princeton, New Jersey, opened the year after. [8] Upon the old line's closing, the Kingston Branch, serving Kingston, New Jersey, began service on the old line in 1866. [3] A branch to Florence, New Jersey was opened in 1872. [3]
The New Jersey Rail Road, Camden and Amboy Railroad, and Delaware and Raritan Canal Company moved to a closer association in 1867 when they created a joint board of directors. This was known as the "United Companies", although all three companies continued to be independent. [9] A formal consolidation into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company followed in 1872; the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the new company from the outset. [10] The Camden and Amboy's main line became known as the Amboy Branch.
Route 26 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States, running 2.54 miles (4.09 km) along Livingston Avenue from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in North Brunswick Township northeast to Nassau Street at the border of New Brunswick. Prior to the 1953 renumbering, the route continued southwest along US 1 to Trenton. Livingston Avenue inside New Brunswick, southwest of Suydam Street, is the 1.08-mile (1.74 km) County Route 691 (CR 691). The 0.39 miles (0.63 km) from Suydam Street to its end at George Street is part of Route 171, also maintained by Middlesex County.
The Delaware and Raritan Canal is a canal in central New Jersey, built in the 1830s, that connects the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadelphia and New York City, transporting anthracite coal from eastern Pennsylvania during much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The canal allowed shippers to cut many miles off the existing route from the Pennsylvania Coal Region down the Delaware, around Cape May, and up the occasionally treacherous Atlantic Ocean coast to New York City.
Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail, an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a contract local carrier and switching company for its owners, CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway. When most of the former Conrail's track was split between these two railroads, the three shared assets areas were kept separate to avoid giving one railroad an advantage in those areas. The company operates using its own employees and infrastructure but owns no equipment outside MOW equipment.
The Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad was a railroad from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Trenton, New Jersey. Opened in 1832, it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1871. The majority of it is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company was an early railroad company in the state of New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1832 and opened its first line in 1834, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. It was consolidated with the Camden and Amboy Railroad and the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company in 1872 to form the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company, which was later leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Today, its former main line between Newark, New Jersey, and New Brunswick, New Jersey, is part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a United States–based railroad company established in 1872. It was formed by the consolidation of three existing companies: the Camden and Amboy Railroad, Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, and New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company. The Camden and Amboy and New Jersey Rail Road were among the earliest North American railroads. The Pennsylvania Railroad leased the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company in 1872.
The Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad was a railroad in southeastern Pennsylvania that is now a part of the SEPTA commuter rail system as the Fox Chase Branch. Despite the name, it only ever extended between Philadelphia and Newtown, Pennsylvania.
The Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad was a railroad company in the state of New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1855, and completed its line between Rahway and Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1864. The company became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and was merged into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company in 1958. Its line is part of the New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line.
The Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1848 and opened its first line 1849. It was consolidated with the Camden, Moorestown, Hainesport and Mount Holly Horse Car Railroad in 1866 to form the Camden and Burlington County Railroad. Its lines eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and are mostly abandoned.
The Amboy Branch is a railway line in the state of New Jersey, in the United States. It was the original main line of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, and at its fullest extent ran 61 miles (98 km) from South Amboy, New Jersey, to Camden, New Jersey. The line was built between 1830 and 1834 by the Camden and Amboy, and eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's network. Ownership of the line today is split between Conrail Shared Assets Operations and NJ Transit, whose River Line uses the branch between Camden and Bordentown, New Jersey.
Ashbel Welch (1809–1882) was an American civil engineer and a president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 1882.
The Center Street Branch, formerly known as the Centre Street Branch, is a short railway line in Harrison and Kearny, New Jersey. It was formerly the main line of the New Jersey Railroad between Jersey City and Newark, before the building of a new crossing of the Passaic River reduced its importance. Today, it is an industrial freight line owned and operated Conrail Shared Assets Operations with connections to the Passaic and Harsimus Line and the Morristown Line.
The Bordentown Branch is a railway line in the state of New Jersey. It runs between Trenton, New Jersey and Bordentown, New Jersey. It was built in 1837–1838 by the Camden and Amboy Railroad, and as such is one of the oldest railway lines in the United States. It now hosts the northern end of NJ Transit's River Line light rail line. Conrail retains trackage rights for freight operations.
The Burlington Branch was a railway line in the state of New Jersey, in the United States. It ran approximately 7 miles (11 km) from Burlington, New Jersey, to Mount Holly, New Jersey. The line was built by the Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company between 1848 and 1849. It eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's network. It was the site of an early railway electrification experiment between 1895 and 1901. The line was abandoned in 1925.
The Pemberton Branch is a railway line in the state of New Jersey, in the United States. At its fullest extent it ran 22.3 miles (35.9 km) from Pavonia, near Camden, to Pemberton Township. The current line runs from a junction with the Atlantic City Line in Pennsauken Township to Mount Holly. The line was built by the Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company and its successor the Camden and Burlington County Railroad between 1863 and 1867. It eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad's network and is now owned by Conrail Shared Assets Operations.
The Camden, Moorestown, Hainesport and Mount Holly Horse Car Railroad was a railway company in New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1859 to build a rail line between Camden and Mount Holly, New Jersey. It was consolidated with the Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company in 1866 to form the Camden and Burlington County Railroad, which ultimately constructed the line from Camden to Mount Holly. Its lines eventually became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system and are mostly abandoned.
The Camden and Burlington County Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1866, replacing the Camden, Moorestown, Hainesport and Mount Holly Horse Car Railroad and the Burlington County Railroad. The Camden and Burlington County Railroad extended its network by building from Mount Holly, New Jersey, to Pavonia, in the vicinity of Camden, New Jersey. The Camden and Amboy Railroad leased the company in 1867; this was assumed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1872. The Camden and Burlington County Railroad was consolidated with the Mount Holly, Lumberton and Medford Railroad and Vincentown Branch of the Burlington County Railroad in 1915 to form the Camden and Burlington County Railway. Of its lines, part of the Pemberton Branch remains.
The Mount Holly, Lumberton and Medford Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1866 and opened its line in 1869, at which point it was leased by the Camden and Amboy Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad subsequently assumed the lease. The Mount Holly, Lumberton and Medford Railroad was consolidated with the Camden and Burlington County Railroad and Vincentown Branch of the Burlington County Railroad in 1915 to form the Camden and Burlington County Railway. The Mount Holly and Medford Branch was abandoned in 1976.
The Mount Holly and Medford Branch was a railway line in the state of New Jersey, in the United States. It ran approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from Mount Holly, New Jersey, to Medford, New Jersey. It was built by the Mount Holly, Lumberton and Medford Railroad in 1869, and leased by the Camden and Amboy Railroad upon completion. The Pennsylvania Railroad subsequently assumed the lease. The line was not conveyed to Conrail and was abandoned in 1976.
The Vincentown Branch of the Burlington County Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1861 and opened its line in 1864. It was leased in succession by the Burlington County Railroad, Camden and Burlington County Railroad, Camden and Amboy Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad. The company was consolidated with the Camden and Burlington County Railroad and Mount Holly, Lumberton and Medford Railroad in 1915 to form the Camden and Burlington County Railway. The Vincentown Branch was abandoned in 1927.