Southern Secondary

Last updated
Southern Secondary
Overview
StatusActive (Red Bank to Lakehurst)
Owner Conrail Shared Assets Operations
Locale New Jersey
Termini
Service
Type Freight rail
SystemCSAO
Operator(s) Delaware and Raritan River Railroad
Technical
Number of tracks1
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

Contents

MP
[1]
BSicon CONTg.svg
BSicon ELCa.svg
BSicon ACC.svg
BSicon ABZgl.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
BSicon YRD.svg
38.3
NJT Red Bank Yard
BSicon eHST.svg
41.5
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
42.9
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
43.6
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon KRZu.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
45.5
--------------------
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon eABZgr.svg
BSicon MFADEg.svg
BSicon exGRZ.svg
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZg+r.svg
BSicon exELCe.svg
--------------------
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
43.6
BSicon eHST.svg
50.7
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon xABZqr+xr.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
50.9
BSicon bWBRUCKE1.svg
52.0
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon PSLra.svg
55.1
Ferguson Waterworks Siding
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
55.6
Haystack Brook
BSicon bWBRUCKE1.svg
56.6
North Branch Metedeconk River
BSicon eHST.svg
58.2
BSicon bWBRUCKE1.svg
58.5
South Branch Metedeconk River
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
58.9
BSicon PSLre.svg
Woodhaven Lumber Yard
BSicon bWBRUCKE1.svg
61.9
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZg+r.svg
64.1
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
65.8
Manapaqua Branch
BSicon eHST.svg
66.0
BSicon ABZgl.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
Toms River Industrial Track
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
66.2
Union Branch
BSicon eHST.svg
71.9
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon eABZg2.svg
BSicon eKRZ.svg
BSicon exSTRc3.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
Pemberton & NY
to Seaside Heights
BSicon exSTRc1.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exCONT4.svg
BSicon WBRUCKE1.svg
North Branch Mt. Misery Brook
BSicon KMW.svg
76.8
CNJ Milepost
BSicon SKRZ-G2o.svg
81.2
BSicon exHST.svg
84.2
BSicon exWBRUCKE1.svg
84.8
Wading River
BSicon exWBRUCKE1.svg
93.0
Batsto River
BSicon exbWBRUCKE1.svg
95.6
Mullica River
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon exlHST.svg
BSicon exABZg3.svg
BSicon exSTRc1.svg
BSicon exCONT1.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon exSTR.svg
BSicon exSKRZ-G2.svg
95.9
BSicon exWBRUCKE1.svg
101.1
Albertson Brook
BSicon exSKRZ-G2.svg
102.7
BSicon CONTf.svg

The Southern Secondary is a rail line in New Jersey, operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) from South Amboy to Red Bank, and the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad (DRR), a subsidiary of Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC, between Red Bank and Lakewood. The entire active portion of the line is owned by NJ Transit. The active portion of the line runs from South Amboy to the current end of track at Lakewood. The line is owned by NJ Transit, but the southern portion (Red Bank, NJ to Lakewood), is not shared with passenger trains. Beyond Lakewood, the tracks are owned by CSAO as far as Lakehurst, but are inactive between Lakewood and Lakehurst.

History

Raritan & Delaware Bay and NJ Southern

The line started as part of the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad, and soon passed through the ownership of the New Jersey Southern Railroad to the hands of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which took ownership of the line in 1879.

CNJ Southern Division (1879-1976)

A map of the NJS New Jersey Southern Railroad.svg
A map of the NJS

From 1879, the line was owned by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), which used it as their Southern Division, which, at its greatest extent, ran from Red Bank to the shores of the Delaware Bay at Bivalve and Bayside. The line hosted the CNJ's famous passenger train the Blue Comet from 1929 to 1941. The line prospered into the 1940s when, like all American rail lines and the railroads that owned them, it entered a period of decline. In 1957, the last scheduled passenger service ended on the line, leaving it as a freight-only line. Despite the sand traffic that frequented the line, the number of general freights (not including sand and local freights to serve the industries along the line) dwindled to two, JS-1 and SJ-2 as the northeastern rail scene became more grim. In 1976, Conrail took over all operations, and in 1978, it severed the line between Woodmansie and Winslow Junction, ending its use as a through route linking South and North Jersey. Within the next decade, operations would be cut back again to Lakehurst.

Conrail Shared Assets Operations (1999-present)

From June, 1 1999, the line has been operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO), and despite the recovering railroad state in this time frame, the line's customer base continued to dwindle, and in 2010, the line was cut back further to Lakewood. The line also included the Toms River Industrial Track (Lakehurst to Toms River), but it was placed out of service after all of the customers discontinued rail service.

Effective July 1, 2022, CSAO interchanges with the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad at Red Bank. Despite the change in common carrier service, CSAO retains trackage rights over the entire route.

Delaware and Raritan River Railroad (2022-present)

The Delaware and Raritan River Railroad assumed common carrier operations between Red Bank and Lakewood as of July 1, 2022. The DRR is responsible for serving all customers on this section of the route.

Current operations

The WPSA-31 transfers cars from Browns Yard to Red Bank, where the cars are interchanged with DRR. Once in Red Bank, DRR local RB-01 runs to Lakewood and back, servicing customers along the way. The last five customers on the line are:

See also

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References