Swedesboro Railroad

Last updated
Swedesboro Railroad
Overview
Parent company West Jersey Railroad (1869–1887)
Dates of operation1866 (1866)1887 (1887)
Successor West Jersey Railroad
Technical
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Length10.8 miles (17.4 km)
Route map
Swedesboro Railroad

The Swedesboro Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1866 and completed a line between Woodbury and Swedesboro, New Jersey, in 1869. It was leased by the West Jersey Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, that same year, and formally merged in 1887.

Contents

History

The first serious attempt to construct a railroad to Swedesboro, New Jersey, was in 1854, when the New Jersey Legislature approved a charter for the Woodbury and Swedesboro Railroad. The principal figure behind the proposed railroad was Joshua S. Thompson, a local lawyer and long-time county prosecutor for Gloucester County, New Jersey. The Camden and Amboy Railroad showed interest, but nothing came of the project. [1]

Thompson led a second, successful effort in the 1860s with the Swedesboro Railroad, which was incorporated on February 23, 1866. [1] [2] [a] This new venture had the backing of the West Jersey Railroad, whose main line ran from Camden, New Jersey, to Cape May via Woodbury. [3] The West Jersey leased the Swedesboro Railroad on August 17, 1869, and the company's line opened between Woodbury and Swedesboro on October 2. [4]

Another company, the Woodstown and Swedesboro Railroad, built south from Swedesboro to Woodstown and then on to a junction with the Salem Railroad east of Salem. This extension was completed in February 1883, creating a direct route between Woodbury and Salem. [3] [4] Under the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines this line was known as the Salem Branch. [5] The Swedesboro Railroad, Woodstown and Swedesboro Railroad, Salem Railroad, Maurice River Railroad, Salem Branch Railroad, and West Jersey Terminal Railroad were consolidated with the West Jersey Railroad on December 31, 1887. [6]

Notes

  1. Coverdale & Colpitts misprints Thompson's name as "Thomson."

Footnotes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Railroad of New Jersey</span> American railroad

The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight trains in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate between Winslow Junction and Pleasantville, and between Winslow Junction and the Winslow Hot Mix asphalt plant in Winslow Township. In Gloucester County, the company operates on the Salem Branch between Swedesboro, New Jersey and Woodbury.

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.

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 Millville and Glassboro Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1859 and began operating between Millville, New Jersey, and Glassboro, New Jersey, in 1860. The company was merged into the West Jersey Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, in 1868. Today its line is part of the Vineland Secondary.

The Cape May and Millville Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1863 and began operation between Millville, New Jersey, and Cape May, New Jersey, that same year. The West Jersey Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, leased the company in 1868 and formally merged with it in 1879.

The Salem Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1857 and completed a line between Salem and Elmer, New Jersey, in 1863. In Elmer, it connected with the Bridgeton Branch of the West Jersey Railroad. The West Jersey, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, leased the company in 1868 and consolidated it in 1887.

The Woodstown and Swedesboro Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1871 to build a line between Woodstown, New Jersey, and Swedesboro, New Jersey. Work eventually went forward in 1882 with the backing of West Jersey Railroad, a forerunner of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, and was completed in 1883. The company was consolidated with the West Jersey Railroad in 1887.

The Williamstown Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1861 and began operating between Williamstown, New Jersey, and Atco, New Jersey, in 1874. It interchanged with the Camden and Atlantic Railroad in Atco. The company came under Philadelphia and Reading Railroad control in 1883 and was reorganized as the Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad. The company's line eventually passed to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines and was abandoned between 1934 and 1942.

The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a railway company in the U.S. state of New Jersey with a connection to Philadelphia. It was formed through the merger of several smaller roads in May 1896. At the end of 1925 it operated 379 miles (610 km) of road on 717 miles (1,154 km) of track; that year it reported 166 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 332 million passenger-miles. The Pennsylvania Railroad leased the company in 1930; this lease was transferred to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. Its property was conveyed to Conrail in 1976.

The Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1883 to reorganize the bankrupt Williamstown Railroad under the control of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The new company extended the original line from Williamstown, New Jersey, to Mullica Hill, New Jersey, via Glassboro, New Jersey. The company was consolidated with four other companies in 1889 to form the Atlantic City Railroad. None of the company's line remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem Branch</span>

The Salem Branch is a rail freight line in the southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States between the Port of Salem and Woodbury Junction where it and the Penns Grove Secondary converge with the Vineland Secondary, approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of Pavonia Yard in Camden.

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 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.

The Camden and Burlington County Railway was a railway company in the United States. A subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was formed in 1915 from the consolidation of three other companies that owned lines in South Jersey centered on Mount Holly, New Jersey. It was merged into the Penndel Company, a Pennsylvania Railroad holding company, in 1958. Few of its lines exist today.

The Atsion branch, also known as the Atco branch or Batsto branch, was a railway line in the state of New Jersey, in the United States. It ran from Atco, New Jersey, to Atsion, New Jersey, connecting the Williamstown Branch and the Atlantic City Line with the Southern Division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It was built by the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad under contract in 1862 and eventually became part of the Central Railroad of New Jersey system. It was abandoned in 1910.

The Williamstown Branch was a railway line in the state of New Jersey, in the United States. It ran 22 miles (35 km) from Atco, New Jersey, to Mullica Hill, New Jersey, via Williamstown, New Jersey. It was built between 1861 and 1888 by the Williamstown Railroad and Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad. It became part of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad system in 1883 and was abandoned in 1969.

References