Bel-Del line Trenton and north

What's left of the Bel-Del line starting at Trenton and heading north along the Deleware River? Is it used at all or still connected to the NEC? I take the train sometimes to Phili from NY but going through Trenton station I can never see the junction.

I don't think there is anything left.

P'brg to Belvedre is used by NS still. Track south is still in almost to Rieglesville I think, but unused south of Carpentersville.

It's been rail-trailed between West Trenton and Lambertville (excluding where the Black River & Western ran); and along NJ 29 north, it's a rail-trail from just north of Lambertville through Frenchtown to a point just south of Milford; track is in place but derelict up until Phillipsburg, where the Belvidere & Delaware takes over (have seen NS running on there recently).

How many railroad buildings are still up along the Bel-Del?

I know of the restaurant in Flemington, and the gift-shop restaurant in Frenchtown.

Some places of interest along the Bel-Del

http://www.riverhorse.com

http://www.shipinn.com

You can drive along the line virtually to Belvedere! Last spring my wife and I drove from Frenchtown up; just keep turning toward the river and read your maps. It was an extremely scenic route with a lot of Victorial and Federal era buildings and early 20th century industrial plots. SOme dirt roads, all narrow, but well worth the drive for railfan, riverfan, Jersey fan!

Lackawanna484 wrote:How many railroad buildings are still up along the Bel-Del?

I know of the restaurant in Flemington, and the gift-shop restaurant in Frenchtown.

The Flemington restaurant, meaning the ex-CNJ passenger station? It's was purchased and renovated by a bank a few months ago. The newspaper article I read indicated that the bank was going to remove the exterior additions made by the former restaurant to return it to its CNJ appearance. Haven't been by there to see how it looks as yet.

The Milford Bel Del station is also still extant.

Aren't you all confusing the Lambertville station with Flemington's? At least in terms of what's along the former Pennsylvania right of way?

RichM wrote:Aren't you all confusing the Lambertville station with Flemington's? At least in terms of what's along the former Pennsylvania right of way?

yes, I should have written Lambertville and Frenchtown...

OK, and by the way, that wasn't supposed to sound like a flame. Sorry for being so short; I just drive through Lambertville once a week and thought that's what you meant.

There was what appeared to be a flanger on the tracks when the original rails were in place just north of the Route 202 bridge, it was there for years, always wanted to get a photo, then one day it was gone.

Rich

carajul wrote:What's left of the Bel-Del line starting at Trenton and heading north along the Deleware River? Is it used at all or still connected to the NEC? I take the train sometimes to Phili from NY but going through Trenton station I can never see the junction.

The wye junction to the west north of Trenton station was the Bel-Del connection. When the Bel-Del was first built, the Trenton-New Brunswick line was right next to the D&R Canal (now the Trenton Freeway), and I believe the bridge over the freeway from the Bel Del still exists - the old junction was right next to that bridge.

The bridge over route 1 is still there, but no track on it.
Just to the west of it is the start of the bike trail going north along the
Bel Del ROW to Lambertville and farther. DOn't know if you can walk on the bridge.


On the east side of the bridge is the old PRR MIllham branch, which is still active (from the originalTrenton -NB line as mentioned by SPUI).

The old Bel Del connection to the PRR mainline (the wye SPUI mentioned)
which was just northEAST of the trenton station near Lincoln Ave, is gone. I think it went out in the early Conrail days, but not sure.
If you look at maps.google.com in "map" mode it shows as still
there, but in from the "satellite" picture mode you see it is gone.

You can also see a bridge still there crossing the canal from the west end of the Route 1 bridge. THis was from the PRR "Enterprise branch"
(now long gone) which left the Bel Del there to cross the canal to go up past what is
now Helene Fuld hosptial to the industrial area north of there, along the northwest side of the feeder canal (the canal to New Brunswick).
NOrth of Helene Fuld the ROW ran on the old canal towpath on the northwestside of the canal -- the Millham branch was opposite on the east/south side
(The canal is actually under route 1 for about a mile in this area,
if you don't see it in photos).

The wye a few miles up the main line where the Millham branch comes
into the mainline near WHitehead Rd. is still there. Conrail uses this branch to access the
north end of what now NJT calls the River line sometimes (usually
it comes up from Camden). From Morrisville Yard, they go through trenton station, then onto the Millham branch at the wye, the loop back south past the BelDel bridge over route 1, then back over the mainline
and onto the River line along Canal St. The direct connection to the main line shown between this branch and the mainline (in the east quadrant
of the crossing) still shown on the google "map mode" is gone.

My favorite piece of trivia is that this loop is the only connection in NJ
between "North Jersey rails" (trenton and north) and south jersey rails
(e.g. the Riverline, and everything from Camden south). (until they
restore the CNJ SOuthern division, from Lakehurst down to Winslow, that is!)

JS