Bordentown Secondary questions

I took the RiverLINE down to Burlington a few days ago, and, as with just about all my trips, came back with some questions.
First, how much freight activity can you find on the line (especially given that freights can only run at night, generally)?
Just south of the Bordentown station, there's a track that splits off and heads north. From Google Maps, it looks like it used to be part of a wye (which is probably what the historical note thing at the station is about, though I didn't get off to read it) and then continued north and ran along route 130 for a while. How along ago did the other leg of the wye get pulled up? Is the track heading north still intact (I know it's still around where Rt. 33 meets Rt. 130), and is it still used (and how long ago was it last used, if not).
Up near the Trenton terminal (where the tracks run alongside Route 129) for the RiverLINE, one of the tracks still has old wooden ties. I'm guessing that this means it's existing track. Right where the RiverLINE tracks turn for the station, there's a bridge with a track that splits off and keeps heading north. From the look of the maps, it loops around into a wye to the NEC. Does this track get used for anything anymore?

Sorry for all the questions, but I hate being nagged by things I don't know. I'm sure I'll end up with more questions over the course of the summer, when I plan on walking some of the old lines in the area. Thanks all.

There is a wye on the NEC down by MP55. This connects to the Bordentown Sec. The rails aren't real shiney, but they aren't real rusty, so they see traffic every once in a while.

Tehre was another connection to the current Riverline, the "hill track" at Trenton. the track heads west of the Track 1/2 platform in Trenton, and goes up a hill to the end of track.....only a few hundred feet of rail is missing from where it connected to the River Line. this track is used daily by NJT trains to hold them west of the station and off the main tracks.

The bordentown track is part of the "camden and amboy", which was
the oldest(??) railroad in NJ and later part of the PRR. The section
around Heightstown (from just south of Cranbury to not far south of
Hightstown -- just south of where 33 and 130 merge) is what is gone --
maybe 5 or so miles, actually.
Maybe the rails actually were lifted 15-20 years ago, and abandoned in the
60's or 70's. There is some local freigth on the south stub, and the north end
gets daily(?) traffic, especially north of Jamesburg where it
is part of the Amboy secondary.

In trenton there used to be 2 wyes just north of Trenton station on the NEC. The first was the main access to the Bel-Del going up along hte delaware, just south of barracks yard -- this is now gone. Another
mile up is Millham (spelling?), which then loops back parallel to the NEC going south (along route 1, northwest of NEC), called Milham industrial track at one point (not sure what now), and then
turns south to go over the NEC (what you saw) where it is then part of hte River line. As you noted the River Line splits from it just north
of the NEC bridge to go to Trenton station.
This is the "bordentown secondary" (the part shared with the River line).

The local freigtht can either be served by Pavonia coming up the Riverline
from the south, or frrom Morrisville Yd in PA, going on the NEC through trenton, then
taking the wye at Milham, looping back south and then over the NEC.
JS

It's an interesting piece of triva, This northern part of the River line, continuing to connect to the NEC
through Milham, is the only connetcion on rails still left between
"north jersey" and "south jersey" rails still left in NJ, There is
no regular through traffic, however -- south jersey freight comes over
the Del-air bridge over the Delaware just north of Camden/Pavonia.

The other connections -- the Camden and Amboy, Pemberton and Hightstwon, the CNJ southern NJ main line (I forget what is was called), the PRR through Toms River to what is now the NJ coast line, are all long gone.
JS

the CNJ southern NJ main line (I forget what is was called)

Commonly called the "Southern Division", and it's not "long gone"—it still is there, but in dilapidated condition.

the PRR through Toms River to what is now the NJ coast line

The Philadelphia & Long Branch Railroad, that was called. Went from Camden generally following towns along the Route 70 corridor; and part of it IIRC is now the southbound lanes of route 35 in Mantoloking, Camp Osborne, Normandy Beach, Silver Beach, Chadwick, Lavallette, Ortley Beach right into the Heights...

pgengler wrote:Just south of the Bordentown station, there's a track that splits off and heads north. From Google Maps, it looks like it used to be part of a wye ... and then continued north and ran along route 130 for a while. How along ago did the other leg of the wye get pulled up?

The wye track was removed for construction of the River LINE.

pumpers wrote:The bordentown track is part of the "camden and amboy", which was the oldest(??) railroad in NJ and later part of the PRR.

The Camden & Amboy was the first railroad in NJ. the portion from South Amboy to Bordentown was built in 1834. (this is from memory) The extension to Camden was built in 1836 and (I think) the branch from Bordentown to Trenton was opened in 1838.

Irish Chieftain wrote:

the CNJ southern NJ main line (I forget what is was called)

Commonly called the "Southern Division", and it's not "long gone"—it still is there, but in dilapidated condition..

I *think* I read in some forum that somewhere between Lakehurst
and Winslow junction, which is the part out of service, that the rails were actually lifted on the CNJ southern division - breaking the north/south link. THere was something about part of the ROW being sold to a
sand company, but I don't know if it was in this part or elsewhre where
the rails are gone
South of Winslow junction it is operated by Southern RR of NJ

JS

The John Bull used to operate over the C&A RR. back in the day. This is way before ditch lights and Acelas.

I do not see any hope of resurrecting the Bordentown Secondary track. The "northerly" section from Cranbury to Jamesburg still existed a while ago. Although unused, the rails were still there. Somewhere south of where Cranbury Half Acre road crossed the track, the right-of-way bacame so seriously overgrown that you couldn't tell whether the rails existed or not. There is still also clear evidence of the old right-of-way southwest of Hightstown along Route 33. After Route 33 interesects Route 130, the right-of-way and rails; again unused; were evident. That was about 10 years ago.

But even at that time, "reconnecting" the line would have been next to impossible. Where the railroad came through downtown Hightstown, it came through on several trestles around which a nasty zig-zag of Route 33 and North Main Street developed over the years. Route 33 made a left turn to the south along N. Main Street, and the main (highway) route west to Princeton Junction and Princeton made a right turn one block later and went under a low-clearance narrow rail bridge. This resulted in two successive, opposing "T" intersections that made an absolute mess of traffic.

So at some time in the 80's (...it was still there in the 70's) or early 90's; after the line was abandoned, the trestles were removed and the intersections were enlarged and realigned. I just do not see that there would be any way that this short section of the route could ever be restored.

Which, being part of the Camden and Amboy; is a real shame.

My 4th grade teacher lived in Cranbury on a farm next to the tracks and told stories of taking the train to New York when she was a child.

As for the CNJ Southern Secondary, I do believe that the rails are gone south of Lakehurst. The line to south of Lakewood is good; and some track was rebuilt there a few years ago when the Government finally decided to clean up a contaminated site at a former missile base.

The site was contaminated with Plutonium after a nuclear weapon tipped missile caught fire in the late 50's or early 60's. The conventional explosives in the warhead were set off by the fire but this did not set off a nuclear explosion because the explosives did not all detonate precisely together; an absolutely precisely coordinated detonation of conventional explosives is (fortunately) necessary to set off a nuclear weapon, and that did not occur in the fire. But the explosion spread some plutionium over a small area and was dispersed by water used on the fire. The area was capped with concrete, but evidence was found that some of the contamination had spread slightly. So the Feds eventually did the correct thing and excavated the entire site, diluted the contaminated materials to a much less hazardous state, and shipped it all off by train to be disposed of or reclaimed at a hazardous waste processing facilty, somewhere out west, I believe.

There was talk about selling the right of way around Manchester, but I believe that was blocked. I also believe that the town of Whiting tried to either realign an intersection or allow construction that would have interferred with the old right of way, and they were blocked.

Down near Winslow Junction, some of the rails still exist.

There was talk about 10-15 years ago about a private firm purchasing the remaining unused right-of-way and then upgrading the entire line from Red Bank to Winslow Junction for high-speed rail. They wanted to offer "Gambler's Express" first-class service from New York City to Atlantic City with a one hour plus travel time. This route was largely intact and was the most direct. Trains would use the NEC to the NJCL at Rahway to Red Bank, the CNJ Southern Secondary to Winslow Junction, and the Amtrak then NJT line from Winslow to Atlantic City. This would have been faster than the present route down the NEC to almost North Philadelphia, then back across the Delair bridge and back across Jersey. The Southern Secondary would have been the "hypotenuse" of the NEC and ACY "triangle". I guess they never got the funding, or determined that it wasn't financially feasible, because nothing was ever heard about it since.

The tracks south of Lakehurst are still intact for the most part. There are small sections that are missing. Several areas include: about 200 feet in Woodmansie, about 1000 feet in Chatsworth and several crossings. I can think of two crossings--Chew Road in Atco and the crossing at Carrenza Road. Anyone want to add more?

The line to Atco is a different alignment, the CNJ line goes to Winslow JCT.
South of Lakehurst is a sand loading operation Heritage Mineral, the rails are buried under two feet of sand. For the most part they are intact till the second sand pit in Woodmasie, which has a ballon track going through it, and rail lifted at its entrance. Next Chatsworth, NJT ripped up about 1000' for use as guard rail.
From there south past the 206 crossing, most of the rail is still there. Further south, more rail is missing, again I understand NJT lifted it for other projects, NJDOT owns the rail. There is at least one neat wooden trestle deep in the "Pine Barrens", and just before it pops out to cross 206, there was a servicing facility, and the turntable pit is still obvious. Further south, the farmers have taken over most of the right of way, but track is still visible, then the trestle across Rte. 30, and we are now at the storage section for SRNJ.
The spur into Lakehurst Naval Air Station was reconstructed for contaminated soil transfer. It does not go very far onto the base, the old alignment went into the hangers etc.

The CNJ crosses Chew Road in Atco (Waterford Twp.) on it way to Winslow Jct. There was a small "forgotten" town there once called Chew and a small station for a short period of time. The next small town south of Chew is Elm which also had a station before it crosses the White Horse Pike (Rt. 30). Walked across that bridge with my brother, former Mayor of Waterford Twp., this past December. The tracks looked good on the bridge.--Next stop--Winslow Jct. Ooops--Off topic!

pgengler wrote:I took the RiverLINE down to Burlington a few days ago, and, as with just about all my trips, came back with some questions.
First, how much freight activity can you find on the line (especially given that freights can only run at night, generally)?
Just south of the Bordentown station, there's a track that splits off and heads north. From Google Maps, it looks like it used to be part of a wye (which is probably what the historical note thing at the station is about, though I didn't get off to read it) and then continued north and ran along route 130 for a while. How along ago did the other leg of the wye get pulled up? Is the track heading north still intact (I know it's still around where Rt. 33 meets Rt. 130), and is it still used (and how long ago was it last used, if not).
Up near the Trenton terminal (where the tracks run alongside Route 129) for the RiverLINE, one of the tracks still has old wooden ties. I'm guessing that this means it's existing track. Right where the RiverLINE tracks turn for the station, there's a bridge with a track that splits off and keeps heading north. From the look of the maps, it loops around into a wye to the NEC. Does this track get used for anything anymore?

Sorry for all the questions, but I hate being nagged by things I don't know. I'm sure I'll end up with more questions over the course of the summer, when I plan on walking some of the old lines in the area. Thanks all.

Back on original topic, I have a few things to add to this thread at this late hour:

Freight activity: Performed 5 days a week, Monday through Friday by CSAO. The industries between the route 73 / Pennsauken station and Burlington are served by CA-29, a local based out of Camden that also works as a transfer job between Pavonia and Burlington. Industries south of Route 73 / Pennsauken station (like the Pennsauken Industrial Park) are served by Pavonia-based local CA-60. Both are nocturnal jobs, of course, with call times both hovering right around 21:00 hours (CA-60's call time jumps around too much for me to keep track anymore, but 29's is 21:00). Now, I'm a little unfamiliar with operations north of Burlington, because I haven't witnessed these at all myself in person yet, but I can tell you how it works. There is a local out of Burlington that serves industries north of Burlington on the RiverLINE and industries up to Yardville on the Robbinsville IT (that's that track that splits off at Bordentown and makes up part of the old C&A), I'm still showing that as a local symboled BU-20. Call time is showing as 21:00 for that one as well. There is another local that I'm showing based out there, called BU-29. That is showing as coming on duty at 09:00, but I'm not positive if this has been abolished or not. This would do work on the Florence IT only, straight out of Burlington yard, and would not interfere with light rail operation. There is a freight-only dedicated track over there in Burlington that I BELIEVE is called the Florence IT, but might be the Burlington IT...like I said, not too positive on this.

So, here's how it works, in a nutshell. All freight is transferred from Pavonia to Burlington via CA-29. That freight is then distributed to customers on the northern end of the RiverLINE and the Robbinsville Industrial by BU-20. Morrisville dosen't send out any locals to do work here anymore, they did however when the RiverLINE was under construction (some job called MO-20 or something, if I recall correctly). BU-29 might go up to some industry on that industrial that splits off the RiverLINE just south of the Trenton terminal once in a blue moon to service some customer, but I do not have a name...and I think service is quite sporatic, if any at all anymore...track is in OK shape though.

BTW, wooden ties on that line don't necessarily mark original track. I don't know how they decided what got concrete and what got wood, but it isn't based on what track was there when it was called the BORS and what track is there now.

Some pics are coming from a photo stint I did up there for a few months last year...pretty rare stuff, wait till I organize myself...

Hope this helps out a bit.

Mike DiMunno
www.SJRail.com: All about South Jersey Railroads!

pumpers wrote:...The section around Hightstown (from just south of Cranbury Station to just south of Hightstown -- just south of where 33 and 130 merge) is what is gone -- maybe 5 or so miles, actually.

Yes, correct.

pumpers wrote:...Maybe the rails actually were lifted 15-20 years ago, and abandoned in the 60's or 70's. There is some local freight on the south stub, and the north end gets daily(?) traffic, especially north of Jamesburg where it is part of the Amboy secondary.

Sorta. One mile of track between the current stub in Windsor north to the Rt. 33/130 intersection was abandoned and removed by the PRR in 1967. The next four miles from Rt. 33/130 to Cranbury Station were abandoned by Conrail in October 1982. The rails were then lifted on my 10th birthday, so I painfully remember the day - March 7, 1983. Desecration of the ROW through Hightstown continued for several years. It is incredibly difficult to trace the old line now, especially through the heart of Hightstown.

The north end in Cranbury Station receives a single freight car every two-three days. Farther north, at Jamesburg Jct., service is much more frequent.

The south end is on borrowed time. It is now called the Robbinsville Industrial Track. Rail traffic north of Bordentown Jct. (where the RiverLINE branches off) is two-three times per week. Trains go as far north as Yardville. The track between Yardville and Windsor has been out of service since 1995. Driving on Rt. 33 in Robbinsville will reveal heavy vegetation and encroachment from local businesses on the ROW. Windsor has recently experienced a renaissance and the ROW was retained. The major lumber industry at the end of track in Windosr has long since gone away. I surprised the rails are still in place. Even before service ceased in 1995, rail service was sparse. the fews times a train rumbled north of Yardville, it was a Conrail work train clearing the ROW.

The reality is that the line lost its importance in the mid-1960s. Once PRR severed the line in 1967, it could not be used as a through line anymore. Had it been retained as a through line, it might have more value today. The RiverLINE may have had future possiblites for extending north and offering an alternative to the NEC. Neighborhoods along the Camden & Amboy are bursting with population. No doubt, a commuter or light rail line would alleviate some congestion.

I was driving in windsor today along the bordentown secondary and noticed that brush has been cleared all the way to end of track at us 130
and south to south of 195. Anybody know whats going on? Mabe frieghts will run again to windsor. The track does go into a rather large factory at the end of the line.