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  • RR line from Camden to Toms River?

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey

Moderator: David

 #1564305  by GSC
 
Smaller power was assigned to this route due to shorter passenger trains. A Pennsy G5 4-6-0 was usually big enough to handle the Long Branch trains, and D16sb's such as 4-4-0 #1223 saw regular service along this route and on to the Tuckerton RR to LBI, along with 3999, the wooden private office car now at the Pine Creek RR at Allaire. The office car was once parked next to the P&LB just west of Toms River and was home to a fellow named Nate, a retired porter who hosted PRR big shots for weekends of fishing, crabbing, card playing, and other debauchery.

The Tuckerton RR story is somewhat confusing in places. PRR ran via trackage rights on the Tuckerton to Manahawkin and then on to LBI. The Tuckerton RR operated portions of PRR-owned trackage on the northern half of LBI.

If you can find a copy, John Brinckmann's book on the Tuckerton RR is a great read. It's written in his unique flowery prose of a century ago and is fun to read. Loaded with great pics too.
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 #1569142  by JohnFromJersey
 
What's the backstory to this line? Was it ripped up completely, or was it removed piece by piece? I believe there's still part of the original ROW rotting away inactive next to a concrete plant in Mount Holly.

Am I correct in assuming that the TRIT was part of this line, and the one of the only remants of it left?
 #1569147  by David
 
JohnFromJersey wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:16 pm What's the backstory to this line? Was it ripped up completely, or was it removed piece by piece? I believe there's still part of the original ROW rotting away inactive next to a concrete plant in Mount Holly.

Am I correct in assuming that the TRIT was part of this line, and the one of the only remants of it left?
The TRIT is not part of this line. The TRIT started in Lakehurst.
 #1569167  by R&DB
 
JohnFromJersey wrote: Mon Apr 19, 2021 11:16 pm What's the backstory to this line? Was it ripped up completely, or was it removed piece by piece? I believe there's still part of the original ROW rotting away inactive next to a concrete plant in Mount Holly.

Am I correct in assuming that the TRIT was part of this line, and the one of the only remants of it left?
The line was constructed to bring Philly area visitors to Long Branch which in the 1870-1890 era was the premier shore resort in the country.
Google maps satellite view, Whiting. Follow the the power lines East/West from Diamond Road. Going East through South Toms River / Beachwood the RoW is Rte-9 between GSP and Rte-166. In Pine Beach it's Pennsylvania Ave. In ocean Gate it's Atlantic Ave. The west end of the trestle was near Martel's in Bayville and it's East end was at 14th St in Seaside Park . It then turned North on what is now the southbound lanes of Rte-35. The Seaside Park station was where the Municipal building is now. The line continued North to Bay Head Junction where it connected to the NY&LB.
Westbound from Whiting the line went through the Browns Mills area to Pemberton and on to Camden.
Diamond Road is exactly on the RoW where it crosses Claytons track (former CNJ). The foundation of the Whiting station is in the SE corner of that intersection. The station served the PRR, CNJ and the Tuckerton Railroad which ran SE from this point along what is now Lake / Lacey Rd.
The trestle/bridge across Barnegat Bay burned in late 1946 cutting service back to Ocean Gate. All service ended around 1955 and tracks were removed. If you want to see the line in action there is a youtube video passing mail from a train to a blimp! Film was shot between Whiting and South Toms River.
The only thing this line has in common with the TRIT (former CNJ Barnegat Branch) is that they crossed each other in Beachwood.
 #1569640  by pumpers
 
A quick internet search said the train was a PRR train but did not give the exact route. I doubt it was the Camden-Whiting-toms River route since the train would have to cross the Delaware River. My guess is the PRR main line to cross the Delaware at Trenton,then up to Monmouth junction, then Via Jamesburg, Freehold, and Farmingdale to Manasquan/Sea Girt, then up the NY&LB to Long Branch /Elburon
 #1569650  by Return to Reading Company Olney Sta
 
pumpers wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:37 pmsince the train would have to cross the Delaware River
And the Delair Bridge had not yet been built in 1881, so the Trenton/Monmouth Jct route sounds more likely.

(Coincidentally I am currently reading “The Unexpected President” - a biography of Chester Arthur who became president upon Garfield’s death.)
 #1569671  by pumpers
 
Return to Reading Company Olney Sta wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:20 pm And the Delair Bridge had not yet been built in 1881, so the Trenton/Monmouth Jct route sounds more likely.
Yes, that's what I meant. Thanks for clarifying that.
Also, from poking around, the route south of Sea Girt, down to Bay Head and then all the way down across the bridge to Toms River, might not have been completed until later in 1881.
 #1569682  by Return to Reading Company Olney Sta
 
I can’t locate nor recall now where I had read it, but from what I remember the construction of that line experienced a very harsh winter. From what I recall, Barnegat Bay had frozen over and construction crews had to chop through the ice to set pilings for the trestle. Whether that was winter of 1880-81 or 81-82 also I don’t recall. So your point is well founded that the line may not have been completed until after Garfield’s assassination.
 #1569684  by R&DB
 
The route of Garfield's train was through Jamesburg / Manasquan. It was the PRR with a special car with spring suspended bed and medical equipment and doctors on board. Overnight the CNJ built a spur from the NJ&LB main to the "cottage" where the president eventually died. (Exact location not known to me, but probably near Garfield Place) The PRR engine was too heavy for the spur, so a small CNJ engine was used to push the President's car to the house. The spur was used again to move the president's remains back to Washington for the funeral. The spur was removed and some of the ties were carved into memorial canes, with others used to build a "tea house" which now still stands on the property of St. Michael's Church on Ocean Ave.
 #1575127  by JohnFromJersey
 
Always wondered, if the bridge over the Bay didn't burn in 1946, would NJT service this line perhaps? Or would it have been abandoned at some point?

I can't see Bayhead-Seaside-Toms River being used much except for three months out of the year, but Toms River-Camden would probably be used a lot by South Jersey residents commuting north or south
 #1575134  by CharlieL
 
Don't think they would have kept it going. There was little or no commuting between the eastern portions of that route and pretty much anywhere in 1955, and probably not until the '90s at least.
 #1575151  by R&DB
 
CharlieL wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 5:15 am Don't think they would have kept it going. There was little or no commuting between the eastern portions of that route and pretty much anywhere in 1955, and probably not until the '90s at least.
I don't know about 1955, but my granfather commuted from Ortley Beach to Camden for over ten years in the 1920s-'30s.
 #1575318  by JohnFromJersey
 
CharlieL wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 5:15 am Don't think they would have kept it going. There was little or no commuting between the eastern portions of that route and pretty much anywhere in 1955, and probably not until the '90s at least.
I wonder if it would see usage today, in a hypothetical world where it still existed. Lots of commuting from the shore points.
 #1575351  by GSC
 
A big "what if", if the line between Bay Head and Seaside remained, it would be a good place to operate a DMU shuttle from Bay Head. It sure would alleviate the horrid traffic on the two-lane Rt 35 south of Bay Head during the summer. Maybe NJT could run special summer trains like they used to, all the way to Seaside, for those who go farther south than Asbury Park, Manasquan, or Pt. Pleasant. Weekday shuttle service would help the traffic as well, for the many who live down the peninsula who commute north. A quick transfer at Bay Head to a NYC train. In theory, of course.