The future of Cranbury Station

Redfish wrote:Pretty sure CR7876 is talking about the Home Depot Warehouse in Dayton off Herrod Road. We'd go push pull from Brown's with a double shift for Home Depot. Pack a big lunch and a good book to read.
I wish I had saved the maps I made of the lines served out of Brown's from the 90's. So much business back then.

I was.

Jamesway was already gone when I started.

It's a shame about Chamberlain and Barkley. I had derailed on their lead once in 02 or 03. In their office they had an arial picture of the site with " 100 years of service 1866 to 1966
- PRR"

I am railfan and know that Cranbury Station is a former Camden and Amboy structure. I don't its fate and know in the past it was used by a electrical contractor as an office for the business. There is one track that goes into the former Chamberlain and Barclay site here. Also it would be nice of the tracks just past Applegarth Road were reactivated and used. Believe CSAO still has ownership of those . Don't know if C&D or its subsidiary Delaware & Raritan River RR would take that track over or not. Something decided between CSAO and C&D.

It is sad to see those tracks go unused.

Redfish wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:02 pm Pretty sure CR7876 is talking about the Home Depot Warehouse in Dayton off Herrod Road. We'd go push pull from Brown's with a double shift for Home Depot. Pack a big lunch and a good book to read.
I wish I had saved the maps I made of the lines served out of Brown's from the 90's. So much business back then.

What changed?

Mainly the amount of customers and how often the lines were serviced. Some lines were also shortened a bit.

The Hightstown Industrial had 8 customers in the mid 90's. The Chamberlin and Barclay siding had a second consignee back then called Plant Food. They would get a tank car of liquid fertilizer once in a while.

When the NJTPK was widened in 2013 with new bridges, the track was actually removed and then rebuilt in place.

FYI, the new official 2023 NJDOT state map (released in January) has the entire line removed south of Prospect Plains.

Thanks for the continued interest in this subject. I would love to know more about the operations in the 80's involving Jamesway, and why that property is not desirable for continued service.

Besides having driven by this portion of the line frequently in my childhood, this area also has significant historical value: Cranbury Station or the surrounding area may have been close to the site of the 1833 Hightstown Rail Accident, one of the first train disasters in this country and one that involved John Quincy Adams. Per the words of John Quincy Adams himself, "The other dying man was left at Hightstown, 3 miles beyond where the disaster happened..." If you measure three miles from the center of Hightstown along the old ROW, it leads you to Cranbury Station.

My vote is that they preserve at least the area around Cranbury Station / move the station per the Haddad Brands proposal and perhaps create a little memorial (if service truly is terminated past Applegarth Rd).

JDRails,

Thank you for replying and your message. Steve Coraggio.
I agree that the C&A building near Chamberlain & Barclay should be preserved or moved to another location.
Steve Coraggio

The freight depot should be secure for now, being the home of Conley Electric.

ATTN: R36 Combine Coach,

I agree with your comment here. Thank you, Steve Coraggio