Conrail on the Seashore Branch

[NJT5008]

Does anyone have any information on the last customer,IFF, or any other customers for that matter, of Conrail on the old CNJ seashore branch? As a frequent rider of the Henry Hudson Trail, I've tried to scope out this plant, and others, to see how the railraod entered into theses sites and what type of cars they would drop off and pick up. The book "24 Great Rail Trails of New Jersey" has some good information but focuses more on the trail than the railroad. Any information at all would be a great. =]

[Jtgshu]

I believe the contract with Conrail and IFF ended in October 1983, and the line was abandoned from the GSP to Union Beach at the end of 1983.

there are a few various threads on the Seashore Branch in this forum and also the CNJ/LHR forum and believe it or not, the NJT Light Rail forum

Do a search and you might be surprised!

[clamdigger]

NJT5008:
I can't tell you anything of Conrail's customers on this branch. But, I'm quite sure I could list many of the former CNJ
customers between Union Beach and Atlantic Highlands, if you are interested.
vjh

[Kaback9]

JT,

83 sounds about right. You get my endorsement!

[NJT5008]

NJT5008:
I can't tell you anything of Conrail's customers on this branch. But, I'm quite sure I could list many of the former CNJ
customers between Union Beach and Atlantic Highlands, if you are interested.
vjh

CNJ would be great. thanks.

[clamdigger]

NJT5008;
I just spent 3 hours drafting and typing, (2 finger method),a list of CNJ seashore branch customers,circa 1945-1957, 7 paragraphs long .I previewd and corrected it,then submitted it but railroad.net told me it was in the wrong format????,sent me back to the forum.And,no matter what I do or how, I can't retreve it.So I will resume again tomorrow;please bear with me. Thanks,
VJH

[RailsEast]

There is a series of soft-cover books available at many book stores and hobby shops, as well as amazon.com, et al, entitled "Images of America", and this series from Arcadia Publishing includes many railroad books, including "The Henry Hudson Trail, CNJ's Seashore Branch" by noted local rr historian Tom Gallo. This book has early to mid 20th century maps & photos of the CNJ line from Matawan to Sandy Hook, and is a 'must-have' for anyone interested in this line. It includes the long gone Atlantic Highlands pier, the J. Howard Smith fish processing plant spur at Belford, the Jim Greeley Coal Co. siding at Pt. Monmouth, and the IFF plant from an aerial view. It also has pics of the CNJ delivering cars to IFF shot by the author on his wedding day in 1977 (!), and crews picking up the rail after CR abandoned the line on November 16th, 1983. For only $20.00, this book is indeed a bargain, considering all the information that is contained within its covers. I got mine at the RR Museum in Strasburg, Pa, but the train shop in Dunellen has it, as well as Amazon.com.
Chris

[clamdigger]

NJT5008;
The customers on CNJ's seashore branch as I remember them in the period 1945-1957,from Natco in Union Beach to Atlantic Highlands by town.All directions are by compass.

Keansburg:
There was a spur(points east) to "Fowlers" at the Creek road crossing.What kind of business I'm not sure but I do remember seeing the camelbacks push "reefers into the enclosed receiving area.This was one of the few businesses that received refrigerator cars on the seashore branch.
There was a long passing siding with a freight station that crossed main street .East of Main street ,there was another spur(points east),from the main line, that crossed back over main st.into Englers lumber. another spur(points east) from the passing siding and paralleling it ,that went to Collins concrete.They received many covered hoppers and sand hoppers.

Port Monmouth:
There was passing siding here with a freight house.The passing siding and the east end of the freight house can be seen on pg.44 of Tom Gallo's book "Henry Hudson Trail".However, he errs when in the caption he states that"This late-afternoon view toward Main Street..."The view is eastward toward Wilson Av.and beyond to Belford.(The captions at the top of pg.46 and the bottom of page 47 are of Wison Av.,also).A spur from the passing siding (points west)lead to Greely's coal and oil co.which received open top coal hoppers.I never saw any tank cars there.This shown in the photo on pg.43 of Gallo's book.In this photo the view is toward Main st.

Belford:
Here was another long passing siding.But ,off the main was as very long spur which snaked its way through the meadows,over a wood trestle crossing Compton's creek to the J.Howard Smith "fish factory" as we locals called it.Smith shipped many tank cars of fish( 'bunker) oil and boxcars of fish( 'bunker)meal. But, before the the locomotive reached the "fishfactory"it sometimes dropped or picked up cars at a small lumber yard right on Main st. in Belford.The yard never received many cars and it went of business in the late 50s,I believe.There was another spur(points west) that entered the Naval Weapon Station(NWS) and joined the line to the ammo piers from NAD,Earle,NJ.It was never too busy and and one would see a freight car on the lead but not inside the fence.
Leonardo:
Before I enlisted in the USN,I worked a few months in the A&Ptore on Leonard Av,I think that was the street and I don't recall any spur or any industry in Leonardo then or before.

Atlantic Highlands:
After WWII the CNJ cut the line from Highlands to East Long Branch and later,in the '50s, from Highlands to Atlantic Highlands where it became the terminus for the Branch.It had a small passenger layover yard but I recall a spur that received boxcars of building materials for Caruso Construction in Atlantic Highlands near the large NJNG storage tank.
So those are my recollections the freight customers on CNJ's Seashore branch .It was the railroad I grew up with.
VJH

[RailsEast]

And don't forget Stultz Coal & Feed (now Stultz Fuel Oil), and Conover Lumber in Keyport during the CNJ years!
Chris

[Kaback9]

When was the last RDC passenger train? It amazes me that this branch was able to keep passenger service for so long yet on the other side the Freehold Branch lost it early.

[clamdigger]

NJtwoM;
I prefaced my post by saying:"The customers on the CNJ"S seashore Branch as I remember them in the period 1945-1957, from Natco in Union beach to Atlantic Highlands..." Were you around in that period ??
VJH

[clamdigger]

Kaback9;
Gallo states in a photo caption on the last page of his book that the CNJ gained permission to abandon Seashore branch assenger service. On 2 November 1966,the last passenger train,a single Budd RDC1#555 left Atlantic Highlands.
VJH

[RailsEast]

NJtwoM;
I prefaced my post by saying:"The customers on the CNJ"S seashore Branch as I remember them in the period 1945-1957, from Natco in Union beach to Atlantic Highlands..." Were you around in that period ??
VJH

No, sir, I was not; I was born in 1960. I did not mean to correct you in your posts, I was just trying to help NJT5008 in his quest for information, based upon information I have read in books relating to the period.
Chris

[Kaback9]

Kaback9;
Gallo states in a photo caption on the last page of his book that the CNJ gained permission to abandon Seashore branch assenger service. On 2 November 1966,the last passenger train,a single Budd RDC1#555 left Atlantic Highlands.
VJH

Thanks! Still can't get over that service lasted so long on this line.

[Jtgshu]

Kaback9;
Gallo states in a photo caption on the last page of his book that the CNJ gained permission to abandon Seashore branch assenger service. On 2 November 1966,the last passenger train,a single Budd RDC1#555 left Atlantic Highlands.
VJH

Thanks! Still can't get over that service lasted so long on this line.

Believe it or not, the Seashore was to be included in the Aldene Plan and service continued after 1966. However, a significant plunge in ridership (might have had something to do with the CNJ cutting conveninent trains......) in the mid 60s along with the dualizaiton of parallel Route 36 was the death knell for pax service. The line had very healthy ridership to pretty much the end, and the track was relatively fast, 50mph I believe was the speed over most of it.

Gotta remember the way Northern Monmouth County was devloped back then - Marlboro, Morganville, Freehold Township were just farmland - there was pretty much NOTHING out there. However, the towns that the Seashore Branch served were long established and some of the oldest in Monmouth County. In reality, the Bayshore was close to being built out then (north of 36 at least), with the significant growth taking place south of 36 in pretty much all the towns.

There was a siding in Leonardo, and while I don't think it went all teh way to the former A&P (the same plaza as the legendary Clerks convenient store - Quick Stop Groceries is located) it might have, but I do believe it served the current United Seacoast fish processing/packaging building. I do recall however, seeing an old ariel view of a boxcar or some freight car at the building across Vanderbilt Ave from the former A&P. The Henry Hudson Trail actually uses the siding as an entrance to the trail from the parking lot at the roller rink.

In the very early days, there was also a siding in Leonardo at the station location, Gallo's book states that it was sometimes used to store coal for the Altantic Highlands pier.

I believe the last customer on the line east of Belford was American Lumber in Altantic Highlands (probably the same location that was Caruso Construction that clamdigger referenced). Gallos book shows a pic of a boxcar that was shoved to in front of Earle by a front end loader because track was apparnetly so bad that the locos couldn't get to Atlantic Highlands to pick it up. I believe he states that was early 1973. If I recall, the lumber yard went up in a specacular fire sometime in the mid-late 70s, after rail service ended.

too bad I was born too late to see any of this in person - all this info is from my own research and from stories from family and friends in the Leonardo and Port Monmouth area.