Pulling the plug @ South Amboy

[keyboardkat]

The Camden & Amboy ran from South Amboy to Jamesburg, Monmouth Junction and Camden. It was the origin of the PRR. The PRR was in South Amboy first.
When the PRR main line through New Jersey was built it terminated at Exchange Place. Passengers took ferries from there to New York. They built a branch from Rahway to Woodbridge.
The CNJ built its terminal at Jersey City and built a railroad through Carteret, Boynton Beach (Sewaren) and Perth Amboy. CNJ crossed the Raritan River and built the NY&LB in 1875.
The PRR intended to build a parallel line but reached an agreement with CNJ to operate NY&LB jointly. PRR extended the Woodbridge branch to South Amboy and connected to the Camden and Amboy.
When PRR built the tunnels to New York and opened Penn Station in 1910, they had to switch motive power at Exchange Place. They began to electrify the railroad in 1910 but didnt electrify the New York Region until 1925. Once the entire northeast corridor was electrified it became inconvenient to change power at Exchange Place. They extended the catenary to the C&A in South Amboy, where they already had a locomotive shop, so South Amboy became the engine exchange point for PRR shore trains. Prr operated MU cars from South Amboy to New York; the CNJ operated diesels from the shore to Jersey City. The PRR ran few trains down to Bay Head so it was never worth their while to extend the catenary.

PRR made the engine change at Manhattan Transfer station in Harrison, NJ. Exchange Place was a stub-end terminal on the Hudson River, and was not along the route into Penn Station, so it would not have made sense to change power there. There would not have been anyplace for the trains to go.