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Discussion relating to the PRR, up to 1968. Visit the PRR Technical & Historical Society for more information.
 #1310047  by David Hutchinson
 
I just got a 1953 Hagstrom map of Middlesex County. It shows the Rocky Hill line going to Kingston and then north to Rocky Hill. It also shows the line going south out of Kingston, running along the river for miles and then terminating at no particular town. Can anyone out there shed some light on this?
 #1310104  by amtrakhogger
 
David Hutchinson wrote:I just got a 1953 Hagstrom map of Middlesex County. It shows the Rocky Hill line going to Kingston and then north to Rocky Hill. It also shows the line going south out of Kingston, running along the river for miles and then terminating at no particular town. Can anyone out there shed some light on this?
Perhaps a remnant of the original r.o.w. of the PRR that was built before the current alignment in the early to mid 1800's? IIRC, the original main line ran through Princeton to the Rocky Hill area.
 #1310936  by pumpers
 
amtrakhogger wrote:
David Hutchinson wrote:I just got a 1953 Hagstrom map of Middlesex County. It shows the Rocky Hill line going to Kingston and then north to Rocky Hill. It also shows the line going south out of Kingston, running along the river for miles and then terminating at no particular town. Can anyone out there shed some light on this?
Perhaps a remnant of the original r.o.w. of the PRR that was built before the current alignment in the early to mid 1800's? IIRC, the original main line ran through Princeton to the Rocky Hill area.
I am very familiar with the history in this area (There was a good historical RR talk at the Kingston firehouse just around November). Amtrakhogger has the only idea I can think of, but the map must then have been nearly 100 years out of date!!! The original New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company line followed the east berm of the canal from Kingston through Princeton to Trenton (opposite the side of the towpath), opened in 1839.
When the modern alignment from just south of Deans (a mile or so north of today's Monmouth Junction), south through what is now Princeton Junction to Trenton (and the Princeton branch to access Princeton) were built in the early to mid 1860's , the line along the canal going south of Kingston in the region you describe lasted only a few years at most. (The Trenton end has existed all these years still for freight traffic, although I am not sure if it is currently active.)
There is a good history and a map showing the old line along the canal at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_New ... al_Company" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
JS

PS One interesting point may be if your map shows the original Kingston to Deans alignment, which coming west from New Brunwick had only a very minor turn at Deans to go to Kingston, or the alignment I am familiar with the 1900's, where the now branch to Kingston was accessed from the current Monmouth Junction, and the northern (eastern) part of the original line was abandoned. Not sure when that change actually happened though. If you look at the topo map of Monmouth Junction at http://mapper.acme.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; close-up this might make more sense.