PRSL in Hammonton on the old Reading

[JJMDiMunno]

Hey guys,
I was recently in the Hammonton area and checked out again the remains of the ACRR (RDG) trackage in the Hammonton area, which was retained after the merger in 1933 for freight service to local industries. I've seen a few photos of PRSL trains serving local industries on that branch in Hammonton in the famous PRSL in Color book, as well as the new Reading Seashore Lines book now for sale by the WJ Chapter NRHS. I'm wondering if anyone here has photos available of the local freight serving those industries on the old Reading in Hammonton after 1960 or so? I believe the Shore Fast Line continued to serve industries on that branch after it came into existance, perhaps into the late 80's, though I'm not sure when they stopped serving those industries. If anyone has photos of SFL trains serving these industries, these would be most welcome as well. I'm looking for anything after 1960, serving industries on that Hammonton industrial track (I can't be sure of the true name of that branch, if it even had a name).

Besides the request for images, does anyone know when that industrial track was abandoned, or when the last train served an industry on the old Reading in Hammonton?

Thanks in advance guys,

Mike DiMunno

[JimBoylan]

After The Shore Fast Line took over freight, there were 1 or 2 customers left. Neither used private sidings at that time, just any track near where the Reading passenger station used to be, so it was easy to soon move them to the old PRR coach yard. One was a building supply, lumber, and hardware store with an unmaintained siding on the Reading near N.J. Rte. 50.; I think the other received grapes for wine making. We're talking about less than 3 cars per year. Sometime before the end of 1984, a ConRail crew started to remove rails near the connection to the old PRR. The way I read the sale of the Atlantic City line to New Jersey, sidings were included. ConRail didn't think that this was a siding to a railroad that New Jersey owned, but rather a separate line that they still owned and didn't pay taxes on! It was one of those days when Jimmy McHugh thought the salvation of the business was stone trains and not local freight, so no effort was made to ask New Jersey to fight ConRail.