The was part of the
Pennsylvania Railroad system in
New Jersey , including their main line to
New York City (now
Amtrak 's
Northeast Corridor ). Prior to
1872 , its main lines were the '''Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company''' ('''C&A'''), the first
Railroad in
New Jersey and one of the
First In The U.S. , and the '''New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company''' ('''NJRR'''), the first railroad across the
New Jersey Palisades . The C&A first purchased and operated the oldest surviving operable
Steam Locomotive in the world today, the ''
John Bull ''. The United Company also included the
Delaware And Raritan Canal , an early foe and then friend of the C&A.
.]]
The
First Railroad Charter In The United States was issued
February 6 ,
1815 to the on behalf of
John Stevens and others. Based on
Turnpike charters, it allowed the company to build between
New Brunswick and
Trenton , and became a model for railroad charters in the future. That company never did anything, but the idea evolved into the later NJRR, chartered in
1832 .
'' as it appeared in
1831 ]]
The was chartered on
February 4 ,
1830 , on the same day as the
Delaware And Raritan Canal Company , after the two competing companies had come to a compromise. The C&A and D&R had the same goals - to connect the
Delaware River , serving
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , with the
Raritan River , for access to
New York City . The D&R was built to the west of the original C&A, leaving the Delaware at
Trenton and running roughly northeast to
New Brunswick on the Raritan, while the original C&A ran from
Camden , across the Delaware from Philadelphia, to
South Amboy on
Raritan Bay .
The C&A was organized on
April 28 in Camden, and surveys began
June 16 . As railroads were a relatively new invention, rails and locomotives were bought from
England . Construction began
December 4 ,
1830 at
Bordentown on the
Delaware River ; construction efforts were largely carried out by horse-drawn carriages. The ''
John Bull '' arrived at Bordentown on
September 4 ,
1831 and was first tested
November 12 . The first section, from
Stewarts Point Wharf near Bordentown north to
Hightstown , was opened to the public on
October 1 ,
1832 , being operated by horse at first. Service between Philadelphia and New York City was provided by
Steamboat s, and a
Stagecoach trip was used between Hightstown and South Amboy. The trip cost $3 and ran in 9.5 hours, 1-2 hours faster than other routes. The rest of the line to South Amboy opened
December 17 , allowing for the elimination of the stagecoach transfer, but the Delaware soon froze on
December 27 , requiring stagecoach operation south of Bordentown. Freight service began
January 24 ,
1833 . Regular locomotive operation by the ''
John Bull '' began
September 9 of that year. In
Fall 1833 the line was extended south to
Delanco , and the full line to Camden was completed
December 19 ,
1834 .
On
March 7 ,
1832 the (NJRR) was chartered as a parallel line to the C&A, beginning at
Jersey City , closer to New York City, but was limited to building south to
New Brunswick due to the C&A's influence; the C&A would build the part from New Brunswick south to
Spotswood (changed to
Trenton in
1836 due to the alliance with the
Philadelphia And Trenton Railroad ).
In November
1832 the NJRR acquired control of the
Newark Turnpike , which paralleled the planned alignment east of
Newark , to avoid problems caused by competition. The stock of the
Essex And Middlesex Turnpike , running south from Newark to
New Brunswick , was bought
April 6 ,
1833 ; the majority of the line was built directly along the
Turnpike . The alignment as originally planned crossed the
Passaic River on the
Centre Street Bridge , then curved south along
Park Place and
Broad Street directly into the turnpike. A branch would have run from the west end of the bridge south along the river and then southwest to the main line at the south end of Broad Street, but this became the main line and the original plan along Broad Street was never built.
On
November 24 ,
1833 the NJRR bought out the
Proprietors Of The Bridges Over The Rivers Passaic And Hackensack , who had
Monopolies on their bridges over the
Passaic and
Hackensack River s (on the
Newark Turnpike ), in order to eliminate their threat. Around
1852 , the NJRR acquired the
Newark Plank Road And Ferry Company (incorporated
1849 ) to keep the Passaic and Hackensack monopoly.
Regular NJRR service began
September 15 ,
1834 between
Newark and
Jersey City , using a temporary track over
Bergen Hill . An extension to
Elizabeth opened
December 21 ,
1835 , using the turnpike from the south end of Broad Street. Service to
Rahway began
January 1 ,
1836 , again along the turnpike from a point south of Elizabeth. Locomotives were only used south of Newark until
January 11 , though some horse power operations continued east of Newark. The line opened to east of
New Brunswick July 11 , with an
Omnibus transfer the rest of the way; the turnpike was used north of
Iselin . On
September 8 ,
1836 the NJRR acquired a majority of stock of the
New Brunswick Bridge Company to avoid its local monopoly over crossings of the
Raritan River . The double-deck bridge over the Raritan opened
October 31 ,
1837 , with a road beneath the railroad, taking the NJRR to New Brunswick. The New Brunswick Bridge Company was authorized to charge a toll on the lower level on
May 7 ,
1838 . The old
1795 Albany Street Bridge was removed in
1849 , but was later rebuilt.
The
Bergen Hill Cut , the last part of the Jersey City-New Brunswick line to be finished, opened
January 22 ,
1838 , replacing the old temporary alignment over the hill and ending the use of horse power.
On
March 15 ,
1837 a supplement to the C&A's charter was passed, allowing the branch to
New Brunswick connecting with the New Jersey Rail Road to branch off of the C&A at
Bordentown rather than
Spotswood , to pass through
Trenton for a connection with the
Trenton Delaware Bridge and the
Philadelphia And Trenton Railroad . Portions could be built next to the
Delaware And Raritan Canal or along the
New Brunswick And Trenton Turnpike .
Construction on the branch began in September
1837 between Bordentown and Trenton, where it was built on the east bank of the D&R Canal. The initial branch opened
April 4 ,
1838 . Construction on the extension to New Brunswick began June of that year, opening
January 1 ,
1839 . The branch continued northeast from Trenton on the east bank of the canal, splitting at
Kingston and running cross-country to
Millstone Junction , southwest of New Brunswick. That same day, the NJRR was completed from New Brunswick to Millstone Junction. Despite forming one third of the route, the NJRR only got one sixth of the earnings from the joint operation, which ran between Philadelphia and New York City in 5.5 hours (down from 6 hours 50 minutes via South Amboy).
By
1841 , a connection opened between the
Philadelphia And Trenton Railroad and the C&A's Trenton Branch, including a bridge over the
Delaware And Raritan Canal in Trenton; this allowed for through Philadelphia-Jersey City operation, but most traffic continued to run via Camden due to the distance between the P&T's
Kensington terminal and
Center City Philadelphia .
On
May 31 ,
1854 the C&A decided to realign the Trenton Branch between Trenton and
Deans Pond due to bad soil conditions on the current line on the bank of the D&R Canal; a
Plank Road would be built to connect to
Princeton , which the new alignment would bypass. A tunnel under the canal in Trenton was completed in March
1860 (for the line between the
Philadelphia And Trenton Railroad and the new alignment). Construction on the new line began October
1862 ; the
Clinton Street Station on the new line at Trenton opened
April 20 ,
1863 , replacing the old
State Street Station . The first train ran through the new tunnel on
October 5 ,
1863 , and the new line opened
November 23 , cutting New York City-Trenton time to 2.5 hours. The second track on the new line opened September
1864 , but the old line remained for southbound freight. The
Princeton Branch opened
May 29 ,
1865 , on which date passenger trains stopped running over the old line. The old line was removed between Trenton and Princeton in July; a portion in Trenton was kept to serve businesses. The part from Princeton north to
Kingston was removed in September on the start of freight operations on the Princeton Branch; and the part north of Kingston (which was not next to the canal) was kept to serve the
Rocky Hill Railroad .
Closely tied to the early NJRR was the
Paterson And Hudson River Railroad , later the main line of the
Erie Railroad . The P&HR agreed in June
1833 to build to the west side of the
New Jersey Palisades at
Marion Junction , where it would use the NJRR's
Bergen Hill Cut the rest of the way to the
Hudson River . The P&HR opened
November 29 ,
1833 , prior to the opening of any part of the NJRR, in the meantime using a
Stagecoach along the
Newark Turnpike to reach the river. A
Trackage Rights agreement was made
October 10 ,
1834 , and P&HR operation to
Jersey City began
October 20 . The
Long Dock Tunnel opened
April 15 ,
1861 , giving the P&HR (by then part of the Erie) its own route to the
Hudson River .
Also involved with the NJRR was the
Morris And Essex Railroad , later the
Delaware, Lackawanna And Western Railroad 's main line. On
October 21 ,
1836 the NJRR agreed to carry M&E traffic between
Newark and
Jersey City , beginning
November 19 . A new alignment meeting the NJRR in
Harrison opened
August 5 ,
1854 . On
October 14 ,
1863 , the M&E began using the
Long Dock Tunnel .
The
Central Railroad Of New Jersey also used the NJRR to reach Jersey City from
Elizabeth until its own line opened on
August 1 ,
1864 .
The C&A often used legislative and legal means to protect its
Monopoly on New York City-Philadelphia travel. The monopoly was finally broken on
May 1 ,
1876 with the completion of the
National Railway , over seven years after the legal monopoly expired.
On
January 19 ,
1831 New Jersey passed a supplement to the D&R Canal's charter, allowing them to build a railroad alongside their canal. However, this was soon mooted by the union between the C&A and D&R. On
February 15 ,
1831 , the C&A and D&H were combined as the Joint Companies, with all important decisions made by a Joint Board, and all stock was consolidated.
An act passed
February 4 ,
1831 gave the C&A
Monopoly powers for nine years against railroads built within three miles of the C&A, in exchange for the state receiving 1000 shares of stock. The "Protection Act", passed
March 2 ,
1832 , expanded this to give the Joint Companies a monopoly on New York City-Philadelphia traffic across New Jersey. On
March 16 ,
1854 this exclusive right was extended to
January 1 ,
1869 , as long as the C&A helped other railroads including the
West Jersey Railroad and double-tracked its main line.
In ''.
On
September 1 ,
1862 a competing line began operating via the
Raritan And Delaware Bay Railroad and
Camden And Atlantic Railroad , running
Steamboat s between New York City and
Port Monmouth at the north end of the R&DB. This common threat caused the C&A and NJRR to work more closely, signing an agreement
October 1 .
The
Newark And New York Railroad , later part of the
Central Railroad Of New Jersey , opened in July
1869 , giving major competition to the NJRR from Newark east.
On
February 1 ,
1867 , after much back-and-forth bickering, the C&A and NJRR were informally joined as the . The
Pennsylvania Railroad approved a lease of the UNJ on
May 15 ,
1871 , and the UNJ approved
May 19 . The lease was made
December 1 and the PRR began operating the UNJ that day, though the lease was retroactive to
July 1 . On
May 18 ,
1872 the C&A, D&R Canal and NJRR were consolidated, forming the '''United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company'''. The new company was split into two divisions - the New York Division consisted of the NJRR and the C&A Trenton Branch towards Philadelphia, while the Amboy Division was the original C&A main line.
The
Burlington And Mount Holly Railroad And Transportation Company opened in
1849 , providing a branch from
Burlington southeast to
Mount Holly . From opening it was controlled by the C&A.
The
Belvidere Delaware Railroad , also controlled by the C&A, opened in stages from
1851 to
1855 , running north from
Trenton to
Belvidere . The BDRR was leased to the UNJ on
January 1 ,
1876 .
The
Freehold And Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad opened in
1853 from the C&A at
Jamesburg east to
Freehold , also under C&A control. In January
1866 a connecting line opened between the new Trenton Branch at
Monmouth Junction and the original main line at Jamesburg. That line, built under the F&J charter, was transferred to the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company on
July 29 ,
1874 . A
July 16 ,
1879 agreement leased the F&J to the UNJ from
June 1 ,
1879 .
The
Millstone And New Brunswick Railroad opened in
1854 , running west from the south end of the NJRR at
Millstone Junction to
Millstone . The M&NB was bought on
April 21 ,
1915 at
Foreclosure .
A branch to
Bonhampton opened in
1860 .
In
1864 the
Perth Amboy And Woodbridge Railroad , operated by the NJRR, opened as a branch from
Rahway south to
Perth Amboy . A
June 26 ,
1889 agreement leased the PA&W to the UNJ from
January 1 ,
1891 .
The
Rocky Hill Railroad And Transportation Company opened in
1864 as a branch of the C&A from
Kingston on the old alignment north to
Rocky Hill . The C&A leased it
November 22 ,
1869 and began operating it
June 1 ,
1870 .
The
Camden And Burlington County Railroad , running east from
Camden to
Mount Holly , opened in
1867 under C&A operation. In
1868 the C&A leased the
Vincentown Branch Of Burlington County Railroad , and soon after formally leased the C&BC.
The
Pemberton And Hightstown Railroad opened from the C&A at
Hightstown south to
Pemberton in
1868 , under lease and operation by the C&A.
The NJRR was authorized to acquire underwater land at
Harsimus Cove on
March 30 ,
1868 . That land became a major freight terminal, served by the Harsimus Branch.
In
1869 the
Mount Holly, Lumberton And Medford Railroad opened under C&A lease, running south from
Mount Holly to
Medford .
In April
1870 a new direct line opened across the
Passaic River , bypassing the
Centre Street Bridge . The old bridge remained for freight and to serve downtown. Included in the new line was a new station at
Market Street , now
Newark Penn Station .
The
Columbus, Kinkora And Springfield Railroad was leased
March 11 ,
1871 . The
Mercer And Somerset Railroad was leased
October 1 ,
1871 .
In
1872 a short branch was built at
Florence to serve a
Foundry on the
Delaware River .
The Millham Branch, opened in
1876 , connected the old and new alignments northeast of
Trenton .
Two branches in
Kearny were acquired, the Meadows Branch being built
1917 -
1918 by the UNJ and the Meadows Branch No. 2 being bought
October 15 ,
1917 from
Newark Factory Sites, Inc.
The original C&A alignment and the Trenton Branch from
Pavonia Yard in Camden to Trenton was, up until 1999,
Conrail 's
Bordentown Secondary , and is presently NJ Transit's River LINE diesel LRT system (although freight still operates overnight under a FRA waiver). The rest of the Trenton Branch is now
Amtrak 's
Northeast Corridor . The original line from Bordentown to
Robbinsville is
Conrail 's
Robbinsville Industrial Track . Track has been removed from Robbinsville to
Hightstown ; the rest of the line to South Amboy is
Conrail 's
Hightstown Branch (south of
Jamesburg ) and
Amboy Secondary .
The
Princeton Branch is still used by
New Jersey Transit for passengers. The old alignment in Trenton is still used for freight; the old alignment from Kingston to Monmouth Junction has been removed. The Florence Branch still exists.
West of
Kearny Junction , the line is part of
Amtrak 's
Northeast Corridor . From Kearny Junction east to the east side of the Palisades,
PATH and
Conrail 's
Passaic And Harsimus Line occupy the right-of-way, side by side. East of the Palisades, the elevated structure to
Exchange Place Terminal has been torn down, as has the elevated structure to
Harsimus Cove , but PATH follows the alignment of the former underground. Only the easternmost part of the Centre Street Branch remains; the Bonhampton Branch, later the Bonhamtown Branch, is still used for freight.
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<big>The Camden and Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company</big>
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chartered February 4 , 1830 <br>merged May 18 , 1872
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<big>The New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company</big>
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chartered May 7 , 1832 <br>merged May 18 , 1872
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