Penns Grove Secondary is a rail freight line in the Delaware Valley in the southwestern part of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Part of Conrail's South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets it runs for approximately between its it southern terminus at Penns Grove and Woodbury at the north where it joins the

Vineland Secondary The Vineland Secondary is a rail line owned, operated and maintained by Conrail Shared Assets Operations for the use of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway. It begins at Pavonia Yard in Camden and heads south, with a spur serving the P ...

about south of Pavonia Yard in Camden. At its southern end the Deepwater Point Running Track continues another through Carneys Point to Deepwater.

Route

Located within Gloucester County and

Salem County Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...

, the Penns Grove Secondary serves industries and distribution facilities in the corridor along the east bank of the Delaware River and with spur lines to Pureland Industrial Complex and maritime facilities, including the Port of Paulsboro, where rail interchange is provided by

SMS Rail Lines SMS Rail Lines is a shortline railroad based at Pureland Industrial Park in Bridgeport, New Jersey. The company handles all freight car delivery to businesses located within the industrial park. It also operates lines in Morrisville, Pennsylvan ...

. At the north, the line begins in Woodbury at a junction with the

Salem Secondary The Salem Branch is a rail freight line in the southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States between the Port of Salem and Woodbury Junction where it and the Penns Grove Secondary converge with the Vineland Secondary, approximately sout ...

and the

. It then passes through Thorofare, West Deptford Township, Paulsboro, Gibbstown, Repaupo,

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

, Pedricktown, and Penns Grove. For much of its length it travels parallel to

US Route 130 U.S. Route 130 (US 130) is a U.S. Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 30, located completely within the state of New Jersey. It is signed with north and south cardinal directions, following a general northeast–southwest diagonal path, w ...

and

New Jersey Route 44 Route 44 is a state highway located in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It runs from Barker Avenue in Bridgeport to a cul-de-sac at a ramp from southbound Interstate 295 (I-295) and U.S. Route 130 (US 130) in Thorofare. The ...

. It bridges Mantua Creek, Repaupo Creek, White Sluice Race, Starrs Ditch, Raccoon Creek, and Oldmans Creek. Some of the bridges have been automated. South of Penns Grove, the Deepwater Point Industrial Track continues through Carneys Point to a DuPont industrial complex known as the Chamber Works at Deepwater in the vicinity of the vehicular

Delaware Memorial Bridge The Delaware Memorial Bridge is a dual-span suspension bridge crossing the Delaware River. The toll bridges carry Interstate 295 and U.S. Route 40 and is also the link between Delaware and New Jersey. The bridge was designed by the firm kn ...

History

The Delaware Shore Railroad was incorporated on February 20, 1873 to build a line from Woodbury to Penns Grove. The line was opened in July 1876, but declared bankruptcy in January 1879 and reincorporated as the Delaware River Railroad. On April 30, 1900, the WJ&S acquired the DRR. On May 4, 1896 the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) consolidated all its railroads and several smaller properties in southern New Jersey into the

West Jersey and Seashore Railroad The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary in the U.S. state of New Jersey with a connection to Philadelphia. It was formed through the merger of several smaller roads in May 1896. At the end of 1925 i ...

(WJ&S). Passenger service on the Penns Grove Branch ended July 8, 1950.

Planned upgrades

Port of Paulsboro

A 2010

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transporta ...

report anticipated increased freight activity in South Jersey. New infrastructure at the Port of Paulsboro, where

handles

interchanges Interchange may refer to: Transport * Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways * Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies * Interchange station, a rai ...

with

Conrail Shared Assets Operations Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail ( reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Area ...

, includes the construction of a

rail crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...

, turnouts, and of track with a link to the Penns Grove Secondary and a

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

for dockside accessibility. It is expected to cost $3.2 million and be completed by 2014. Partial federal funding for this work was obtained in 2011 by

South Jersey Port Corporation South Jersey Port Corporation (SJPC) is an independent public port authority which operates the ports along the eastern banks of Delaware River in the Delaware Valley region of southern New Jersey in the United States. Based in Camden, SJPC was ...

, Conrail, and

by leveraging $117.65 million of infrastructure funding for the marine terminal and other South Jersey projects.

Jefferson Street Bridge

The Jefferson Street Bridge, or the Paulsboro Draw, is a railroad

movable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...

over Mantua Creek upstream from its mouth. The "A-Frame", shear pole,

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

was originally constructed in 1917 and rebuilt in 1940. Once part of

Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in South Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rea ...

(PRSL), it is now part of Conrail's Penns Grove Secondary. Originally manually opened, it was partially automated sometime between 2000 and 2003. Buckling of the bridge caused a

derailment In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially ...

of a

coal train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) hauled ...

in 2009. More than 15 rail cars left the tracks, though none toppled. In November 2012, seven cars derailed while crossing the bridge. Of the four cars that fell into the creek, one was punctured, releasing of highly toxic

vinyl chloride Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula H2C=CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) or chloroethene. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC ...

, which required an evacuation in the region and Paulsboro school lock-downs. Removal of derailed cars and environmental cleanup was handled by

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

. In March 2013, Conrail announced that the bridge would be replaced with an expected September 2014 operational date. Normally, between March 1 and November 30 the bridge is left in the open position for maritime traffic and closed when trains approach. It will remain locked in the closed position until the bridge is replaced. A 2014 court ruling allowed Conrail to demolish the structure. It was replaced with a

vertical-lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and sw ...

, which opened in March 2015. Numerous lawsuits had been brought in the matter.

References

{{Reflist

External links

CSAO South Jersey

SJRail photos
Transportation in Salem County, New Jersey Transportation in Gloucester County, New Jersey Rail infrastructure in New Jersey Conrail lines Delaware River Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines lines South Jersey Port Corporation