The Raritan River Rail Road was a
shortline railroad
:''Short Line is also one of the four railroads in the American version of the popular board game Monopoly, named after the Shore Fast Line, an interurban streetcar line.''
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that opera ...
in
Middlesex County, New Jersey
Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863,1 ...
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, Founded in 1888, it was based in
South Amboy
South Amboy is a suburban city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 9,411.[New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...]
. It served both passengers and freight in its heyday and operated profitably throughout much of its existence. The Raritan River was absorbed into
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
in 1980, becoming a branch line of
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 ...
. It terminates at
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
in
North Brunswick
North Brunswick is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is centrally located in the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. At the ...
.
History
Construction
The Raritan River Rail Road was built when the peak of the U.S. railroad building fever was subsiding in the late 1880s. It was intended to extend from South Amboy to Bound Brook and New Brunswick.
On April 21, 1888, Articles of Incorporation were filed in New Brunswick for the Raritan River Rail Road, with $40,000 paid in capital, amounting to $2,000 per mile, and capital stock of $100,000. At the first meeting of the board of directors in April 1888,
Edward H. Ripley was elected president, E. W. Harrison was appointed Chief Engineer, and a construction contract to build the railroad was awarded.
Construction started in Sayreville in May 1888 with 60 lb/yd (30 kg/m) rail, with a few trains running by the end of that same year. The line started in
Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United Sta ...
, with a connection with the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR) over Suchs’ Pennsylvania Railroad siding. Suchs was a sand and clay industry that already had a very long siding from the Pennsylvania Railroad's old
C&A line in Sayreville (connected a few miles west of today's Browns Yard). When the line east from Sayreville to South Amboy was completed, a connection was made with the
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
(CNJ) over the New York & Long Branch, providing the Raritan River Railroad with connections to the two larger railroads. The Raritan was extended westward from Milltown to New Brunswick in 1891 and a new PRR connection was constructed in South Amboy in 1901, permitting abandonment of the original PRR connection at Suchs' siding.
In 1888, the Raritan River Rail Road began operation with two
4-4-0
4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four po ...
engines
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
(No.1 and No.2) and twenty 20-
ton
Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses.
Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean
* the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds
...
gondola
The gondola (, ; vec, góndoła ) is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian lagoon. It is typically propelled by a gondolier, who uses a rowing oar, which is not fastened to the hull ...
cars. These small cars were used by Suchs and Crossmans to move the sand and clay found in the area.
Disputes with workers and clashes with local landowners during construction of the Raritan River Railroad sparked sometimes heated conflict. On August 16, 1888, just four months after construction had started, an incident required summoning the local sheriff. One contractor, Charles Van Houghton of Jersey City, was hired to grade the road and lay stone culverts at South Amboy. Although Van Houghton was paid $5000 for the work, he was reported to have absconded without paying his workers their wages. The unpaid workers went on strike as a result, and the sheriff confiscated Van Houghton's equipment so that the payroll could be met.
A Saturday night clash resulting in a death occurred in
Sayreville, New Jersey
Sayreville is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Sayreville is within the heart of the Raritan Valley region, located on the south banks of the Raritan River, and also located on the Raritan Bay. As of the 2010 United Sta ...
, on May 5, 1889, which would become known thereafter as the "Sayreville Riot". A local brick manufacturer, Noah Furman, owned land needed by the railroad for extension of its line from Sayreville to South River. As reported by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', a "frightful riot" ensued when gangs on both sides fought over the railroad's attempt to seize the land by force when negotiations had stalemated and Furman obtained a court injunction restraining the railroad from crossing his property and asserting
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
. One of the riot participants was killed in the melee.
Afterwards, two Raritan Rail Road officials were charged with murder in connection with the riot.
Coverage of the Sayreville Riot arrests was sensationalized by the press, with the ''New York Times'' falsely reporting on September 16, 1889, that indictments of all officers of the Raritan River Railroad were expected in the case.
The following day, the court in New Brunswick announced it was conducting an investigation into who leaked the rumor to the ''Times''. Some reporters were summoned to appear before the court to reveal their sources and explain how they obtained their information.
It appears that all charges were eventually dropped. Later that year, on October 30, 1889, another labor dispute again required intervention by the sheriff when a sub-contractor's laborers rioted in South River due to not being paid their wages.
Early years
As construction of the mainline was progressing west towards New Brunswick, the first two branch lines were built: in 1890, the Sayreville Branch to access the Sayre and Fisher Brick Yards near the mouth of the Raritan River; one mile (1.6 km) of the Serviss Branch in East Brunswick was started in 1891, in order to access the sand and clay needed by Sayre and Fisher. The third locomotive (No. 3) was purchased in 1890 and fourteen 30-ton freight cars were ordered.
By July 4, 1891, the RRRR's first train left Milltown, and shortly thereafter the line reached New Brunswick, having laid twelve miles (19 km) of mainline track. The railroad decided not to cross the Raritan River into New Brunswick to reach Bound Brook, due to the expense and lack of potential freight business at the time in the largely undeveloped area.
Between 1888 and 1898, the line had 3 engines, 34 freight cars, 6 passenger cars, of main line, and two branch lines.
After the line was built, both the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
and the
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...
started to buy stock in the Raritan. The Central acquired a 60% ownership share and the PRR 40%. Although wholly owned by the two bigger lines, the RRRR was locally managed from its headquarters on John Street in South Amboy.
In the 1890s, the RRRR continued upgrading its track, building stations, and generally upgrading its infrastructure. It acquired a number of small locomotives, adding to the roster as traffic increased. The first customers on the line were the brick companies, the clay and sand pits of Crossman's and Such's. In fact, Crossman's in Sayreville grew so large that an industrial
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
line running in the pits brought the sand and clay to the connection with the RRRR.
Sayreville Junction was created almost at the midpoint of the line for storage and classifications of cars. RRRR trains would run straight from either the NYLB or PRR connection, and drop off the cars at Sayreville Junction, where they would be sorted for the runs either east or west at that point.
The 1900s saw the second branch line extended, the Serviss Branch was increased from one to four miles (6 km). This line ran from the RRRR main in East Brunswick, headed north, and curved back south towards South River again. In fact, the terminus of the Serviss Branch was just one mile (1.6 km) from the RRRR's South River Station. This branch was built to service the many sand and clay pits that were opening along the area. Even a small brick yard was located at the end of this branch at Reid Street. During this same period, the current Sanford Street terminus in New Brunswick was finished, with elaborate brick passenger and freight stations. Two more engines were purchased to help with the increase in freight. Engines No.4 and No.5 were added to the roster in 1899 and 1900. A small batch of larger cars were ordered, five 40 ton cars. In about 1901, the first number 3 engine was replaced with a second, more powerful number 3.
In 1905 the South River Branch was built, two miles (3 km) south from the South River station. Engine No. 6 was added to the roster in 1905. By 1905, the Raritan River with its six locomotives had doubled its engine roster compared to the three engines it had in 1898. In around 1907, both engines No. 1 and No. 2 were replaced by more powerful engines, which were assigned the same numbers.
Freight traffic continued to grow substantially, necessitating larger gondolas. The Raritan River ordered forty-four 50 ton cars in 1910, for a total of 83 cars on its roster. Passenger service was never an important revenue source for the RRRR, which owned only six passenger cars in 1910. In Milltown, the
Michelin Tire Company
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and larg ...
constructed a massive tire manufacturing complex employing more than 2,000 employees. Tons of raw materials and finished products rolled in and out of Milltown on the Raritan River.
The
Milltown Station
The Raritan River Freight Station is the only surviving station of the Raritan River Railroad and is located in Milltown, New Jersey. It is privately owned by James Curran who has agreed to sell the station to the Raritan River Railroad Historical ...
was a very busy place at train time. It had a Railway Express agent and priority packages were shipped on special rail cars attached to RRRR passenger trains for connections to other railroads, providing express rail shipment capability nationwide. Passenger traffic was also growing rapidly, so the RRRR purchased 12 passenger cars and 2 combine cars from the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...
in 1915. Engine number 7 was added to the roster in 1912, engine number 8 was added in 1914, and engines 9 and 10 were added in 1915, bringing the total number of locomotives on the Raritan River to ten. By 1917, this would further increase to a total of 15 engines on the RRRR.
During 1917, the Gillespie Branch was built into an isolated wooded area, to access the
T Gillespie Powder Works. With Gillespie, DuPont, and Hercules all making munitions for
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, it was a very busy time on the RRRR. At its peak, DuPont was supplying four 50-ton cars per day of weapons and/or munitions. The Gillespie site was destroyed by explosions on October 4, 1918.
In addition to munition plant shipments along the line, World War I also resulted in a substantial increase in passenger traffic. In 1917, two more Lackawanna passenger cars were added. In 1918, passenger traffic reached an all-time high, with 22 daily passenger trains and 7 extra trains on Sundays. The Raritan River had 15 Engines and 16 passenger cars, as well as about 83 freight cars, moving 9,000 passengers per day and 1.5 million tons of freight and war materials in 1918.
Interbellum
After the war ended, traffic subsided and engine number 8 was retired. In 1919, a new 12-stall roundhouse and shops were built near Stevens Avenue.
The 1920s saw a decline in freight and passengers, with increased competition from buses, cars, and trucks beginning to have an adverse effect upon the RRRR. In 1924, Moody's listed the Raritan as having only 50 freight cars, 44 50-ton and 6 40-ton. All 30-ton and 20-ton cars were scrapped. By 1925, only six of the 14 former Lackawanna passenger cars remained on the RRRR's roster. Locomotive #11 was wrecked and engines No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6 were scrapped. The Milltown spur, or Fresh Ponds Spur, was built in 1925 to access a sand and clay pit just south of Milltown. By the late 1920s, engines No. 1 and No. 2 were also scrapped. By the end of 1929, the Raritan River Railroad had just eight working engines.
The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
accelerated the downturn in business on the Raritan. The Michelin Tire Company closed its Milltown plant in early 1930, devastating the small town. Most of the sand and clay pits also shut down during those times, and service on the Serviss Branch was almost non-existent. Revenue traffic fell by half and passenger service was reduced considerably, to just four daily trains by 1930, compared to 22 in 1917. By the mid-1930s, the RRRR had only two ex-
Lackawanna Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad) was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey (and by ferry with New York City), a distance of . Incorporated in ...
passenger coaches remaining of the original fourteen. The last two original 4-wheeled cabooses were scrapped. Engine No. 7 was scrapped in 1933; engine No. 12 was scrapped in 1937.
As of April 27, 1936, the Raritan River had only one scheduled round-trip passenger train, operating daily except Sundays between Parlin and New Brunswick.
It left New Brunswick as Train #2 at 6:35 am, making stops at Milltown and South River, and arrived at Parlin 6:55 am. Return train #7 departed Parlin at 3:50 pm, arriving at 4:44 pm. On weekdays, the Raritan River also operated a through single tripper from Stevens Avenue in South Amboy as #1, at 5:45 am, making stops at Bergen Hill, Parlin, South River, and Milltown, arriving at New Brunswick 6:24 am.
By 1937, the multitude of sand, clay, and brick industries that contributed greatly to the Raritan River's success in the early years were virtually all gone. But Crossman's and Whitheads' did survive, and were starting to grow again. About half of the 50-ton gondola freight cars purchased in 1910 and used to service these industries were scrapped by 1937. The last
combination passenger car, No. 22, was also scrapped in 1937, ending baggage service on the Raritan River Railroad and leaving the line with just one passenger car, No. 27.
The first two Lackawanna
caboose
A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...
s appeared on the line in 1937, numbers 5 and 6.
In 1938, the end of an era was reached on the Raritan River Railroad as passenger service was discontinued altogether after a half century of service. The last passenger train pulled out from the New Brunswick station on April 17, 1938. This closure allowed the Raritan to eventually tear down the Bergen Hill station and consolidate all business to the Parlin Station. The former Milltown and New Brunswick passenger stations were converted to freight stations.
The North Jersey Chapter of the
NRHS sponsored a special excursion train on May 28, 1938, over the Raritan to mark the passing of regular scheduled passenger service. The special train left New Brunswick at 2:40 pm, stopped at the Lawrence Brook Trestle for photos, then proceeded up the Serviss Branch where it parked at Hendersons Siding just away from the Route 18 crossing. Many motorists stopped and gazed at the strange passenger train, as the Serviss Branch never had regularly scheduled passenger service. The special then proceeded back down the main and headed to South River, where participants observed the only manually hand-cranked
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 ...
in New Jersey. They then proceeded to Sayreville Junction, where they witnessed the passing of a freight train, and the switching of freight cars. Eventually the group made it to South Amboy where they were given a tour of the RRRR shops and roundhouse area. The special then "high-balled" back to New Brunswick, with special permission granted to reach .
In 1938, a new engine appeared on the line, the first time in almost 23 years since the prior engine purchases in 1916 during World War I. The economic recovery by the late 1930s resulted in an increase in freight, necessitating the purchase of another engine, numbered 8 after the one that had been scrapped in 1919.
World War II
The 1940s brought
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and its associated increase in freight traffic. Another engine was added to the line in 1941, numbered 7 after the one scrapped in 1937. After the war's end, the RRRR purchased seven surplus
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
engines for only $100,000, allowing the retirement of the line's elderly locomotives. In 1947, locomotive No. 15 was involved in a wreck at the PRR connection, and scrapped on the spot.
Post-war
The 1950s brought
dieselization
Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, as o ...
to the RRRR, as the remaining ex-
USRA engines were replaced with six
EMD SW900 engines. The retirement of steam also meant that the roundhouse could be closed, reducing expenses considerably for the shortline. The Serviss Branch was abandoned and scrapped in 1956, after being dormant for almost a decade. The Fresh Ponds spur in Milltown was also removed.
A temporary boost in tonnage on the Raritan occurred because of construction of the
New Jersey Turnpike
The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA).The Garden State Parkway, although maintained by NJTA, is not consi ...
, which generated fill material and sand movements. With Crossmanns' help, the RRRR built a small loop track in Crossmans pits and moved hundreds of cars of sand. Major online shippers included National Lead, DuPont, Hercules, and Johnson & Johnson.
The industrial base of the East Coast was moving away, and this affected the RRRR along with all other eastern railroads. By 1964, all Less-Car-Load (LCL) freight was eliminated, and agents in the freight stations were dropped. By now most coal traffic was gone. The Raritan River acquired a damaged
N&W boxcar after an insurance company write-off, and rebuilt it as No. 100 for non-interchange usage, to move freight back and forth between on-line companies.
Although both parents of the RRRR, the CNJ and the Penn Central were bankrupt, the Raritan River remained solvent and continued to benefit from a major new industrial complex named Highview, which was built in East Brunswick with many spurs and industries connected. The old Serviss Branch was re-laid for two miles (3 km) and renamed the East Brunswick branch to serve Continental Bakery, which received many shipments of flour by rail. Sunshine Biscuit opened a plant at the end of the Gillespie Branch, and they too received flour by the RRRR. The South River Branch was upgraded, as well as the trackage in New Brunswick, for a new customer starting a rail-to-truck transfer there. The old Michelin Tire complex was rented and some freight traffic was generated there. The Raritan River also derived revenue from high per diem rates, leasing 100 fifty-foot box cars in 1975.
The Raritan River had its best revenue year in 1979, with operating revenues amounting to $1,968,671. The Raritan put an emphasis on customer service and benefited from having longtime online customers such as Dupont and Hercules (Formally Smokeless Powder Company) going back to the 1910s. Sunshine Biscuit kept the Gillespie branch alive, just as Continental Baking kept the East Brunswick branch active. This allowed continued rail service to a number of small and infrequent shippers, which would otherwise have been ended.
With the creation of
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
in April 1976 to take over the failing eastern railroads, the then-profitable Raritan River was supposed to be included along with their bankrupt parent railroads. The RRRR resisted inclusion in Conrail and took court action to forestall it. Four years later, on April 24, 1980, the Raritan River Railroad merged into the Conrail system.
Subsequent Conrail Ownership
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 ...
(CSAO) is jointly owned
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
and
Norfolk Southern
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...
. Once merged into the Conrail system, the Raritan River Railroad mainline was renamed Conrail's Sayreville Running Track, and would be switched out of Conrail's Browns Yard near Bordentown Avenue via a new connection built after the merger. This required major upgrades to Browns Yard, as all classifications and storage were performed there instead of Sayreville Junction.
The old wooden and outdated steel cabooses were sold, and replaced with steel Conrail cabooses. The remaining 97 leased fifty-foot box cars were re-numbered and absorbed into Conrail. The six EMD SW900s were re-numbered for Conrail and did switch the RRRR line for a few years. All but one were scrapped in 1984, with former RRRR #4 being sold to
PECO Energy Company
PECO, formerly the Philadelphia Electric Company, is an energy company founded in 1881 and incorporated in 1929. It became part of Exelon Corporation in 2000 when it merged with Commonwealth Edison's holding company Unicom Corp.
The company has a ...
for use at their plant in
Eddystone, Pennsylvania
Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,410 at the 2010 census.
History
The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, ...
. Most union employees were assimilated into Conrail. The clerical and managerial staff were all terminated. Of the 56 employees on the payroll in 1980, 30 would be offered jobs with Conrail, 26 would not.
Conrail closed shops in South Amboy. The interchange in South Amboy for PRR was closed in 1976. Conrail later extended the Gillespie Branch (renamed the Gillespie Running Track) to cross Bordentown Avenue and connect directly with Browns Yard, enabling abandonment of the South Amboy connection with
NJ Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
's
North Jersey Coast Line
The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or com ...
. The line was then cut back to the Phoenix Spur, which currently receives freight in the form of scrap steel. The abandoned engine shop was lost to fire in 1983.
The New Brunswick and Parlin stations were demolished by the early 1990s. The Milltown spur to the former Michelin Tire Complex is severed from the main line, but still crosses Main Street (and has been re-laid after repaving). The Milltown spur and Michelin Complex are listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places. Trackage currently terminates at Silverline Windows in North Brunswick, east of
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
.
In the 1980s and 1990s, some of the largest customers ceased shipping by rail: Dupont stopped receiving deliveries and their siding is now disconnected. National Lead—at one time the railroad's largest customer—closed and is listed as a
brownfield site
In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...
. Hercules is still connected, receiving an occasional boxcar. Both the Sunshine Biscuit and Continental Baking plants have shut down. The Gillespie Branch survives since it connects to CSAO Browns Yard. The East Brunswick branch is still connected. Several spurs also remain connected but do not have active customers. A single customer based in the Highview Industrial Complex in East Brunswick also receives freight. The South River Branch was abandoned in the early 1980's.
Plans to expand the Rail-to-Truck transfer facility at the former New Brunswick facilities were dropped by Conrail, despite support for the project by the
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 transportat ...
and the city of New Brunswick. As a result, the entire complex was eventually demolished and the wye area in New Brunswick was redeveloped with townhouses.
By the late 1990's, the last customer in New Brunswick—
Squibb, stopped getting tank cars. The former
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...
plant in Milltown is now used by Silverline Windows, which receives covered hoppers containing plastic pellets. In October 2014, the siding at the former National Lead site was reactivated for the shipment of radiologically contaminated soils to out-of-state disposal facilities.
The sole surviving station is in
Milltown, which still proudly displays its original sign: "
Raritan River Railroad – Freight Station". It is in a deteriorating condition and there are plans being made by the Raritan River Chapter of the NRHS and the
Borough of Milltown to move it to another location and restore it. The current owner, attorney James Curran, has indicated he would "consider donating it." The RRRR logo can still be seen through the rust on the
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 ...
in
South River.
Five pieces of original RRRR equipment are known to be in existence.
Operations (2015)
Under CSAO, five former RRRR lines remaining in operation. Trains operate almost daily from Browns Yard.
Gerdau Steel in Sayreville is on the eastern end of the former Phoenix Spur and currently receives steel shipments. Bricks are delivered to Riverside Supply. Mauser is the only company left in the
East Brunswick
East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the city ...
Highview complex still receiving freight. The East Brunswick spur is no longer connected to the main line. Of almost a dozen spurs once in East Brunswick, only one currently receives freight. On the western end, Silverline Windows still receives 1-2 cars of plastic pellets per week. Trains run seldom to Silverline.
Passenger proposal
New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
and
Middlesex County, New Jersey
Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863,1 ...
, are studying potential future
light rail options in the
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...]
, including the former Raritan River Railroad
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
which parallels the busy
Route 18 highway corridor.
See also
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Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad
The Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad was a short-line railroad in New Jersey. The railroad traversed through the Raritan Valley communities of Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Manalapan Township, Englishtown Borough, Monroe To ...
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Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line
The Monmouth Ocean Middlesex Line (MOM) is a passenger rail project in the US state of New Jersey, proposed by NJ Transit Rail Operations (NJT) to serve the Central New Jersey counties of Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex. The line would originate/t ...
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Middlesex Greenway
References
External links
Tom’s Raritan River Railroad Page- An excellent summary of Raritan River Rail Road history and current operations.
{{Authority control
Defunct New Jersey railroads
Railroads transferred to Conrail
Predecessors of Conrail
Railway companies established in 1888
Railway companies disestablished in 1980
Transportation in Middlesex County, New Jersey
Sayreville, New Jersey
American companies disestablished in 1980