Gerald's Railroads Of New Jersey
Raritan River Railroad History
THE BEGINNING
The Raritan River Railroad (RRRR) began operating
in 1888 and grew to the final size of 12.6 miles in 1917. The 12.6 mile
mainline ran from South Amboy to New Brunswick. During World War I, the
railroad carried approximately 9000 troops to munitions plants in Parlin
and Gillepsie. Passenger service was terminated in 1938, having dwindled
from a twenty car train to a two car train. The RRRR once owned 14 Baldwin
steam locomotives, which were replaced by six government Lima engines during
WWII. These were finally replaced in 1954 by six EMD SW900's. The line's
rolling stock consisted of (in 1974) five cabooses (ex New Haven), one
crane, one gondola, and one box car, all of which were rehabilitated in
1969. In the summer of 1969, the famed Metroliner was pulled over RRRR
tracks to a railroad exhibition in Milltown. There were two interchanges,
one in Sayreville with the Camden and Amboy (later PRR, PC, and CR), and
the other with the New York and Long Branch (NY&LB) at South Amboy.
The RRRR did 60% of it's freight interchange with the CNJ, and most of
the drilling and classification at Sayreville Jct. The RRRR handled a freight
volume of five to six thousand cars a year. The total trackage owned and
operated by the RRRR was 18 miles, serving many industries along the Raritan
River. There was even a hand operated movable bridge across the South River
at East Brunswick.
SHARED ASSETS
The color scheme of the line's SW900s was a red locomotive
with a gray stripe bearing the RRRR logo, as seen at the top of this page.
The steam locomotives were lettered Raritan River on the tenders with the
number below the cab. Ownership was shared by nearby class one railroads
but operations were conducted by local management in a store front type
building in South Amboy at 170 John Street, just around the corner from
the NY&LB passenger station. Since it's owner railroads went into Conrail
on April 1, 1976, the RRRR stayed around a while, but was pulled into the
Big Blue Giant in 1981 with the little office on John Street boarded over.
THE CONRAIL YEARS
Conrail performed many modifications to the RRRR
Mainline during it's reign of power. The line was cut back from South
Amboy to Parlin. To accomodate interchanges, Conrail constructed
the Gillepsie Branch, linking Browns Yard in Sayreville to the mainline
in South River, just before the movable bridge. The line was (and
is still) named the Sayreville Running Track. The RRRR's SW900s 1-6
became Conrail 8658-8663.
THE PRESENT
The RRRR Mainline is still very active and used by
CSX and Norfolk Southern. It has since been cut back from New Brunswick
to East Brunswick/ New Brunswick border with the current terminus being
at the Route 1 overpass near Rutgers University's Cook Campus. The last
active customer on the line is Silverline Windows, which receives carloads
two days a week. There are also several other industries in East
Brunswick, Sayreville, and Parlin. The RRRR's East Brunswick Branch,
which connected with the mainline near Harts Lane in East Brunswick has
been disconnected from the mainline. What's left of the branch terminates
across Route 18 at Mid-State Mall in East Brunswick. The RRRR's Serviss
Branch, which served industries along the South River still exists for
several miles, but this too has been disconnected from the mainline.
THE RRRR LEGACY
Many artifacts still remain from the RRRR.
Traveling along Whitehead Ave. in South River, one can see the RRRR Movable
Swing Bridge. Also on Whitehead Ave, platforms still exist along
the mainline, remnants from the RRRR's passenger service. In Milltown,
traveling on Washington Ave, a Raritan River Freight Station still exists
adjacent to the mainline. It is in excellent condition and still
proudly displays "Raritan River Railroad- Freight Station". The East
Brunswick Branch still exists, but only for about half a mile. The
Serviss Branch exists for several miles, but it is not continuous.
The branch was severed for a park that was built along the ROW in 1999
in South River. The Milltown Branch, which once served many industries
along Farrington Lake was severed in 1998 when the NJDOT built a new roadway
bridge for Main Street in Milltown. ROW exists south of the bridge,
while the tracks and trestle across the lake exist to the north.
Like the other branches, this too was disconected from the mainline.
The RRRR Line won't be going anywhere anytime soon: NJ Transit is currently
studying the possiblity of running light rail over the Sayreville Running
Track from New Brunswick to Harts Lane in East Brunswick, where a new Park
and Ride facility will be constructed.
(C) Gerald Oliveto
Note: This is one of the most highly visited pages on my site.
Many people have fond memories of the Raritan River Railroad, and I receive
more emails about this little railroad than anything else. If you
would like to use the information posted here, please email
me first. Do not take any information without my written permission.
Thank You.
RRRR
All Time Roster
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