In a rather muddy picture from the window of Essay tower in South Amboy,
JS-extra, crosses the Raritan River enroute to the sand loader in Woodmansie.
1973.CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY
SOUTHERN DIVISION
This page will cover the southern division of the Jersey Central. Famous for the route of the Blue Comet which ran from Jersey City to Atlantic City from 1929 to 1941, this line was originally built to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad predecessor companies for traffic between New York and Baltimore. Although it never achieved this goal, the railroad for many years played a vital role in the economy of the New Jersey pinelands. For an ultimate history of the southern division, please read " The Trail of the Blue Comet ". Written by William J.Coxey, Christopher Baer and Paul W. Schopp, the book is an excellent work done by the West Jersey Chapter, NRHS.
The original route began at the waterfront in Port Monmouth, NJ and went through Red Bank down through the middle of the state to Bridgeton and the Delaware Bay. Connecting ferry service was provided to New York on the north end and across the Delaware Bay on the south end. The original goal of reaching Baltimore would have involved three ferries and two trains! Not really the best choice. This helps explain to someone looking at a map of the system, why the railroad would run straight through the middle of nowhere. Some early plans to build direct to Atlantic City were dropped after realizing the vast amount of construction that would have been required to cross the Mullica River and adjoined swamplands. Even today, the only crossing of this river near the coast is the Garden State Parkway on a rather large bridge.
My photos here are from the final few years of the railroad from 1973 to 1976.
In a rather muddy picture from the window of Essay tower in South Amboy,
JS-extra, crosses the Raritan River enroute to the sand loader in Woodmansie.
1973.
2512 leads train JS-1 across the Navesink River bridge into Red Bank in
1975. The train is on the North Jersey Coast Line at this point.
Trains JS-1 and SJ-2 were the through trains from Elizabethport and Bridgeton.
JS-1 passes "RG" tower ( renamed "BANK" ) and enters the
southern division.
1550 sits in the Red Bank yard in 1973. Freight trains originating from
here included locals to Bradley Beach and Bay Head on the NJCL, and south to
Lakewood. Local cars were relayed from these trains to the locals out of
Lakehurst.
A RS-3 heads through Point Pleasant, NJ on the North Jersey Coast Line with the
Bay Head Turner. 1973.
JS-1 passes through Eatontown, NJ. The overhead poles were installed by
the local power company and were not for railroad use, although they could be
used as catenary perhaps someday.
After passing through the Naval Weapons Station, Earle, the line passed through Farmingdale where a former PRR branch once crossed at grade. There was an interchange track there and today it serves as a lead to a local lumber yard.
Its a Conrail era train, but this is Farmingdale. This was a ballast train
working the line in 1994.
2512 rolls through Howell Township at Larabee's crossing.
1549 is waiting out the weekend in Lakewood. Lakewood at one time was a
premier destination for those seeking a break from the city. The beautiful
station that was once here was demolished in the early 1960's to make way for a
supermarket which today sits abandoned.
One of the last through trains from Bridgeton rolls through Lakewood in 1978.
2512 rolls through South Lakewood heading toward Lakehurst. There was
little in the way of spectacular scenery here. Mostly scrub pines
and oak trees. Sand used in the manufacture of glass and for concrete was
the major traffic source for this line. Several sand quarries existed
along the route from Lakewood south.
Former B & O SD-40 3069 leads JS-1 south near Ridgeway, NJ. This unit
was wrecked in the Delaware Water Gap on the Erie Lackawanna in 1976 and was cut
down into a slug by the N & W.
RS-3 1546 leads a local north from Lakehurst in 1974. Probably heading for
the Houdaille plant in South Lakewood.
Train JS-1 has arrived at Lakehurst. The slow speeds due to the poor track
required a crew change here. Highway 70 crosses over the top. The branch to Toms
River and Barnegat begins here.
For a few years I stopped by Lakehurst almost every day a recorded a number of trains here. Since Lakehurst was a crew change point, usually SJ-2 would be here during the day and JS-1 would arrive by late afternoon. The local crew would switch cars in the morning and head either north to Lakewood or down the Barnegat branch in the afternoon.
1549 was the regular unit assigned to Lakehurst. Viewed from the Route 70
bridge, 1549 is switching cars for its trip down to Toms River later in the day.
1521 sits on the pocket track. Looking south, the Barnegat branch is to
the left, the main track is straight and the siding goes around the former water
plug base once used by steam engines. Photo courtesy of Gary Madden.
Red Baron 1522 is assigned to Lakehurst this day. This is one of the
earlier versions of the paint scheme. Later ones had the Miss Liberty and
two chevrons in white only.
1549 switching cars at the Union Avenue crossing in 1974.
1546 switches in fresh snow on February 26, 1974.
These switchers were usually not seen down on the southern division. Here
is 1087 on a weed spray train in 1973. Photo courtesy Gary Madden.
1550 sits on the Barnegat branch with a very short train to Toms River.
SD-35 2501 leads SJ-extra. The extras were sand trains normally loaded at
Woodmansie and destined for either South Amboy or Port Reading. Much of
this sand was used in the construction of the New Jersey Meadowlands
complex. Here is a gallery of photos from Lakehurst. 1973 to 1976.
.
An all to common occurrence in the final years were constant derailments due to the deteriorating track. Here two former Lehigh and New England hoppers have picked the switch under the Rt. 70 bridge as JS-1 waits in the background.
A few pictures in the early Conrail years.
Two very sad images of Lakehurst today. The siding track from the Route 70
overpass to the Union Ave grade crossing was removed. The branch to Toms
River remains intact, but has not seen a train in years. The rail remains
in place all the way to Winslow Jct., but is very overgrown with large
trees. Nothing has moved over this in over twenty years.
In the latter half of 2009,
the right-of-way from Lakehurst down to Woodmansie was cleared of the trees and
brush.
The rumor is that sand trains will once again be running out of the big mine in
Woodmansie. The sand would be used in the construction
of the new Hudson River rail tunnels into New York. Updates to follow.
We will take a brief trip down the Barnegat branch before heading south.
1521 works the Toms River Chemical plant. This was the largest customer on
the branch through the 1970's. It has now been shut down and is a
Superfund clean up site. Photos courtesy Gary Madden
Toms River, NJ in 1973.
In March 1972, excursion trains of two RDC cars ran to Toms River and were the last passenger trains here. The trips operated on two consecutive weekends and received a lot of publicity. Pictures are from scans of prints taken with an old Kodak windup camera I had at the time, so the quality is not as good as other pictures here.
Trains operated a few miles south of Toms River on occasion. 1548 in
Beachwood. 1972
This train is heading back from Pinewald and has to stop and flag the Route 9
crossing in Beachwood. 1973.
Route 9 here is built on the former Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way. It
was the line from Camden that went across the state through Mount Holly,
Whiting, Toms River, Ocean Gate, over the Barnegat Bay and then north through
Seaside Heights, Lavalette and finally Bay Head Jct.
The joint station sat just behind the engine on the northeast corner of the
junction. Ironically the original PRR Toms River station that was located
where Rt. 9
and South Main St. intersect is still existant. It sits just off Rt. 9 a
few blocks west (north) of this former CNJ-PRR crossing in Beachwood.
In the pouring rain, 1520 heads through Forked River enroute to Barnegat in
1970. After the completion of the Oyster Creek Nuclear plant in 1967, very
little traffic remained below Toms River. Photo courtesy Gary Madden.
Lets rejoin the main and head south from Lakehurst.
The passing siding in Lakehurst extended about one mile south. 2502 sits
on a sand train at the south end of the siding. All track from Lakehurst
to Winslow has been unused since 1980, but the right of way is still intact.
Through the pines between Lakehurst and Whiting.
3066 on JS-1 Our background picture 3066 on a sand extra northbound
Whiting was the location of the crossing of the Pennsylvania Railroad line which once ran from Camden through to Bay Head. Called the Philadelphia and Long Branch division it was severed following a storm which destroyed the trestle over the Barnegat Bay in the mid-1940's. Train service continued on the remainder of the line until the early 1960's.
A park adjacent to the track north of the Route 530 crossing, provided a nice
open spot for photos here.
Whiting, NJ 1974
The Route 539 crossing was the last sign of civilization for a while as the
right of way headed deep into the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The
environmental concerns of this area may deny any further use of the line in the
future.
2506 on JS-1 zips through the tiny hamlet called Pasadena. The dust is
from fresh ballast put down as part of a state grant for track work in
1975. One year later, the line became virtually unused.
Woodmansie was site of a large sand quarry.
2506 crossing over Route 72 nearing Chatsworth.
One of the few remaining stations still left is Chatsworth.
Winslow Junction is located just west of Hammonton, NJ. The two lines of
the PRSL cross over the CNJ here and an interchange track was part of the rather
complex junction. It was here that the Blue Comet used a connecting track just
behind the tower visible above to head to Atlantic City over PRSL tracks.
2504 on SJ-2 waits at Winslow Jct. 
The old passenger station. Now gone.
A rather grainy view of the scale track and house located at Winslow.
November 1973.
1705 in fresh paint is on a work train. Photos courtesy Gary Madden.
The Southern Railway of New Jersey currently operates from this location and several historic pieces of railroad equipment can be found here. The SNJ operates several former CN MLW units as well as the former Lehigh Valley C420 414. Much of the older equipment here is in a great state of disrepair.
These two images from 7-10-08.
For a short time, this former Bangor & Aroostook unit was in Winslow.
The CNJ never ran their F-units down here.
Bridgeton
in 1975
Bridgeton was the southern terminus of the mainline trains. Photos courtesy of Gary Madden.
This area is now operated by the Winchester and Western using several former N & W GP-9's in a NKP inspired paint scheme.
Bridgeton yard July 10, 2008.
In July 1976, former CNJ 2508 is in old PRSL Pavonia yard in Camden, NJ
Immediately following the Conrail takeover in April 1976, trains JS-1 and SJ-2 were discontinued. The local freights continued, but gradually were combined into a single local as business dropped off. Red Bank yard was closed and is now the property of NJ Transit. BANK tower was demolished and the interlocking plant revised. Today a local from Parlin operates occasionally and normally turns at Lakewood. The faltering housing market has slowed the delivery of building material to a trickle. On a few occasions a train will layover in Lakehurst but there is no activity beyond there. The Barnegat branch has not seen a train in years, although the track remains into the old Toms River Chemical property. As noted above, the line is dormant below Lakehurst. The right of way was cleared of trees in 2006 and there was a chance of the Clayton Concrete Company operating a train from Woodmansie to an area in Howell Township on the old PRR. I believe their intent was to set up a trash transfer site, but the NIMBY's shot it down. The right of way from Lakewood to Lakehurst had some tie replacement done in 2007, but it is little used. State tax dollars at work! With the Clayton project now probably doomed, the trees have begun to grow again from Lakehurst south.