Central Railroad of New Jersey

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Central Railroad of New Jersey
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Reporting marks CNJ
Locale New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania
Dates of operation 1839 – March 31, 1976
Successor line Conrail
Track gauge 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters
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The Central Railroad of New Jersey, more commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a regional railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the U.S. Northeast. Its main line ran from a terminal at Jersey City west across New Jersey to Phillipsburg and across the Delaware River to Easton and Scranton. Branches stretched south to southern New Jersey, including the New Jersey Southern Railway to Delaware Bay.

The CNJ was acquired by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway in 1883. Though that was later cancelled, the Reading continued to exert a major influence over the CNJ, and used it for its New York City-area terminal.

Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey includes the site of the CNJ's Jersey City terminal.

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[edit] History

The Elizabethtown and Somerville Railroad was chartered on February 9, 1831 to build from Elizabeth on the Newark Bay (with a steamboat transfer to New York City) west to Somerville. The line to Plainfield was completed in March 1839, junctioning the New Jersey Rail Road in Elizabeth. Extensions took it west to Dunellen in 1840, just east of Bound Brook in 1841 and the rest of the way to Somerville in 1842.

The Somerville and Easton Railroad was chartered February 26, 1847 to continue the line west to Easton, Pennsylvania. The first extension, to Whitehouse, opened in 1848 and was leased to the E&S. On February 11, 1849 the E&S bought the S&E, and on February 26 the two companies were consolidated as the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The rest of the line to Phillipsburg, New Jersey opened in 1852, and on September 8, 1855 the upper level of the Lehigh Valley Railroad's Easton Bridge over the Delaware River to Easton opened, taking the CNJ to Easton. At that time, Lehigh Valley Railroad coal trains started running over the CNJ to Elizabeth. A similar operation with the 6 ft 0 in broad gauge Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, joining at Hampton, began May 27, 1856, requiring the addition of a third rail onto the standard gauge CNJ.

On December 1, 1859 the CNJ and New Jersey Rail Road came to an agreement where the former would run over the latter to its terminal in Jersey City. That operation began December 19, and included a third rail for DL&W trains to use the NJRR from Elizabeth to Jersey City.

The South Branch Railroad, controlled by the CNJ, opened July 1, 1864 as a branch from Somerville to Flemington. The CNJ's extension to their new terminal in Jersey City, including a bridge over Newark Bay, opened on July 29, 1864, with a ferry transfer to Cortlandt Street in New York City, ending operations over the NJRR. On July 23, 1869, the Newark and New York Railroad opened, providing a straight route from downtown Newark to the CNJ's Jersey City terminal. The Newark Branch, running north from Elizabethport to the N&NY in Newark, opened June 7, 1872.

On October 6, 1873 the CNJ leased the New York and Long Branch Railroad, which was in the process of building from Perth Amboy southeast to Long Branch. At the same time the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad was building from Elizabethport on the CNJ south to Perth Amboy. Hostilities at the crossing of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad in April 1872 led to an injunction against the PRR interfering with the construction. The CNJ bought the PA&E later that year. The full line to Long Branch opened September 7, 1875, and was later extended south, reaching Bay Head in 1881 by acquiring other companies. In 1882 the CNJ and Pennsylvania Railroad agreed to use the line jointly, with trackage rights granted to the PRR over the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport between the Perth Amboy and Woodbridge crossing and its south end at the Raritan River bridge.

The first commercially successfull diesel-electric locomotive manufactured by Alco in 1924 was built for the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

In 1961 the CNJ purchased two portions of the dissolving Lehigh and New England Railroad from the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. This became the Lehigh and New England Railway, with two segments - Lansford to Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, connecting coal mines to the Reading Railroad, and Bethlehem to Bath and Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, connecting cement mills to the CNJ and Lehigh Valley Railroad.

Paralleling the Lehigh Valley Railroad from the Hudson River to Scranton, the CNJ was a fierce competitor for anthracite coal and freight traffic. With heavy commuter traffic and short freight hauls, the company was in and out of bankruptcy throughout its history. In 1967, bankruptcy was declared for the last time. In 1972 all Pennsylvania operations ceased and the Lehigh Valley Railroad took over the remaining Pennsylvania trackage. The CNJ was merged into Conrail on April 1, 1976.

[edit] Corporate history

The CNJ was formed on February 26, 1847 as a consolidation of the Elizabeth and Somerville Railroad and Somerville and Easton Railroad.

The CNJ leased the Dover and Rockaway Railroad for 990 years from April 26, 1881.

The CNJ leased the Ogden Mine Railroad for 999 years from January 1, 1882.

The New York and Long Branch Railroad was jointly operated by the CNJ and the Pennsylvania Railroad under an agreement signed January 2, 1888.

The CNJ leased the Hibernia Mine Railroad for 20 years from October 1, 1890; this lease was renewed at least once for another 20 years.

A CNJ camelback locomotive built by Baldwin in the 1920s.
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A CNJ camelback locomotive built by Baldwin in the 1920s.

In late 1917, the following companies were absorbed into the CNJ:

  • Buena Vista Railroad
  • Carteret and Sewaren Railroad
  • Carteret Extension Railroad
  • Cumberland and Maurice River Railroad
  • Cumberland and Maurice River Extension Railroad
  • Elizabeth Extension Railroad
  • Freehold and Atlantic Highlands Railroad
  • Lafayette Railroad
  • Manufacturers' Extension Railroad
  • Middle Brook Railroad
  • New Jersey Terminal Railroad
  • New Jersey Southern Railroad
  • Navesink Railroad
  • Passaic River Extension Railroad
  • Raritan North Shore Railroad
  • Sound Shore Railroad
  • Toms River Railroad
  • Toms River and Barnegat Railroad
  • Vineland Railroad
  • Vineland Branch Railway
  • West Side Connecting Railroad
  • West End Railroad

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) authorized the CNJ to acquire the Wharton and Northern Railroad and the Mount Hope Mineral Railroad on February 4, 1930.

The Hibernia Mine Railroad was merged into the CNJ on November 25, 1930.

On June 6, 1935, the ICC authorized the CNJ to abandon the Ogden Mine Railroad.

[edit] Main line station stops

Many of these stations have had service discontinued and reintroduced on new lines such as the Hudson Bergen Light Rail and the Raritan Valley Line. 8th St in Bayonne is a future station on the HBLR, several of the stations in Elizabeth have been proposed for the Union County Light Rail and there has been discussion of reintroducing rail service to Phillipsburg or Scranton.

[edit] See also

[edit] References


Current (operating) Class I railroads of North America
United States: AMTK, BNSF, CSXT, GTW, KCS, NS, SOO, UP - Canada: CN, CP, VIA - Mexico: FXE, TFM, KCSM
See also: List of USA/Canada/Mexico Class I Railroads, List of USA/Canadian Class II Railroads, Class III railroad, Class 2 Railraods in Canada,
Short-line railroad, List of United States railroads, List of Canadian railroads, list of Mexican railroads
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