The Toms River Railroad was established in 1866 with a stop at the county seat of Toms River, New Jersey.[1] The line was extended to Waretown in 1872 by the Toms River and Waretown RR Co.[2] In 1881 the Central Railroad of New Jersey purchased the road [2] and in 1893 the property was transferred to the Toms River & Barnegat RR Co. at that time the branch was extended to Barnegat.[3] In 1893, the Toms River & Barnegat RR Co. acquired ownership of the property, and service continued under the Central Railroad.
Passenger service was terminated in the mid 1950s, though freight service continued through the early 1970s before the line was taken out of service and eventually absorbed by Conrail.[1]
The right of way was converted into a rail trail for use by the Barnegat Branch Trail, in late 2007.[4]