Southern Secondary

Summary

The Southern Secondary is a rail line in New Jersey, operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) from South Amboy to Red Bank, and the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad (DRR), a subsidiary of Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC, between Red Bank and Lakewood. The entire active portion of the line is owned by NJ Transit. The active portion of the line runs from South Amboy to the current end of track at Lakewood. The line is owned by NJ Transit, but the southern portion (Red Bank, NJ to Lakewood), is not shared with passenger trains. Beyond Lakewood, the tracks are owned by CSAO as far as Lakehurst, but are inactive between Lakewood and Lakehurst.

Southern Secondary
Overview
StatusActive (Red Bank to Lakehurst)
OwnerConrail Shared Assets Operations
LocaleNew Jersey
Termini
Service
TypeFreight rail
SystemCSAO
Operator(s)Delaware and Raritan River Railroad
Technical
Number of tracks1
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map

Legend
[1]
38.3
NJT Red Bank Yard
41.5
42.9
43.6
45.5
--------------------
--------------------
43.6
50.7
50.9
52.0
55.1
Ferguson Waterworks Siding
55.6
Haystack Brook
56.6
North Branch Metedeconk River
58.2
58.5
South Branch Metedeconk River
58.9
Woodhaven Lumber Yard
61.9
64.1
65.8
Manapaqua Branch
66.0
Toms River Industrial Track
66.2
Union Branch
71.9
Pemberton & NY
to Seaside Heights
North Branch Mt. Misery Brook
76.8
CNJ Milepost
81.2
84.2
84.8
Wading River
93.0
Batsto River
95.6
Mullica River
95.9
101.1
Albertson Brook
102.7
Vineland Branch
to Winslow Junction

History edit

Raritan & Delaware Bay and NJ Southern edit

The line started as part of the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad, and soon passed through the ownership of the New Jersey Southern Railroad to the hands of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which took ownership of the line in 1879.

CNJ Southern Division (1879–1976) edit

 
A map of the NJS

From 1879, the line was owned by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), which used it as their Southern Division, which, at its greatest extent, ran from Red Bank to the shores of the Delaware Bay at Bivalve and Bayside. The line hosted the CNJ's famous passenger train the Blue Comet from 1929 to 1941. The line prospered into the 1940s when, like all American rail lines and the railroads that owned them, it entered a period of decline. In 1957, the last scheduled passenger service ended on the line, leaving it as a freight-only line. Despite the sand traffic that frequented the line, the number of general freights (not including sand and local freights to serve the industries along the line) dwindled to two, JS-1 and SJ-2 as the northeastern rail scene became more grim. In 1976, Conrail took over all operations, and in 1978, it severed the line between Woodmansie and Winslow Junction, ending its use as a through route linking South and North Jersey. Within the next decade, operations would be cut back again to Lakehurst.

Conrail Shared Assets Operations (1999–present) edit

From June, 1 1999, the line has been operated by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO), and despite the recovering railroad state in this time frame, the line's customer base continued to dwindle, and in 2010, the line was cut back further to Lakewood. The line also included the Toms River Industrial Track (Lakehurst to Toms River), but it was placed out of service after all of the customers discontinued rail service.

Effective July 1, 2022, CSAO interchanges with the Delaware and Raritan River Railroad at Red Bank. Despite the change in common carrier service, CSAO retains trackage rights over the entire route.

Delaware and Raritan River Railroad (2022-present) edit

The Delaware and Raritan River Railroad assumed common carrier operations between Red Bank and Lakewood as of July 1, 2022. The DRR is responsible for serving all customers on this section of the route.

Current operations edit

The WPSA-31 transfers cars from Browns Yard to Red Bank, where the cars are interchanged with DRR. Once in Red Bank, DRR local RB-01 runs to Lakewood and back, servicing customers along the way. The last five customers on the line are:

  • Brick Recycling, Howell ships out scrap in gondola cars
  • Laird & Company, Colts Neck (Scobeyville), America's oldest Apple jack distillery receives ethanol/ethyl alcohol loads. (Uses Brick Recycling siding along Rt. 34)
  • U.S. Navy Weapons Station Earle, Howell (Earle's only connection to the outside rail network is here)
  • Extech Building Materials, Howell, receives building materials.
  • Woodhaven Lumber, Lakewood, receives lumber.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/CR/CR%20Track%20Charts/CR%20NJ%20Track%20Chart%201985.pdf

External links edit

  • Archive.org
  • Njtransit.com
  • Octrainguy.rrpicturearchives.net
  • Rrpicturearchives.net
  • Railseast.com
  • Webspace.webring.com