The Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, usually shortened to the Camden and Amboy Railroad, was a railway company in New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1830 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America.
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
| Locale | New Jersey |
| Dates of operation | 1830–1872 |
| Founder | Robert L. Stevens |
| Successor | United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 10 in (1,473 mm) |
| Track length | 99.71 miles (160.47 km) |
It was consolidated with two other railroads in 1872 to form the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (a forerunner of the Pennsylvania Railroad). Part of the company's original main line between Camden, New Jersey, and Bordentown, is used by the River Line.
History
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The state of New Jersey chartered both the Camden and Amboy and the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company on February 4, 1830, to develop connections between New York City and Philadelphia.[1] The two companies, though remaining independent, agreed to cooperate and became known as the "Joint Companies." The Camden and Amboy was the first railroad to use wooden railroad ties and T-section rails.[2] The company completed a line between Bordentown, on the Delaware River, and South Amboy, in December 1832.
The line was further extended south from Bordentown to Camden, across the Delaware from Philadelphia, in September 1834.[3] In the absence of a bridge over the Delaware, passengers bound for Philadelphia transferred to boats at Bordentown or Camden.[2]
The Protection Act, passed in 1832, "prohibit[ed] any other railroad from building within three miles of the Camden & Amboy's termini."[4] This did not preclude the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company from building a line between Jersey City, New Jersey, and New Brunswick, New Jersey. The line was fully opened in 1837.[5][6] Meanwhile, the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad, a Pennsylvania company, was building a line between its two namesake cities.
In 1836, the Philadelphia and Trenton agreed to cooperate with the Joint Companies.[7] The Camden and Amboy linked these projects together by building from Bordentown to Trenton (1838), and then Trenton to New Brunswick (1839).[3]
The New Brunswick Division, as originally constructed, closely paralleled the Delaware and Raritan Canal between Kingston and Trenton. In 1864, a new alignment was opened that bypassed this winding route, extending from the Belvidere Delaware's line at Trenton. To maintain access to Princeton, the Princeton Branch, serving Princeton, New Jersey, opened the year after.[8] Upon the old line's closing, the Kingston Branch, serving Kingston, New Jersey, began service on the old line in 1866.[3] A branch to Florence, New Jersey was opened in 1872.[3]
The New Jersey Rail Road, Camden and Amboy Railroad, and Delaware and Raritan Canal Company moved to a closer association in 1867 when they created a joint board of directors. This was known as the "United Companies", although all three companies continued to be independent.[9] A formal consolidation into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company followed in 1872; the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the new company from the outset.[10]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Churella (2013), p. 215.
- ^ a b Churella (2013), p. 216.
- ^ a b c d Coverdale & Colpitts (1946), p. 67.
- ^ Churella (2013), p. 217.
- ^ Coverdale & Colpitts (1946), p. 75.
- ^ Freeman (1953), pp. 116, 123.
- ^ Churella (2013), p. 220.
- ^ McKelvey (2018).
- ^ Churella (2013), p. 354.
- ^ Coverdale & Colpitts (1946), p. 52.
References
edit- Churella, Albert J. (2013). The Pennsylvania Railroad: Volume I, Building an Empire, 1846–1917. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4348-2. OCLC 759594295.
- Coverdale & Colpitts (1946). The Pennsylvania Railroad Company: The Corporate, Financial and Construction History of Lines Owned, Operated and Controlled To December 31, 1945. Volume II: Lines East of Pittsburgh. Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott. OCLC 13172415.
- Freeman, Leslie E. Jr. (May 1953). "The New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company". The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin (88): 100–159. JSTOR 43520074.
- McKelvey, Bill (March 21, 2018). "New Jersey Transportation Chronology". Liberty Historic Railway. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
