Seashore Lines still not running

NJ Vike wrote:
I wonder if anyone has followed those lines I mentioned into Wildwood, Ocean City and Atlantic City by bike? Can any of those lines be used as a rail-to-trail?

I missed two others, but there's no bridges on the GSP for these. If you're going into North Wildwood from Rt.9 on Rt.147,look off to the left and you can see the remains of the old WJ&SS line into the Wildwoods. Just north of Sea Isle Blvd on the way into Sea Isle City off to the left, the old ACRR Sea Isle branch can be seen. It can also be seen just off the road on the left on Rt. 50 heading south from Petersburg and runs parallel to Rt.50 for a bit. I think the North Wildwood Branch was in service until the 1950's. The Ocean City and Wildwood Branches lasted until the late 1970's. The Sea Isle Branch was taken out of service in the 1930's(I think) due to lack of ridership.

A s far as biking the old roadbeds, in thier present form it would be tough as there are many small bridges and fills across the meadows that are in extremely bad condition or have gone missing completely. The moveable bridges over the ICW are also gone and they leave a big gap in the right of way into Ocean City and The Wildwoods. If you go to Ocean City over the 34th street bridge and turn right, go to 51st Street and turn right again, keep going until you see an entrance to a unimproved road and that will take you along side the remains of the OC Branch and out to where Crook Horn Movable Bridge used to be over the ICW. This is very bikeable and we go back there to fish the sodbanks quite frequently. Look for Haven Ave, when you come into town, it's right next to the Wawa on 34th Street, it where the rest of the railroad in town ran and the station was(or is) at 10th Street. hope this helps some.

W.L.

I can see them now on the SPV map.

I see that the Wildwood Junction (West Jersey and Seashore Railroad; later PRR and PRSL) crossed Grassy Sound, Anglesea? and into North or West Wildwood at County Road 614? I remember seeing this on the Parkway heading North passing either exit 4 or 5.

The map also lists the the WDB (Wildwood and Delaware Shortline Railroad ) also cam out of the Wildwood Junction and headed directly into Wildwood. The map makes no reference of this railroad ever becoming part of either the PRR or PRSL so I'm assuming that this RR wasn't around too long. Once in Wildwood it shows both connecting in Wildwood and then one line proceeding south through Wildwood Junction an into Cold Spring Harbor.

Going further north I see a reference of the AC line going into Stone Harbor. Are there tracks still there? My SPV historical map show the line but not on the Delorme so I assume the line was taken out long ago.

Proceeding further north I see another crossing from the GSP going into Sea Isle City. SPV map but North Delorme. I assume this was taken out many years ago as well. This line states WJS/PRSL.

further north I see a ROW on the SPV map that shows near Petersburg that one line went to Corson's Inlet and another line from Petersburg going to 51st in Ocean City (SPV) while the Delorme map states 12th street Pavilion as being the stop. Not sure which is correct here.


The last line I see on both maps go into Atlantic City. One looks like it came in from Richland passing towns of Mizpah, Weymouth, Mays Landing, Cardiff and meeting up with another track (abandoned also) that headed to Pomerania to Brigantine Jct and to Cologne, etc. Was this passenger and freight? When did it go out?

A little further North another line, active, NJT going into AC and further north of that, I see a branch that went from Brigantine Jct. to the towns of Absecon Rd., Port Republic, Oceanville and to Brigantine Beach. Passenger and Freight? When did it go out?

Now I'm not sure of the three or four lines that I see from the Parkway heading North from Wildwood.

Is there a book on either the PRR or PRSL that provides the history of this area? How about the Atlantic City RR?

Thanks again for answering my very lengthy questions

W.L.

Thanks for answering these questions. I appreciate your time.

My wife and I took a drive out to the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Refuge off of Rt 9 just south of Old Tyme Smithville. They had a great 8 mile auto tour that went out into the bay along an embankment that looped back inland. There had been a small note in the brochure that had referenced that the embankment we drove on that headed out into the bay used to be for a railroad. Looking at Google Earth, it appears the embankment headed south west (compass) and would have gone off to the northside of Brigantine into that golf course community.

Heading west, it appears that the line may have been replaced by East Great Creek Rd which eventually ends at West Jimmy Leeds which itself ends at Rt 30 (White Horse Pike). There, a farmers field seperates it from the Atlantic City Line. Unfortunately, atleast from my Google Earth perspective, I don't see any trace of the Brigantine line going across that farm field on the other side of Rt 30 to link up with the tracks.

The odd observation is back at the bay. The embankment used by the Forsythe Preserve ends about 2.5 miles out into the bay. When I was out there, I saw no further trace of the embankments. This is also verified when viewing on Google Earth. I see no evidence what so ever of the embankment (like the embankments further south heading to Wildwood or Ocean City) continuing out into the bay and eventually reaching Brigantine.

Did the embankment continue further out into the water or was it a tressle from that point all the way to Brigantine (approx 2.5 miles)? Or had there been an embankment that had been wiped out by a storm? I can't imagine anyone expending that much resources to physically remove 2.5 miles of embankment and leaving no trace whatever?

Sound like a nice tour. Was it good?

I looked at my maps and I see that the line comes out of Oceanville and it appears that it crossed Grassy Bay and then Somers Bay. Unfortunately, I see the line, on this map anyway, doesn't seem to go to RT30 or anywhere else for that matter. It appears that it just went back. Not sure of the accuracy of the SPV map but it is accurate for the railroads in my area in Sussex County.

My wife and I greatly enjoyed the tour. I highly recommend it. Bear in mind, if it is sunny out, it gets quite warm out on the embankment with the sun reflecting heavily off the water. Of course, your car's AC system will cover that little discomfort. You gotta love technology. You can enjoy all of nature's bounty without the bugs and heat, all from the comfort of your own car!

As far as the rail line goes, The alignment of the embankment, East Great Creek Road, and West Jimmy Leeds Rd is too perfect as well as Jimmy Leeds terminating so close to the AC Rail line. I would have a hard time believing they would have gone to the effort of bridging the bay back to the mainland without completing the loop.

If I had to guess, this segment of the line went OOS a loooong time ago (1920-1930??). Would it have been PRR? or Reading? or maybe one of the earlier rail companies?

CJPat,

I think I will try this sometime. Sounds great.

As far as the line is concerned, I did a search but came up with nothing other than it being the AC Railroad. Perhaps they have a historical society to check with. The other option is to contact the West Jersey Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. I'm a member but since I live far from where they hold their meetings, I really don't go there often. I think I will write to them to see if they can provide some information.

Ken

NJ Vike wrote:W.L.
I see that the Wildwood Junction (West Jersey and Seashore Railroad; later PRR and PRSL) crossed Grassy Sound, Anglesea? and into North or West Wildwood at County Road 614? I remember seeing this on the Parkway heading North passing either exit 4 or 5.
The map also lists the the WDB (Wildwood and Delaware Shortline Railroad ) also cam out of the Wildwood Junction and headed directly into Wildwood. The map makes no reference of this railroad ever becoming part of either the PRR or PRSL so I'm assuming that this RR wasn't around too long. Once in Wildwood it shows both connecting in Wildwood and then one line proceeding south through Wildwood Junction an into Cold Spring Harbor.

You got your lines all tangled up there Vike!!
First off lets start with two railroads getting to Cape May County. It can get confusing unless your remember there was two seprate railroads with lines running all over the place. The present railroad in Cape May County is all former ACRR (Reading Co.) that came off the main at Winslow as the Cape May Branch. The WJ&SS (PRR) original access to Cape May County was via Millville to Manumuskin ,Woodbine,Sea Isle jct where it turned south, then crossed over at grade the ACRR around CMCH,then ran parallel to the ACRR to Cape May. Later the PRR bought trackage rights over the ACRR's Cape May Branch from Winslow to Woodbine Jct,where they would assume thier own railway again. Both railroads accessed the same shore towns except for OC which was only served by the ACRR. So,if you go back to the lines for the Wildwoods,you would have the WJ&SS branching off just north of Burleigh,crossing over at grade the ACRR,then running across the meadows north of Rt.147. It entered the island at Anglesea and ran down what now is Central Ave in NWW. The W&DB wound up being absorbed by the ACRR and ran from Wildwood Jct. to Wildwood. Both lines into the Wildwoods later became PRSL items.

Going further north I see a reference of the AC line going into Stone Harbor. Are there tracks still there?

No. The Stone Harbor Branch came off the ACRR Cape May Branch about where the ACRR and WJ&SS crossed over as mentioned above and ran into Stone Harbor more or less where Stone Harbor Blvd is.

Proceeding further north I see another crossing from the GSP going into Sea Isle City. SPV map but North Delorme. I assume this was taken out many years ago as well. This line states WJS/PRSL.

The were two lines into Sea Isle City, one from the WJ&SS that branched off just east of Woodbine Jct and the ACRR line that branched off south of Petersburg on the OC Branch. The WJ&SS went to Stone Harbor via Sea Isle City by running down the islands south.

further north I see a ROW on the SPV map that shows near Petersburg that one line went to Corson's Inlet and another line from Petersburg going to 51st in Ocean City (SPV) while the Delorme map states 12th street Pavilion as being the stop. Not sure which is correct here.

Sometimes it's actually a map glitch, as I've seen different maps with all kinds of errors on them. The ACRR line ran across the meadows and entered OC over the ICW more or less in line with 51st Street where the line curves to the NE.

The last line I see on both maps go into Atlantic City. One looks like it came in from Richland passing towns of Mizpah, Weymouth, Mays Landing, Cardiff and meeting up with another track (abandoned also) that headed to Pomerania to Brigantine Jct and to Cologne, etc. Was this passenger and freight? When did it go out?

Same thing here with the map glitches. The first line you refer to was the Newfield branch mentioned in an above post. It was a completely seperate line from the Brigantine Branch. The Turkey Path was the WJ&SS electrified line to AC from Newfield via the WJ&SS Millville main. The Brigantine Branch was a off shoot from the ACRR Atlantic City mainline and was abandoned in the early 1900's.

Also the was a trolley line (Shore Fast Line) that ran from Ocean City to Atlantic City, just to make things interesting on your maps.

W.L.

Thanks so much for the information. I guess trying to follow the tracks using two maps can be confusing. Especially if there are errors. Thanks for pointing out the mistakes. I hope some day to explore more down there.

I also noticed that there was a restaurant that had a passenger car on LBI. I noticed this in April. I was down there over the holiday weekend and noticed that it was gone but not for good, I believe. I was traveling on RT 9 North and ran across what I believe was the passenger car (ERIE) on some grassy area next to another restaurant. I noticed there were several box cars on the property. Was this the restaurant I saw on LBI? What is going on with these box cars and the coach? I believe it was just several miles up from the intersection of 72 and RT9.

I also happened to run across what looks to be like a train station that is for rent in RT9 South. I would assume it was a CNJ station?

Thanks again and pictures to follow.

Ken

NJ Vike wrote:W.L.
Thanks so much for the information.
Ken

Here's some shots of my weekend exploring of Southern NJ rails. It's sure nice to visit down there again. I wish I had more time to visit. I'll be going back real soon.

http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?bo ... 342;start=

I thought the cars in Rio Grande were supposed to be moved out of there after the fire they had in the cars earlier this year.

Some additions:
The "Atlantic City Railroad" book has a lot of information about the ex-Reading lines, and some about the ex-PRR lines.
The PRR (West Jersey & Seashore) from Newfield via Millville, Woodbine, Woodbine Jct., Sea Isle Jct. split there. South to the right went to Cape May via the junction for North Wildwood, etc. Straight ahead went slightly SouthEast to Sea Isle City where it split. South went to Avalon and Stone Harbor. I don't know if it connected with the Stone Harbor RR, which was allied with the Atlantic City RR (Reading). North, it went to Ocean City running up wide West Ave. It had a junction with the Shore Fast Line at 8th St. After the Atlantic City RR's Sea Isle City branch from Petersburg was abandoned about 1924, it's freight sidings in S. I. C. were connected to the PRR line. After the P-RSL consolidation in 1934, a wye was built at 51st St., Ocean City for access from the Reading to the remains of the PRR from there to points South towards S. I. C.
South of Atlantic City, most of the ex-PRR lines were abandoned. West of Atlantic City, most of the Reading was abandoned to Winslow Jct. The electric line between Newfield and Atlantic City, and the Shore Fast Line were mostly abandoned in stages. By the way, the SFL originally connected with the Atlantic City RR in Pleasantville, but was soon cut back to connect with what later became the electric line.
There was some swapping of terminals and routes in Atlantic City, some railroad lines became mostly trolley lines, and there was a competing trolley line from Atlantic City via Pleasantville to Somers Point called the Atlantic City & Suburban. It may have had a branch to Absecon. (The SFL was actually the Atlantic City & Shore!)
More branches are in Cape May, the Cape May Point branch of the Reading still exits, to the East, there is a wye and was a branch to Schellinger's Landing. The Cape May, Delaware Bay & Sewell's Point trolley line was allied with the Reading, who also had their name painted on the trolley freight locomotive, but the PRR sometimes shared trackage with the trolley to reach their summer station. Their winter station was not so close to the beach.
The Wildwood & Delaware Bay had a branch to Otten's harbor, and under P-RSL, the South end of the PRR to Cold Spring Harbor was connected to the end of the W&DB.
The Brigantine Beach RR was allied with the ACRR, and had a long trestle which was damaged very early in the 1900s. The Reading rescued marooned freight cars via car float, I don't know what happened to the double deck trolleys used for local service on the island.
Almost every place was served by both railroads. Often when one line was abandoned, a few sidings were connected to the other nearby line until the rest of the business stopped.
Another time we could talk about the complications North of Brigantine with the PRR, CNJ, NY&LB, Tuckerton, military railroads, and some trolleys on the railroad tracks.

This link is useful:
http://historical.maptech.com/

Problems, yes, along the Cape May Branch, but they may not be as insurmountable as the (mounting?) concern on this thread might suggest.

For our part, NJ-ARP will note that the problems are not primarily, or even necessarily, monetary in nature, contrary to understandable speculation of same.

The "loss" of July 4th weekend passenger operations is indeed lamentable, but hardly as catastrophic, viewed in the long term, as many might think.

CMSL service between Richland and Tuckahoe will resume Saturday July 22 and will run every Saturday till the end of the year, according to an announcement on the Richland Village, Buena Vista Township, webpage.

http://www.buenavistatownship.org/richland_village.htm