OLD SCHOOL BRANCH LINES IN NJ?

What is the status of branch lines in NJ? RR's now seem to be all containerized or distribution centers. Any old school branch lines left with lots of sidings being used?

The Southern Secondary (old CNJ Southern Div, from Red Bank west [south] to Lakewood) would qualify.

Not "lots" of sidings, but a few still in use. Two regular customers, with a few more sidings still connected.

It depends on how you define things, but I would say that the Conrail Irvington Branch (ex LV) would certainly qualify as a branch line with regular service and multiple customers. CSX Northern Branch is another one. And the NS Washington secondary would be another good candidate.

The M&E's Dover-Rockaway and Chester/High Bridge Branches still fit the rural, rustic branch line feel, with lots of grade crossings and regular customers along the line.

I guess the Freehold Industiral Track (old Freehold & Jamesburg PRR line) would also qualify. A few customers between Jamesburg and Freehold (history repeating itelf, maybe? This exact line opened in 1853). Kaback would know how many customers are still on line.

The portion of the Camden & Amboy / Amboy Secondary west (south) of Jamesburg, along with the Dayton Branch still have customers. The C&A between jamesburg and Brown's could almost be considered a "main line" now, feeding the FIT, the Dayton Br., and C&A south/west to Cranbury.

This is pretty easy to figure out on your own, with a little research.

Get a map of, or info on all rail lines in NJ. There used to one here on RR.net
Look at all the branchilnes.....If it doesn;t have passenger service, then there's a 99% chance it has local freight service. Just about every line in NJ that doesn't have freight or passenger service, was abandoned in the great CR sell or abandon-a-thon of the 1980's and 1990's. CR tried to get out of the carload freight biz, which, IMO, was stupid. They also actively tried to abandon as many team tracks as possible, due to urging from their legal dept. I'll save you my opinion of any company, other than a law firm, that is run by lawyers.

As for branchlines with a lot of sidings, you can forget that. Don;t forget, we don;t make anything in this country anymore.
about 90% of the active sidings in NJ in 1960, have been abandoned now. There's an average of about 2-3 customers per branchline today.

The line with the most freight traffic is probably the Chemical Coast, but I wouldn't consider it a branchline today....
It has road trains from Pt reading jct to Oak Island, a road train fromn OI to browns and back, and several on line yards....a lot of the industry is switched by on line yard jobs. A lot more activity than a typical branchline that has a local that runs from one end to the other.

Black River & Western has three primary customers, a liquefied petroleum gas distributor (in Three Bridges), a plastics manufacturer (in Flemongton) that receives raw material and a transload facility (in Ringoes) that receives lumber and electrical conduit. A concrete company is under construction (north of Flemington) and is expected to become an active customer. Now, if only a freight customer were to be recruited at Lambertville . . .

pdtrains wrote:Get a map of, or info on all rail lines in NJ. There used to one here on RR.net
Look at all the branchlines.....If it doesn;t have passenger service, then there's a 99% chance it has local freight service. Just about every line in NJ that doesn't have freight or passenger service, was abandoned in the great CR sell or abandon-a-thon of the 1980's and 1990's. CR tried to get out of the carload freight biz, which, IMO, was stupid. They also actively tried to abandon as many team tracks as possible.

NJDOT map

Would the Lackawanna branch to Greystone Manor State Hospital near Morristown, shared partly with trolley cars, be considered an old School Branch Line?

ALCOGG1 wrote:What is the status of branch lines in NJ? RR's now seem to be all containerized or distribution centers. Any old school branch lines left with lots of sidings being used?

What school has a branch line besides Princeton?