RR line from Camden to Toms River?

Hello, fellow railroaders!!! I'm asking if there was such a route which went from Camden to Toms River. The last time I looked at my map of South Jersey, I noticied o railroad ROW from Camden through Mt. Holly, and then onto Browns Mills, then it stopped. I believe this was another route which went throught he forest and into Ocean County, possibly into Toms River. Can anybody help me with this and what information is available about it.

The only link I can think of was Toms River to Winslow Junction. Doesn't meen that their whern't more, but its all I know of...

wanderer34 wrote:Hello, fellow railroaders!!! I'm asking if there was such a route which went from Camden to Toms River. The last time I looked at my map of South Jersey, I noticied o railroad ROW from Camden through Mt.Holly, and then onto Browns Mills, then it stopped. I believe this was another route which went throught he forest and into Ocean County, possibly into Toms River. Can anybody help me with this and what information is available about it.

Yessir... the Pennsy's Atlantic Division went all the way to Seaside Park (stopping of course at Tom's River) and then turning north to Bay Head.

For a map, go here.

The line in question was called the Philadelphia and Long Branch Railroad. It crossed Barnegat Bay and went into Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Lavallette, Mantoloking Borough, et al, and joined up with the New York & Long Branch RR at Bay Head.

I have a June, 1942 employee timetable for PRR Atlantic Region and PRSL. There were a couple of 6 day a week round-trips from Camden to the Shore and one on Sundays. The faster trip (I don't have tt in front of me), which I think was the one to the Coast in the a. m. return inland p. m. was the COMMODORE!
(Most of the action in this tt is on the PRSL, however.)

...and you could do a circle trip out of Philadelphia, if I remember stories I heard correctly...Phila to BayHead to South Amboy to Trenton to Phila. Philadelphia could also be Camden at that time. Or to Newark and back to Philly on the Main Line. i also heard that the round trip took 10 to 12 hours!

That line put the "junction" in Bay Head Junction

I wouldn't mind sometime seeing some more transit service across southern jersey, or at least a busway.

Lackawanna484 wrote:That line put the "junction" in Bay Head Junction

During a family roadtrip to Bay Head in early 80s we toured the station and the sign read "Bay Head Junction."

This is one line I wish was still around. It would make things so much easier to get from Pt. Pleasant Beach to Seaside and west across the bay!!

That's for sure! I was working in Seaside this summer and had to drive down there 5x a week! How I wished I could've taken a train. I always thought of bringin my bike and biking the 9 miles from Bayhead to Seaside but given all the Bennys on the road down there I decided against it.

Hahaa, Benny's!!!!

I wonder how many people here know what a Benny is, and are one to boot!?!??!?!?!

Off topic, I know, but sort of related - the summer Coast Line trains could be called the Benny Expresses!!!!

True...sorry if I offend(ed) anyone it's just my shore personality showing through. Interestingly enough if the line was reinstated to Seaside perhaps it could save some lives. I had an interesting conversation with a Benny lady this summer. She was telling me how bad people drive at the Shore. She told me this was due to locals who couldn't drive. I retorted by saying that there's only bad drivers in the summer when the Benny's are around...

Since "Benny" is rather affectionate (to a degree), I don't take offense. And yes, if the P&LB were still in place, you'd have a lot more transportation options. "Ride the new River LINE to the train to the shore!" comes to mind...

Of course, the taxi drivers would be out a lot of dough, what with not getting those big fares driving people up route 35 from Seaside to Bay Head to catch the last train due north...or to Toms River/Dover Township Bus Terminal to catch the 67, 137, 559 or other buses...

Elberon - no offense here either - i think its funny.....

Gotta love the tourists - and know one way and one way only to get from point A to point B!!! Follow a local, and we'll get ya from A to B ten times faster!!!

Living in Eastern Monmouth County as well, I know what you mean about the summer drivers, but there are plenty of local drivers who can't drive for squat all year round!!!!

What ever happened to the NYC or was it Bayonne ferry that was to go DIRECTLY to the Sandy Hook dock (probably in one of the original locations of the railroad terminals before they got kicked out by the Gov't and the CNJ was forced to build the terminal in Atlantic Highlands) Bring the tourists down, but leave the cars at home!!!!