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  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey

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 #1543869  by CharlieL
 
The old Farmingdale-Squan Village railroad, I seem to remember hearing of an accident between the above named in the 1930s in which a locomotive hit a washout in a swampy stretch, and turned over. Supposedly the engineer and/or fireman were killed. Has anyone any information on this? Of course, it would have been Pennsy at the time.
 #1544567  by GSC
 
I have an article on it somewhere. There was indeed a washout about a mile east of Hurley Pond Road. The engine crew died after the locomotive rolled over, and many people were injured, and had to walk or be carried out to the road during a raging rainstorm. The first car, a combine, derailed and also rolled over and the coach following stayed on the rails. The wreck happened on June 10, 1940. The train was eastbound for Long Branch.
https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/10/arch ... ie-as.html
 #1544573  by GSC
 
Interesting that this line, the entire Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural RR, was once so busy it was planned to double-track the entire line. A few passing sidings were built instead. This was the only way (then) to get from Philadelphia, Camden, and Trenton, to Long Branch, until the line from Camden through Whiting, Toms River, Seaside, then to Bay Head was opened in 1881 (Philadelphia & Long Branch RR). It was also used as an emergency route after the trestles over Barnegat Bay and Matawan burned within days of each other in 1946. NY&LB (both PRR and CNJ) trains ran from Red Bank to Sea Girt, then through Farmingdale and Freehold to Jamesburg and then to South Amboy. Trains from Matawan ran south to Freehold and then west on the F&JA to Jamesburg. No way to do such an operation today, with lines disconnected or abandoned.