Alloway and Quinton Railroad
| Company type | Railroad company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | July 1891 |
| Defunct | May 1896 |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | New Jersey |
The Alloway and Quinton Railroad was a rail enterprise incorporated in New Jersey in July 1891. Construction commenced in October of the same year on a track linking the Salem Railroad at Alloway Junction with Quinton Township, which became operational by December 1891. From the outset, the line was managed by the West Jersey Railroad. In May 1896, it consolidated with the West Jersey and several other railroads to create the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad, an entity within the Pennsylvania Railroad network that served Atlantic City.
Under the operation of West Jersey and Seashore, this route was known as the Quinton Branch and included three stops: Alloway Junction, Alloway, and Quinton. The Quinton station was equipped with a milk platform alongside a dedicated freight depot. The branch’s main freight client was the Quinton Glass Company, which transitioned from waterborne to rail transportation following the branch’s inauguration. Additionally, the line transported dairy products and agricultural goods.
Service initially featured four daily round trips between Alloway Junction and Quinton, excluding Sundays. Later schedules extended service from Salem to Quinton and added an extra trip on Saturdays. Because Quinton lacked facilities to turn locomotives, engines operated in reverse for one segment of the journey. This operational limitation played a role in the branch’s sole major accident on September 18, 1914, when a train derailed at a switch near Alloway’s gravel pit, leading to the death of the locomotive fireman.
Passenger operations ceased on April 29, 1928, following the shutdown of the Quinton Glass Company and diminishing farm traffic increasingly diverted by improved roadways during the 1930s. In September 1940, heavy flooding inflicted significant damage to infrastructure, including destruction of the station and a trestle spanning Alloway Creek. The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, which succeeded West Jersey and Seashore, requested abandonment of the line in April 1941; although this request was later retracted, the branch was ultimately dismantled within that year.