Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad

West Jersey and Seashore Railroad

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Rail transport
Predecessor	West Jersey Railroad, Alloway and Quinton Railroad, Camden and Atlantic Railroad, Chelsea Branch Railroad, Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad
Founded	May 4, 1896 (1896-05-04)
Defunct	1976 (1976)
Fate	Assets absorbed by Conrail
Headquarters	Camden , United States
Area served	New Jersey, Philadelphia connection
Parent	Pennsylvania Railroad (lease 1930), Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (lease 1933)

The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a railway system in New Jersey that connected to Philadelphia. Established in May 1896 by merging multiple smaller railroads, it operated 379 miles of routes over 717 miles of track by 1925, reporting freight traffic of 166 million ton-miles and passenger travel amounting to 332 million passenger-miles that same year. The Pennsylvania Railroad took over operations under lease in 1930, with the lease subsequently passing to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. Eventually, its holdings were integrated into Conrail in 1976.

History

On May 4, 1896, the Pennsylvania Railroad unified its southern New Jersey rail assets into the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad. This consolidation encompassed the West Jersey Railroad, Alloway and Quinton Railroad, Camden and Atlantic Railroad, Chelsea Branch Railroad, and Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad. Although initially scheduled for March, the merger was postponed until early May due to proxy voting deadlines.

Functioning as a subsidiary of PRR, WJ&S operated two principal routes originating from its Federal Street Terminal located in Camden:

• The Main Line extending to Atlantic City through Winslow Junction, utilizing trackage rights on the Atlantic City Railroad’s Cape May Branch to Woodbine Junction and continuing on its Cape May line servicing Ocean City, Wildwood, and Cape May.
• The electrified Millville Line running via Woodbury to Millville, with a branch at Newfield heading toward Atlantic City; this line employed a 650 V DC third rail combined with overhead wire electrification.

Additional branch lines provided service to Millville; Salem and Deep Water Point from Woodbury; and Bridgeton from Glassboro.

A tragic accident occurred on October 28, 1906, when a three-car train derailed off an open swing bridge in Atlantic City, resulting in the loss of 53 lives.

Camden and Atlantic Railroad

Incorporated by New Jersey on March 19, 1852, the Camden and Atlantic Railroad constructed a route connecting Camden to Atlantic City via Berlin. The line was completed by late June 1854, with regular passenger operations commencing on July 4—transporting more than 3,000 passengers on opening day. Its success led to competition from the narrow-gauge Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway, chartered in 1876, which paralleled its main route.

During May 1880, crews from this railroad actively fought a significant forest fire threatening Atlantic City that caused damages exceeding $200,000. Following financial strategies in 1882—allegedly involving illicit means to obtain shareholder information—the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), through its subsidiary West Jersey Railroad, assumed control of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad effective January 1, 1883.

The original main line remains in use today for passenger transit via PATCO Speedline and NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Line.

West Jersey Railroad

The West Jersey Railroad (WJ) originated with an initial capital subscription of $250,000 on March 29, 1853. Chartered by New Jersey on February 5 that year, its purpose was to build a rail connection from Camden to Cape May. By May 17, stock subscriptions increased total capital to $450,000. After conducting route surveys, company directors selected the final alignment on July 15, 1853. Construction proceeded incrementally with support from the Camden and Amboy Railroad (C&A), opening the first segment of 8.2 miles along the former Camden and Woodbury Railroad right-of-way on April 15, 1857. Extensions reached Glassboro by April 1, 1861, followed by Bridgeton by July 25 of that year.

Completed by 1863, the WJ extended service toward Bridgeton while planning further expansions from Glassboro to Millville and Cape May. Presently, this corridor is part of the South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Operations’ Vineland Secondary freight line. The northern portion is slated for redevelopment as the Glassboro–Camden light-rail transit route.

Millville and Glassboro Railroad

Chartered and incorporated in March 1859 by local entrepreneurs from Millville, the Millville and Glassboro Railroad (M&G) was an independently constructed 22-mile route that commenced operations in October 1860. It is famously noted that Charles K. Landis, the founder of Vineland, is said to have discovered the region while traveling this line in 1861. The M&G planned an extension toward Cape May but ceased progress due to insufficient capital. On April 1, 1868, it was absorbed into the West Jersey Railroad.

Cape May and Millville Railroad

In 1863, investors from Cape May County secured a New Jersey charter to establish the Cape May & Millville Railroad (CM&M). The railroad began service on August 23, 1863, with construction finalized by 1867, covering a distance of . The CM&M was leased to the West Jersey Railroad (WJ) in 1869 and was fully consolidated into WJ on August 27, 1879.

Salem Railroad

The Salem Railroad, which was chartered on March 14, 1856, connected Elmer with Salem, New Jersey. Completed in 1863, it was leased to the West Jersey Railroad starting January 1, 1868, and fully merged into WJ by January 1, 1888.

Swedesboro Railroad

Chartered on February 23, 1866, the Swedesboro Railroad stretched from Woodbury to Swedesboro. Construction began in 1867; it was leased to WJ on August 17, 1869, opened on September 11, 1869, and ultimately merged into WJ on January 1, 1888.

Woodstown and Swedesboro Railroad

The Woodstown and Swedesboro Railroad received its charter on March 21, 1871, and commenced operations on February 23, 1873. It was leased to the West Jersey Railroad effective January 1, 1883, and merged into WJ by January 1, 1888.

At the request of agricultural stakeholders in Woodstown, WJ constructed a connecting track from the Swedesboro Railroad terminus to Riddleton Junction on the Salem Railroad. This link was completed in February 1883 after beginning construction on January 21, 1882, providing WJ with two separate routes into Salem.

Maurice River Railroad

Created by the West Jersey Railroad to tap into the lucrative Delaware Bay oyster trade, the Maurice River Railroad was incorporated on June 17, 1887. This nearly ten-mile line ran from Manumuskin to Maurice River and was finished by November 1 of the same year. The railroad was merged into WJ on January 1, 1888.

West Jersey and Atlantic Railroad

Under Pennsylvania Railroad oversight in 1879, the West Jersey constructed a rail line connecting Newfield to Atlantic City through Mays Landing. Incorporated on November 6, 1879, with $500,000 capital stock divided into $50 shares, construction started immediately. The entire route of approximately 34.2 miles opened by June 16, 1880 and was subsequently leased to WJ.

The segment between Newfield and Mays Landing was abandoned on December 31, 1958; service from Mays Landing to McKee City ceased on August 18, 1966. In a later development during 2003, part of this track from Egg Harbor Township to Mays Landing was repurposed as the Atlantic County Bikeway rail trail.

Philadelphia Marlton and Medford Railroad

Incorporated in January of 1880 with construction beginning that April, this railroad started running trains between Haddonfield and Marlton by July of the following year. Service extended to Medford on October 11, 1881. By January 1885 operations were managed by the Camden and Atlantic Railroad before becoming part of the Medford Branch under the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad. Passenger service ended September 24, 1927; the branch officially closed November 2, 1931.

The Philadelphia Marlton and Medford line included stops at Haddonfield, Freeman, Orchard, Springdale, Locust Grove, Cropwell, Marlton, Elmwood Road, Melrose, and Medford; among these stations only Haddonfield, Marlton and Medford were regular stops while others operated as flag stops.

Delaware River Railroad

Originally incorporated on February 20, 1873, under the name Delaware Shore Railroad, the company was established to construct a rail line connecting Woodbury and Penns Grove. This route commenced operations in July 1876 but faced financial failure by January 1879, leading to its reorganization as the Delaware River Railroad (DRR). Subsequently, on April 30, 1900, the DRR was acquired by the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad. Presently, Conrail operates the former right of way as part of its Penns Grove Secondary line.

Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines

The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad entered into a lease agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad on July 1, 1930. Later, on November 2, 1932, a consolidation was arranged between the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company to combine their southern New Jersey rail services via the Atlantic City Railroad—a Reading subsidiary established in 1901. This merger resulted in the creation of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL), effective July 15, 1933, with ownership divided as two-thirds Pennsylvania Railroad and one-third Reading Company. The Pennsylvania Railroad transferred its lease of the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad to PRSL. Although the West Jersey and Seashore remained a non-operating entity for some time, its assets were ultimately absorbed by Conrail in 1976.

See also

• 1896 Atlantic City rail crash
• 1906 Atlantic City train wreck
• Central Railroad of New Jersey
• Glassboro station
• New Jersey Southern Railroad
• Railroad electrification in the United States
• Reading Company

External links

• The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society
• The West Jersey Chapter of the NRHS