Williamstown Railroad
| Company type | Railroad company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Defunct | 1883 |
| Fate | Reorganized as Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad under Philadelphia and Reading Railroad management |
| Headquarters | Williamstown, New Jersey , United States |
Area served | New Jersey |
The Williamstown Railroad was established as a rail company in 1861 and began service in 1874, operating between Williamstown, New Jersey and Atco, New Jersey. It formed a connection with the Camden and Atlantic Railroad at Atco. In 1883, the railroad came under the management of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, which reorganized it as the Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad. Eventually, its route became part of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, with sections abandoned between 1934 and 1942.
History
The Williamstown Railroad was officially incorporated on March 13, 1861, with initial plans to run from Williamstown, New Jersey to a junction with either the Camden and Atlantic Railroad or the Millville and Glassboro Railroad. A supplemental charter issued in 1866 permitted expansion westward toward the Delaware River near Penns Grove, New Jersey. Although construction had not commenced by 1870, surveys and capital raising efforts were in progress. By 1871, Samuel Garwood and John F. Bodine, proprietors of a glass manufacturing operation in Williamstown, propelled construction forward to support their enterprise. The company completed a rail segment connecting Williamstown to Atco, New Jersey, where it linked with the Camden and Atlantic line; this section opened in October 1872. Grading extended westward from Williamstown toward Glassboro, New Jersey, but rails were only installed up to Robanna, located west of Williamstown, where construction halted.
Under Bodine’s dual role as president and superintendent, freight charges were set advantageously for the glassworks, resulting in operations that nearly broke even financially. The Camden & Atlantic acquired a majority of the railroad’s bonds, presumably at reduced prices. In 1877, the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway constructed a crossing at P&AC Junction (later known as Williamstown Junction), situated approximately west of Atco. By November 1881, Bodine’s glass business had declined concurrently with the railroad entering bankruptcy proceedings. On July 1, 1882, Bodine sold his ownership stake in the glassworks to Garwood and Charles E. Thomas.
Control passed to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in October 1883, which reorganized the company as the Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad and completed the extension reaching Glassboro. The Reading-operated Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway intersected at Williamstown Junction; following its standard gauge conversion in 1884, the strategic significance of the Williamstown branch diminished. The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines eventually discontinued service on the segment between Williamstown and Williamstown Junction in 1934 and later abandoned the stretch from Williamstown Junction to Atco in 1942.
References
- Acts of the Eighty-Fifth Legislature of the State of New Jersey, James S. Yard, Freehold, New Jersey, 1861
- Acts of the Ninetieth Legislature of the State of New Jersey, Chiswell & Wurts, Paterson, New Jersey, 1866
- Cook, W. George; Coxey, William J. Atlantic City Railroad, Crusader Press, Ambler, Pennsylvania, 1980
- Coverdale & Colpitts (1946)
- Coxey, William J.; Kranefeld, James E. The Reading Seashore Lines: A Pictorial Documentary of the Atlantic City Railroad, West Jersey Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Palmyra, New Jersey, 2007
- Hilton Narrow Gauge