Raritan River Railroad
From Railroad Depot
| Raritan River Railroad | |
|---|---|
| Reporting marks | RRRR |
| Locale | |
| Dates of operation | 1888 – 1981 (present) |
| Successor line | Conrail |
| Headquarters | South Amboy, NJ |
Contents |
[edit] The Beginning
The Raritan River Railroad (RRRR) began operating in 1888 and grew to the final size of 12.6 miles in 1917. The 12.6 mile mainline ran from South Amboy to New Brunswick. During World War I, the railroad carried approximately 9000 troops to munitions plants in Parlin and Gillepsie. Passenger service was terminated in 1938, having dwindled from a twenty car train to a two car train. The RRRR once owned 14 Baldwin steam locomotives, which were replaced by six government Lima engines during WWII. These were finally replaced in 1954 by six EMD SW900's. The line's rolling stock consisted of (in 1974) five cabooses (ex New Haven), one crane, one gondola, and one box car, all of which were rehabilitated in 1969. In the summer of 1969, the famed Metroliner was pulled over RRRR tracks to a railroad exhibition in Milltown. There were two interchanges, one in Sayreville with the Camden and Amboy (later PRR, PC, and CR), and the other with the New York and Long Branch (NY&LB) at South Amboy. The RRRR did 60% of it's freight interchange with the CNJ, and most of the drilling and classification at Sayreville Jct. The RRRR handled a freight volume of five to six thousand cars a year. The total trackage owned and operated by the RRRR was 18 miles, serving many industries along the Raritan River. There was even a hand operated movable bridge across the South River at East Brunswick.
[edit] Shared Assets
The color scheme of the line's SW900s was a red locomotive with a gray stripe bearing the RRRR logo, as seen at the top of this page. The steam locomotives were lettered Raritan River on the tenders with the number below the cab. Ownership was shared by nearby Class I railroads but operations were conducted by local management in a store front type building in South Amboy at 170 John Street, just around the corner from the NY&LB passenger station. Since it's owner railroads went into Conrail on April 1, 1976, the RRRR stayed around a while, but was pulled into the Big Blue Giant in 1981 with the little office on John Street boarded over.
[edit] The Conrail Years
Conrail performed many modifications to the RRRR Mainline during it's reign of power. The line was cut back from South Amboy to Parlin. To accomodate interchanges, Conrail constructed the Gillepsie Branch, linking Browns Yard in Sayreville to the mainline in South River, just before the movable bridge. The line was (and is still) named the Sayreville Running Track. The RRRR's SW900s 1-6 became Conrail 8658-8663.
[edit] The Present
The RRRR Mainline is still very active and used by CSX and Norfolk Southern. It has since been cut back from New Brunswick to East Brunswick/ New Brunswick border with the current terminus being at the Route 1 overpass near Rutgers University's Cook Campus. The last active customer on the line is Silverline Windows, which receives carloads two days a week. There are also several other industries in East Brunswick, Sayreville, and Parlin. The RRRR's East Brunswick Branch, which connected with the mainline near Harts Lane in East Brunswick has been disconnected from the mainline. What's left of the branch terminates across Route 18 at Mid-State Mall in East Brunswick. The RRRR's Serviss Branch, which served industries along the South River still exists for several miles, but this too has been disconnected from the mainline.
