Railroad

[popeofthepines]

I know this subject matter is throughout the threads already posted but I dont think I have seen one concerning the number of trestles in the Pine Barrens. I have found somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 trestles including the one over rt 30 and rt 72. The railroad seems to have less interaction with water below Chatsworth than in Wharton itself. I was curious which ones people have found besides the ones I have found.
1. Over rt30
2. Over albertsons branch
3. Near Pasadena
4. atsion
5. Hampton crossing batsto river
6. Over Rt 72

Are there any in the parker preserve itself?
Thanks

 

[LARGO]

Don't know what you are counting for trestles but regarding the J.C.,
If you just were to start after it begins hugging the Fleming pike after... Winslow Junction you could consider the one over RT 30. ( Gangly looking thing ). Then on to your Albertson Branch Trestle just east of Iron Mill.
I have a couple pics posted from the trestle. I had a walkabout with my little one Sunday along the J.C.
Next would be right over the Clark Branch just where it has confluence with the Price Branch. Basically into Parkdale. (this is one of two crusty buggers)
Then on to the one over the Sleeper Branch. You are just East of the Fleming Pike and kind of behind Dutchtown now.
Then over 206 you get to your Atsion Trestle. (far too civilized compared to the others I mention here)
Now, to enjoy the Clark & Sleeper trestles from land, depending on where you come from, you will not drive right to them. there is a little jump of the Fleming pike that if you are walking forces you to use the trestle.
These two are not in the best of shape and even the passage repair efforts of bike enthusiasts while admirable are bandaids at best. I find that on my Quad ( yes that dirty word ) it's a do but you sweat missing two railroad ties at a clip. and just carrying my little one while walking, it's an interesting balance on the track Vs. a hop over the missing ties.
Ah well, my ramblings over these only really bought you (2) over real water but 2 more all the same. My universe being so small I guess I just don't care much about past Atsion.
My youth in Elm will always have me loving the Albertson Trestle when as a kid in the 70's I walked over it when trains still crossed it.

 

[popeofthepines]

well I felt I found most of them and I think I have as I mentioned in my post but was curious about this part of the Pine Barrens. I found rt30 and then the Albertson Branch, my buddy lives off of Pestletown.
I found the one in Parkdale. I stupidly typed Pasadena. That is a crusty bridge and has those planks/particle board across to help ease the walking over the bridge. You can get to it driving up along the tracks off of Chew road, follow that back until you come to a fork, make a left then a right. This will go down for approx 2-3 miles and then it will go straight or left. Straight will take you to the bridge. Unless this is a different bridge? But the trail to parkdale is close by.
The sleeper branch I am unfamiliar with. Is this off the trail across from the old Wagon wheel now Nina's restaurant? I have been back there and actually stuck on the tracks because I decided to try and drive over them versus going around. Yes stupid I know.
The Atsion bridge I mentioned and that is an easy find off of the trail across from the lake or off of Quaker Bridge.
Thanks for the info

 

[Ben Ruset]

The railroad seems to have less interaction with water below Chatsworth than in Wharton itself.

Heh, I can think of one time that the RR had a pretty nasty interaction with water at Chatsworth.

 

[LARGO]

I knew what you meant regarding Pasadena/Parkdale. It was easy to envision you headed North on the tracks. It wasn't stupid, just a little misprint. Get to The Clark Branch bridge, lose your vehicle, walk North & you'll cross the Sleeper.

G.

 

[bobpbx]

It has to cross the West Branch of the Wading in the Parker Preserve but I think we proved on a hike it is missing. Guy would know for sure. He has a memory where mine fails me. It also must cross part of the Toms at Lakehurst. The pines area is often hard to define, but Lakehurst is classically piney land.

 

[Teegate]

Did you know each of those bridges have numbers assigned to them? Anyway, in the Parker Preserve you have "Bridge 74" which is the bridge that Union Lake (Chatsworth Lake) drains into. This is the bridge that washed out in the storm that caused the Blue Comet crash.

There are also a few small ones between Atsion and the Batsto River that you can access from the road to Hampton Furnace from 206.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

It has to cross the West Branch of the Wading in the Parker Preserve but I think we proved on a hike it is missing. Guy would know for sure. He has a memory where mine fails me. It also must cross part of the Toms at Lakehurst. The pines area is often hard to define, but Lakehurst is classically piney land.

There was not a bridge there. DeMarco just dug that. Bridge 74 is just up the tracks.

Guy

 

[popeofthepines]

Heh, I can think of one time that the RR had a pretty nasty interaction with water at Chatsworth.

Yes I have read of the Blue Comet crash and how much rain there was that night.

 

[popeofthepines]

I knew what you meant regarding Pasadena/Parkdale. It was easy to envision you headed North on the tracks. It wasn't stupid, just a little misprint. Get to The Clark Branch bridge, lose your vehicle, walk North & you'll cross the Sleeper.

G.

Thanks for the infromation

Kevin

 

[popeofthepines]

Did you know each of those bridges have numbers assigned to them? Anyway, in the Parker Preserve you have "Bridge 74" which is the bridge that Union Lake (Chatsworth Lake) drains into. This is the bridge that washed out in the storm that caused the Blue Comet crash.

There are also a few small ones between Atsion and the Batsto River that you can access from the road to Hampton Furnace from 206.

Guy

Hey thanks for the information. I have found what i thought were most of the ones between Atsion and Chatsworth but I was wrong. I knew there had to be more out there and have to just get out there and explore more without the vehicle lol

 

[Teegate]

Check out the barrier you can see in the far distance in the photo. DeMarco built that to keep ATV's from getting on his property. Also, check out the bridge work. They repaired that in record time and you can see how they supported the ground around the bridge.

Guy

 

[daved]

I was wondering how many rail lines run through the pines? At winslow junction there is 3 lines 1 along the road and 2 that cross the road. Also in the caboose next to the road it appears that somebody is living in it.

 

[Jerseyman]

daved:

There were once many more railroads that traversed the Pines than exist today. The earliest was the Delaware & Atlantic Railroad, which operated between Browns Point (Roebling) and near Hanover Furnace. Plans called for the line to be extended to a deepwater port on the coast, but the panic of 1837 killed the project. The Pennsylvania Railroad's "Back Road" left the Camden & Burlington County Railroad at Birmingham and went almost tangentially across the state to the state through Browns Mills, Whitings, and Toms River before arriving at Seaside Park and turning north to Bayhead. The Central Railroad of New Jersey's route began life as the Raritan & Delaware Bay between Port Monmouth and Atsion. From Atsion south, the Vineland Railway constructed the route to Bayside. The line goes down through Winslow Junction. At one time a branch connected the Raritan & Delaware Bay with the Camden & Atlantic Railroad. This branch, known as the Batsto Branch, ran between Atsion and Jackson Junction, or, as we know it today, Atco. The original plans for the Batsto Branch did, indeed, call for it to end in Batsto, but the R&DB never completed the line between Atsion and Batsto. The Camden & Atlantic, which runs through Winslow Junction, began operations in 1854 and today serves as the main rail route between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. The former Atlantic City Railroad also runs through Winslow Junction and provides access to the route to Cape May County. At one time the Atlantic City Railroad ran in direct competition with the Camden & Atlantic. The West Jersey Railroad's Newfield Branch went between its namesake and Atlantic City, providing service to many of the Jewish settlements in Atlantic County. The Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad ran between Atco and Mullica Hill. And there were others--both built and projected. A line once ran between Mays Landing and Egg Harbor City and Weymouth once had a private tramway between its works and Mays Landing for shipping and receiving freight by water. The line even had a passenger car in the form of an old horsecar. Another route went from Ewansville to Vincentown. I think if all the lines planned had been built, the Pinelands of today would be unrecognizable.

Please let me know if I can answer any additional questions.

Jerseyman

 

[Jerseyman]

To give you a better idea of the number of lines built and planned through the Pinelands, I have scanned and uploaded a map from John Brinckmann's book, The Tuckerton Railroad. You can view that from the Gallery page.

Jerseyman

 

[daved]

Thanks for the info jerseyman. The one that ran to seaside I believe where it crossed the bay is where the pier now stands on 14th ave. I believe the last street in seaside park before you enter berkley. My father as a very pic of the train at a station in seaside park.

 

[Jerseyman]

Did you know each of those bridges have numbers assigned to them? Anyway, in the Parker Preserve you have "Bridge 74" which is the bridge that Union Lake (Chatsworth Lake) drains into. This is the bridge that washed out in the storm that caused the Blue Comet crash.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/693-2/IMG_5692.jpg

Guy:

The "number" assigned to each bridge corresponds to mileage. While the point of origination for mileage changed once or twice during the history of the line, the most recent point of origination was the Central Railroad of New Jersey terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. However, the bridge numbers on the route corrrespond to the original point of origination, New York, and the Raritan & Delaware Bay Railroad route that began in Port Monmouth, New Jersey. At that time, New York City was mile point "O" and Port Monmouth was set at 20 miles. That is why Bridge 74 falls within a set of line-side mile markers running in the 80s.

For clarification purposes, the deluge that wrecked The Blue Comet on 19 October 1939 did wash out Bridge 74, but the loss of that bridge did not precipitate the derailment. The wreck occurred when the sandy right-of-way north or east of the bridge washed out.

Jerseyman

 

[LARGO]

O.k.,
Numbered bridges/trestles, cool.... I'll play dumb here
( not hard for me in this case)
Are these #'s just on maps or records or are they actually somewhere on the bridges like signposts along the way?

 

[Jerseyman]

At one time, all of the bridges had painted/stenciled numbers applied to them. Sometimes on the retaining walls and sometimes on the girder or stringer, depending on the bridge style. You can often find the remnants of these numbers on the bridge. They might be white numbers on a black background or black numbers on a white background.

Jerseyman

 

[Teegate]

Guy:



For clarification purposes, the deluge that wrecked The Blue Comet on 19 October 1939 did wash out Bridge 74, but the loss of that bridge did not precipitate the derailment. The wreck occurred when the sandy right-of-way north or east of the bridge washed out.

Jerseyman

Yes, I read the report and was able to measure off using a tape measure and found the exact point that the rails separated and it derailed. The distance was exactly at a connection of the rail as one might expect. The bridge was much further up the line from that location.


Thanks for the info.

Guy