The impetus for the Camden and Atlantic Railroad came from
Jonathan Pitney, a physician in
Absecon, New Jersey, who believed that
Absecon Island would be a desirable destination given good transportation. Pitney was able, with other South Jersey investors, to obtain a charter from the state in 1852. The new company was incorporated on March 19, 1852. Construction began in December 1852. The western end of the line was in
Camden, New Jersey, at
Cooper's Point on the
Delaware River. Service to
Atlantic City began on July 4, 1854, although at first passengers had to transfer to a ferry pending the completion of a drawbridge. The new line was long. Its station in Camden was less than a mile north of the
Camden and Amboy Railroad's, and it crossed the C&A
main line within Camden. Although South Jersey was relatively unpopulated east of
Berlin, New Jersey, the construction of the railroad encouraged growth, particularly in Atlantic City. Although the Camden and Atlantic's charter authorized various branches, only one was built before 1881. This was the
Atsion branch, built under contract by the
Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad. This line connected the Camden and Atlantic's main line (at
Atco), with the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad's
main line at
Atsion. The line was never conveyed to the Camden and Atlantic because of a legal dispute with the Camden and Amboy. The company gained its first direct competitor in 1876, with the founding of the
Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway. Among its directors were several former Camden and Atlantic directors. The new company completed a
narrow gauge line between Camden and Atlantic City in 1877. A third emerged in 1880 with the opening of the
West Jersey and Atlantic Railroad's line via
Newfield. In 1883, the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad took control of the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway, while the
Pennsylvania Railroad took control of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad. Between 1881 and 1891 the company constructed a branch totaling . This line ran primarily on Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City, from
Longport to
Absecon Inlet. It leased the
Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad in 1885; the company owned a branch line between
Haddonfield and
Medford. It also operated the
Chelsea Branch Railroad, whose small branch within Atlantic City provided another connection between the Camden and Atlantic main line and the branch on Atlantic Avenue. In 1890, passenger service in Camden was consolidated at the Pennsylvania Railroad's terminal on Federal Street. On February 8, 1896, the Camden and Atlantic was consolidated with the Chelsea Branch Railroad,
Alloway and Quinton Railroad,
West Jersey Railroad, West Jersey and Atlantic Railroad, and Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad to form the
West Jersey and Seashore Railroad. == Notes ==