West Jersey and Seashore Railroad

On May 4, 1896, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) consolidated all its railroads and several smaller properties in southern New Jersey into the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S). This included the West Jersey Railroad, the Alloway and Quinton Railroad, the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, the Chelsea Branch Railroad, and the Philadelphia, Marlton and Medford Railroad. The consolidation was originally scheduled to occur in March 1896. But at a meeting held on March 21, it was agreed that there was not enough time given for proxy votes to arrive from stockholders who were not local to New Jersey; the deadline for proxies was then extended to April 6, 1896. Representatives of each of the constituent lines met on May 2, 1896, and all agreed to the merger, to become effective as soon as paperwork could be filed in Trenton. The WJ&S, as a subsidiary of the PRR, had two lines coming from its Federal Street Terminal in Camden: • The Main Line to Atlantic City and other shore points via Winslow Junction using trackage rights on ACRR's Cape May Branch to Woodbine Junction and its Cape May line to Ocean City, Wildwood, and Cape May. • The Millville Line via Woodbury to Milville and splitting off at Newfield to Atlantic City was electrified with 650 V DC third rail, and overhead wire. • A line branching off at Millville • Branches going to Salem and Deep Water Point from Woodbury and Bridgeton from Glassboro. On October 28, 1906, an accident in Atlantic City killed 53 people when a three-car train plunged off an open swing bridge. ==Predecessor railroads==

Camden and Atlantic Railroad locomotive John Lucas This railroad was granted its charter by the state of New Jersey on March 19, 1852. The line was built from Camden to Atlantic City via Berlin. In late June 1854, it was completed sans the drawbridge over the thoroughfare outside of Atlantic City; regular passenger service started on July 4, with more than 3,000 people carried on the first day. The line proved so popular that the rival gauge Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway, which was chartered in 1876, paralleled its mainline between Camden and Atlantic City. The railroad sent gangs of men to help fight a massive forest fire, that is estimated to have caused more than $200,000 () in damages, in May 1880 with the goal of preventing the fire from reaching Atlantic City. After some financial dealings in 1882 that may have involved bribery of a C&A clerk to obtain a list of stockholders, the PRR gained control of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad through its subsidiary West Jersey Railroad on January 1, 1883. The main line built and operated by the C&A remains in use in the 21st century for passenger service by PATCO and NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line. West Jersey Railroad The West Jersey Railroad (WJ) opened its books on March 29, 1853, subscribing $250,000 in capital. It was granted its charter by the state of New Jersey on February 5, 1853, Surveys of possible routes were made fairly quickly, and the directors of the company met on July 15, 1853, to select the route on which they would build. The line was then built in stages with the backing of the C&A from Camden to Glassboro. The first of the line using the abandoned right-of-way built by the Camden and Woodbury Railroad was opened on April 15, 1857; then the extension to Glassboro opened on April 1, 1861, and to Bridgeton on July 25, 1861. The line was completed in 1863. In that year the WJ directors decided to build a line to Bridgeton, New Jersey, and later build the line from Glassboro to Millville and Cape May. The right of way is now South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Operations Vineland Secondary freight rail line. The northern section is slated to become the light-rail Glassboro–Camden Line. Millville and Glassboro Railroad The Millville and Glassboro Railroad (M&G) was built by a group of Millville businessmen independently of the West Jersey Railroad. Chartered on March 9, 1859, and incorporated in March 1859, the M&G was completed and opened in October 1860. The M&G started to build a line from Millville to Cape May, but funds dried up and the line was not completed. It was merged into the West Jersey railroad on April 1, 1868. Cape May and Millville Railroad In 1863, a group of Cape May County investors was granted a charter by the state of New Jersey on March 9, 1863, to build the Cape May & Millville Railroad (CM&M). The first trains ran on August 23, 1863. Construction was completed in 1867, with the full line extending . Salem Railroad The it was incorporated on November 6, 1879, with construction starting the same month. Capital stock was valued at $500,000 () at $50 per share. The line was completed on June 16, 1880. This railroad was ultimately leased to the WJ. The PM&M had stops at Haddonfield, Freeman, Orchard, Springdale, Locust Grove, Cropwell, Marlton, Elmwood Road, Melrose, and Medford. All except Haddonfield, Marlton, and Medford were flag stops. Delaware River Railroad The Delaware River Railroad (DRR) was incorporated on February 20, 1873, as the Delaware Shore Railroad to build a line from Woodbury to Penns Grove. The line was opened in July 1876, but declared bankruptcy in January 1879 and reincorporated as the DRR. Conrail's Penns Grove Secondary operates along the right of way. ==Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines==

The Pennsylvania Railroad formally leased the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad on July 1, 1930. The Pennsylvania Railroad and Reading Company agreed on November 2, 1932, to merge their operations in southern New Jersey. The vehicle for this merger was the Atlantic City Railroad, a Reading subsidiary established in 1901. The company was renamed the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL), effective July 15, 1933, with two-thirds Pennsylvania and one-third Reading ownership. The Pennsylvania then assigned the lease of the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad to the new company. The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad continued to exist as a non-operating subsidiary and its assets were conveyed to Conrail in 1976. == See also ==