A map of the C&A and other related railroads. The original C&A runs along the right side of the map. The Camden and Amboy Railroad (C&A) was a railroad operating in the early to middle 19th century in New Jersey, eventually part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. It is notable as the first railroad to be built in New Jersey, and it is also the railroad that first purchased and operated the oldest surviving operable steam locomotive in the world today, the John Bull.
History The C&A was chartered on February 4, 1830, on the same day as the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The main line from Camden to South Amboy was completed by 1834. Ferry service at the ends connected to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York.
An act passed February 15, 1831 authorized the consolidation of the stock of the C&A and the D&R Canal. The joint companies bought a majority of the stock of the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad in 1836; this would allow a second New York-Philadelphia route in conjunction with the Trenton Branch and the New Jersey Railroad.
The Trenton Branch was soon built, from Bordentown to Trenton in 1837_1838 and Trenton to New Brunswick, connecting with the New Jersey Railroad, 1837-1839. This branch was built alongside the Delaware and Raritan Canal from north of Bordentown through downtown Trenton to Kingston, where it left the canal and went northeast to New Brunswick.
Around 1865, the curvy alignment next to the canal was realigned from downtown Trenton to what is now Monmouth Junction, northeast of Kingston. The old alignment was abandoned from a point in northeast Trenton to Kingston. A new branch was built from Princeton Junction to Princeton, since the new alignment no longer served Princeton. The stub end in northeast Trenton was later connected to the mainline by the Millham Branch in 1876, after the merger into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company. A branch to Florence was built in 1871_1872.
On June 1, 1870, the C&A leased the Rocky Hill Railroad.
Construction Although the first locomotives purchased by the C&A arrived in the middle of 1831, the construction efforts were largely carried out by horse-drawn carriages. The railroad was opened between its namesake cities in New Jersey in 1833. At this time, the railroad pulled its locomotives, including number 1, the Stevens (later to be known as John Bull), for regular service.
Demise The C&A was merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad-owned United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company on May 18, 1872, along with the Delaware and Raritan Canal and New Jersey Railroad.
The line today The original alignment and the Trenton Branch from Pavonia Yard in Camden to Trenton is now Conrail's Bordentown Secondary. The rest of the Trenton Branch is now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. The original line from Bordentown to Robbinsville is Conrail's Robbinsville Industrial Track. Track has been removed from Robbinsville to Hightstown; the rest of the line to South Amboy is Conrail's Hightstown Branch (south of Jamesburg) and Amboy Secondary.
The Princeton Branch is still used by New Jersey Transit for freight. The old alignment in Trenton is still used for freight; the old alignment from Kingston to Monmouth Junction has been removed. The Florence Branch still exists.
External links - History of the Camden & Amboy (http://jcrhs.org/camden&amboy.html)
References
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