The Pemberton Branch is a railway line in the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. At its fullest extent it ran from Pavonia, near Camden, to Pemberton Township. The current line runs from a junction with the

Atlantic City Line The Atlantic City Line (ACL) is a commuter rail line operated by NJ Transit (NJT) in the United States between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey, operating along the corridor of the White Horse Pike. It runs over trackage ...

Pennsauken Township Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 202 ...

to Mount Holly. The line was built by the Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company and its successor the Camden and Burlington County Railroad between 1863 and 1867. It eventually became part of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

's network and is now owned by

Conrail Shared Assets Operations Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) is the commonly used name for modern-day Conrail (reporting mark CRCX), an American railroad company. It operates three networks, the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Are ...

History

The Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad and Transportation Company completed its original line between Burlington, and Mount Holly on June 18, 1849. At the northern end, the line connected with the main line of the

Camden and Amboy Railroad The Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, usually shortened to the Camden and Amboy Railroad (C&A), was a railway company in New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1830 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest r ...

. On January 1, 1863, the company built another east to Pemberton Township. The Burlington and Mount Holly Railroad was consolidated with the Camden, Moorestown, Hainesport and Mount Holly Horse Car Railroad on May 2, 1866, to form the Camden and Burlington County Railroad. The new company built west from Mount Holly to Pavonia (near Camden), also on the Camden and Amboy's main line. This extension was completed on October 21, 1867, at which point the Camden and Amboy leased the Camden and Burlington County Railroad. The Pemberton and Hightstown Railroad built north from Pemberton to

Hightstown Hightstown is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nestled within the Raritan Valley region, Hightstown is an historic, commercial, and cultural hub of Central New Jersey, along with being a diverse outer-ring commuter ...

, between 1867 and 1868. Between 1870 and 1871, the Pemberton and New York Railroad built a line that branched off from the Camden and Burlington County Railroad's line just west of Pemberton and ran east to Whitings. This line reached the Atlantic coast in 1881 under the Philadelphia and Long Branch Railway. The Camden and Amboy was consolidated with two other companies in 1872 to create the

United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a United States–based railroad company established in 1872. It was formed by the consolidation of three existing companies: the Camden and Amboy Railroad, Delaware and Raritan Can ...

, which was leased by the

. The Pennsylvania Railroad assumed the lease of the Camden and Burlington County Railroad. The line between Pavonia and Pemberton became the Pemberton Branch, while the line from Mount Holly to Burlington became the Burlington Branch. Passenger service on the line ended on April 25, 1969. The line was conveyed to

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

in 1976 following the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

's bankruptcy. Conrail abandoned the section between Pavonia and Pennsauken in 1981 and between Pemberton and Mount Holly in February 1982.

owns the remaining portion between Pennsauken and Mount Holly, which it calls the Pemberton Industrial Track.

Notes

References

* * * * {{cite book , title=Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 , year=1975 , author=United States Railway Association , author-link=United States Railway Association , location=Washington, DC , url=http://multimodalways.org/docs/govts/federal/executive/Agencies/DOT/USRA/FSP/FSP%20VI.pdf , oclc=2889148 , volume=1 , ref={{Harvid, USRA, 1975 Railway lines in the United States Railway lines opened in 1863 Pennsylvania Railroad lines Rail infrastructure in New Jersey Transportation in Burlington County, New Jersey Transportation in Camden County, New Jersey