The Williamstown Branch was a railway line in the 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 ...

, in the United States. It ran from

Atco, New Jersey Atco is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Waterford Township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Philadelphia- Camden metropolitan area, located southeast of Camden. Though gener ...

, to

Mullica Hill, New Jersey Mullica Hill is a census-designated place, census-designated place (CDP) and Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community within Harrison Township, New Jersey, Harrison Township in Gloucester County, New J ...

, via

Williamstown, New Jersey Williamstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Monroe Township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. It was built between 1861 and 1888 by the

Williamstown Railroad The Williamstown Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1861 and began operating between Williamstown, New Jersey, and Atco, New Jersey, in 1874. It interchanged with the Camden and Atlantic Railroad in Atco. ...

and Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad. It became part of the

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

system in 1883 and was abandoned in 1969.

History

The

completed a line between

Williamstown, New Jersey Williamstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Monroe Township in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, and

, in October 1872. In Atco it connected with the main line of the

Camden and Atlantic Railroad The Camden and Atlantic Railroad was a railway company in the United States. It opened the first railway line to Atlantic City, New Jersey, and played an important role in the development of that city. The company was incorporated in 1852 and com ...

. The company planned to build west to

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a Borough (New Jersey), borough within Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2 ...

, but lacked the resources

interests reorganized the company as the Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad and promptly extended the line to Glassboro. Another company, the Glassboro Railroad, constructed a extension into Glassboro proper in 1884. A further extension from Glassboro to

, was completed in 1888. The Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad and Glassboro Railroad were consolidated with the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad,

Camden, Gloucester and Mount Ephraim Railway The Camden, Gloucester and Mount Ephraim Railway was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1873 and began operating between Camden, New Jersey, and Gloucester City, New Jersey, in 1874. An extension to Mount Ephraim, Ne ...

, and Kaighn's Point Terminal Railroad on March 29, 1889, to form the

Atlantic City Railroad The Atlantic City Railroad was a Philadelphia and Reading Railway subsidiary that became part of Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in 1933. At the end of 1925, it operated of road on of track; that year it reported 43 million ton-miles of ...

. Passenger service between Glassboro and Mullica Hill ended in April 1929. In the 1930s the

Reading Company The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railro ...

and

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 ...

agreed to merge their operations in South Jersey. The Atlantic City Railroad was renamed the

Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a railroad that operated in South Jersey in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Rea ...

(PRSL), effective July 15, 1933, with two-thirds Pennsylvania and one-third Reading ownership. As part of the post-merger rationalization the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines abandoned the line between Williamstown and Williamstown Junction and the extension into Glassboro in 1934. It further abandoned the line between Williamstown Junction and Atco in 1942. The line between Glassboro and Mullica Hill was abandoned in December 1950. Except for some yard tracks within Glassboro, the remainder of the line between Glassboro and Williamstown was abandoned on October 1, 1969.

Notes

References

* * {{cite book , last1=Coxey , first1=William J. , last2=Kranefeld , first2=James E. , title=The Reading Seashore Lines: A Pictorial Documentary of the Atlantic City Railroad , date=2007 , publisher=West Jersey Chapter, National Railway Historical Society , location=Palmyra, New Jersey Closed railway lines in the United States Railway lines opened in 1872 Railway lines closed in 1969 Reading Company lines