Easton and Amboy Railroad was a railroad built across central
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 ...
by the
Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) in the 1870s. The line was built to connect the Lehigh Valley Railroad coal hauling operations in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
with the
Port of New York and New Jersey to serve consumer markets in
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
. Until it was built, the terminus of the LVRR had been at
Phillipsburg, New Jersey on the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
opposite
Easton, Pennsylvania. It is now part of
Norfolk Southern Railway operations, partially the
Lehigh Line
The Lehigh Valley Railroad bought the charter to the Perth Amboy and Bound Brook Railroad and also formed a new railroad company, the Bound Brook and Easton Railroad, to run across Western New Jersey from
Phillipsburg to
Bound Brook. These two railroads were combined under the name "Easton and Amboy Railroad".
Construction commenced in 1872 and was completed in 1875. For three years, engineering and financial difficulties delayed the crucial tunnel through the Musconetcong Mountains at
Pattenburg. The Lehigh Valley Railroad then stepped in, purchasing the E&A and completing the line to Easton in 1875.
At
Perth Amboy, a tidewater terminal was built on the
Arthur Kill comprising a large coal dock used to transport coal into New York City. The tracks were laid and started hauling coal in 1875. Operations continued until the LVRR's bankruptcy in 1976.
[Deas, Wayne L]
"PERTH AMBOY'S REBIRTH TIED TO PROJECT"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', August 16, 1987. May 4, 2015. "The first, already begun along the right of way of the Conrail and Lehigh Valley Railroads from Route 440, will consist of 168 condominium units. It will serve as a scenic entrance to Harbortown." The
marshalling yard is now the residential area known as
Harbortown.
Passenger traffic connected with the
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) at
Metuchen and continued to the PRR'S
Exchange Place terminus in
Jersey City. That connection was discontinued in 1891 after the LVRR established its own route to Jersey City from South Plainfield.
Eventually, the Easton and Amboy Railroad was absorbed into the parent Lehigh Valley Railroad and it was used as a connection to the
New York area, with a terminus in Jersey City.
See also
*
Lehigh Valley Terminal Railway
*
Roselle and South Plainfield Railway
References
External links
The Lehigh Valley Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Easton Amboy Railroad
Defunct New Jersey railroads
Predecessors of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Railway companies established in 1872
Railway companies disestablished in 1903
Transportation in Middlesex County, New Jersey
Transportation in Somerset County, New Jersey