The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

that operated in

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

in the 20th century. It was created in 1933 as a joint consolidation venture between two competing railroads in the region: 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 ...

and 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 ...

History

In the early 20th century,

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

and the

seashore were major seaside vacation destinations for

Philadelphia area The Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as Greater Philadelphia and informally called the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia tri-state area, and locally and colloquially Philly–Jersey–Delaware, is a major metropolitan area in the Nor ...

residents. The popularity of South Jersey's seashore was made possible by

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, which provided inexpensive and fast service between the Philadelphia area's population centers and shore points. There were two competing railroad companies connecting Camden and, by

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

, Philadelphia, with the

seashore. Competition was fierce and by its height in the 1920s competition between the

West Jersey and Seashore Railroad The West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S) was a railway company in the U.S. state of New Jersey with a connection to Philadelphia. It was formed through the merger of several smaller roads in May 1896. At the end of 1925 it operated of road ...

(WJ&S), owned by the

, and 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 ...

, owned by the

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

, was so intense that at one time both lines boasted some of the fastest trains in the world.

Trains A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

often raced one another so as to be the first to arrive at their destination. Racing was encouraged by the fact that in many areas, the two lines were only several hundred feet apart. On the Cape May lines, the trains were in sight of each other for 11 miles between Cape May Court House and

Cape May Cape May consists of a peninsula and barrier island system in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is roughly coterminous with Cape May County and runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Th ...

. Over the last 5 miles into Cape May, the tracks were only 50 feet apart. On July 1, 1926, the

Benjamin Franklin Bridge The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and ope ...

opened, spanning 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 ...

, connecting Philadelphia and Camden. Car, truck, and bus usage increased as the state built roads in the 1920s and 30s next to the railroads going from Camden to the shore, cutting into profits. On March 4, 1931, the

New Jersey Board of Public Utilities The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey "with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and c ...

(BPU) ordered the two companies to join their southern New Jersey lines into one company. The ''Consolidation Agreement'' decreed that the Pennsylvania Railroad had two-thirds ownership, and the Reading Company had one-third ownership. PRSL terminal in Camden

Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the rise of automobile use, the completion of the

Atlantic City Expressway The Atlantic City Expressway, officially numbered, but Unsigned highway, unsigned, as Route 446 and abbreviated A.C. Expressway, ACE, or ACX, and known locally as the Expressway, is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access toll roa ...

, and growing popularity of air travel led to a reduction in rail use. Increased air travel also led some to abandon Atlantic City for more exotic vacation destinations, including

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. By the late 1960s, the surviving former Camden and Atlantic City Main Line was reduced to a commuter service funded by the

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transport ...

(NJDOT) running trains of

Budd RDC The Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC), also known as the Budd car or Buddliner, is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The car ...

railcars operating from a small terminal at Lindenwold PATCO station and Atlantic City. While the P-RSL did not enter bankruptcy, its owners, 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 ...

, successor to the Pennsylvania, did. The Reading filed bankruptcy a few years after the Penn Central. As a result,

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 ...

took over the P-RSL on April 1, 1976.

Predecessors

West Jersey and Seashore Railroad

Effective May 4, 1896, the

consolidated all of its railroads and several smaller properties in

into the

. The WJ&S had lines coming from its Federal Street Terminal in Camden. The "Main Line" ran to Atlantic City and to other shore points via Winslow Junction, and its line via Woodbury to Millville. It was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

with 650 volt DC

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a track (r ...

and

overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...

, with branches going to Salem, and Deep Water Point from Woodbury, and Bridgeton from Glassboro. While the WJ&S line via Woodbury was a pioneering example of railroad electrification, electric

multiple unit A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

(MU) service between Newfield and Atlantic City ended September 26, 1931. The PRSL only inherited the electrified Millville–Camden commuter rail service from WJ&S.

Atlantic City Railroad

Effective April 1, 1889, the Philadelphia and Reading Railway consolidated all of its railroads in Southern New Jersey into the

(ACRR). The ACRR, a subsidiary of the

, had one line from its Kaighn's Point Terminal going to Winslow Junction with lines splitting off to Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood, and Cape May. Branch lines included the Gloucester Branch to Grenloch, and the Willamstown Branch from Willamstown Junction (on the Atlantic City Main) to Mullica Hill to the south, and

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

to the north. On July 15, 1933, The WJ&S was leased by the ACRR, and changed its name to Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, as the Consolidation Agreement had decreed.

Equipment

Steam

The 21

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

owned by the PRSL were from the PRR

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

WJ&S. They all consisted of PRR classes. Before dieselization the PRSL was more apt to lease its motive power from either of its parent railroads as it completely lacked any heavy passenger locomotives (like 4-6-2 Pacifics). As its parent railroads began to replace steam with diesel locomotives, the PRSL became a haven for steam locomotives during their final years of operation.

Class B: 0-6-0

The

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...

type was assigned class B, and was used in

switcher A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive (Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distanc ...

service. * B-6sb * B8

Class E: 4-4-2

The 4-4-2 "Atlantic" type was assigned class E. and was used in passenger service. * E-3sb * E6s

Class G: 4-6-0

The

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...

"Ten-Wheeler" type was assigned class G. and was used in passenger service. * G5s

Class H: 2-8-0

The

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

"Consolidation" type was assigned class H, and was used in freight service. * H-6sb * H9s * H10s

Class K: 4-6-2

The

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomoti ...

"Pacific" type was assigned class K. and was used in passenger service. * K4s Since the Consolidation Agreement had decreed that the PRR Mechanical Department would oversee equipment policy decisions, the PRSL did not gain ownership of any ACRR-RDG locomotives. Additional locomotives were leased as needed from PRSL's parent companies, PRR and RDG.

Diesel

Beginning in the 1950s the PRSL purchased a rather modest fleet of its own diesel locomotives to replace its steam engines for passenger and freight services. When additional power was needed for the busy summer tourist season engines were borrowed from the parent corporations (usually the PRR) as was true previously with the steam locomotives. To further supplement its small fleet the PRSL made increasing use of run through power on certain freight trains to large customers that did not require

classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...

at the PRSL's Pavonia yard. The first generation of PRSL diesel locomotives were all from the nearby

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

, which was the vendor of choice for the parent PRR in both the steam and early diesel era. The PRSL's

diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

were almost all painted in what is commonly referred to as

Brunswick Green Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint ...

which was so dark it seemed almost black. The paint scheme was borrowed from its PRR parent and with the company's official name for this color being DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel). The undercarriage of the locomotives were painted in black referred to as "True Black."

Baldwin Locomotive Works

By the late 1960s, the original Baldwin diesels were beginning to suffer reliability problems, which was exacerbated by the fact that Baldwin had gone out of business some 10 years before and could no longer provide spare parts or maintenance. With the new powerplant being constructed at Beesley's Point ready to consume several 90 car coal trains per week the PRSL was in need of more powerful and more reliable locomotives and turned to industry-leader EMD to supply 10 new second generation diesel electric locomotives.

General Motors Electro-Motive Division (GM-EMD)

Passenger

Gas-electric car (Doodlebug)

RDC

PRSL inherited the following from the WJ&S: *71 PRR-Type P-70

passenger car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

s No.'s 9865-9936 (

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, 44 seats) *21 PRR-Type PB-70 passenger-combines Cars No.'s 9938-9958 (steel, 40 seats) 9959-9962 (steel, 40 seats) *17 various PRR-Type mail and baggage cars No.'s 25 (steel underfame), 6403 (steel), 6428-6438 (steel), 9963-9966 (steel) Additional passenger cars were leased as needed from PRSL's parent companies, PRR and RDG, and sometimes from the

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(CNJ). The PRSL did not own any of the P70s that carried its name. They were leased from the WJ&S. The passenger cars of the PRSL were painted Tuscan Red. This is a brick-colored shade of red.

Cabooses

Successor railroads

Cape May Seashore Lines Cape May Seashore Lines is a short line railroad in southern New Jersey that operates both freight trains and excursion trains. It offers two excursion services: a round trip between Richland and Tuckahoe along the Beesley's Point Secondary ...

(CMSL) *

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 ...

(CSAO) *

New Jersey Transit Rail Operations NJ Transit Rail Operations is the rail division of NJ Transit. It operates commuter rail service in New Jersey, with most service centered on transportation to and from New York City, Hoboken, and Newark. NJ Transit also operates rail servic ...

(NJT) (

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 ...

) *

PATCO Speedline The PATCO Speedline, signed as the Lindenwold Line in Philadelphia and commonly referred to as the PATCO High Speed Line, is a rapid transit route operated by the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ...

(DRPA) * SMS Rail Service (SMS) *

Southern Railroad of New Jersey The Southern Railroad of New Jersey is a small short-line railroad company based in Winslow Township, New Jersey. The railroad operates freight service in two areas in Southern New Jersey. In the Winslow area, trains operate out of Winslow Junc ...

(SRNJ) *

Winchester and Western Railroad The Winchester and Western Railroad is a shortline railroad operating from Gore, Virginia to Hagerstown, Maryland. It also operates several lines in southern New Jersey, connecting to Conrail Shared Assets Operations at Millville and Vinelan ...

(WW)

References

External links

Your # 1 source of Southern New Jersey Railroad History on the Internet!Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Historical SocietySeashore Lines Reading Company 1954 Freight Shippers' Guide - Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Companies affiliated with the Pennsylvania Railroad Companies affiliated with the Reading Company Defunct New Jersey railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Railroads transferred to Conrail Railway companies established in 1933 Railway companies disestablished in 1976 Transportation in Camden County, New Jersey Spin-offs of the Pennsylvania Railroad American companies established in 1933 Former joint ventures