READING COMPANY, NEW YORK DIVISION

Up until 1967, all the Reading passenger trains terminated at the Jersey Central waterfront terminal in Jersey City. 
From 1967 until the end of passenger service ( under Conrail ) in 1983, the remaining trains went into the PRR station 
in Newark.  The Budd RDC cars were the last equipment used.  Freight service continued to Jersey City until the 
Jersey Central abandoned all operations there and moved to Elizabethport.  During the final years prior to the 
Conrail takeover in 1976, freight traffic on the line north to Bound Brook and Port Reading consisted of a B & O 
run through and coal trains to the dumper in Port Reading.

Diesels of the Reading and the B & O were common at Elizabethport in the 1970's.

      The Reading had their own branch that ran from Manville to Port Reading
 in Woodbridge Township, NJ.  A coal dumping pier was located there and a modest yard, as well.  The Reading ran several 
freights over this line and these three are all taken in Bound Brook behind the old CNJ station.  Photos courtesy of Paul Carpentino.

The Reading met the CNJ at Bound Brook Jct, near the current site of the new minor league baseball park west of I-287.

The first Reading station west of Bound Brook Jct was Weston-Manville. A 1974 image, it is now long gone.
It was located just below the underpass of Route 533.

Belle Mead, NJ was the next stop and the station does remain, although it is deteriorating badly.

In 1973 there was still an agent in the station !      This what it looks like in 2010. 

  A 2003 image.      The smaller eastbound structure is crumbling slowly.  Note the bench seat. 2010.

GP-30 3608 heading west on a caboose hop, 1974 GP-35 3630 eastbound. 1974

CNJ 2504 leads the B & O run through train #681 in 1975.

SW1001 2622 is the local switcher on the line this date.  A government warehouse complex was located here.

A not often photographed tower was 'Belle' tower about 1/4 mile west of the station. 1973.

The next station stop heading west toward Philadelphia was Hopewell, NJ.

3656 heads east in 1974.  Note the other engines are all switchers.  This train is probably headed
to Port Reading and will no doubt stop in Manville.

  A view from the same location in 2008.    The restored station at Hopewell, October 12, 2008. 

A tower was also located in Hopewell, appropriately named 'Hope'.   5-10-1981.

North of Pennington, NJ is the former siding known as Glenmoore.

The tower had the name 'Glen'.  May 1981 before Conrail's scorched earth policy removed most classic
structures like this to rubble.  They saved some tax money, but we all lost alot of history.

  The freight house just north of the station.  I have a nearly similar image taken in 1981, soon to be posted.

The Pennington station still remains in good condition into 2012.  It is on W. Franklin Road.

A predecessor to the Reading in Pennington was the Mercer & Somerset Railway.  The long ago abandoned
line built this station back in the early 1870's.  It sits today in great condition.  It is located on Pennington-Titusville Road
just west of Route 31.  It's about the third driveway from the intersection. 2-27-2012.

The last stop in New Jersey before crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania is West Trenton, NJ.  
This was the end of the electrified commuter service to Philadelphia and a storage yard is located here. 
The Reading had a short branch line that ran down into the city of Trenton itself.  Trent tower was still active
up until 1997 due to the commuter trains.  Today the Septa crews use the building to sign in for work.

West Trenton, 1973.  A local from Philadelphia arrives

Trent Tower    Electric M-U cars in the yard. The Trenton branch is to the right.

  2704 is the local power for the Trenton branch.  It is an EMD re-engined Baldwin.

  The Reading lives on!  Septa still operates several former Reading MU cars in regular service. 2-27-2012

  OK, so it isn't Reading, but the line remains busy today and is operated by CSX.

To follow the line to Philadelphia, CLICK HERE