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. 1974 and now gone.

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 today. 

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 was located here.

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

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

3656 heads west in 1974.  Note the other engines are all switchers.  This train probably originated in Port Reading and picked up cars in Manville.

A tower was also located in Hopewell, appropriately named 'Hope'.

Next station is Pennington, NJ

The tower had the name 'Glen'.  Today a defect detector is near here, called 'Glenmore, New Jersey'.

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 1998(?) due to the commuter trains.

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.

  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