Where am I? (interesting railfan spot)

[oltmannd]

100 years ago, the fastest trains in the world ran here.
3 railroads built through this point in the 19th century.
40 years ago, there were only two
20 years ago, there was only one
Now there are 3:
- one of them is a commuter agency
- another no longer owns any locomotives
- the third is a short line

[chad thomas]

It sounds like somewhere on the NYC.

I don't know, I'm a left coaster so I'll stay out of this one.

[spbed]

I would say it is another CO/BO spot [:D]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chad thomas

It sounds like somewhere on the NYC.

I don't know, I'm a left coaster so I'll stay out of this one.

[chad thomas]

I don't know, its way out of my territory.

[oltmannd]

Two of the RRs were built to get from a large population center to the site of a new resort. Most traveler's trips had to start with a ferry ride. Two parallel routes mergered in 1933.

[Anonymous]

Camden to Atlantic City?

[chad thomas]

Niagra Falls ?????????

[ajmiller]

I think tomtrain is on the right track. Pun intended.
My vote would be for Winslow Junction, about midway between Atlantic City and Philadelphia.

I've never been there, but I base my guess on my RR map.

Winslow Jct. was once the intersection of the Atlantic City Railroad, a Reading subsidiary, West Jersey and Seashore Railroad, a Pennsylvania RR subsidiary, and the Jersey Central. The AC and WJS were parallel lines and were merged to form the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines.

Today, the former WJS line carries New Jersey Transit, a commuter railroad. The former AC tracks are part of the Conrail Shared Assets, a railroad whose locomotives are owned by NS and CSX. And the former CNJ in Winslow is the Southern Railroad Company of New Jersey, a short line.

Now, I don't know whether they had the fastest locomotives in the world, but I do know they ran 4-4-2 Atlantics which were very fast.

[spbed]

So where is it?

[spbed]

Who won? [?]

QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd

100 years ago, the fastest trains in the world ran here.
3 railroads built through this point in the 19th century.
40 years ago, there were only two
20 years ago, there was only one
Now there are 3:
- one of them is a commuter agency
- another no longer owns any locomotives
- the third is a short line

[oltmannd]

It is Winslow Jct. AJ Miller wins the grand prize!

According to Richard Gladulich's book, "By Rail to the Boardwalk", a world record was set in 1896 running 55 miles from Camden to AC in 46 minutes. Over the next 10 years, speed increased until the 55 miles was covered in 41 minutes in 1906. Trains were powered by increasingly more powerful and high-wheeled Atlantics (possibly where the wheel arrangment got it's name?) Some had 84" drivers. PRR and PRSL E6 Atlantics ran some of their last miles in the mid 1950s on the PRSL.

I think that the record must be fastest time between stations, not maximum top speed.

The Atlantic City RR was chartered and built in the mid 1800s by the man who founded Atlantic City on Absecon Island. Later the West Jersey RR was built parallel to it. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=36997
Both had ferry terminals in Camden. The Atlantic City RR came under the control of the Reading and the West Jersey came under the PRR. Later, a third route was built to the south which was electified third rail. This route was also controlled by the PRR and their subsidiary was renamed West Jersey and Seashore.

The CNJ built south through the middle of the state to a port on the Delaware Bay. Where it crossed the ACRR and West Jersey was known as Winslow Jct. At some point in history, the Jct was modernized and grade separated with a rather elaborate series of bridges, underpasses and connecting tracks - most of which are still there.

From Winslow Jct south almost to AC, the ACRR and West Jersey were parallel within a hundred feet or so.

When the Delaware River Bridge (now Ben Franklin) and US 30 were completed in 1928, this opened up the New Jersey seashore to auto traffic and the passenger business started to decline. In 1933 the PRR and RDG formed the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL) and rationalized the duplicate trackage in order to stop the bleeding.

Winslow Jct was modified to accomodate the merger.

The advent of Conrail consolidated the CNJ and PRSL lines, severing the CNJ line through South Jersey north of Winslow Jct.

Passenger service to AC stopped in 1980 when the FRA embargoed the track.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=31785
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=31651


Freight service from Winslow Jct to AC and on the CNJ line south to just short of Vineland was sold to the Shore Fast Line
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=30328
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=30329
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=30626

and then to the Southern RR of NJ.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=36994

The State of NJ aquired ownership of the the track from the Delair Bridge over the Delaware to Atlantic City. The line was upgraded and Amtrak started operations between NY, Washington, Phila airport and AC in 1989. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=20493
NJT started Phila to AC commuter service a couple of years later followed shortly by Amtrak's retreat.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=30707
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=36996
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=30718

Today, NJT runs on the original West Jersey alignment, Conrail (Share Asset Area - which owns no locomotives) has the old Atlantic City RR alignment from Camden to Winslow Junction (and south from there down to Tuckahoe and the Beesley point power plant) and SRRNJ has frt rights over NJT plus the old CNJ southern div. to Vineland.