Central Railroad of New Jersey

The Central Railroad of New Jersey (variously styled the Jersey Central, Jersey Central Lines, New Jersey Central, CNJ, or CRR of NJ) was a relatively small Class I railroad operating primarily in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Its origins traced to two early railroads: the Elizabethtown & Somerville (E&S) and the Somerville & Easton (S&E).

The E&S was chartered on February 9, 1831, and by January 1, 1839, trains were operating between Elizabethport (now Elizabeth) and Plainfield, New Jersey. By 1842, the line had reached Somerville. Chronic financial instability plagued the E&S, and it was ultimately sold at public auction. With an eye toward westward expansion, the Somerville & Easton Railroad was chartered on February 20, 1847, to extend the line toward Easton, Pennsylvania. The E&S and S&E were merged on April 1, 1849, forming the Central Railroad of New Jersey. By July 1852, service had been inaugurated as far west as Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and three years later the line was extended across the Delaware River to South Easton, Pennsylvania.

The CNJ’s Pennsylvania extensions were constructed by the Lehigh & Susquehanna Railroad, a subsidiary of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. The L&S main line between Phillipsburg and Wilkes-Barre was completed in 1866, and on March 31, 1871, the CNJ began leasing the railroad. By May 1, 1888, service had reached Scranton. The Lehigh & Susquehanna Division proved vital to the CNJ, as it tapped the anthracite coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania. Transporting coal eastward to consumers in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas became the railroad’s primary source of revenue—the CNJ’s “bread and butter.”

Expansion into southern New Jersey came through the New Jersey Southern Railroad, which began construction at Port Monmouth in 1860. The line extended southwest across the state, reaching Bayside on the Delaware River west of Bridgeton by 1871. The New Jersey Southern came under CNJ control in 1879 and became the railroad’s Southern Division. Further growth followed with the leasing of the New York & Long Branch Railroad. To avoid parallel competition, an agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad was reached on January 3, 1882, resulting in joint ownership of the NY&LB. The CNJ and PRR also jointly owned the Raritan River Railroad, though it was independently managed and operated.

The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad soon became interested in the CNJ, leasing it from 1883 to 1887 and again from 1891 to 1893. Following a brief period of independent operation after reorganization in 1887, the CNJ’s autonomy proved short-lived. In 1901, the Reading Company—successor to the Philadelphia & Reading—acquired a controlling interest in the CNJ through majority stock ownership. Around the same time, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad gained control of the Reading. This arrangement allowed Reading and B&O passenger trains to operate directly into the CNJ’s Jersey City terminal at Communipaw, with CNJ-operated ferry service connecting to New York City. The CNJ also maintained a small car float terminal in the Bronx. Reading control lasted until August 31, 1944, when the railroad emerged independent under the name Jersey Central Lines, adopting the Statue of Liberty emblem and earning the nickname “the Big Little Railroad.”

Passenger service was an important part of the CNJ’s identity. As early as 1862, the railroad advertised its “Allentown Route” to Chicago as the “shortest link to the West.” Over time, this evolved into a robust mix of commuter and long-distance services, including daily commuter operations to Elizabeth, Jersey City, and New York City. The CNJ hosted numerous named passenger trains, among them the Mermaid (Scranton to the New Jersey shore via the NY&LB), Queen of the Valley (Jersey City to Harrisburg), Bullet (Jersey City to Wilkes-Barre), Williamsporter (Jersey City to Williamsport), Philadelphia Flyer, and Scranton Flyer. CNJ rails also carried Reading trains such as the Crusader and Wall Street, as well as B&O’s prestigious Royal Blue, Diplomat, Capitol Limited, and National Limited. The most famous of all was the CNJ’s Blue Comet, which operated between Jersey City and Atlantic City from 1929 to 1941.

Despite its prominence, the CNJ operated perpetually on the edge of financial failure. Heavy taxation by the State of New Jersey contributed to the railroad’s first bankruptcy filing on October 31, 1939. The CNJ did not emerge from bankruptcy until October 3, 1949, when it was returned to its stockholders. At the time, CNJ President Earl T. Moore was ceremonially presented a “key of freedom” by trustee Walter P. Gardner. Persistent financial constraints hindered modernization: the last steam locomotive was acquired in 1930, and full dieselization was not completed until 1954.

As anthracite coal traffic declined—first supplanted by bituminous coal and later by alternative fuels—coal shipments steadily diminished as homes and power plants in the New Jersey–New York region abandoned coal altogether. The CNJ also faced structural disadvantages: its longest mainline haul, from Scranton to Jersey City, measured only 191 miles, while its heavy emphasis on terminal switching, local freight service, and a large commuter operation resulted in high costs and low revenue mileage.

The 1960s and 1970s were marked by mounting losses and deep service reductions. Although the CNJ acquired portions of the Lehigh & New England Railroad in 1961, it chose to abandon most of its Pennsylvania trackage in 1972, transferring it to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The State of New Jersey began subsidizing CNJ passenger operations in 1964 and implemented the Aldene Plan in 1967. On March 22, 1967, the CNJ filed for bankruptcy for the final time. Ultimately, on April 1, 1976, the Central Railroad of New Jersey was absorbed into the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail).