Glassboro station

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Coordinates: 39°42′17″N 75°07′19″W / 39.7047397°N 75.1219741°W / 39.7047397; -75.1219741
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For the planned light rail station, see Glassboro station (Glassboro–Camden Line).
Glassboro
General information
Location354 Oakwood Avenue, Glassboro, New Jersey
Coordinates39°42′17″N 75°07′19″W / 39.7047397°N 75.1219741°W / 39.7047397; -75.1219741
History
Opened1863
ClosedFebruary 5, 1971[1]
Former services
Preceding station Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Following station
Pitman
toward Camden
 WJ&S Camden – Millville South Glassboro
toward Millville
Terminus WJ&S Bridgeton Branch Aura
toward Bridgeton
Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station
Pitman
toward Camden
 Cape May Division
Before 1932
 South Glassboro
toward Cape May
West Jersey Rail Road Glassboro Depot
Built byWest Jersey Rail Road
NRHP reference No.100005179[2][3]
Added to NRHPApril 14, 2020

Glassboro is an inactive train station in Glassboro, New Jersey which served passengers from 1863–1971. Its station house was restored c. 2015.[4] It is located at the edge of the Rowan University campus. Listed as the West Jersey Rail Road Glassboro Depot, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 14, 2020, for its significance in architecture and transportation.[5]

History[edit]

The West Jersey Railroad (WJ) was granted its charter by the state on February 5, 1853, to build a line from Camden to Cape May. The line was built with the backing of the Camden and Amboy Railroad from Camden to Glassboro, with the first 8.2 miles (13.2 km) of the line using the abandoned ROW built by the Camden and Woodbury Railroad to Woodbury.

The 22-mile long (35 km)[6] Millville and Glassboro Railroad (M&G) was built by a group of Millville businessmen independently of the West Jersey Railroad. Chartered on March 9, 1859,[7] and incorporated in March 1859, the M&G was completed and opened in October 1860.[8][9][10][11]

In 1896 the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) consolidated all its railroads and several smaller properties in southern New Jersey into the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad (WJ&S). In 1932, the PRR and Reading Company (RDG) merged their southern New Jersey railroad lines into one company, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL). The line was electrified between 1906–1949.[12] In 1968 New York Central Railroad was merged into the PRR becoming Penn Central, which was bankrupt by 1970. The last passenger train ran in 1971.[12]

The line came under the auspices of Conrail. Following the purchase and division of Conrail it was designated part of the South Jersey/Philadelphia Shared Assets Area. Known as the Vineland Secondary it is owned, operated and maintained by Conrail for the exclusive benefit of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway. The Vineland Secondary begins at Pavonia Yard in Camden and heads south. It has a spur serving the Port of Camden. It continues another 19 miles (30.58 km) to Millville.[13]

Restoration of station building[edit]

The station house was renovated in 2015.[14][15][16][17][18] It is part of the Millville and Glassboro Railroad Historic District (ID#4153), recognized by the New Jersey' Office of Historic Preservation.[19]

Glassboro–Camden Line[edit]

A new station at Rowan University in the vicinity of the historic depot is the planned for the proposed Glassboro–Camden Line, an 18-mile (28.97 km) diesel multiple unit (DMU) light rail system. The terminal Glassboro station, planned for Ellis Street, is one stop further at Main and High streets.[20][21][22][23]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Its Predecessors and Successors and Its Historical Context: 1971" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society. p. 26. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System – (#100005179)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ "Weekly List 20200417". National Park Service. April 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "West Jersey Depot, Glassboro, N.J."
  5. ^ Koehler, Sheila; Magee, Richard (August 2019). National Register of Historic Places Registration: West Jersey Rail Road Glassboro Depot (Draft) (PDF). National Park Service. With accompanying 27 photos.
  6. ^ "(untitled)". The New Bloomfield, Pa Times. December 5, 1871. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Wilson, William Bender (1899) [1895]. History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates & Co. pp. 357–358 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "The New Jersey Legislature". Monmouth Democrat. February 12, 1852. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. A bill to charter Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company, was ordered a third reading. Open access icon
  9. ^ Garrison, S.A. (November 16, 1860). "Railroad Lines - Millville and Glassboro' Railroad". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com. On and after Monday, October 22d, the cars of the Millville and Glassboro' Railroad, will leave daily ... Open access icon
  10. ^ "Millville through the decades: 1852-1862". The Daily Journal. Vineland, New Jersey. April 29, 2002. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. 1859 - Construction begins ... It is completed the following year. Open access icon
  11. ^ "End Of Era: No More Trains". The Millville Daily. February 10, 1971. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. ^ a b Gambardello, Joseph A. (February 12, 1999). "The End Of The Line For A 1906 Landmark Conrail Has Decided To Tear Down The Five-story Westville Building. It Was Erected As A Power Plant". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 22, 2013. Electric service on the line ended in 1949 when the state banned the use of wooden passenger cars, Schopp said. The last passenger train – a diesel-powered Budd – ran from Millville to Camden in 1971.
  13. ^ "Whatever happened to Millville train service by 2019?". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  14. ^ Romalino, Carly Q. "Glassboro restores historic train station". Courier-Post.
  15. ^ "New Jersey's Hidden Secrets – Preservation New Jersey". www.preservationnj.org.
  16. ^ Davis, Phil. "Glassboro begins restoration of historic train station", South Jersey Times, February 6, 2013. Accessed July 24, 2014.
  17. ^ Gloucester Train Station Renovation Archived 2017-02-10 at the Wayback Machine, GloCoNJ.com. Accessed July 24, 2014.
  18. ^ Glassboro Station, Tower and Interlocking, SJRail.com Wiki. Accessed July 24, 2014.
  19. ^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  20. ^ "Glassboro-Camden Line A vital transportation link in South Jersey".
  21. ^ Fact Sheet 2013 Archived 2020-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Glassboro-Camden Line. Accessed July 24, 2014.
  22. ^ "N.J. Borough Seeks Contractor for Train Station Renovation", Durability + Design, March 1, 2011. Accessed July 24, 2014.
  23. ^ Duhart, Bill. "18-mile light rail in South Jersey is coming, but not for another 6 years, at least", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 17, 2019. Accessed November 8, 2019. "The 18-mile commute time by light rail from Glassboro to Camden looks like it’s coming in now at just under six more years. That’s because a long-planned commuter rail project connecting a growing population hub in South Jersey with mass transit into Philadelphia still appears to be a few more years away, despite an old timeline that still says it’d be up and running in 2019."
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