The Camden & Amboy Railroad at South Amboy, NJ

An illustrated presentation by Patrick Harshbarger
Wednesday, May 8, 2024, 6 pm

On behalf of the City of South Amboy, NJ, Patrick and his colleagues at Hunter Research, Inc. have been researching and archaeologically investigating the abandoned terminal and rail yard facilities of the Camden & Amboy Railroad (later Pennsylvania Railroad).  The C&ARR, famous for its John Bull locomotive and its pioneering use of T-rail, had one of its terminals across the Delaware River from Philadelphia at Camden, but this was preceded by the northern terminal at South Amboy on the Raritan Bay. These exciting investigations have been taking place in tandem with planning for a new intermodal ferry terminal to connect South Amboy and New York City. While the C&ARR’s history is well documented, especially as it relates to the technical contributions of John Stevens and his son Robert L. Stevens, somewhat less appreciated is that the railroad’s South Amboy terminal on Raritan Bay was a pioneering tidewater terminal designed with speed of travel in mind. During the late 1820s to early 1830s, no terminal of comparative scope or purpose was built in the United States. An estimated 109,000 passengers and 6,000 tons of merchandise passed through South Amboy during the C&ARR’s first full year of operation in 1833. Archival research has turned up many interesting facts about the terminal. Archeological investigations have documented remnant features, perhaps most impressive the floor and foundation of a mid-19th century turntable, hundreds of stone sleepers, and the use of a natural sand spit as the approach to the Camden and Amboy’s first wharf extending into Raritan Bay.

Patrick is an Oliver Evans Chapter member. He is Vice President, Principal Architectural Historian, Principal Historian, and Industrial Archaeologist for Hunter Research, Inc. in Trenton, NJ.

 Free and open to Everyone

The meeting room will open at 5:30, the talk will begin at 6:00
For those who can’t make the meeting, the program will be live-streamed. Here is the link to register for the streaming. 
https://bit.ly/FLPSIAMay2024
A video of the presentation will appear later on the Free Library’s Facebook page. An account is not needed to access the video.

Location: Parkway Central Free Library, 1901 Vine Street
Enter the Heim Center classroom at the back of the library on Wood Street.
There is metered parking around the library building and a paid parking lot behind the library with an entrance off Callowhill Street.