Edited by Bill McBride
Fifteen years after the Camden and Atlantic Railroad Company (C. & A.) began operating service between Cooper's Point, Camden and Atlantic City, the carrier sought to improve its unfortunately not very profitable operations through the construction of an all rail connection with the area's most important trunk line, the Pennsylvania Railroad (P.R.R.). In 1871, the rapidly expanding P.R.R leased the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company which, by means of a previous agreement made in 1869, operated the Camden and Burlington County Railway Company and the Mt. Holly, Lumberton, and Medford Railroad Company. The Philadelphia, Marlton, and Medford Railroad Company (P.M. & M.), built to provide an interchange route for the C. & A., was incorporated under the general laws of the State of New Jersey in January 1880. Construction began in April of that year and was completed with trains operating between Haddonfield and Marlton by July 1881. The balance of the line to Medford was placed into service during October 1881 and connected at Medford with the Mt. Holly, Lumberton, and Medford, which the P.R.R. has been operating as part of its Amboy Division. (Route of the Philadelphia, Marlton, and Medford Railroad.)
P.R.R. No. 5134 Brill Gas Car used during a 1926 attempt to reduce operating costs in face of declining revenues.
Ironically, the P.M. & M., performed interchange service for the C. & A. for only a short period. Early in 1883 the P.R.R. obtained control of the C. & A. by a purchase of a majority of that line's capital stock and proceeded to consolidate operations in both Camden and Atlantic City. Trains from Camden destined for Atlantic City, Haddonfield and other points on the C. & A. arrived and departed from the new terminal of the Camden and Amboy in Camden. This and other changes in operations greatly improved service and lowered costs on the C. & A., but also eliminated the need for the P.M. & M. as an interchange link.
J.H. Haines and Sons coal yard in Medford, New Jersey.
Officially, the P.M. & M. was operated separately from the Camden and Atlantic by its own organization for a very short period beginning in July 1881. In January 1885, it operation was incorporated with the C. & A. The P.M. & M. was terminated in 1896 when it merged with the C. & A., the West Jersey Railroad Company, and three other short lines to form the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Company (W.J. & S.). Under this new ownership, the trackage of the P. M. & M. became know as the Medford Branch of the W.J. & S. Although controlled by the P.R.R., the W.J. & S. operated under its own organization until 1930 when the P.R.R., through a leasing arrangement incorporated the line into its Atlantic Division. Under a plan with the Reading Company to unify rail operations in southern New Jersey, the W.J. & S. and the Atlantic City Railroad subsidiary of the Reading Company, were merged in June 1933 forming the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines.
South side of Haddonfield, New Jersey Station taken in January 1913.
Typical operations in the P.M. & M.'s history included eight trains travailing over the road during the week and one round trip on Sunday operating from Camden to Medford while another train ran through Mt. Holly and return. Average running time required to cover the 25-miles between Camden through Medford and onto Mt. Holly was one hour and a quarter. From the beginning, operations over the P.M. & M. was of a local nature. As no additional train was operated to handle the freight traffic, any one of these eight trains hauled freight cars and switched them enroute.
P.R.R. Class D13a No. 6013 taken at Medford, New Jersey shortly after the turn of the century.
The usual P.M. & M. car cut consisted of six or eight freight cars loaded with feed, coal, building materials, and less than carload traffic. Not surprisingly, there was never much outbound traffic off the P.M. & M. Prior to 1905, during the winter months, ice was cut from Tindale's Run and was shipped in carload lots from Freeman Station. Also, up until the turn of the century and after World War I, large quantities of Marl, which was used as a fertilizer, were shipped by the Atlantic Potash Company from a siding just south of Marlton. Additionally, up until the early 1920's, milk was an important source of revenue for the W.J. & S. from the P.M. & M until improved roads and trucks took over milk shipping. Traffic was dependent upon agriculture and the needs of the small farm oriented communities.
Front of the Medford, New Jersey Station - note raised platform to facilitate the handling of milk cans and baggage. The agricultural commodities retailer of Kirby Brothers is behind the station.
Unfortunately, due to continued decline in traffic, the P.R.R. request and received permission to abandon passenger service in 1927 along the P.M. & M. The last passenger train to run on the P.M. & M. completed its trip on September 24, 1927. With the exception of an occasional move on the north end of the branch, as far south as Orchard Station, freight service was also discontinued. Unlike many of the more favorably situated branch lines in southern New Jersey, no major carload producing industry was ever to locate on this branch. The combination of the loss of farm oriented local traffic and the lack of new industrial business resulted in the P.M. & M. being officially taken out of service on November 2, 1931. The entire branch with the exception of a half mile of track south of Haddonfield and a few hundred yards in Medford was abandoned and the track was removed in sections over a few years.
The information and photographs presented here was taken from "The Philadelphia, Marlton, and Medford Railroad Company", William J. Coxey, Editor, West Jersey Chapter, National Railway Historical Society, Inc., Palmyra, New Jersey, 1973. The 32-page updated reprint is available for $4.25 plus shipping from the West Jersey Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, P.O. Box 647, Palmyra, New Jersey 08064-0647.
Copyright 1996 - 2008
Last modified: November 23 2007.
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