New York Branch

The North Pennsylvania Railroad portion began at Jenkintown, where it split from the Bethlehem Branch. The line ran east-northeast through Montgomery County and Bucks County, eventually crossing the Delaware River at West Trenton, New Jersey. At the middle of the bridge, Delaware and Bound Brook ownership began. The line continued northeast into New Jersey to Bound Brook Junction, where it joined the Central of New Jersey Railroad's main line.[1]

The New York Branch was a cooperative effort between the North Pennsylvania Railroad, founded in 1852, and the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad, a new company and part of the National Railway scheme. The goal was to construct a "New Line" between New York and Philadelphia which could compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad.[2] The North Pennsylvania extended its line north from Jenkintown to Yardley, on the Delaware River, while the Delaware and Bound Brook constructed a new line from West Trenton to Bound Brook, New Jersey, where it joined the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The line opened for through traffic on May 1, 1876, in time for the Centennial Exposition.[3]

The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, forerunner of the Reading Company, leased the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad and North Pennsylvania Railroad on May 14, 1879, thus acquiring control of the "New Line" between Philadelphia and New York.[4] The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, involved in perennial disputes with the PRR, re-routed its passenger trains over the branch on October 1, 1880.[5] The Reading electrified the New York Branch between Jenkintown and West Trenton in 1931; electric trains began operating from the Reading Terminal on July 26, 1931. The onset of the Great Depression forestalled further electrification.[6]

The Reading Company and its subsidiaries were incorporated into Conrail; the New York Branch was designated to Conrail as part of the United States Railway Association's "Final System Plan".[1] Under Conrail the branch was split: the section between Neshaminy Falls and Bound Brook was combined with the New York Short Line, the Low Grade Branch, and the Richmond Branch to form the Trenton Line, while the section between Neshaminy and Jenkintown was designated the Neshaminy Line and is now owned by SEPTA.[7] Conrail continued to operate commuter service under contract until 1983 when SEPTA assumed full control; passenger service north of West Trenton ended on August 1, 1981. SEPTA service between West Trenton and Philadelphia continues as the West Trenton Line.[6]

• Conrail (July 23, 1995). "Philadelphia Division" (PDF).
• Harwood, Herbert H. (2002) [1990]. Royal Blue Line: the classic B & O train between Washington and New York. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-7061-3.
• Holton, James L. (1989). The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire : The Nineteenth Century. Vol. 1. Laury's Station, PA: Garrigues House. ISBN 0-9620844-1-7.
• United States Railway Association (1975). Final system plan for restructuring railroads in the Northeast and Midwest region pursuant to the Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 (PDF). Vol. 1. Washington, DC. OCLC 2889148.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Warner, Paul T. (May 1957). "Eight-Wheelers Between New York and Philadelphia 1870-1900". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. 96 (96): 44–62. JSTOR 43520154.
• Williams, Gerry (1998). Trains, Trolleys & Transit: A Guide to Philadelphia Area Rail Transit. Piscataway, New Jersey: Railpace Company. ISBN 978-0-9621541-7-1.