An Amtrak Keystone originating in New York City sprints west through Monmouth Junction, NJ ducking the still surviving PRR signal bridge while en route to Harrisburg, PA. This location was once serviced by the PRR, PC and NJT - the last train making a stop here for passengers sometime, I believe, in 1971. For a classic shot taken at this location in 1971 by fellow RP member, Tom Neligan, click here.
The junction seen to the right gives the town its namesake being the junction that included the Camden Amboy Railroad line from Kingston, the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York to Philadelphia, and the Jamesburg and Freehold Agricultural Railroad. In its heyday, this 28 mile branch served as Pennsy's "short cut" to the Jersey Shore. Trains out of Philadelphia traveled up to Trenton then from Monmouth Junction turned southeast to the Jersey Shore. It served heavy shore traffic in the 1920s and the Pennsy came close to double tracking the route - just before the Great Depression set in. It too was upgraded to a fine PRR "race track."
Plans to restore commuter service to the portion between Monmouth Jct and South Amboy surface from year to year but have yet to materialize.
