imported>Pencilsforall: Changing short description from "Former railway company in New Jersey" to "Railway company in New Jersey"

2025-04-17T01:17:03Z

Changing short description from "Former railway company in New Jersey" to "Railway company in New Jersey"

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{{Short description|Railway company in New Jersey}}
{{Infobox rail
| name = Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway
| other_name = Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad
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| parent_company = [[Reading Company|Philadelphia and Reading Railroad]] (1883–1889)
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| start_year = {{Start date|1876}}
| end_year = {{End date|1889}}
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| successor_line = [[Atlantic City Railroad]]
| gauge = {{Track gauge|Standard gauge}}
| old_gauge = {{Track gauge|3ft6in}}
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| length = {{convert|54.5|mi}}
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| map = {{maplink-road|from=Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway.map}}
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The '''Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway''', later known as the '''Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad''', was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1876 as a direct competitor to the [[Camden and Atlantic Railroad]]. It completed a {{track gauge|3ft6in|lk=on}} [[Narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] line between [[Camden, New Jersey]], and [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], in 1877. The company was financially troubled and taken over by the [[Philadelphia and Reading Railroad]] in 1883. The reorganized company was consolidated with four other companies in 1889 to form the [[Atlantic City Railroad]].

== History ==
The [[Camden and Atlantic Railroad]] completed the first railway line between [[Camden, New Jersey]], and [[Atlantic City, New Jersey]], on July 4, 1854.{{sfnp|Towle|1948|p=20}} By the mid-1870s the railroad was successful enough to develop competition, and the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway was incorporated on March 24, 1876. Its backers included several former Camden and Atlantic directors.{{sfnp|Hilton|1990|p=447}} The company opted for a {{track gauge|3ft6in|lk=on}} [[Narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] in the belief that it would be cheaper to build and operate.{{sfnp|Treese|2006|p=172}} The {{convert|54.5|mi|adj=on}} line opened on July 25, 1877. Inauspiciously, the first train derailed, killing a brakeman and injuring ten passengers.{{sfnp|Coverdale & Colpitts|1946|p=268}}{{sfnp|Hilton|1990|p=447}}

The new company was not a success. Its gauge limited its interchange opportunities, it had little online freight traffic, and its fortunes depended drawing off passengers from the parallel Camden and Atlantic. The company entered receivership not quite a year after it opened, on July 13, 1878.{{sfnp|Hilton|1990|p=448}} The company continued operating, and in 1880 established the [[Pleasantville and Ocean City Railroad]] to construct a branch from [[Pleasantville, New Jersey]], to [[Somers Point, New Jersey]]. That company was sold to the [[West Jersey Railroad]] (which was affiliated with the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]) on June 4, 1882.{{sfnp|Coverdale & Colpitts|1946|p=225}}

An attempt by the Camden and Atlantic to acquire its rival foundered on shareholder opposition. The Pennsylvania Railroad took control of the Camden and Atlantic on January 1, 1883. Concerned about access to Atlantic City, the [[Philadelphia and Reading Railroad]] took control of the Philadelphia and Atlantic City on October 31, 1883.{{sfnp|Hilton|1990|p=449}} The Reading reorganized the company as the '''Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad'''.{{sfnp|Coverdale & Colpitts|1946|p=268}} The line was converted to standard gauge on October 5–6, 1884.{{sfnp|Hilton|1990|p=449}} The Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad was consolidated with the [[Camden, Gloucester and Mount Ephraim Railway]], [[Glassboro Railroad]], [[Williamstown and Delaware River Railroad]], and Kaighn's Point Terminal Railroad, on March 29, 1889, to form the [[Atlantic City Railroad]].{{sfnp|Coverdale & Colpitts|1946|p=261}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* {{Coverdale & Colpitts 4}}{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFCoverdale_&_Colpitts1946}}
* {{Hilton Narrow Gauge}}
* {{cite journal | last=Towle | first=Charles L. |title=History of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad and Associated Railroads 1852-1897 | journal=The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin | issue=73 | date=1948 | pages=16–45 | jstor=43517493}}
* {{cite books | last=Treese | first=Lorett | title=Railroads of New Jersey: fragments of the past in the Garden State landscape | publisher=Stackpole Book | location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania | date=2006 | isbn=978-0-8117-3260-4}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Atlantic City Railway}}
[[Category:Defunct New Jersey railroads]]
[[Category:Predecessors of the Atlantic City Railroad]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1876]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1883]]
[[Category:Narrow-gauge railroads in New Jersey]]
[[Category:3 ft 6 in gauge railways in the United States]]
[[Category:1876 establishments in the United States]]

Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway - Revision history

imported>Pencilsforall: Changing short description from "Former railway company in New Jersey" to "Railway company in New Jersey"