Hopewell Reading Line Railroad Timetable Collection

Train service arrived in Pennington and Hopewell in the mid 1870s, through the center of the Hopewell Valley. The arrival of the railroads helped drive the development of the towns that we know today. But after World War II service went through a slow decline, reducing the number of trains, dropping local stations, and eliminating weekend service.

This new collection of twenty complete railroad timetables from 1945 to 1978 provides a clear view into the changes in local service through that period. There are kindly contributed by Harry Abendroth, a life-long train enthusiast and almost life-long railroad photographer who also has contributed photographs of the local railroad stations that once served the Reading and Jersey Central Railroads (see earlier post).

Hopewell Valley Reading Line Timetables [Abendroth]

== See the Collection Description for more on the timetables and service (PDF) ==

== See the full Railroad Timetable Collection in the Pamphlet Collection ==

Hopewell Reading Line Railroad Service

These timetables document service between Philadelphia and Newark / New York over the former Reading line that still serves our area. Most of the timetables are from the Reading Railway System (with partner CRRNJ and successors ConRail / SEPTA), with four from the Jersey Central Line (Central Railroad of N. J.). Through at least 1946, the timetables also include partner service with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), with interchangeable tickets.

Service north over the Reading line originated at Philadelphia (Reading Terminal), with the first leg to Trenton Junction (with a connection to Trenton by separate bus or train). The next leg passed through Pennington and Hopewell on the way to Belle Mead and then to Bound Brook. The final leg from Bound Brook to New York was provided by the Jersey Central line, with ferry service between Jersey City and New York (Liberty-Cortland Street). In 1967 service into New York ended, and the line ended in Newark with separate PATH or Pennsylvania Railroad service to New York.

Hopewell regularly had some 16 to 20 weekday stops from 1880 through at least the mid 1940s. Service then began declining after World War II, with 14 weekday stops in Hopewell by 1958, plus 7 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday and holidays. Some of these trains skipped Pennington and other intermediate stops.

By 1960, Hopewell was down to 10 weekday stops, and Pennington to 5. In 1963, service was reduced to 6 weekday stops in Hopewell and 2 in Pennington, with no service on Sundays and holidays.

In 1965, service was eliminated to Pennington, and Hopewell had 4 weekday stops (2 morning to NY, 2 evening to return), with no weekend service. This service continued though the 1978 timetable, as Conrail and New Jersey Transit took over the service.

Hopewell train service and the then West Trenton line over the Reading tracks finally ended in 1983.

== See post and brief on The Railroads of the Frog War ==

1945 Reading Timetable

This timetable shows service on the Reading’s New York Branch in the closing months of World War II, with stops at all the original stations from West Trenton to Bound Brook.

A total of 21 passenger trains operated in each direction daily except Sundays, including Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through trains to Washington, Chicago and St. Louis that did not stop in the Hopewell Valley area. There were 16 weekday and Saturday stops in Hopewell, plus 9 on Sundays and holidays (including some B&O trains).

1945 Reading Timetable, Phila. – NY weekday [Abendroth]

1960 Reading Timetable

This timetable reflects the end of B&O Railroad Passenger Operations over the Reading line.

It shows a significant reduction in service, with Hopewell being served by seven trains in each direction on weekdays, three eastbound and four westbound on Saturdays, two eastbound and three westbound on Sundays and holidays.

Pennington was served by four trains in each direction on weekdays, one on Saturdays and one on Sundays and holidays.

1965 Reading Timetable

This timetable shows the lowest level of ongoing service, reduced to only two trains in each direction.

The Crusader and Wall Street operated Monday to Friday except holidays (two trains in to New York in the morning, with both returning in the afternoon). Pennington and Skillman are listed as stations, but not as stops.

As of this date, an additional Supplemental Fare was charged to ride these trains, varying from 15 to 50 cents depending on distance. Implementation of this fare was a condition of the continued operation of the remaining trains.

== See the Collection Description for more on the timetables and service (PDF) ==

== See the full Railroad Timetable Collection in the Pamphlet Collection ==

This is the start of a new Timetable Collection to share information on local railroads – Additional historic timetables and other railroad materials would be greatly appreciated.

More on Hopewell Railroads

Two railroads were built in the 1870s to connect Philadelphia and New York by travelling up from the Delaware River, through Pennington and Hopewell, and then north towards New York. The Mercer and Somerset opened in 1874, but was shut down in 1880. The Delaware and Bound Brook opened in 1876, and is the predecessor of the line that still runs through the area.

Hopewell Valley Railroad Lines