The state of New Jersey chartered the Camden & Amboy Rail Road and Transportation Company on February 4, 1830, the same day it chartered the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company. The railroad opened its line between Bordentown, New Jersey, and South Amboy, New Jersey on December 17, 1832. Later, after the incorporation of the New Jersey Rail Road & Transportation Company, the Camden & Amboy build a line between Trenton, New Jersey, and New Brunswick, New Jersey. In early 1867, the Camden & Amboy and the New Jersey Rail Road combined to make up the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company, which the Pennsylvania Railroad leased in 1871 for 999 years.
The New Jersey & New York Railroad traces its origins to the Hackensack and New York Railroad, which was chartered in 1856 and eventually operated between Rutherford, New Jersey, and Hackensack, New Jersey. In 1866, the company rechartered as the Hackensack and New York Extension Railroad and later reorganized as the New Jersey and New York Railroad. It extended its line north of Hackensack, reaching the village of Haverstraw by 1887. The Erie Railroad leased the railroad for 99 years starting in 1896, and it remained an Erie subsidiary until 1960 when the Erie merged to create the Erie Lackawanna Railroad, which subsequently merged in 1976 to form Conrail. Today, the line between Hackensack and Spring Valley, New York, is part of N.J. Transit’s Pascack Valley Line.
The state of New Jersey chartered the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company on March 7, 1832, to build a line paralleling the Camden & Amboy. The new line would terminate at Jersey City across from New York City. The Camden & Amboy, worried about competition, exerted its influence in the state legislature, and the New Jersey Rail Road only built between New Brunswick and Jersey City. In early 1867, the Camden & Amboy and the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company combined to make up the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company, which the Pennsylvania Railroad leased in 1871 for 999 years.
The Pennsylvania General Assembly chartered the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad on February 23, 1832, to build a line between Kensington, Pennsylvania, and the Trenton Bridge at Morrisville, Pennsylvania. On April 16, 1834, the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad opened an eight-mile stretch between Morrisville and Bristol, using horses to pull trains. In 1836, the Camden & Amboy gained a controlling interest in the line. On June 30, 1871, the Pennsylvania Railroad leased the Philadelphia & Trenton and started operating the line on December 1, 1871. A portion of the line folded into what is today the Northeast Corridor.