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Delaware & Raritan River Railroad

FARMINGDALE, N.J. — The Delaware & Raritan River Railroad has completed its “F&S Connection,” a 5-mile track rehabilitation project between Freehold and Farmingdale, through Howell, N.J. The project was finished nine months ahead of schedule.

DRR ran a test train over the rebuilt track on Sept. 15, 2023, marking the first train to run through between Freehold and Farmingdale since 1985. Regular train service on the line ended with Penn Central in 1975, and will resume early this month.

The project, which links the railroad’s Freehold and Southern branches, began in January 2023 and included vegetation clearing, six upgraded crossings, 25,000 track feet of relayed rail, and 12,500 new ties, including over 8,000 steel ties.

In addition to linking the railroad’s two branches, the project reroutes freight trains off New Jersey Transit’s busy North Jersey Coastline, opens the Southern branch for heavier 286,000-pound cars, consolidates interchange with Conrail Shared Assets at Jamesburg, and provides a shorter and faster route for customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The $12 million project was funded in large part by the New Jersey Department of Transportation Rail Freight Assistance Program, and the state’s grade crossing improvement funds. Work yet to be completed under the project will include the south leg of the Farmingdale Wye, siding construction and rehabilitation, and grade crossing improvements in Freehold, Howell, and Shrewsbury.

Tracks Unlimited of Mountainside and Railroad Construction of Paterson were the low bid contractor’s that provided materials, equipment, administration, design assistance, and agreement labor to rebuild the tracks and crossings.

“This is such a great public/private project with benefits to the community, customers, and railroads alike,” Delaware & Raritan River President Kean Burenga said in a news release. The railroad will mark the completion of the F&S Connection with the driving of the last spike by Farmingdale Mayor Jim Daly and Howell Mayor Theresa Berger near Academy Street Oct. 13, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. The event is open to the public and will include railroad displays, remarks by dignitaries, and live music until 5:00 p.m.

The Delaware & Raritan Freehold Branch was built in 1851 by the Jamesburg & Freehold Agricultural Railroad, from a junction with the Camden & Amboy Railroad (New Jersey’s first railroad) to Sea Girt. In 1871 it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Southern Branch was built by the Raritan & Delaware Bay Railroad Company and completed to Lakewood in 1860. It became the Southern Main of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1879 and was the route of the famous Blue Comet passenger train which operated between Jersey City and Atlantic City.

Delaware & Raritan River Railroad is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake & Delaware LLC. It operates and leases 50 miles of freight trackage in Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties from Conrail and New Jersey Transit. Via Conrail Shared Assets the Delaware & Raritan has interchanges with CSX and Norfolk Southern. Chesapeake & Delaware operates 208 route miles of railroad in New Jersey, including wholly owned Delaware & Raritan River, Dover & Delaware River, and Dover & Rockaway River. Affiliates include Belvidere & Delaware River Railway and Black River & Western Railroad. Chesapeake and Delaware LLC was formed in 2017.

DRR’s first test train running between Freehold and Farmingdale on Sept. 15, 2023.

Chesapeake & Delaware LLC (C&D) wholly owned subsidiary Delaware & Raritan River Railroad (DRR) has completed the Freehold & Southern Connection, a five-mile track rehabilitation project reconnecting, after nearly 40 years, Freehold and Farmingdale, N.J., through Howell Twp. A final-spike ceremony took place on Oct. 13 in Farmingdale.

Completed nine months ahead of schedule and under budget, the F&S Connection (formally, the Conrail Shared Assets Freehold Industrial Track, which NJ Transit owns) links the Railroad’s Freehold and Southern branches in Monmouth County, N.J. Started in January 2023, the $12 million project included 25,000 track-feet of relayed rail and 12,500 new crossties, more than 8,000 of which are environmentally sustainable Narstco steel ties; vegetation clearing; and six upgraded grade crossings.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation Rail Freight Assistance Program and the State’s grade crossing improvement fund helped pay for the project, which, in addition to the five miles of track, included rebuilding of the northern leg of the Farmingdale Wye, the connection to the Conrail Red Bank-Lakewood Southern Branch (which NJT also owns), a former Central Railroad of New Jersey line best known as the route of the famous Jersey City-Atlantic City Blue Comet luxury passenger express train. Accessorial work to be completed will include rebuilding the Farmingdale Wye’s south leg, siding construction and rehabilitation, and grade crossing improvements in Freehold, Howell and Shrewsbury, N.J.

Tracks Unlimited LLC of Mountainside, N.J., and Railroad Construction Co. of Paterson, N.J., provided materials, equipment, administration, design assistance, and agreement labor to rebuild the tracks and crossings.

In addition to linking the DRR’s separate branches into one network, the project reroutes freight trains off New Jersey Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line (NJCL), opens the Southern branch for heavier 286K railcars, consolidates interchange with Conrail at Jamesburg, and provides a shorter and faster route to rail customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties. In addition to network efficiencies, the rebuilt railroad is expected to attract new rail customers and reduce local truck traffic. DRR operated a test train over the rebuilt track on Sept. 15, marking the first train to run through between Freehold and Farmingdale since 1985. Regular train service on the line ended with the Penn Central in 1975.

DRR leases and operates 50 miles of freight trackage in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties from Conrail and NJ Transit. Via Conrail, it interchanges with CSX and Norfolk Southern and connects local customers to the North American rail network. Chesapeake & Delaware, formed in 2017, operates 208 route-miles of railroad in New Jersey, serving short line freight customers in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic and Warren Counties. Its wholly owned subsidiaries include DRR, the Dover & Delaware River (DD) and Dover & Rockaway River (DRRV) Rai, and affiliates Belvidere & Delaware River (BDRV), Black River & Western (BRW) and Maryland & Delaware Railroad (MDDE)

There’s a lot of railroad history behind the DRR. The Freehold Branch, built in 1851 by the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad, connected the Camden & Amboy Railroad—New Jersey’s first railroad—with Sea Girt, on what is now the NJT NJCL. In 1871 it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. The right-of-way from Sea Girt to Farmingdale is now a biking and walking trail. DRR’s Southern Branch was built by the Raritan & Delaware Bay Railroad Company and completed to Lakewood in 1860. It became the Southern Main of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1879. Today, with a branch into Toms River, the line is out of service between Lakehurst and Winslow Junction on NJT’s Atlantic City Line.

C&D President Kean Burenga called the Freehold & Southern Connection “a great public/private project, with benefits to the community, customers and railroads alike.”

“With safer and more direct infrastructure in place, we look forward to working with new and existing customers to grow rail traffic on the Delaware & Raritan,” C&D Executive Vice President Cathrin Banks said. Banks oversees the company’s business development efforts. She is a partner in the firm and previously filled the role of Vice President & General Counsel. Banks is also President of affiliate MDDE.

Tracks Unlimited General Manager Andy Creteau added that the rebuilt connection “is great for commerce and the economy.”

Opening of the F&S Connection closely followed the appointment of Sean Dolan as Vice President & General Manager of Railroads. Dolan joined C&D after retiring from a 32-year career at New Jersey Transit, where he held numerous transportation roles and was most recently Deputy General Manger, responsible for all train operations on the Newark and Hoboken Divisions.

William C. Vantuono photo

FARMINGDALE, NJ — The borough will be buzzing Saturday, and even with a vintage car show and a Halloween Trail planned, there is a stand-out attraction - an open house for the newly renovated Farmingdale Firehouse.

Assistant Chief Jim Herrman said the six-month renovation is the first in a three-phase project.

But it was an important structural part of the process.

"We started planning in 2021. There were severe structural issues in an old building, as you can imagine," Herrman said.

The original building, located at 54 Main St. and owned by the Borough of Farmingdale, was erected in 1911. The historic cornerstone of the building is visible once again after being plastered over in the 1950s, Herrman said.

The Fire Department made up concept plans and presented them to the Mayor and Council and was then advised about applying for a Monmouth County Community Development Block Grant.

The grant provided $207,000 for the project; the department provided $60,000 through its fundraising and the borough provided $33,000, Herrman said. It was a joint effort through the three funding sources to arrive at $300,000 for the first phase, he added. Estimates for the final two phases are being developed.

And as part of the "reveal," the department will have a grand reopening of the firehouse for the public at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Visitors can tour the space and see the firetrucks. There is even a pumpkin-painting event for kids that is also a fundraiser for the department, Herrman said. You can read more about the department and the event on Facebook.

Also, there is the "Cruisin' Main Street" vintage car show presented by the the Howell Optimist Club and the Borough of Farmingdale. The Recreation Commission's Halloween Trail will also be open all weekend, starting Friday.

The first phase of the work included a steel structural support column added to the front, new siding and new brick facade. There is also new signage and awning.

The floors were redone and epoxy coated, there was new electrical work, exterior lighting, windows, doors and the first-floor walls and stairwell were painted.

The overall effect is fresh and clean - with the fire-engine red doors standing out.

The next phase of the project will be a new roof, Herrman, said and the third phase will renovate the second floor offices of the firehouse. Those projects should start shortly, he said.

The department, led by Chief Robert Lewis, thanked the community on social media for their support - buying T-shirts, playing in and sponsoring a golf outing, and cheering the department on in competitions.

And, as always, volunteers are urged to join the department.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7. Check out our voter guide as you prepare to cast your ballot in Farmingdale.

FARMINGDALE, NJ — The 2023 general election is Nov. 7. Voters will choose local and county government officials, as well as representatives to the state Legislature. Board of Education elections also are taking place.

Here's a look at who is on the ballot in Farmingdale, along with your options for voting this year.

In Monmouth County, you can either vote at your polling location on Election Day, or you can vote by mail, if you meet the deadlines. You can also vote early at 10 in-person voting sites in the county.

Sample ballots have already been mailed out, but you can check them online here at the Monmouth County Clerk's website, monmouthcountyvotes.com. Just scroll to your municipality.

Voting in person:

Find out what's happening in Howellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

For voting on Nov. 7, visit Monmouth County Votes and scroll down for Election Day voting to your municipality to find your polling location. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For early voting, Monmouth County will have 10 specially designated in-person early voting locations that will be open Saturday, Oct. 28, through Sunday, Nov. 5. Hours will be Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sundays, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Voters can go to any one of these locations during the nine-day period to vote. Visit this site to locate all the early voting polling sites.

Voting by mail:

Visit this site for all the information on voting by mail. Monmouth County offers quick tips for voting by mail on its website. Voters can track the return of their mail-in ballot to the Board of Elections via the county’s “Ballot Trax” software. You can click here to sign up for this free notification system.

Voters can drop their voted mail-in ballot into Board of Elections drop boxes anywhere in Monmouth County up until close of polls on Nov. 7. You do not have to be a resident of the town where the drop box is located. Find a list of all drop-off locations here.

Here is who is on the ballot in Farmingdale:

30th Legislative District

State Senate (Vote for one):

General Assembly (Vote for two)

Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners (Vote for two):

Farmingdale Borough Mayor (Full term, vote for one):

Farmingdale Borough Council (Full term, vote for two):

Farmingdale Board of Education (Full term, vote for one):

Freehold Regional Board of Education:

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Mystery barrels leaking in a New Jersey community could take months to contain and remove as environmental crews continue sorting through the hundreds of drums at an abandoned site.

A team from the Environmental Protection Agency has been on hand since last month, making their way through more than 400 rusting drums that have, for decades, contained chemicals used to make adhesives and asphalt.

In recent years, the hundreds of drums and more than 1,000 smaller containers containing potentially hazardous materials have deteriorated, leading to a potentially dangerous outcome for neighbors. Last month, schools and homeowners in Monmouth County were told to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Many of the drums at the former Farmingdale industrial plant, which borders Howell, were found to be leaking, rusting and bulging. The plant has long been shut down, but the barrels stuck around.

A spokesperson for the EPA said "significant progress" has been made in securing the drums, but none of the chemicals have been removed from the site. The disposal process will take some time as teams continue identifying what is inside the barrels and determine the best course of removal.

One nearby resident told NBC New York that she remembers decades ago when her children were coming home from school around lunchtime, and they saw the lids exploding, up in the air.

That kind of thing is still entirely possible at the site, because no one knows for sure what chemicals are still present.

Earlier in 2023, the new owner was burning some barrels in an old incinerator on the property, when the fumes and particulate pollution drifted into nearby neighborhoods, alarming first responders who rushed to put the fire out.

When Eric Daly, the on-scene coordinator for the EPA, was asked about those exploding lids 40 years ago, he said "You’re basically proving the reason we’re taking our time with this."

With some 4,000 students going to school within the one-mile hot zone that reaches into Howell, residents are urged to have a go-pack for an evacuation that could be called at any time if the chemicals catch on fire.

"Everybody should have an evacuation plan or get-out-of-here plan just in case," said Howell-Farmingdale OEM Director Victor Cook.

That being said, the EPA does feel it has the situation under as much control as it can without knowing what’s on the site. The agency hopes everything can be hauled away by the end of summer or shortly thereafter. Then it will have to deal with whatever pollution it finds in the soil and possibly in the groundwater.