Bordentown draws many visitors who simply stroll down Farnsworth Avenue to admire the quaint old buildings. Often, they window shop to see the variety of services such as an art gallery, a book shop and posted restaurant menus.
They might relax on the benches at the Veteran’s Memorial and contemplate, “What a lovely, quiet, little town.”
But many do not realize that while they are sitting on the benches of the Veterans Memorial, they are sitting in the oldest train station in New Jersey. Little do they realize they are sitting on the oldest bridge over railroad tracks in America. Like most people, they do not realize they are sitting above the first railroad in the world to use modern-style rails.
Construction of the Camden & Amboy Railroad began in Fall 1830. In September 1831, the men who designed and built the railroad tested the John Bull steam locomotive on newly laid tracks.
On Nov. 12, 1831, the Camden & Amboy Railroad offered free rides to all Bordentown citizens. Men, women, and children had a chance for a free ride on the rocket ship of 1831. The John Bull locomotive could easily travel as fast as a horse and wagon, but without the horse.
By the end of 1831, there were only 14 railroads in America. The longest railroad was only 16 miles. Most early railroads were less than 10 miles long. The seven coal railroads in northeastern Pennsylvania carried only coal. Rarely, people would travel on them.
The seven passenger and freight railroads were located in Albany, New York; two in Baltimore, Maryland; New Castle, Delaware; Charleston, South Carolina; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Bordentown. Six of the pre-1832 railroads simply spiked ½-inch thick straps of metal to wood or stone to make the rail.
The Camden & Amboy Railroad spiked 3 1/2-inch high flat-bottom T-rails to stone blocks. This is the first time on earth that such rails were used. Today, nearly every railroad across the globe uses this type of rail.
In 1831, only five railroads in America used a steam locomotive. The other nine railroads used horses or mules. One coal railroad in Pennsylvania used the steam locomotive Stourbridge Lion. It was used once and never again.
In Albany, the railroad used the steam locomotive DeWitt Clinton during 1831-33 and then disposed of it.
The B&O Railroad in Baltimore used the little Tom Thumb locomotive but it was only for demonstration purposes, and within a year, it was dismantled. The Good Friend of Charleston locomotive was destroyed in an explosion. Only the John Bull locomotive was used for many years. It was retired and then became the first piece of industrial hardware purchased by the Smithsonian Institute. Today, the John Bull is the oldest operable self-powered vehicle in the world.
In the summer of 1831, workers dug the long narrow deep cut through the middle of Bordentown with hand shovels and removed the cuttings via horse drawn carts. The cuttings became the causeway across the wetlands of Blacks Creek. When workers dug across Farnsworth Avenue, people could not get from the north side of town to the south side of town.
The Camden & Amboy Railroad built a stone arch bridge. Today, that bridge is the oldest bridge over railroad tracks in America. If you take a stroll to Third Street and walk over the railroad tracks, you are walking over the oldest at-grade railroad crossing that is still used in New Jersey and likely the oldest in use at-grade railroad crossing in America.
The Bordentown Historical Society has many artifacts associated with the early days of railroading including photographs of the John Bull, stock certificates, and original railroad spikes and rail.
For information about the Bordentown Historical Society, email bordentownhistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
Farnsworth Avenue stone arch railroad bridge, the first bridge built over railroad tracks in the United States.,
