A SHORT SHUTTLE GETS EVEN SHORTER


Princeton’s Shrinky-Dink


BY PATRICK YOUGH/PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR F


OR GENERATIONS OF Princetonians the


short ride between the


Princeton, N.J., train station and nearby Princeton Junction on the Northeast Corridor has been known simply as “the Dinky.” Thanks to re- cent actions by Princeton University in cooperation with NJ Transit, change has come to the Dinky and possibly not for the better. Princeton has proposed relocating the Dinky terminal to ac- commodate a $300 million dollar ex- pansion by building a new Student Arts Campus. While this relocation is just a “mere 500 feet” it moves the train sta- tion further away from Nassau Street and the center of town.


26 OCTOBER 2013 • RAILFAN.COM


The branch from Princeton Junction to Princeton was built in 1865 by the Camden & Amboy Railroad, one of the early predecessors of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and was originally 3.2 miles in length. It had two on line stations at Penns Neck and Princeton. In 1871 the Camden & Amboy merged with the Delaware & Raritan Canal to form the United New Jersey Railroad & Canal Company (UNJRR&CC), which was ul- timately leased by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The canal was closed in 1933. As Princeton University grew the terminal has been moved four times from the original 1865 location (see ac- companying map). The prominent


archway of Blair Hall and the long set of stairs were built to serve as the en- trance to the University from the sta- tion. However, students complaining of soot and coal ash from the steam en- gines caused move to the 1920 location. The branch was not electrified until 1936, when catenary was installed on the main line.


The branch was rebuilt and double- tracked in 1905. The route was slightly realigned over the years, and many of the passenger lay-up yards (for football specials) that existed at the end of the line have long since disappeared under university expansion. As early as 1963, there was talk of moving the station


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