Richland Village Station

SEASHORE LINES NOSTALGIA!

Richland Village was once served by three famous railroads! The Pennsylvania Railroad (West Jersey and Seashore Railroad) on their high speed electrified line between Camden and Atlantic City (via Newfield), the Reading Company (Atlantic City Railroad) on their steel speedway between Camden and Cape May City (via Winslow Junction and Tuckahoe), and later, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. All Pennsylvania Railroad and Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines trains operating to Atlantic City (via Newfield), and all Pennsylvania Railroad, Reading Company and Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines trains operating to the coastal resort communities between Ocean City and Cape May City passed through Richland! In June of 1933, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Company merged their southern New Jersey operations to form the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL). On April 1, 1976, the PRSL became a part of Conrail. Local passenger service to Richland ended on September 28, 1935, and the last time that a regularly-scheduled passenger train passed through Richland was on October 2, 1981.

On October 8, 2005, Cape May Seashore Lines inaugurated regularly-scheduled excursion service between Richland Village and Tuckahoe Village, marking the first time that a passenger train stopped in Richland Village in 70 years! The present Richland Village passenger station, along with a crossing watchman’s shanty, are situated in the same location as the original structures, which were removed circa 1965 (the original passenger station), and during the 1930’s (the original crossing watchman’s shanty). The only remnant of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s line through Richland is one (of the original two) concrete bridge abutments that carried the Pennsylvania’s double track electrified line over the Reading Company’s double track line. This structure is situated a short distance north of the present Richland Village passenger station.