Lehigh Valley's Flemington, NJ branch left the main at Flemington Junction. The station still stands, but in serious disrepair. My current shot was taken 04/01/2017 to compare with an old photo taken in much happier times on the Route Of the Black Diamond.
Norfolk Southern operates the former LV main across NJ and it seems to be a busy route. The branch to Flemington was removed perhaps 20 Years ago. Flemington is the (Hunterdon) County seat and was served by branches of the PRR, CNJ and the LV. The LV had a fine depot, which met its fate long ago. A portion of the freight house survives.
The CNJ's Flemington, NJ station survives as a bank and is absolutely beautiful, with great attention to detail. Even the paint replicates the CNJ's scheme. I took this on 04/01/17. The track is operated by the Black River & Western, a rural NJ shortline which has been in business since the mid-1960s.
Here are two BR&W locomotives, one in the pouring rain and the other in the sun. These were taken last week. That SW-1 was built in April of 1939!
Appears to be missing the original third story. Looks great. Someone had an eye for not remodeling it too much.
I didn't do a good job explaining things. The LV's (long gone) Flemington station is featured on the postcard. The CNJ's Flemington station is the bank. Neat that The N Scale Architect makes a craftsman kit of the CNJ station: http://thenarch.com/products/cnj-two-story-station-n
Is any progress being made with trying to (re)establish passenger rail service on that line from eastern PA to NYC - or is it just going to be studied to death?
I'm not sure. One of the studies is taking a look at restoring service on the DL&W's highly-engineered cutoff across NJ, which saw all its trackage removed in the mid-80s by CR. Whether on the former LV (busy with freight) or the DL&W, it would be a hugely expensive endeavor. I was pleased to find that NJ Transit has extended service west some 20 Miles on the former CNJ from Raritan to High Bridge. However, the CNJ main has been torn out west of High Bridge, so service beyond is unlikely. I was amazed at the number of new houses and apartments being built in eastern PA, as many people can no longer afford housing in NJ.
