The Belvidere and Delaware River Railway Company also known as Delaware River Railroad or Bel-Del, is a class III railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1995 when the Conrail Delaware Secondary line was purchased by the Black River Railroad System, which operates several railroad services in western New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. The Black River Railroad System also owns and operates the Black River and Western Railroad (BR&W). BR&W has leased of trackage to BDRV since 2004.

The main freight service on the BDRV is south along the Delaware River from Phillipsburg to Carpentersville, a distance of along the Delaware River in New Jersey. Much of the industry currently is lumber and stone. BDRV interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) in Phillipsburg, which provides a connection to the National rail network.

Commercial agreements also provide a connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) at Allentown, Pennsylvania. BDRV is a NS handling carrier, meaning NS haulage rates include delivery to BDRV customers by BDRV. The BDRV, along with BR&W, is part of the Chesapeake and Delaware system, which also includes the newly formed Delaware and Raritan River Railroad out of Jamesburg, New Jersey.

Original operations

The BDRV right-of-way began as a segment of the original Belvidere Delaware Railroad, later controlled by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), Penn Central (PC), and Conrail.

BDRV originally served the James River Paper plant in Milford, New Jersey, assuming the task from Conrail: service to the plant ended in July 2003 when the plant closed. Rail service to a lumber transload continued serving Milford into 2004 when service on this part of the line was finally terminated. Freight service to Corrugated Paper Group (now Georgia Pacific) in nearby Riegelsville, New Jersey terminated in 2005 when the firm switched from railroad to trucking for product shipment.

Passenger excursions In 2002, the town of Phillipsburg partnered with the BDRV to launch an excursion operation between Phillipsburg and Carpentersville, after the town of Trenton, New Jersey, declined to support the proposed New Jersey Transportation Museum. In March 2003, the BDRV acquired an Ex-New Haven Brill motorcar, M-55, from the Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut, and they contracted with the Edward Railway Motor Car Company in Mount Dora, Florida, to have it restored to operating condition. It was subsequently used on the Mt. Dora Scenic Railroad before being moved to the BDRV.

Later in 2003, the New York, Susquehanna and Western (NYSW) Technical and Historical Society joined the partnership, after searching for a place to operate their recently-acquired steam locomotive, No. 142. Ex-NYS&W No. 142 is a China Railways SY class 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive built by the Tangshan locomotive works in 1989 for export to the Valley Railroad in Essex, as No. 1647. In late 1991, it was sold to the NYSW, where it was renumbered No. 142, and operated mainline excursions on NYS&W and, on occasion, NJ Transit. In April 2004, No. 142 was ferried from the NYSW's Utica shops and over NJ Transit and Norfolk Southern to Phillipsburg. On May 1, No. 142 hauled the BDRV’s inaugural train.

However, after the loss of the last customer in Riegelsville meant that the railroad could no longer afford to run trains the full length of the line, only being able to run them 4 miles to Carpentersville before shoving back as their track beyond the town was not economical to keep in service, rendering the runaround siding at the former industrial park in Milford inaccessible (this was later removed along with most of the track in Milford).

In recent years, ex-Nickel Plate Road No. 811, an EMD GP9, has been used in frequent service on the line. The NYSW Technical and Historical Society operates their trains with the label "Delaware River Railroad Excursions". All excursions originate out of Lehigh Junction in Phillipsburg with various station stops along the way depending on the season and/or any themed events that may be happening at the time.

In late 2010, the NYSW Technical and Historical Society began clearing the line of vegetation south of Carpentersville, eventually reaching Milford. The borough of Milford hosts a yearly event called "Milford Alive," which has included rail speeder rides on the line.

In May 2023, passenger excursions were restored to Riegelsville, where passengers disembark at a replica Pennsylvania Railroad station that formerly stood on the same site (still under construction). As part of the track improvements to reach Riegelsville a new runaround siding was constructed no longer requiring a four mile shove from Carpentersville back to Phillipsburg.

Freight operations In 2017, the railroad began running freight service again for its parent company, Chesapeake and Delaware, LLC. The customers served were the Builders FirstSource lumberyard in Phillipsburg, and the Riverline Aggregates quarry in Carpentersville.

Equipment Locomotives +Locomotive details Number Image Type Model Built Builder Status M-1 Buddliner RDC1 1950 Budd Company Under restoration 142 Steam 1989 Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works Operational 146 Diesel 45-ton switcher 1941 GE Transportation Operational 752 Diesel GP9 1956 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 780 Diesel GP7 1950 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 811 Diesel GP9 1959 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 908 Diesel SW8 1951 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 909 Diesel SW900 Unknown Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 915 Diesel SW900 1956 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1202 Diesel SW1500 1956 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1259 Diesel SW1200RS 1960 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1540 Diesel SW1500 1973 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1567 Diesel SW1500 1973 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1596 Diesel SW1500 1972 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1823 Diesel GP10 1955 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1848 Diesel GP9 1954 Electro-Motive Diesel Out of service 1849 Diesel GP9 1955 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1850 Diesel GP9 1956 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1853 Diesel GP9 1958 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1854 Diesel GP8 1953 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1856 Diesel GP10 1955 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1888 Diesel GP9u 1959 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 1889 Diesel GP9u 1954 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 2005 Diesel GP38-2 1970 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 2006 Diesel GP38-2 1967 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 8142 Diesel SW1200 1959 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 8159 Diesel SW1200 1960 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 9009 Diesel SW900 Unknown Electro-Motive Diesel Operational 9581 Diesel SD9 1955 Electro-Motive Diesel Operational

Former units +Locomotive details Number Image Type Model Built Builder Current owner M-55 Railcar Doodlebug 1930 Electro-Motive Diesel Nevada Northern Railway

References

External links

Official website