History
The Marlboro Township section of the rail line began in the 1860s as the Monmouth County Agricultural Railroad. The railroad carried produce, manufactured goods and Marl fertilizer to the rail pier in Keyport. The railroad can be seen on a map from 1873. All service ceased in the 1950s. The original 9-mile (14 km) "Atlantic" section is built on the former right-of-way of the Freehold and Atlantic Highlands Railroad, which was later absorbed by the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
Throughout the 1990s, railbanking of the line between Freehold and Matawan was considered. Freight service over this stretch of track had ceased in phases; first in 1973 and then completely by Conrail in 1983. Ownership of the line changed hands several times, eventually going to NJT. NJT, in turn, selected the rail corridor as one of three options for its MOM (Middlesex– Ocean–Monmouth) commuter rail line proposal. Eventually, NJT removed the Freehold-Matawan line from MOM consideration and leased the line to Monmouth County for trail usage.
Read more about this topic: Henry Hudson Trail
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