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**A PENNSYLVANIA NON-PROFIT CORPORATION**

**REPLY TO:**

Alan B. Buchan

785 Cornwallis Drive

Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054-3209

July 5, 2006

W. Douglas Buttrey, Chairman

Surface Transportation Board

1925 K Street, NW

Room 700

Washington, DC 20423-0001

Re: Consolidated Rail Corporation - Proposed Abandonment in Mercer
County, New Jersey -

Robbinsville Industrial Track STB Docket No. AB 167 (Sub-No. 1185X)

Dear Chairman Buttrey:

As President of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical
Society (PRRT&HS) I am writing to register our concern regarding the
proposed abandonment of the 5.7 miles of the Robbinsville Industrial
Track between milepost 32.20 +/- and 37.90 +/- in Hamilton and
Washington Townships, Mercer County, New Jersey, by the Consolidated
Rail Corporation (Conrail). The purpose of our organization is to
recognize, honor and preserve the image of the former Pennsylvania
Railroad (PRR). We are an officially approved entity by the Pennsylvania
Railroad's successor company. The Society has been in existence since
1968, with currently over 3,000 active members worldwide.

The Camden and Amboy Railroad (C&A) was chartered in 1830 and the
alignment of track proposed to be abandoned was completed in 1832 when
the line was built between Bordentown and South Amboy, New Jersey. This
particular line, between Bordentown and South Amboy, was the first
railroad to be built in the state of New Jersey and was eclipsed only by
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which began construction in July 1828.
Testimony to its historic importance is substantiated by the findings of
the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office, which has determined
that the entire line is eligible to be listed in both the New Jersey and
National Registers of Historic Places. The C&A was leased by the
Pennsylvania Railroad for 999 years in June 1871 and was consolidated
with two other companies to form the United New Jersey Railroad Company
(also a PRR lessee) in May 1872. It subsequently became part of the Penn
Central system in 1968 and was conveyed to Conrail by the United States
Railway Association in 1976.

The PRRT&HS does not take exception to Conrail's proposed abandonment of
the line as part of its line rationalization process. However, it does
take exception to the potential obliteration of the remaining
right-of-way through development for three reasons -- historic
preservation, the possible need for freight rail service from future
development adjacent to the right-of-way and its potential as a possible
future Light Rail corridor.

Given the remarkable historic significance of this line if the STB
approves the abandonment of the line and sale of the property for
development, it is requested that specific mitigation measures be
incorporated into any approval to protect the integrity of the extant
horizontal and vertical alignment of the railroad right-of-way grading,
as the corridor itself is a character-defining historic feature.

STB should also consider the potential for the proposed abandoned
corridor to accommodate the handling of future rail freight traffic that
might be generated by possible industrial or commercial development
along the hundreds of acres of open space immediately adjacent to the
right-of-way.

Additionally, STB should consider the potential for the proposed
abandonment to become a New Jersey Transit Light Rail branch connecting
the rapidly developing communities in that region with Bordentown and NJ
Transit's Light Rail *River Line*, operating between Camden and Trenton,
New Jersey, also on former C&A right-of-way.

I was fortunate during my career to have been appointed by two Governors
to serve for many years on the New Jersey State Historic Sites Council,
at least five or six of which were as its chairman. Had this been an
eligible project to appear before the council during my tenure we would
have found and made recommendations to the Commissioner of New Jersey's
Department of Environmental Protection that the extant right-of-way
grading be preserved during any development process as a pedestrian walk
way or Rails-to-Trails project and that sufficient signage be placed in
appropriate places as approved by the Historic Preservation Office, to
recognize the importance of the C&A in the history of New Jersey and
railway transportation in general.

Moreover, as a former Pennsylvania Railroad operations planning official
and retired career rail transportation consultant I am of the opinion
that serious consideration should be given to the preservation of this
corridor for potential use in future freight and or light rail
operations.

I trust that in its deliberations the STB will not take the significance
of the preservation of railroad history and the potential future use of
this line as a rail corridor too lightly. If I may be of further service
pleased contact me.

Sincerely,

Alan B. Buchan

President

cc: The Honorable Christopher Smith, United States Congress, New Jersey
4^th^ District

Dorothy Guzzo, Administrator, NJ DEP -- SHPO

Leland L. Gardner, STB -- Office of Economics, Environmental Analysis
and Administration

David M Konschnik, STB -- Office of Proceedings

Ronald L. Batory, President and Chief Operating Officer, Conrail

Adrian Fine, NE Regional Office, National Trust for Historic
Preservation

Brian M. Hughes, County Executive, Mercer County

Glenn D. Gilmore, Mayor, Hamilton Township

Hamilton Township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission

John Kilbride, President, Camden & Amboy Chapter PRRT&HS

LTR-STB 07-05-06