Hike #614; Barnegat Branch

 Hike #614; Barnegat Branch Trail and More

614.) 2/26/12 Barnegat to Toms River with David "Captain Soup" Campbell, Corrin Dylnicki, Paula Scheyer, Chris "Cupckake" Kroschinski, Carol and Rob Creamer, Bobbi Landrock, Brad Ladutko, Jonathan Wilson, Irina

Group shot on Barnegat Branch Trail, Beachwood NJ

My next hike would be a point to point, continuing with the initiative to hike the entire NJ coast, as well as the entire perimeter of the state. Where we had last left off on this journey, we had hiked the southern tip of Island Beach. There was certainly no reasonably way of swimming the Barnegat Inlet, so we had to go back to our previous hike, to Toms River. We had previously follows some of the old Tuckerton Railroad heading west from Toms River to Lakehurst, and the most obvious route to continue hiking the Jersey perimeter was the old Tuckerton Railroad south.

Memorial Drive, the former railroad. South of Barnegat NJ

Historic marker at coal trestle

Old coal trestle, Barnegat NJ

Old coal trestle, Barnegat NJ

Old school house, Barnegat NJ

Barnegat Branch Trail

The Tuckerton Railroad was constructed between 1871 and 72, and abandoned and removed by 1940. It is amazing that the right of way would still be intact all these years later. Even better, we had heard for quite some time that it was under development as a rail trail known as the Barnegat Branch.I wasn't all too excited about the route honestly. I figured it would be sort of an urban rail trail, paved most the way. I saw where we would end up walking through some towns and such, but overall my expectations were not very high.As usual, I was pleasantly surprised with what we found of the trail and abandoned line. It was an interesting day right from the beginning.I met my group at the 7-Eleven in Toms River, and we left our cars at a commuter lot just north of there. We then shuttled south to Lower Shore Road Park, on Old Shore Road south of Barnegat. It was a nice dirt road which turned paved shortly, and we turned left from there onto Lower Shore Road.Captain Soup had forgotten his camera in his car, so I let him drive mine back to the beginning to retrieve his, so he would meet up late with Cupcake.We decided on this hike that it would be fun to dress up formally again in suits. Only Carol, Brad, Cupcake, and myself would end up wearing them though. And Rob wore a jogging suit.While walking up Lower Shore Road we passed a large yard full of equipment and such. Spray painted on a pile of cement blocks was "WATCH OUT FOR THE YARD MEN". I immediately busted into a strange British James Mason voice saying "Best watch out for the yard men...they're said to lurk here, etc" and "they might be carrying tools...". It would become an underlying stupid joke for the entire day.We crossed over Rt 9, the main thoroughfare, onto Memorial Drive, which turned ninety degrees to the right. This road was built on the old railroad bed, though it bore no resemblance to it other than it's flatness, but most everything down there is.The road led us through residential areas before reaching our first historic railroad remnant: an old coal trestle. It was still in pretty good shape, complete with ties and rails still on it, right next to the road. This would be one of the only two times we would see rails all day. An historic marker was in front of it. That is one thing the area deserves a great deal of credit for; there were more historic markers than I'd seen most anywhere.We continued a bit further and passed a Hindu church on the right. It was an historic building built in the late 1800s, originally as a school. It's concrete foundation led me to believe it was newer.Ahead, the road split, and Railroad Ave was to the left, parallel with the road we were walking on the old rail bed. At the end of this roadway, the Barnegat Branch Trail began.

Barnegat Branch Trail in Barnegat

Historic marker

Old turntable pit in Barnegat

Historic marker

Trail sign

Historic marker

Barnegat Branch Trail, Barnegat NJ

Historic marker

Historic marker

Barnegat Branch Trail

Historic marker

Abandoned building, Tuckerton area

Barnegat Branch Trail

The trail entered a wooded area from Burr Street, and was paved at the very beginning. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was not paved all the way through as I'd expected, but used a crushed stone surface. It was not like the Columbia Trail in Hunterdon, but rather more like D&R Canal or the Bel Del rail trail section along the Delaware. It also gave the illusion of seclusion more than expected.We were immediately greeted with welcome signs, and historic markers along the way, done quite well. It gave history of towns and the old rail line which was quite impressive. The trail was a bit overdone though, because as we crossed the streets where we started, each spot seemed to have an outlandish crossing walk, with buttons and lights in case cars came.We got to one point where there was a siding from the original track, which was also developed as a trail, complete with a sign reading "historic spur". Signs pointed us to a former water tower site, as well as the foundation for an armstrong turntable as we got into the middle of the town of Barnegat.When the trail crossed the road, there was a statue of liberty silhouette wht Barnegat Branch Trail written around it, much in the way the "Jersey Central Lines" was written for it's logo in the railroad's heyday. The Jersey Central once operated this line, and I figured the sign was a nice homage to the previous operators.Around the crossing of Barnegat Blvd, Cupcake showed up with Captain Soup. We were in touch by phone, and he finally found a spot to park. Captain Soup left my car in Toms River (unlocked with my wallet on the drivers side floor, not stolen thankfully!) and rejoined us ahead. Cupcake had quite a nice suit on for this one, blue with a yellow tie and looking quite out of place. I believe it was at Pancoast Road where they parked to the north.There was another railroad bed which paralleled us to the left for a bit. I believe this was a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which turned away when we got to Barnegat Blvd area. I would have to explore it another day.I was blown away at how much of the hike we spent in woods, right from the beginning. The rail bed was up on a slight fill, and we were sorrounded by beautiful pine barrens, and even some great American Holly growing naturally.We came to the center of Waretown, where the trail's crushed stone path looked as though it was just very recently developed. It was lined with nice wooden fences as it made it's way across the lawn of businesses a block west of Rt 9. We took a little break here, and laughed at some typical south jersey home that looked like a park but with junk strewn about.

Barnegat Branch Trail with a bridge out

As we headed north into woods close to Rt 9, we soon came to an old railroad bridge. It was only maybe twenty feet long or so, but it was railroad ties, undecked. There were closed signs on the end of it, which we thought was ridicules. We had been on official trails with far worse bridges, but this was deemed unsafe apparently. We went around the gates and continued on the completed trail on the other side.

Tuckerton Railroad Bridge, Waretown

Barnegat Branch Trail, Waretown NJ

The trail continued close to the highway, and weaved back and forth a bit. There was nothing to really show this was ever a railroad bed. It continued to look less like one as we soon came to a developed strip mall area, with a giant Shop Rite and many other stores.

Barnegat Branch Trail, Waretown NJ

Barnegat Branch Trail, Waretown

Old Tuckerton Railroad trestle, Lacey Twp.

We passed by the stores, and soon came to yet another section of stores. The trail leaved back and forth in front of the places. At all stores, it had the crushed stone surface except for where it was integrated into their sidewalk system.Across from the next set of stores, we crossed Rt 9, right along the right side of us at this point, and visited a thrift store. They had some cool jackets, but were a little pricey.We continued on, through another little section of woods, then came to a liquor store. Bradley and I went in and got some fun drinks and made our way back out to continue on the trail. It wasn't very far before it completely stopped at a sign. The rail bed ahead was not really even discernible along the highway.

Old Tuckerton Railroad trestle, Lacey Twp.

Old Tuckerton Railroad trestle, Lacey Twp

Old Tuckerton Railroad bed, Lacey Township

We soon reached the body of water which made a loop into the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant. We crossed the Rt 9 bridge which ran parallel to the old wooden railroad bridge, which I couldn't believe was still intact and barely rotted. An access road was on the left, and while we walked by, a white security truck pulled up to the other side of it. They watched the entire group walk on by.The bridge had gates and fence work on it with some sort of conduit leading to it. There was no way we'd try to walk across it. Security was tight. There were cameras everywhere as we walked along the property.We made our way past the main entrance, and more security guards pulled up while we were there. I gave them a wave as Captain Soup and I walked by, taking the lead in the group. We then continued to cross the other end of the waterway near the power plant. Near here, I saw the truck ahead of us pull up and into the weeds, barely within sight. Barely anyone else in the group even noticed that they took such an interest in us. I'm sure we must have looked strange dressed with suits and ties. Probably thought we were a religious group.The next bridge looked more accessible, though we weren't going to try to cross it either. The security guys watched us like hawks going by. I suppose it's comforting to know that they're right on top of it with security, having something so volatile there. This was the closest we had ever hiked to a nuclear power plant, much closer than the time we went near Limerick along the Schuykill on the rail bed there.

Teasing Captain Soup in the lav. Lol.

We continued walking along Rt 9, on a very wide shoulder than was certainly the railroad bed at least some of the time through Lacey Township. Apparently there was trouble completing the trail through this section due to the power plant and security.

Nice pond view in Forked River area.

Tuckerton Railroad bed, Forked River NJ

Old Tuckerton Railroad bed, Forked River NJ

We headed north and began to enter the town of Forked River. The rail bed turned away from Rt 9 to cross the first branch of I suppose the Forked River (first fork more appropriate) to the left, but we couldn't tell at the time where it was supposed to go. We crossed on the Rt 9 bridge and headed across the visit the food market for some snacks. I got some mozzarella sticks, which made me with Jillane was with me. Brad was casually sipping a Mike's Harder Fruit Punch in a brown bag as a cop walked right by him. I don't know if he saw it or not, but it was pretty funny.Once finished at the Wawa, we continued to the north on Rt 9. I didn't realize at first that we should have made the first left on Parkers Point Blvd or Taylor Lane after that, and we continued. The rail bed was now maybe two blocks west of Rt 9 with some sort of business on it. The first opportunity I saw to get back was to cut to the left through a church property. It had a long parking lot stretching out into the back, through which we were able to cut into the woods and onto the old rail bed.It was not at all developed as a trail in this area; it remained a simple sand road. We crossed Lakeside Drive and continued on the rail bed north.

Along old Tuckerton Railroad bed, Forked River

Old Tuckerton RR in Forked River

Lower Lake, Forked River NJ

Rail bed in Forked River

This next section was quite secluded. Known as Lower Lake, it appears on maps to be the norther of the two "Forked Rivers" for which the town might take it's name. We continued on as the lake opened up to our right, with geese swimming on it. We wished Jason was with us to scare them off humorously as he does.Soon, there was water on both sides of the right of way. Cupcake was going on and on about how the urban term for a woman's rear end is "cake", and teased Corrin relentlessly.We continued across the lake until we reached an old railroad bridge. It had been redecked rather well to allow for pedestrian traffic.

Old rail bridge over Lower Lake, Forked River NJ

Lower Lake

Lower Lake

Despite being re-decked, it was not done up like the rest of the Barnegat Branch Trail. It had steps on either side that were deteriorating. It would certainly be replaced to fit in with the rest of the trail. We had nice views over the lake from here before continuing north.Station Road, Railroad Ave, and Mill Street came together on the other side of the bridge. We could see where the railroad was in a swath of grass along the road. Apparently this was a station stop for Lacey Township or Forked River. We continued north and crossed over Lacey Ave.

Group shot

Old Tuckerton Railroad trestle

Despite the fact that we continued through a rather developed portion of Lacey Township, we came across surprisingly few people and stayed out of sight from most of the homes and businesses. We passed along the back of a supermarket of some kind, but were still pretty much within the trees.We crossed over Musket and Haines Roads, behind buldings, and then found a huge bag of plush toys discarded. We had some fun goofing off with them; I hung an octopus on Bradley's backpack. He also found a hat of a deer with plush antlers, which he carried ahead, to where the rail bed bordered William Hebrew Park at a road crossing, and stuck it on a bollard post.

Old Tuckerton Railroad trestle over Cedar Creek

Cedar Creek Trestle

Cedar Creek

Cedar Creek Trestle

Cedar Creek Trestle view

Cedar Creek view

Cedar Creek Trestle view

Cedar Creek Trestle

Cedar Creek Trestle

Cedar Creek Trestle

Cedar Creek Trestle

From this point, the rail bed went into some rather deep woods, part of Cedar Creek Park. There were actually two paths, one below to the left, and one to the right. The one to the right would have been the old railroad bed. We went back and forth between the two, depending on which one would be easier to walk on.We then came to something that was quite unexpected: an abandoned wooden railroad trestle.There were kids hanging out on the bridge when we first came into sight of it, and they left quickly, probably thinking we were some sort of officials wearing suits.The bridge spanned the Cedar Creek itself, and was very strange. It seemed to stand up in the air, high above the level of what we thought was the railroad bed. It was probably ten feet up on either side  to the deck of the bridge from where we were walking. My best guess for how this had happened, was that because the area is overall low elevation, when the creek floods, it floods out all around. The railroad fill would have made quite the empoundment for water, and the land to the west of it, upstream, must have become like a lake. Over the years, it probably spilled over and simply washed away the fill in the entire area. Now the bridge stands far above the original grade of the old railroad.We climbed up onto the near side to the deck of the bridge and began crossing. The ties on the north side were burnt quite badly, but the vertical timbers were in pretty good shape. The ties were so thick that they barely burned to the point where it posed much of a danger. A few of the ties had been torn off altogether, but the bases were thick.The water was very deep below on the downstream side, and I remember thinking I'd like to jump off of it in the Summer time. The kids who had left came walking back when they could see we were having probably more fun on the bridge than they had been.I stayed up on the bridge to help everyone across who were feeling some vertigo. Everybody pretty much did fine.

Cupcake on the trestle

On the other side of the bridge, there were trash cans sat up so that one can climb up and down from the top. This side was much higher than the other one had been.

Cedar Creek Trestle

Cupcake and I both hesitated as we jumped down, knowing that such a drop and sudden impact and bend might tear our precious suits open, or break a button. My baby blue suit would certainly show dirt much more than his dark blue one as well, so I was extra careful when I jumped down.

Cedar Creek Trestle

We took a little break here on the other side and admired how interesting the little bridge looked. There was a building within sight of the bridge to the west, and a road terminating at it. To my surprise, the rail bed resumed as the Barnegat Branch Trail on the other side as well.

Boardwalk trail

Boardwalk trail

There was a sort of strange paver type of walkway leading away from the rail bed trail and into the woods. In the woods, there was an awesome board walk trail leading over a wet area along the Cedar Creek. I walked out across it, but didn't continue to follow the trail further through because we wouldn't have the time. It made me wonder if that would be the official Barnegat Branch Trail route, or would they attempt to restore the trestle. I fear the trestle will be torn down because of safety concerns, seeing how the rest of the trail was done. Then again, the coal trestle was left alone. The area certainly has a respect for history.

Giant old Oak log, Cedar Creek Pary

We continued walking the trail to the north, through some dense woods, and took another break when we got to a giant log sitting along the right side of the trail. It looked to me to be probably a big White Oak of incredible size.

Giant old Oak log near Bayville NJ

Historic marker

Historic marker

Historic marker

View of the old Pines Hotel from Barnegat Branch Trail, Berkeley Twp.

Historic marker where the trail ends abruptly.

Former Tuckertown Railroad bed

Along Tuckerton Railroad bed, Bayville NJ

Old industry in Bayville

We continued along the trail as it took us into more developed areas  yet again. This was part of Berkeley Township, Bayville NJ. We were near to the streets and could see the homes all again.We crossed far too many roads to count, and the trail was very nice with it's crushed stone surface once more, and plenty of historic markers along the way. One of them mentioned an old hotel at the crossing of Centrail Boulevard. We could look down that road and see the top of the amazing building from the trail route. We were surprised to see it because usually those lovely old places inevitably end up burning down. This one was now some sort of rehab center.We continued north through town, and the developed trail section abruptly ended at a small municipal park and parking lot I think on Marlyland Ave. We then continued north, around the outside of some gates and onto another sandy path following the railroad bed. This took us a few blocks to East Railroad Ave. The right of way stayed to the left side of the road on a widened grassy area with a path. We followed that several blocks to the north until we came to Segle Ave. From here, it was blocked off.There was some sort of big industry before us, with some old concrete silos attached to a building that looked unused. There were no trespassing signs at many places around it, but there were none directly on the old rail bed. We took that as okay to enter there, and walked on along the old rail bed.

Bayville NJ

Industry in Bayville

Old Tuckerton Railroad bed in Bayville

Rail bed in Bayville

Quarried area along the rail bed

Sand quarry along the rail bed

Old Tuckerton Railroad bed

Sand quarry along the rail bed

Interesting old signs south of Beachwood NJ

We passed by the edge of the old building to the left. There were weeds growing out of the vacant looking structure, some quite high around the outside of an old trailer that had been sitting for quite some time. After passing the big building, Rob, Carol and I took to the front of the group and hurried on through a clearing. An obviously occupied building was standing off to the left, and had a car out in front of it, so I assume someone was around. We didn't hang around for long enough to be seen at all, as we were on the rail bed out of sight from the place in no time. Utility poles now lined the edge of what was the railroad through the section ahead, and it was obviously torn up by ATVs like crazy. As we continued on, someone pulled up onto the right of way in a Hum V. We stopped in our tracks for a moment, and looked around for options to get off the rail bed. There was a path to the right. We pretty much figured he was just someone out for a joy ride himself, as he got out of the car and was allowing his dog to run around. We continued ahead, closer to him, and then had to turn off to the right because of a small stream bisecting the right of way. In the woods to the right we were able to cross it safely. We continued on an ATV path back onto the rail bed and headed north. The guy in the Hum V didn't bother us, and we soon crossed a pile of debris that even he probably wouldn't try to go over.Still, the area was easily vehicle accessible, and there were tracks everywhere. A quarried out area to the left was full of water, and to the right it was just wide open with sand and no trees. We continued ahead, skirting both quarry areas. The area to the left started looking like it was reclaiming itself with pines, all growing low and looking quite pretty. We passed an old sign to the right, and I found a plastic baseball bat laying around. I started carrying it making silly voices of a crazy pentecostal church minister ranting about his right to beat women and/or anyone. I handed the bat off to Bradley, who jumped right on board with my crazy southern accent, and proceeded to beat Carol with it for the remainder of the hike.

Barnegat Branch Trail, Beachwood NJ

Barnegat Branch Trail, Beachwood NJ

Overly happy!!!

The right of way remained easy to walk. There were ATVs in the area who were quite audibly riding around the old sand quarried spots.The right of way opened up through a fence and immediately became a paved trail in the southern end of Beachwood NJ. It paralleled Railroad Ave, weaving between trees all the way out to Rt 9.

Group shot!

We crossed, and continued on the paved path which paralleld Central Way, then Ivy Way, then Rt 166. It looked like this section of the trail had been constructed many years ago, and probably wasn't even considered the "Barnegat Branch Trail" yet. It had cracks in the pavement from tree roots growing through it. I was glad that this was the only real paved section of the trail all day.

Old railroad crossing in Beachwood, one of the few times we saw rails all day.

The trail came to an end at Rt 166 at a Lube place. From there, the rail bed paralleled 166 northbound. We continued along it, and made a brief pit stop at a liquor store where Carol had me go in and get her a beer. We then came to the only other spot during the trip where we would see any intact rail, at a former grade crossing.

Old Toms River bridge on former Tuckerton Railroad

We continued along the road and across a finger of the bay, over which there was once a railroad bridge. The wooden abutments were all that remained to the left of the road way. Once over the bridge, we crossed the road to walk through a small park on the right along the water front.

Toms River NJ

A Torpedo! Toms River NJ

Toms River NJ

There were nice views out into the bay through which Toms River flowed, and an historic plaque with an old torpedo sat on it. There was a steamboat out in the bay, which was quite pretty as well. Brad took his "fanny whacker" baseball  bat I had given him and left it sticking out of the torpedo.

Bradley left his Fanny Whacker in the Torpedo

Toms River

Toms River

Toms River

Toms River

Toms River NJ

Toms River

The small park took us back out to Rt 166. We continued to where Herflicker Blvd cut off to the left. This was where we picked up the old Tuckerton Railroad on the previous hike out here. We crossed over the bridge over Toms River and turned right into Huddy Park. We had now connected this hike with all of the previous ones.We walked through Huddy Park, past the lovely pavilions, and then over the foot bridge across the piece of Toms River. We then walked into the center of town looking for a pizza place. Cupcake led the way, having found pizza places on his phone. However, when we got to one, it was closed on Sundays. In fact, the entire town really seemed dead on this Sunday afternoon. Still, our little side trip allowed us to laugh at business signs through town. We continued back to Water Street and turned right. We were soon back at the parking lot and our cars.We had a nice pizza dinner at the place that was right next to where we had passed along the rail bed on 166.After finishing, a plume of smoke appeared on the horizon to the west, like some big forest fire somewhere. We went out to the ocean, just to see it because we were so close.And so closed yet another gap in the effort to hike the entire perimeter of New Jersey.