By 1850, the pioneering Camden & Amboy Railroad was one of the most profitable and powerful corporations in the country. Granted a monopoly by the New Jersey Legislature, it controlled all rail traffic between the nation’s two leading city’s, Philadelphia and New York.
Protected from competition, the company had made the decision to save money and invest in laying only a single set of tracks between the two points. This meant trains traveling in opposite directions shared the same track.
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