The New York and Long Branch Railroad corridor established the first all-rail mass transportation link between New York City and the New Jersey shore. Extending for nearly 40 miles, it was formed in 1882 when six separate rail lines were joined into a continuous route serving New Jersey shore communities from Perth Amboy in Middlesex County to Bay Head in Ocean County. Its period of significance began in 1872 with the incorporation of the New Egypt and Farmingdale Railroad and ended in 1954 with the opening of the Garden State Parkway in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, which signaled the decline of railroad ridership and the rise of automobile use.
