The Dinky Train

The Dinky, the train that connects the Princeton Branch with the rest of the Northeast Corridor rail route, has a route that is roughly three miles long and began service in May 1865. Dubbed “The Dinky” or “PJ&B” (Princeton Junction and back), the original station was a small, wooden structure built on what is now Blair Courtyard at Princeton University. The station was first run by the Camden & Amboy Rail Road & Transportation Company.  In 1873, it was rebuilt out of stone. When Blair Hall was completed in 1897, it acted as the passengers’ first welcome to Princeton with a large stairway and immense arch leading from the tracks. The third reconstruction had a courtyard for carriages and the fourth, the most famous and longest standing, was built in 1918 and sat on University Place. Today, Princeton Station is located off of Alexander Street and was opened in 2014. 

Described by Jane Silverman, then executive director of the Association of Junior Leagues International, in The New York Times as a “necessary transition between precious Princeton and the real world,” The Dinky has become a source of socialization and enjoyment. Throughout the 20th century, The Dinky was used by visitors attending Princeton University football games and for visiting dates by the University’s all-male collegiate class. In 1946, The Daily Princetonian wrote “With every journey of the P.J. and B., trainloads of beautiful women are arriving.” Similar scenes were also depicted in the famous novels This Side of Paradise and Franny and Zooey. 

Many notable persons have been known to have used the Dinky as transportation to and from Princeton including Albert Einstein, Toni Morrison, Paul Robeson, Brooke Shields, John O’Hara, T.S. Eliot, John McPhee and many more. Ahead of his presidential inauguration on March 4, 1913, Woodrow Wilson left his home in Princeton and walked to the station to board a train to Washington. On the way there, he was accompanied by a band and many Princetonians.

Articles

1. “The Princeton Station: From Camden & Amboy to NJ Transit” by John R. Wilmot (Trains, June 1987, p.44-51)
2. “Princeton Junction & Back: Our Dinky Archives” by April C. Armstrong (Mudd Manuscript Library Blog, 2 September 2015)
3. “The Little Engine that Can” by J.D. Reed (The New York Times, 31 March 2002)
4. “Princeton’s Dinky train has long history as town’s key connection to mass transit” by Krystal Knapp (The Times of Trenton, 14 February 2011)
5. “Ghost Train” (Town Topics, 9 June 1957)
6. “This is Princeton Runaway Train” (Town Topics, 2 June 1957)
7. “PRR Adds Train” (Town Topics, 27 July 1958)
8. “It’s A Train!” (Town Topics, 30 March 1958)
9. “Keep Chugging” (Daily Princetonian, Volume 99, Number 135, 12 December 1975)
10. “The Dinky: A Princeton Tradition” by Myrna K. Bearse (Town Topics, 23 August 1995)
11. “Dinky Arrival” (Daily Princetonian, Volume 139, Number 30, 23 March 2015)

Websites

1. The Dinky (The Historical Society of West Windsor)
2. “Princeton Train Station OR Dinky” Record Search Princeton Train Station images (Historical Society of Princeton)
3. Princeton Dinky (NJ Transit)

Media

1. “Trains Video Postcard: the Princeton ‘Dinky’” By Angela Cotey (Trains.com, 31 January 2018)