The 1918 to 2013 historic Princeton Station is located on the campus of Princeton University. The station was the terminus of the Dinky Shuttle train before the campus station, along with the track, was relocated to be 750 feet south of this station as part of the new Arts and Transit District. The historic stone depot, already owned by the University since 1984 was repurposed and is now the Dinky Bar and Kitchen.
The historic station originally opened in 1918, as part of a project to push the line farther south on campus. The original terminus was in front of Blair Hall closer to the center of campus where students complained about noise from the steam locomotives. The line was electrified in 1930 and in 1984 the stone depot (which fits right into Princeton's Campus) was listed on the on the National Register of Historic Places.
In October 1984 of that year the station was sold to Princeton University with New Jersey Transit retaining operating rights. The station received a high-level platform early in its tenor (at the same level as the station, I assume the track was depressed) with the track abandoned along the northern end of the platform in the late 1980s allowing just two cars to platform at its southern end.
As of 2024, after the stations closure in 2013, the historic depot is now the Dinky Bar and Kitchen, the building just looks like another stone building on campus, except occupied by a resturant, not a former railroad station. Other than the fact the restaurant in the historic station building is called the Dinky, it isn’t obvious that this location was the terminus of the Dinky for nearly a hundred years.
The former platform and wooden canopy (and all other station signs, NJ Transit branded bike racks, TVMs) have been removed. The former track bed has been removed and is now a grassy path with some trees growing along it. Areas near the now removed track bed have a commemorative plaques embedded in the grass (that look like railway ties) or the in concrete with text commemorating notable moments in Dinky history including the opening of the new station building in 2014, the great Dinky train robbery in 1963 (students on horseback ambushed the Dinky on a Saturday night when all the patrons were woman on their way to go on dates with Princeton – which was an all-male institution at the time – men), and the electrification of the Dinky in 1936.
Photos 1-21 were taken on January 18, 2012; 22-40: September 2, 2024;
Stepping off a just arrived evening Dinky
Arrow III #1317 has just arrived
The TVMs beneath an entrance sign
A little sign for the boarding point or waiting room
Bikes cover the area of the former, longer platform
Bikes outside the waiting room
Streetside view of the depot
Looking into a bench in the waiting room of the depot
The little non-public building across from where trains actually stop
A Dinky waits for another trip back to the Junction
The canopy covers only the farther car
Boarding Point or Waiting Room?
A random gravel lot along the southern end of the platform
Arrow III #1306 will soon be the front car of the next Junction-bound Dinky trip
Stairs up to the platform area
Last Updated: November 15, 2024
This website is not allifiated with New Jersey Transit, their official website is here
This Website is maintained and copyright © 2004-2025, Jeremiah Cox. This website is not affiliated with any transit provider. Please do not remote link images or copy them from this website without permission.
