The Chemical Coast is a section of Union and Middlesex counties in New Jersey located along the shores of the Arthur Kill, across from Staten Island, New York. The name is taken from the Conrail Chemical Coast Line, an important component in the ExpressRail system serving marine terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey. History The name was first used by Conrail to designate a freight railway line that served several chemical plants in the area. The rail line was started by the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad in 1871. However, the company ran out of capital during the panic of 1873 and was purchased by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ). The CNJ operated both freight and passenger service along the line into the twentieth century, referring to it as the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Branch. Passenger trains to Bay Head Junction, Atlantic Highlands, Freehold and Atlantic City (including the Blue Comet) utilized the line. There were passenger stations at Newark Airport, Elizabethport, Carteret, and Sewaren. At Elizabethport the CNJ also operated a car repair shop. Passenger service along the line ended in 1967 with the advent of the Aldene Plan when the Bay Head trains (the line's only remaining commuter service) were moved to Newark Penn Station. In 1976 Conrail took over ownership of the line and operation of the substantial freight business the line generated. The CNJ constructed a two-track bridge over lower Newark Bay in 1864, and upgraded it to a dual pair of four-track lift bridges known collectively as the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge in 1926. This bridge offered a route and service through Bayonne and access to the Communipaw Terminal with ferry service to New York City. After the Conrail takeover the bridge between Bayonne and Elizabethport was demolished in the 1980s, but some of the stone piers were left standing along the shores of Newark Bay. In 1872 the Singer Manufacturing Company of New York opened a factory in Elizabethport along Trumbull Street next to the intersection of the CNJ mainline with the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Branch. In 1873 Singer became a New Jersey corporation. The factory survived a major fire on May 6 and 7, 1890. During World War II much of the production capacity of the factory was shifted to war related work, with M1911 pistols being one of several items produced at Elizabethport. The factory