Princeton’s Exile of Dinky Train Pits Locals Against Ivy League

Princeton, New Jersey, can cope with the headache of a $330 million construction zone around its Ivy League university, the town’s biggest taxpayer. Disrespect for the Dinky, though, is another matter.

Since 1865, the two-car train has been residents’ New York connection, its station a landmark amid Princeton University’s Gothic towers. The 2.7-mile (4.3 kilometer) run between campus and Princeton Junction, where New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains stop, is the shortest scheduled commuter rail in the U.S., according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.