Of course, I sent the photos in the table below to a bunch of folks with two questions, 1) is this brown rail a Clapper or a King ? and 2) is it a juvenile or an adult?
 

To see a larger image of any of these photos,  please click on either the thumbnails or the captions ...thanks!

    The responses are as follows:

      1.)  From Scott Barnes, Senior Naturalist, New Jersey Audubon

    I am wondering if this bird is a very bright juvenile Clapper Rail.  Kings are generally denizens of freshwater marshes, and sometimes low-saline brackish wetlands.  By default I
    would label most any large rail in the tidal ditches at Brig to be a Clapper, but birds do have wings and behave strangely, so you never know!

      2.) From Kevin Karlson, Wildlife Photographer and Co-author of "The Shorebird Guide"

:      "  Howard, I was out of town for a few days and just got this message. The bird is a juvenile bird, due to the condition of the underpart feathers and lack of definition on the flank
    markings, but it is so bright on the back feather fringes, with solid black centers, that it must be a King Rail. The other supporting feature for King Rail is the spotting on the neck,
    which Clapper lacks. Female King only shows muted spotting on the neck, but this bird has noticeably spotting on the neck and a really bright face and supercilium as well. It looks
    perfect for a juvenile King Rail, although the plumage is brighter than any King or Gulf Coast Clapper that I have ever seen. I can only deduce that juvenile King must be one hell
    of a bright bird, and your pictures don't lie. I have seen a few juvenile Clapper Rails in the last few weeks, including a few at Bombay Hook, and they were dull looking things that
    lacked any bright coloration to the back feathers or face. Your bird jumps right out of the frame, but the plumage traits are consistent with King Rail as well. Thanks for sending me
    these photos. They are also really nice shots, Howard. Kevin"

     3.)  From Frank Rohrbacher, Secretary of the Delaware Records Committee        

    "   Hi Howard, I'm not a rail expert. Having said that I think that this is a juv King Rail molting into adult. I am assuming that the area that the picture was taken in is suitable for
    King Rail breeding which means that it contains fresh water marsh or at least very low salinity brackish water. I reiterate that I am not a rail expert. Thanks Frank"

     4.)  From Nick Pulcinella, Secretary Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee

    : "  Sorry, I didn't get back to you sooner but I've been working too many hours. The rail looks like a young bird and I think it MIGHT be a King Rail. King is supposed to have the
    black back feathers bordered with orange-brown which this bird appears to have. Clapper is supposed to have gray bordered back feathers. Nick"

      5.)  From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology

     "  Dear Howard, Thanks for your inquiry. I sent your photos to two different ornithologists here at the Lab, just to be certain. Here’s the consensus: It looks like a classic adult King
     Rail to me. It is brightly colored, has a completely reddish face, large blackish centers to the back feathers, and in one photo shows (I think) wide blackish bars on the flanks. The
     first bird is a Clapper Rail and shows the typical gray and buffy chest, gray face, brownish centers to the back feathers, and paler dark stripes on the flanks."

     Anne Hobbs, Public Information Specialist, Cornell Lab of Ornithology"

        6.)  And from Louisiana State University, Department of Biological Sciences

     "   Hello Howard,

     I'm a PhD student studying hybridization between King and Clapper rails in Louisiana and a friend sent me a link to your page today. I have collected specimens and done genetic
     research on many birds along the hybrid zone in Louisiana, which is substantially wider than it is along the Atlantic coast.Based on my observations and specimens, the bird in
     your photographs is a first year King Rail. The white and dark mottling on the breast and lack of flank barring is consistent with a bird molting from juvenal plumage into adult
     plumage. It is not unusual for recently dispersed King Rails to show up in brackish or salt marshes. This bird was probably hatched around 3 months ago and should be in full
     adult plumage within the next two weeks. Based on my observations of many hybrids this bird is not consistent with a hybrid. The bill looks stout, shorter, and not as downcurved
     as a typical Clapper Rail's. Also, the rich chestnut throat, back, and face are consistent with King Rail.

       
       James M. Maley, PhD Candidate, Department of Biological Sciences, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University "

Probable King Rail

  Conclusion:  Based on Dr. Bernie Master's experience, the comments above, and all I could find in the literature on the identification
  of Rails,  this very beautiful brown bird is a probable juvenile or very young adult King Rail!