By Capt. Bill McKelvey
The Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center finally opened its doors to their long-awaited historic Phillipsburg Union Railroad Station Museum. The event preceded the opening day of the 35th annual Phillipsburg Ole Towne Festival. Interestingly, the station was originally also a local trolley stop as well as a motor coach stop for several local and interurban operators in the past in addition to serving four railroads – the Jersey Central, Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley, and Pennsylvania.
The grand opening fundraiser featured a ribbon cutting by Mayor Todd Tersigni, the Phillipsburg High School Band, an elaborate buffet dinner prepared by Main Street Cafe, including local specialty wines & beers, and dessert on Friday, June 16th 2023 at 5:30 pm. Tickets to this historic event were $100 and 100% of the proceeds are going to the further restoration of the Station.
For 25+ years, the Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has been dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of New Jersey’s transport artifacts and vehicles. They own a fleet of 33 vintage motor coaches. Other NJ preservation groups also own buses, trolley cars and rail equipment. The Friends organization is headquartered in the historic Phillipsburg Union Station, which it owns. This restoration project has been in the works for many years, and it's finally coming to fruition for the "Friends" and The Town of Phillipsburg.
In the weeks leading up to the event, Aaron Coleman, who is a local resident owning a professional cleaning service and is a director of the Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center, led a major construction completion and cleanup effort, plus bringing in and installation of new exhibits and orchestrating the event with many volunteers.
Prominently displayed is the large “TERMINAL” sign which was preserved years ago by “Friends” members from the former Public Service Coordinated Transport trolley, All-Service Vehicle and bus center on Sip Avenue at Journal Square (Hudson & Manhattan RR, now PATH station) in Jersey City. Also pictured below are individual displays of the railroads which operated in Phillipsburg, bus, and other transport artifacts and memorabilia. The canal era is represented by a mackette, a small clay model created by sculptor, William D. Kilpatrick, of the executed large statue of a Morris Canal boatman, which was installed on the Hudson Bergen Light Rail at the corner of Essex and Hudson Streets in Jersey City in 1999. So, the model is displayed at one end of the Morris Canal and the executed statue commissioned by NJ Transit at the other. Visitors can be educated and entertained by viewing the exhibits, especially the display of numerous historic railroad excursion and fantrip flyers of trips which passed through Phillipsburg.
Coleman is also leading an effort to establish a transportation trail and corridor between Walters Park, Phillipsburg Union Tower & Station and Lehigh Junction, starting point of the Delaware River Rail Excursions which operate to the south. This corridor could ideally include the reconstruction of the Jersey Central Railroad roundhouse and turntable and a trolley and / or railway to connect the major venues in Phillipsburg. Phillipsburg Union Station is at the center of it all and welcomes your visit. For opening hours and times check their website: www.friendsnjthc.org .
A big thank you is in order for the many organizations and individuals which provided in kind help and donations toward the Phillipsburg Union Station restoration effort and the new exhibits displayed there. Some of them are: Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center; Invertase Brewing Company - beer; Kays Electric; Liberty Historic Railway - exhibits; Main Street Café, Phillipsburg - food; Moreau Construction – craftsmanship of molding, ticket windows, and restroom partitions; NJ Transit – exhibits and artifacts; NJ Youth Corps of Phillipsburg, Michael Muckle, lead – cleaning of property inside and outside; Norfolk Southern – for authentic train action by the station; Platinum Star Cleaning – funding and project management of restoration completion, cleaning, and exhibit displays; Town of Phillipsburg; TWA Designs – exhibit displays; and Warren County – restoration grants.
Please note that a web cam has been established at Phillipsburg Union Tower, across Main Street from PU Station. It is available intermittently, to view trains operating on the Norfolk Southern Lehigh Line through Phillipsburg.
Here is the YouTube link... LIVE NS Lehigh Line PTZ Railcam Phillipsburg, NJ LE76 AUDIO+720p
Photos below are courtesy of Aaron Coleman and Thomas Hellyer, both of the Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center plus Tap Into Phillipsburg.
