Plymouth #2173

On Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, Berkeley Township, NJ, held their annual Founder’s Day celebration at Veteran’s Park which provided an opportunity for a hearty “Welcome Home” to Plymouth #2173. Prior to spending a long career in NY State brick yards, #2173 started its working days digging Crystal Lake as part of the Royal Pines resort complex in the 1920s in Berkeley Township. LHRy provided the funding to the Berkeley Township Historical Society to make the acquisition possible. The parade, probably a first for a Plymouth locomotive, shows it being moved from its storage site to a prominent display spot within the park. Note the photo of the No. 2173 as it passed by the Royal Pines hotel, now a nursing home. Patients were out to welcome it home as the truck drove around the neighborhood over the original R-O-W that the Plymouth would have toiled over. Also included are new photos uncovered by the Society which provide fascinating details of the construction process and equipment used. LHRy was featured in the center of the display with plenty of credit provided and many thanks. There are plans coming together to restore the locomotive, perhaps to operation. They are looking for a proper dump car to join it. Submitted by LHRy Vice Chair, J. R. May. All photos by J. R. May.

Hercules Diesel Genset

Six-cylinder Hercules diesel genset donated by Jason Wechsler on its way from Boonton Yard to Rand Urmston's shop in Montville; loaded with the URHS fork lift by Eril Stenzel. It will be restored to operation, with technical guidance from Jason, configured to produce 600 volts DC, mounted on the track cart, and enclosed in an engine nacelle. When completed it will be a towed portable power source for trolley cars. Jason's photo with Capt. Bill as a "prop" in the view.

Trolley Exhibit Opens in Mahwah

From Mahwah to Moscow – North Jersey’s Trolley Era via Model and Memorabilia

­In an era before most people could afford automobiles, the trolley provided economical mass transit.  Dreamt to run from Suffern through Paterson and into New York City, the North Jersey Rapid Transit Trolley ran from 1908 and 1928.  Its unfortunate demise came when two trolley’s collided tragically head-on in Glen Rock.  Yet, the tracks lived on to service the Trans-Siberian Railway that ran from Moscow to Vladivostok.

See the fascinating trolley artifacts of the North Jersey Electric Railway Historical Society on special loan from the Liberty Historic Railway. View the incredible one-of-a kind, exact-to-scale Hollis Bachman Model Trolley Collection, and delight in the moving miniature NJRT trolley railway.  Mahwah’s 1929 Erie Caboose will also be open for special viewing during this exhibit

See it all at the Old Station Museum located at Old Station Lane, adjacent to the Mahwah train station, Ramapo Avenue.  Open Sundays 2pm – 4pm, June 26 – Sept 26. Suggested donation $3.00 adults, children free.

Trenton Trolley Moved

Eric Strohmeyer photo

LHRy-owned remains of Trenton Transit trolley No. 288 were moved from Columbus, NJ to the siding LHRy has leased @ Merola Tile, Farmingdale, NJ on May 25, 2022. "Rotator" or "Sidewinder" wrecker boom, with two lift cables, from Flynn's Towing, Mt. Holly, NJ has lifted 288 off Flynn's Landall trailer. It is about to be lowered onto CNJ Freight car trucks from the Allentown & Auburn RR moved by Bill Amaducci. Tow-truck at left is pulling the trucks into position under 288. Car 288 was then moved 500' on rail for the first time in 87 years! The move was excellently managed by LHRy Vice Chair, J. R. May, the 288 project coordinator.

Port Jervis Transportation History Center Grand Opening!

By Capt. Bill McKelvey

Saturday, May 28th, 2022, Memorial Day Weekend, was the first day for the big event which was initiated with the first equipment arriving on the site in December, 2021 – just six months prior.  The first-ever Port Jervis Transportation Festival was held on the three days – Sat., Sun., and Mon. of the holiday weekend.  It should be noted that Port Jervis is located just one mile from New Jersey and is directly across the Delaware River from Pennsylvania.

The Port Jervis Transportation History Center (PJTHC) is the nucleus of a collaborative effort between four local non-profit organizations: Operation Toy Train of New York; the Outdoor Club of Port Jervis; the Friends of Port Jervis Art & History; and the Tri-States Railway Preservation Society (not to be confused with the Tri-State Railway Historical Society, a NRHS Chapter in NJ).  In addition, the Dining Car Society has moved their fleet of cars from Scranton, PA to Port Jervis, NY with the funding assistance of Liberty Historic Railway. 

The PJTHC City-owned site is ten acres, which includes the historic, operational, Erie Railroad turntable, with several original yard tracks accessible to it, the locomotive sand towers, and the over one-mile long Delaware & Hudson Canal right-of-way parallel to it on the north side.  This initiative is a wonderful interpretive transportation history exhibit and an asset to the surrounding community.  Originally served by the Erie and New York, Ontario & Western Railroads, current operators are Metro-North Railroad with commuter service from Hoboken, NJ and freight service operated by the New York, Susquehanna & Western, the Middletown & New Jersey and Norfolk Southern.  Port Jervis was the destination of a series of over two dozen excursions powered by the famous former C & O No. 614 steam locomotive, promoted by Iron Horse Enterprises.  Surely the transportation history of the free-flowing Delaware River and Delaware & Hudson Canal will be included in the center when fully developed.

Although the PJTHC looks quite distant on the map, I traveled there on good roads in 80 minutes from Berkeley Heights.  The PJTHC is also accessible by trains of Metro-North and their station is adjacent to the Erie turntable.  The visitor was greeted by the very first NJ Transit Comet l commuter coach ever built, displayed on the turntable along with one of their small diesel locomotives.  Nearby were the exhibit cars of the Tri-States Railway Preservation Society and the exhibit, theater, and sales car of Operation Toy Train. 

The growing collection of rolling stock of the PJTHC includes three Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey  - circus cars – two of which were circus worker dormitory cars and the third transported horses.  Another car contains the Detroit Diesel generator set which powers the Lackawanna dining car No. 469 and the other coaches.  They currently have a total of eight coaches; seven boxcars (three of which are Fruit Growers Express); two cabooses; and three locomotives: Middletown & New Jersey No. 2, a GE 44 tonner (which Liberty Historic Railway funded the purchase and trucking to the site); U.S. Army No. 7299, an 18-ton Plymouth; and a very rare Baldwin Lima Hamilton 25-ton switch engine.  Local volunteers have gotten the 18-tonner, 25-tonner, and half of the 44-tonner operating.   The National Museum of Industrial History’s rubber tired “TUG” was on display just for the weekend.  It was an airport tug, acquired by Bethlehem Steel, who installed a RR coupler on one end and used it to move rolling stock at their Bethlehem, PA facility before it was donated to NMIH.   

The highlight of my visit was dinner in the Lackawanna dining car No. 469 for the inaugural railroad culinary event at its new home in Port Jervis.  This car was built in 1949 for the Lackawanna Railroad and was assigned for use on their famous Hoboken-to-Buffalo train “Phoebe Snow”.  In 1960 this car became Erie Lackawanna No. 769 and in 1966 the car was reassigned to run on the Hoboken-to-Chicago “Lake Cities” which ran through Port Jervis.  After retirement in 1970 this dining car was stored in the railyard at Port Jervis for two years before being sold to a series of owners.  Finally, the non-profit Dining Car Society purchased the car in 2010 and has fully restored it.  The car is now based at PJTHC and is available for stationary and moving culinary events both for the general public and for private charters or rental.

Fran Phillips was the Executive Chef for our dinners at the Port Jervis Transportation Festival in Diner No. 469.  The dinner menu included an appetizer of hummus and tapenade on crostini with mixed olives; green salad: chiffonade of iceberg lettuce, radish slices, carrot ribbons, and tomato with choice of PRR or CP dressing; a choice of entrees: chicken creole (Atlantic Coast Line Railroad): with rice and green beans: OR pork tenderloin with Riesling sauce (New York Central Railroad) with potatoes and green beans; OR: creamed spinach Florentine (Missouri Pacific Railroad) with potato gnocchi and parmesan.  Desert was vanilla ice cream (from Port Jervis’ own Riverside Creamery) with choice of Pennsylvania Railroad caramel sauce or Baltimore & Ohio Railroad chocolate sauce. 

Beverages included unlimited coffee, tea, and soft drinks plus two complimentary beers or wines.  The beer was from Fox “N” Hare Brewing Co., Port Jervis: Hillside Harvest – Hefeweizen OR Session IPA – India Pale Ale; and the wine, from City Winery, Montgomery, NY, included 2019 “Montgomery Mills” Riesling (excellent!) OR 2019 “NYC Cab” Cabernet Sauvignon.  A perfect ending to the Grand Opening of a brand-new Transportation History Center with a truly outstanding opportunity for their future success.  Congratulations from a confirmed supporter!  

The most successful transportation heritage centers offer various ride experiences on vintage transport equipment.  The PJTHC should consider implementing such improvements to make their center competitively attractive.  Future opportunities and possibilities for the PJTHC include;

Rides in a coach or in the Dining car during a meal, while rotating on the turntable.

Installation of a 2’ gauge railway ride on the historic Delaware & Hudson Canal towpath.

Restoration of the Delaware & Hudson Canal to hold water and provide canal boat rides.

A ride experience in a horsecar, stagecoach, or trolley parallel to the Delaware & Hudson Canal.

Additional attractions available in the Port Jervis area include;

The Erie Hotel & Restaurant, 9 Jersey Avenue, built in 1890, is filled with character and many historic elements including an 18th century German hand-carved back bar, railroad momentos and photos of early Port Jervis. 

The former Erie Railroad Port Jervis station at the corner of Jersey Avenue and Fowler Street was built in 1892 in the Queen Anne style.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, was subsequently renovated, and now houses several small shops.

Fort Decker, 125 – 133 East Main Street, built in 1793, is the oldest building in Port Jervis and houses the Minisink Valley Historical Society.

The Delaware River separates Port Jervis from Matamoras, PA and is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.  It is also one of the few remaining large free-flowing rivers in the US.  At one time coal and timber were shipped down the Delaware to tidewater consumers as well as to the Delaware & Raritan Canal.

High Point State Park and New Jersey Veteran’s Memorial is 1,803 feet above sea level and is the highest elevation in New Jersey.  It is located about 8 miles south of Port Jervis and has unrivaled views of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Alco-Cooke 0-4-0ST

Inspecting the Alco-Cooke 1911, 0-4-0ST steam locomotive at Paterson Museum on January 4, 2021. It was built for and worked at American Brake Shoe & Foundry at Mahwah, NJ - a wonderful NJ pedigree. Left to Right: Gary Mathews, CMO, NYS&WT&HS; J.R. May, LHRy Vice Chair; Peg Robertson, ExDir, Great Falls Pres. & Dev. Corp; Capt. Bill; Don Chaudruc, LHRy Dir., & NYS&W T&HS Dir. At the time it was proposed that the locomotive be donated to and restored to operation by LHRy. Subsequently we have discovered complex problems with ownership / title and have decided to put this project on hold until more favorable circumstances surface. However, overall condition was better than expected - wheels are good to go, and we found one of two missing driving rods in basement of museum.

LHRy Leases Siding/Shop Trucks Delivered

In December 2018, LHRy took ownership of the Trenton #288, a J.G. Brill trolley car, and moved it to a secure storage site in Southampton, NJ while plans were developed for its restoration. Multiple work site options were explored by the LHRy board, mostly ruled out based on location or cost. Early in 2021, a siding became available in Farmingdale, NJ which would be of no cost if leased to a non-profit. On 14 February 2022 the lease was fully executed and LHRy now had its "own" siding at Merola Tile Co. in Farmingdale to be shared with another non-profit, Railroad Restorations, Inc. A special thanks to William Amaducci / Polaris Equipment Co. and his crew, Bobby and Cliffy, who on Friday, 18 March, moved the trucks from the Boonton yard to Farmingdale. A second thanks goes to Mike Bast of the Allentown and Auburn RR for loaning us the shop trucks. They are "CRR of PA 1947" from a URHS "basket case" CNJ box car which was scrapped at Boonton by the A&A RR. Within the next month or so the 288 will be moved to its new home. Photo and text by JR May.

Stirling Hill Mining Museum Caboose

Liberty Historic Railway donated a genuine caboose stove to Stirling Hill Mining Museum for their Central RR of NJ caboose restoration project. The first-class project was one of the last which was managed / shepherded by the late Tom Hauck, youngest of the three brothers, two of whom founded the museum. LHRy recommended that the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway name / logo be placed on one side of the caboose and CNJ on the other side and they did so. This is most appropriate as "cabin cars" of both railroads operated on the L&HR.

Whippany Railway Museum Receives Significant Achievement Award - Passenger Car

WHIPPANY, NEW JERSEY - The Whippany Railway Museum is the recipient of the "2021 Significant Achievement Award - Passenger Car" by the HeritageRail Alliance (HRA) https://heritagerail.org/ for its complete restoration-to-operation of Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W) Subscription Club Car No. 2454. The award was presented to the Museum during the HRA Fall 2021 Virtual Conference on October 28, 2021. Museum trustee Terence Mulligan accepted the award on behalf of the Museum. Each year HRA celebrates and recognizes remarkable accomplishments in railroad preservation.

DL&W No. 2454 was the subject of a massive seven year, half-million dollar restoration project undertaken by Museum volunteers, with mechanical and heavy metal fabrication, and exterior painting conducted by contractor StarTrak, Inc., as well as additional work carried out by a host of other sub-contractors and volunteers. The project cost was underwritten with grants provided by the NJ County Transportation Officials Association (CTA) and Liberty Historic Railway, Inc.

As described by retired executive director of the Morris County (NJ) Department of Transportation, Frank Reilly (also a long-term CTA official), the restoration of No. 2454 is "...the rebirth of New Jersey's most historically significant railcar." Reilly went on to say that, "It is no ordinary railcar - it was built in 1912 by the Barney & Smith Car Company of Dayton, Ohio for special service on the Lackawanna Railroad. No. 2454 was a plush club-parlor car used exclusively by wealthy commuters on the "Millionaire's Express" that ran between Gladstone and Hoboken, NJ."

In the late-1920s, the DL&W began an aggressive suburban electrification program that would result in No. 2454 being refitted in 1930 for electric service - (celebrated New Jersey inventor Thomas A. Edison rode as a guest onboard 2454 on Sept. 22, 1930) where it continued to serve in its role as an exclusive club / parlor car, until it was retired in late-August 1984.

Museum president, Steve Hepler said: “The HeritageRail Alliance award confirms what our volunteers are capable of accomplishing.” Frank Reilly noted, that "Terence Mulligan of the Museum was put in charge of the 2454 restoration project. He is a very knowledgeable and dedicated gentleman with great drive and persistence for excellence." It was through Mr. Mulligan's guidance that the restoration of No. 2454 was completed with outstanding results.

Hepler added that there are new restoration projects awaiting. “This is the perfect opportunity for interested people to join the Museum as volunteers and get involved. We have a a number of projects coming up that will require work, but the end results will be very rewarding.”

About the Museum

Founded in 1965, the Whippany Museum is a 501(c) 3 non-profit, educational organization dedicated to the preservation of New Jersey's railroad history . The Museum, staffed by an all-volunteer membership, educates the public through interpretive displays and its excursion trains that operate between April and October each year.

Additional information about the Museum can be found online at www.WhippanyRailwayMuseum.net

Shore Line Trolley Museum President's Club

On August 5th, LHRy Chair, Capt. Bill was invited to the Shore Line Trolley Museum, East Haven, CT (established in 1945) for a special event recognizing about 40 donors who were inducted into their "President's Club". The event featured rides aboard their President's Parlor Car, Connecticut Company 500, a jewel of their fine collection which numbers about 100 cars, including 6 from NJ. This was followed by a catered dinner.

Kathy Slinsky photo

"Motorman" Bill McKelvey at the controls of car No. 34, built for Lynchburg, VA in 1899, but operated by the Five Mile Beach Electric Railway in Wildwood, NJ from 1927 to 1945. It was the first car acquired by the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, CT in 1945.

Mike Pastore photo

Newark City Subway Bridge to Stewartstown Railroad

Years ago McKelvey managed to save the brand new, but temporary bridge installed at Orange Street, Newark, which was used as a diversion while the original bridges for the Newark City Subway over the NJ Transit Morris & Essex Division were replaced. When the project was completed McKelvey asked for the 50 ton bridge (each pair was 25 tons) and the contractor said yes. All we had to do was to provide two tractor trailer rigs to carry away the beams at 2am. We did so with the help of John Browne and the late Sky Ball and son, Eddie (driver), and brought them to the NJ Transit lot at Phillipsburg where they were unloaded that morning and stored ever since. Recently, the Stewartstown Railroad needed one of the two pairs of the beams for a replacement bridge and approached owner, Friends of the NJ RR & Transportation Heritage Center, to acquire them. The deal was made and the move was managed by John Nolan of Diamond Crossing Enterprises on July 20, 2021 with a check for $4,000 to "Friends."

Boonton Bridge Inspection Results

In 2019 LHRy funded a $10,000 Civil Engineering Inspection of the 1896-1900 rail bridge in Boonton's Grace Lord Park as a goodwill gesture. At the time we were trying to interest the town in a trolley shuttle to use that bridge to access the park and the falls of the Rockaway River and establish a transportation and industry heritage center in an abandoned warehouse. The town rejected our initiative and the warehouse has been sold, probably for condo development. However, Morris County has approved a grant of $24,000 to continue the work LHRy funded to provide construction documents for the repair of the steel trestle and design for ADA approaches to the trestle, excluding a unique tourism-drawing trolley.

Book & Periodical Donation to NMIH

Capt. Bill has donated this collection of transportation (mostly railway) books, periodicals, annuals, journals, bulletins, newsletters, etc. to the National Museum of Industrial History for their growing archive and library. This second installment will be followed by others.

Segment of rail with deep wheel burn caused by a stalled freight train on a grade in the Rockies and an unresponsive crew.

Trackless Transit TDH-3207 No. 60

Several years ago LHRy pledged to fund the restoration of a Trackless Transit Company model TDH-3207 bus built in 1948 fo TT by GM Truck and Coach. Trackless Transit was an independent NJ operator established in 1922. The company included five rights on IBOA local routes (Independent, former jitney operators, routes 22,25,31,144). The TT scope of service was Belleville, Bloomfield, Orange, Linden. (Routes 98, 96, 94 in that order) with a small garage at 907 South Orange Avenue, near Grove St., Irvington for the transit routes and the charter coaches (Reliable Coach) were garaged at 274 First St. Hackensack.

TT had a dispute with NJ Transit over subsidy arrangements and abruptly ended all service. NJT then picked up the service. Ed Napiwocki, who rode TT buses from childhood to high school, and developed a fondness for the operation, acquired No. 60 in 1978, from Sandy Weiss, the last owner of TT. In 2003 Ed donated No. 60 to the Friends of the NJ Transportation Heritage Center collection.

TT No. 60 is one of the most historic buses in the NJ collection. It is the only first generation "squary window" bus and the last year of that design; it has the only Detroit Diesel 4-71 engine; the only bus equipped with a Spicer transmission; and the only example of a 28' old or new look bus in the collection. When LHRy agreed to provide funding, No. 60 was moved to Luke Bonagura's company, US Coach and Equipment in Vineland, NJ.

Luke of USC&E began the mechanical restoration, first focusing on the long-out-of-production vintage/rare Spicer two-speed transmission which needed a new complex carbon gasket to operate. After more than a year of searching old primary suppliers and secondary transmission shops Luke finally located a shop which had the necessary gasket as well as a spare Spicer transmission of the proper model. In mid-December 2020, Bonagura reported that the rebuild of the Spicer transmission had been a success and that he had No. 60 up on jacks and that it properly shifted from 1st to 2nd. Next, USC&E will rebuild the DD 4-71 engine and then work on the brake system. When all the mechanical work is completed, No. 60 will go to East Coast Bus Repair for body work and repainting into original as-delivered TT colors.

Note: the Spicer Company has NJ roots and is now known as Dana/Spicer.