New Jersey Museum of Transportation

The New Jersey Museum of Transportation is a museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, and operation of historic railroad equipment. The organization runs excursion trains on a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge tourist railroad named the Pine Creek Railroad. The museum is independently operated along with the Allaire Village and is located in Allaire State Park in New Jersey.[1] The museum runs Easter Bunny Express trains in April, Haunted Halloween trains in October, and Santa Special trains on the weekends in December.

New Jersey Museum of Transportation & Pine Creek Railroad Museum

The Ely-Thomas Lumber Company No. 6 train
Location within Monmouth County, New Jersey
Established	1952
Location	Wall Township, New Jersey located within Allaire State Park
Coordinates	40.160130°N 74.129861°W
Type	Railroad museum
Collections	See "Collections" for list
Founder	James Wright Jay L. Wulfson Pierre "Pete" Rasmussen
Nearest parking	On-site
Website	www.njmt.org

History

The origins of the New Jersey Museum of Transportation began with the purchase of a Baldwin 0-4-0T engine from the Raritan River Sand Company in 1952 by a pair of railroad enthusiasts. This first engine was named the Pine Creek No. 1 and was eventually sold to the Walt Disney company, where it was overhauled and renamed the #4 Ernest S. Marsh. The engine is still in use today at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California.

Initially a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) plot of land on Route 9 in Marlboro was purchased where the railroad was run as a tourist attraction, but in 1952 when the organization was facing large property tax increases the not-for-profit Pine Creek Railroad Division of the New Jersey Museum of Transportation was formed and the operations were moved to its present-day location in Allaire State Park.

While the Pine Creek railroad loop runs adjacent to the abandoned Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad that skirts the park (now known as the Edgar Felix Bikeway), it was never part of that rail line right-of-way.

Collection

The following is only a partial listing of equipment that has been or is currently at the Museum.[2]

Original Owner	Number	Wheel Arrangement	Date Built	Builder	Acquired	Sold	Status	Notes
Steam Locomotives:
Raritan River Sand Co.	10	0-4-0T	?	Baldwin Locomotive Works	1950	1959	Off Roster	[3]
Hope Natural Gas Company	3	0-4-0T	?	H. K. Porter, Inc	1956	1960	Off Roster	[4]
Raritan Copper Works	9	0-4-0T	1924	H. K. Porter, Inc	1956	N/A	In storage	[5]
Ely-Thomas Lumber Co.	6	Two-Truck Shay	1927	Lima Locomotive Works[6]	1955	N/A	In Storage	[7]One of the last narrow gauge Shays left in the world
Chiriqui Land Co.	46	2-6-0	1914	H. K. Porter, Inc	1969	N/A	In Storage	[8]
Cavan and Leitrim Railway	3	4-4-0T	1887	Robert Stephenson & Co.	1959	N/A	In storage	[9]
Lehigh Valley Coal Company	117	0-4-0T	1925	Vulcan Iron Works	2005	N/A	On display	[10]
Surry, Sussex and Southampton Railway	26	2-6-2	1920	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2014	N/A	In storage	[11]
Diesel Locomotives:
Plymouth Locomotive Works(?)	1	B	?	Plymouth Locomotive Works	?	N/A	In Storage	[12]
Pouch Terminal Co.	2	B	1929	Mack Trucks Inc.	1982	N/A	In Storage	[13]
Marcus Sand Company	5	B	1920(?)	Plymouth Locomotive Works	?		Operational	[14]
Jackson Model 4000 Track Tamper	12	B	?	Jackson	2005	N/A	Under Restoration	[15]
US Steel	39	B-B	1955	General Electric	1991	N/A	In Storage	[16]
US Steel	41	B-B	1955	General Electric	1991	N/A	Scrapped	[17]
US Steel	45	B-B	1955	General Electric	1991	N/A	Operational	[18]
Alcoa	701	B	1920s	Davenport Locomotive Works	?	N/A	In Storage	[19]
United States Army	7751	B	1942	General Electric	1977	N/A	Operational	[20]
Rolling Stock:
United States Navy	?	B-B	1942(?)	United States Navy (?)	1977(?)	N/A	In Storage	[21]
Raritan River Railroad	7	B-B	?	Raritan River Railroad (?)	1920s(?)	N/A	Used as Office	[22]
Newfoundland Railway	502	B-B	1902	?	1960s	N/A	Operational	[23]
Newfoundland Railway	509	B-B	1902	?	1960s	N/A	In Storage	[24]
East Broad Top Railroad	824	B-B	?	American Car and Foundry Company	1967(?)	N/A	Static Display	[25]
Central Railroad of Pennsylvania (CNJ)	22866	B-B	Early 1940s	Association of American Railroads	1983(?)	N/A	Not Operational	[26]
Central Railroad of Pennsylvania (CNJ)	23193	B-B	Early 1940s	Association of American Railroads	1983(?)	N/A	Not Operational	[27]
Central Railroad of Pennsylvania (CNJ)	24343	B-B	Early 1940s	Association of American Railroads	1983(?)	N/A	Not Operational	[28]
United States Navy	331787	B-B	1942	United States Navy(?)	1977	N/A	Operational	[29]
Central Railroad of New Jersey	91155	B-B	1874	New Jersey Southern Railroad	1972	N/A	Operational	[30]
Central Railroad of New Jersey	91542(?)	B-B	?	New Jersey Southern Railroad	?	N/A	In Storage	[31]

Grounds

Buildings on the grounds include the Allenwood Station (built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in the early 1940s for use in Allenwood, NJ), the Freneau Station (built by the Jersey Central in the early 1900s on the CNJ Freehold Branch), a Union Newsstand (built circa 1910 in Manasquan, NJ, purchased in 1969), a crossing shanty, a maintenance shop, a heavy equipment building, a car barn (used for storage of rolling stock), as well as an office (Raritan River Railroad #7).

Sunken engines

In 1985, two steam engines were found side by side and in an upright position by charter boat Captain Dan Lieb in 90 feet (27 m) of water 5 miles (8.0 km) off the coast of Long Branch.[32] Further identification of these engines occurred in 2004 when a team of diving and railroad enthusiasts working along with the History Channel production team investigated the engines. After viewing several digital images it was discovered, through the evidence of several artifacts on the engines, that they were Civil War-era Planet Class 2-2-2[lower-alpha 1] locomotives from between 1850 and 1855.[33][34]

On September 25, 2004, the New Jersey Museum of Transportation was granted custody of the two engines by US District Judge Joseph Irenas. The museum hopes one day to raise the relics for display and interpretation at the museum.[34]

Notes

1. Planet Class were actually 2-2-0, 2-2-2 was the enlarged successor Patentee class.

References

1. New Jersey Museum of Transportation web site, retrieved December 19, 2011
2. "Projects". New Jersey Museum of Transportation. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
3. "Raritan River Sand Company No. 10". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
4. "Hope Natural Gas Co. No. 3". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
5. "Raritan Copper Works No. 9". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
6. Shop Number 3314
7. "Ely-Thomas Lumber Co. No. 6". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
8. "Chiriqui Land Co. No. 46". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
9. "���Alcoa Mill Products���[Alcoa Kasei]", Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007-03-15, doi:10.1002/9780470114735.hawley00375, ISBN 978-0-470-11473-5, retrieved 2020-11-10 replacement character in |title= at position 1 (help)
10. "Lehigh Valley Coal Company No. 117". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
11. "���Alcoa Mill Products���[Alcoa Kasei]", Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007-03-15, doi:10.1002/9780470114735.hawley00375, ISBN 978-0-470-11473-5, retrieved 2020-11-10 replacement character in |title= at position 1 (help)
12. "���Alcoa Mill Products���[Alcoa Kasei]", Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007-03-15, doi:10.1002/9780470114735.hawley00375, ISBN 978-0-470-11473-5, retrieved 2020-11-10 replacement character in |title= at position 1 (help)
13. "���Alcoa Mill Products���[Alcoa Kasei]", Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007-03-15, doi:10.1002/9780470114735.hawley00375, ISBN 978-0-470-11473-5, retrieved 2020-11-10 replacement character in |title= at position 1 (help)
14. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
15. "Jackson Model 4000 Track Tamper". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
16. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
17. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
18. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
19. "���Alcoa Mill Products���[Alcoa Kasei]", Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007-03-15, doi:10.1002/9780470114735.hawley00375, ISBN 978-0-470-11473-5, retrieved 2020-11-10 replacement character in |title= at position 1 (help)
20. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
21. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
22. "United States of America on Behalf of Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, Canadian Car and Foundry Company, et al. v. Germany". American Journal of International Law. 33 (4): 770–772. October 1939. doi:10.2307/2192895. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2192895.
23. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
24. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
25. "United States of America on Behalf of Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, Canadian Car and Foundry Company, et al. v. Germany". American Journal of International Law. 33 (4): 770–772. October 1939. doi:10.2307/2192895. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 2192895.
26. "Designing Operational NWP Systems", Operational Weather Forecasting, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 109–148, 2012-12-27, doi:10.1002/9781118447659.ch5, ISBN 978-1-118-44765-9, retrieved 2020-11-10
27. "Designing Operational NWP Systems", Operational Weather Forecasting, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 109–148, 2012-12-27, doi:10.1002/9781118447659.ch5, ISBN 978-1-118-44765-9, retrieved 2020-11-10
28. "Designing Operational NWP Systems", Operational Weather Forecasting, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 109–148, 2012-12-27, doi:10.1002/9781118447659.ch5, ISBN 978-1-118-44765-9, retrieved 2020-11-10
29. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
30. "���Alcoa Mill Products���[Alcoa Kasei]", Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2007-03-15, doi:10.1002/9780470114735.hawley00375, ISBN 978-0-470-11473-5, retrieved 2020-11-10 replacement character in |title= at position 1 (help)
31. "The New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc". njmt.org. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
32. Shiffman, John (19 September 2004). "Old trains discovered off N.J. coast are called 'real archeological find'". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
33. LuBrant, James (4 July 2007). "The Holy Grail of Railroading - A Most Unusual Find" (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2015. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
34. Boyd, Ellsworth (July 2005). "Train Wrecked". Sport Diver. 13 (6): 12. ISSN 1077-985X. Retrieved 25 March 2015.

External links

• New Jersey Museum of Transportation
• Allaire State Park