Cape May Seashore Lines
| Cape May Seashore Lines | |
|---|---|
|
 Tuckahoe Station |
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| Reporting mark | CMSL |
| Locale | Cape May County and Atlantic County, New Jersey |
| Dates of operation | 1984–present |
| Predecessor | Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Length | 27 miles (43 km) |
| Headquarters | Tuckahoe, New Jersey |
| Website | capemayseashorelines.org |
Cape May Seashore Lines (reporting mark CMSL) is a short line railroad in southern New Jersey. It offers two excursion services; a 30-mile round trip between Richland and Tuckahoe, and a 14-mile round trip between Rio Grande, Cold Spring Village, and Cape May City. The track is owned by New Jersey Transit and leased to CMSL. Connections are provided with Conrail's Beesley's Point Secondary, owned jointly by CSX and Norfolk Southern, at the north end in Tuckahoe. Tony Macrie has been president of CMSL since the company was formed in 1984.
CMSL operates both freight trains and excursion trains.
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[edit] History
The line to Cape May was built by the Tuckahoe and Cape May Railroad, and operated by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway's Atlantic City Railroad and later Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (PRSL). At one time, the rail line that both excursions travel on was known as "The Steel Speedway To The Shore." Eventually it became part of Conrail, which ended passenger service on the line in 1981, ended freight service on October 10, 1983 and sold the line to New Jersey Transit as their Cape May Branch.[1]
CMSL was founded by Tony Macrie in January 1984. Regular train service between Cape May Court House and Cold Spring Village began in 1996. Service was extended in Cape May City in 1999 after repairs to the swing bridge crossing the Cape May Canal were completed.[2]
In 2005, mechanical issues with the Cape May Canal swing bridge prevented trains from entering the city of Cape May. Although the bridge was repaired a year later, a severe storm in April 2007 damaged the tracks and left locomotives stranded in Tuckahoe. After a series of minor setbacks, passenger train service between Rio Grande and Cape May City resumed on August 17, 2010.[2]
[edit] Roster
The CMSL owns and leases a diverse roster of equipment:
- restored Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) GP9 #7000;
- restored Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) GP7 #1523 (Macrie is looking into leasing #1524 as well);
- restored, nine of the 12 original PRSL Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDC);
- two unrestored Boston and Maine Railroad RDC-9s
- two unrestored P70 coaches;
- New York Central Railroad passenger car 37;
- Lehigh Valley Railroad F7A's #576 and #578;
- several United Railroad Historical Society coaches;
- unrestored Long Island Rail Road lounge car;
- several unrestored un-numbered PRR P70 coaches, including the last two surviving PRSL P70 coaches;
- two cabooses;
- an RS3m, formerly Pennsylvania Railroad 8481, owned by CMSL and wearing faded Conrail blue
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Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive 7000
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Jersey Central locomotive 1523
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Lehigh Valley locomotive 576
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NY Central passenger car 37
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Seashore Lines RDC car M 410
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Seashore Lines RDC car M 407
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Passenger car 1706
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ex Conrail RS3m
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ sjrails.com "History of Trains to the Shore." Cape May Seashore Lines Page. Accessed 2011-06-24.
- ^ a b Degener, Richard (2010-08-18). "Seashore Line resumes train service to Cape May as tourist attraction". Press of Atlantic City (Pleasantville, NJ). http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/communities/lower_capemay/article_d46dd0f0-aa4d-11df-91f9-001cc4c002e0.html.
- Fichter, Jack (2007-10-30). "County Rail System? Adocates: $27 Million Needed". Cape May County Herald (Rio Grande, NJ). http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/11543-county-rail-system-adocates-27-million-needed.
[edit] External links
- Cape May Seashore Lines - Official site
- "Cape May Seashore Lines" - Unofficial site
- CMSL photos at Octrainguy.com
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