New Jersey Museum of Transportation
 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 |
| Type | Railroad museum |
| Collections | See "Collections" for list |
| Founder | James Wright Jay L. Wulfson Pierre "Pete" Rasmussen |
| Nearest parking | On-site |
| Website | www |
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 Santa Special trains on the weekends in December.
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 California theme park.
Initially a 2.5 acres (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 | Builder | Acquired | Sold | Status | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raritan River Sand Co. | 10 | 0-4-0T | Baldwin Locomotive Works | 1950 | 1959 | [3] | |
| Hope Natural Gas Company | 3 | 0-4-0T | H. K. Porter, Inc | 1956 | 1960 | [4] | |
| Raritan Copper Works | 9 | 0-4-0T | H. K. Porter, Inc | 1956 | In storage | [5] | |
| Ely-Thomas Lumber Co. | 6 | Two-Truck Shay | Lima Locomotive Works | 1955 | Under restoration | [6] | |
| Chiriqui Land Co. | 46 | 2-6-0 | H. K. Porter, Inc | 1969 | Under restoration | [7] | |
| Cavan and Leitrim Railway | 3 | 4-4-0T | Robert Stephenson & Co. | 1959 | In storage | ||
| Lehigh Valley Coal Company | 117 | 0-4-0T | Vulcan Iron Works | 2005 | On display | [8] | |
| Jackson Model 4000 Track Tamper | 2005 | Under restoration | [9] |
Sunken engines
In 1985, two Civil War-era 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.[10] The origins of these engines remained a mystery until 2004 when a team of diving and railroad enthusiasts working along with the a History Channel production team investigated the engines. After viewing several digital images it was discovered, through the evidence of several artifacts on the engines themselves, that the engines were Planet Class 2-2-2 locomotives from between 1850 and 1855.[11][12]
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.[12]
References
- ^ New Jersey Museum of Transportation web site, retrieved December 19, 2011
- ^ "Projects". New Jersey Museum of Transportation. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Raritan River Sand Company No. 10". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Hope Natural Gas Co. No. 3". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Raritan Copper Works No. 9". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Ely-Thomas Lumber Co. No. 6". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Chiriqui Land Co. No. 46". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Lehigh Valley Coal Company No. 117". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Jackson Model 4000 Track Tamper". Projects. New Jersey Museum of Transportation, Inc. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ Shiffman, John (19 September 2004). "Old trains discovered off N.J. coast are called 'real archeological find'". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ LuBrant, James (4 July 2007). "The Holy Grail of Railroading - A Most Unusual Find" (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2015.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b Boyd, Ellsworth (July 2005). "Train Wrecked". Sport Diver. 13 (6): 12. ISSN 1077-985X. Retrieved 25 March 2015.