Adventurers in the Appalachia
My First trip on the Southwest Chief going to
the 2018 NRHS Convention in Cumberland, Maryland
Chapter Thirteen
Princeton Dinky
Pine Creek Railroad
August 3, 2018
Friday
by
Robin Bowers
Text and Photos by Author
The
author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed
without the author's consent.
Comments are appreciated at...yr.mmxx@gmail.com
After
finishing my morning ablutions, Chris and I left for the short
drive but long in duration due to the morning rush traffic for
the Princeton Jct, New Jersey commuter station with fee parking.
We then walked up to the south end of the east platform. We set
up at the south end and waited for the trains to arrive on this
first Friday morning in August.
Across the tracks to the west platform.
A truck tamper heads out to
work. The east track is out of service and a metal platform
extends over the track so Princeton Jct has only the middle
track for express trains. Therefore it has only three tracks
instead of the normal four tracks.
New Jersey Transit 3821 arriving at Princeton Jct.
New Jersey Transit 3932 heads toward New York City.
Amtrak Northeast Regional 130 approaching the station.
Acela Express 2109 flew through Princeton Jct.
Amtrak Northeast Regional 185 came through Princeton Jct.
Boarding the Dinky at Princeton Jct.
Chris and I walked over to, under and
up to the west platform and he helped me operate the New Jersey
Transit ticket machine. We then waited for the dinky to arrive
and once it did, boarded the train for the 2.5 mile trip to
Princeton. The New Jersey Transit dinky is a two-car set
consisting of cars 1311 and 1319.
I was unable to get many photos as the turn around time was short.
Views of Princeton campus.
Who hasn't heard of Princeton, the Ivy League School.
Waiting at the Princeton platform.
Inside our return car.
We returned to Princeton Jct, used the restrooms then left
Princeton Jct at West Windsor for our next stop at Allaire State
Park.
Pine Creek Railroad
New Jersey Museum of Transportation
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 foot 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. 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 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.
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 of water 5 miles off the coast of
Long Branch. Further identification of these engines occurred in
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, that they were Civil War-era Planet Class 2-2-2
locomotives from between 1850 and 1855.
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.
The Collection
Raritan River Sand Company 0-4-0 10 Baldwin
Locomotive Works
Hope Natural Gas Company 0-4-0T 3 H. K. Porter, Inc
Raritan Copper Works 0-4-0T 9 H. K. Porter, Inc
Ely-Thomas Lumber Company 6 Lima Locomotive Works
Chiriqui Land Company 2-6-0 6 H. K. Porter, Inc
Cavan and Leitrim Railway 4-4-0T 3 Robert Stephenson &
Company
Lehigh Valley Coal Company 4-4-0T 117 Vulcan Iron Works
Our Visit
We walked towards the waiting train.
Chris standing near the Union News Stand with the Freneau
Passenger Station in back.
United States Army Locomotive No. 7751.
Locomotive 7751 was built for
the US Army by General Electric Corporation in October 1942, a
good year, in Schenectady, New York, serial number 15860. It was
built as part of a batch of 25 engines, some of which were
standard gauge and purchased by the US Army Transportation Corp.
The locomotive saw service by the Army in Oahu, Hawaii (Pearl
Harbor) during World War II for the movement of civilian base
workers, sailors, soldiers, airmen and marines, on the tracks of
the Oahu Railroad and Land Company both from Honolulu to their
bases, or from those bases back to Honolulu for coveted rest and
relaxation. After the war's end it was stored serviceable by
Army and acquired by the New Jersey Museum of Transportation in
1977.
Central Railroad of New
Jersey (CRRNJ) Caboose #91155 Class NEa was built as a box car
in 1874 for the New Jersey Southern Railroad (NJSR). It was
renumbered to CRRNJ 31943 when the NJSR was acquired by the
CRRNJ in 1888. The box car was converted to caboose #91155 in
November, 1902 at a cost of $500. A steel under-frame was
installed in October, 1921 at a cost of $1,000. Plywood siding
was installed circa 1950. The caboose was purchased by the NJMT
in 1972, restored and placed in service June 16, 1973. At this
time we were introduced to the train crew, Richard the engineer
and Kenny the conductor. Kenny gave us a private and excellent
tour of the grounds and inside the buildings.
Former NY & LB Ludlow Avenue Crossing Shanty (1885).
Lehigh Valley Coal 0-4-0 117 built by Vulcan Iron Works in
1925. It was later sold to Jeddo-Highland Coal Co. 117 at Jeddo,
Pennsylvania.
East Broad Top gondola car 824 built by American Car and Foundry
Company ib 1914.
The Freneau Station was
located at milepost 10.45 of the CRRNJ 12 mile long Freehold
Branch. It was built in 1907 for the Freehold and Atlantic
Highlands Railway (CRRNJ) at a cost of $2,118.60. The station
was closed in April 1953 and retired by the CRRNJ on August 3,
1955 after the abandonment of passenger service on the the
branch in 1954. The museum acquire the building in 1995.
Oschwald Brick Company model FLB type-2 4 and three foot gauge 7
ton switcher 4.
Passenger Car under restoration. We were taken into the shop
building.
Pine Creek Railroad
Locomotive # 5 was built by Plymouth Locomotive Works, Plymouth,
Ohio in April, 1930 as Model DL Type 2, serial number 3450.The
locomotive was used by the Marcus Sand Company in Miltown, NJ to
haul sand from the shovel in the pits to the washer plant.
Formerly a gasoline engine, the locomotive was converted to
diesel in 1954. It was acquired by the museum in 1966. The
locomotive is currently operational and is utilized for movement
of maintenance of way equipment.
US Steel Lorain Works 44 toner switcher 45.
Unknown Diesel 84.
Parts from Chiriqui Land Company 2--6-0 46 built bt Porter in 1914
for the Chiriqui Land Company in Almirante, Panama.
Pouch Terminal Inc yard engine Model BS 2 built by Mack Trucks in
1929.
Unknown diesel.
A steamer or maybe a smoker?
Wheels and a smoke stack.
Car trucks and turntables.
Central Railroad of New Jersey 40 foot box cars: 24343, 22866 and
23193. Next we went into the engine shop.
United Fruit 2-6-0 46.
A porter tender.
A engine house view.
So this is where those lost tourists end up.
Marcus S. Wright Sand Co./Pine Creek Railroad Plymouth model DL
Type 2 #5 built 1942.
DuPont A-Line Model BHA-G3000 15 (Gasoline- 1969) built by
Brookville in 1955.
Canadian National # 509 Coach (1907)
Cavan, Leitrim & Roscommon Light Railway & Tramway
Company 4-4-0T 3 "Lady Edith" built by Robert Stephenson &
Company in 1887 for the Baltimore, Ireland company.
East Broad Top combine 16, one of the EBT's earliest surviving
passenger cars, retired in 1941.
Canadian National #509 coach.
View of the engine house.
Shaw engine block.
Surrey, Sussex & Southampton 2-6-2 26 built by Baldwin in
1920.
In side cab of 26.
Surrey, Sussex & Southampton 2-6-2 26 (1920).
Leaving here we went outside to see more items.
A flat car.
An open car and a Caboose 5 built from a Raritan River Sand
Company side dump car in 1951.
Tidewater Tank Car 01332.
Built in 1928, this single
wall standard gauge tank car was one of three used at the former
Pennsylvania Railroad/ Central Railroad of New Jersey joint Bay
Head yard and current NJ Transit yard for fueling locomotives of
all three railroads. The car was retired from service in 2005
and acquired by the museum when NJ Transit moved all locomotives
fueling at the Bay Head Yard to a new high speed fueling in
Hoboken, NJ. We walk around to the back side of the building and
found something else.
Raritan Cooper Works 4-4-0T 9 built by Cagney by 1923 for a New
Jersey beachfront amusement park.
Union Transportation Company 56 foot span Armstrong style
turntable and narrow gauge wheel sets.
Part of a tiny-tot ride?
Rolling stock.
Break time at the station.
Pine Creek Railroad station and ticket office. We went inside
and picked up our complimentary tickets to ride the train.
Industrial power from the past or something left behind by our
outer space visitors.
Water tower built in 1980 and crossing shanty. From here we went
to the gift shop
Former Pennsylvania RR Allenwood Station, 1940's. Was located on
PRR Jamesburg Manasquan Line.
I looked for a T-shirt to buy but they had nothing in my size.
Pete B. a trustee and today's cashier said they don't carry a lot
of stock because of slow sales, but Chris was able to find one in
his size. We pick-up our tickets and walked to the waiting train
and our ride.
Water tower, 1980.
Now it was time to board the train with Chris riding near the rear
door of the caboose sitting on the deck of the caboose and I was
offered and accepted a ride in the cab by engineer Richard.
Props for festive parties held on the train for special events and
holidays.
Richard checking the gauges before starting our trip.
The open air car. Gotta love the roof shade.
My view from the fireman's side.
View of the park.
We took two laps around the
Pine Creek Railroad and then the trip was over. I met Chris and
then we walked by the ticket office and headed out of the park.
A special thanks to the Pine Creek Railroad and to the engineer
and our excellent conductor-tour guide for having us here today.
A Calm Drive to Hagerstown, MD
We took Interstate 125 to Howell for a
late breakfast then drove through the worst rain storm of the
trip, causing Chris to drive 45 mph through it because the
wipers could not clear the water off the windshield. After
about twenty miles, the rain let up and we took this road to
Interstate 95 to the Tollway Interstate 276 and once in
Pennsylvania, the next heavy rain shower lasted thirty
minutes. After that there was no rain until we got south of
Harrisburg( another capital city for me) but we did encounter
heavy rain most of the rest of the way to Interstate 81. We
drove through more rain showers until the freeway went
bumper-to-bumper and we got off and slowly found our way to
the Days Inn Hagerstown, MD where we checked in for the night.
Bob and Elizabeth soon arrived and then went to Bob Evans for
dinner running inside from another heavy rain shower. After a
good dinner of Country Fried Steak, one of my favorites items
in a family style restaurant, we dashed through the showers to
the cars and then into the motel. This was the end to another
busy day and time to rest up for tomorrow, promising to be
just as busy, i.e. like two days rolled into one.
Thanks
for reading.
