- To provide historic railway transportation services to the public within and in the vicinity of Liberty State Park, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty National Monument for the following purposes;
- a. To provide greater public accessibility and connectivity between the Hudson Bergen Light Rail System / Liberty Science Center and the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal plus various areas of Liberty State Park; the Statue of Liberty; and Ellis Island.
- b. To provide alternative transportation choices to the automobile, emphasizing the railway mode which promotes more efficient land use and is a more environmentally friendly option (a New Jersey “sustain-ability” goal).
- c. To reduce parking demand within Liberty State Park, by enticing visitors to leave their automobiles at home (or using fringe parking lots), resulting in more open space for public use within the Park.
- d. To provide historically accurate railway ride experiences, the functional equivalent of an operating or “rolling” museum. An outstanding example for Liberty State Park is the trolley shuttle system operating at Lowell (MA) National Historic Site for many years and presently being expanded.
- e. To serve as a model rail shuttle system, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions within the Park area, as an example to other parks, municipalities and entities who desire to operate similar systems with benefits as outlined above.
- To educate the public about the history, development, operation, and functions of the above modes of transportation. This mission could logically be expanded to include the ferry and railroad marine operations of the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley Railroad which were based at the Terminal area (which is now included in Liberty State Park). An important point to be stressed is that the majority of the land area of what is presently Liberty State Park was created by the Central Railroad of New Jersey as they gradually filled in the Communipaw Cove tidal wetlands for their operations. The history of the Morris Canal should also be included as its former eastern terminus basin is now a part of Liberty State Park.
- To preserve and display historic railway equipment and related artifacts typical of that which used the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal at Jersey City for the present and future benefit of the public. Since Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Train Connection and other independent buses also used the terminal, such examples might be considered appropriate for display.
- To help promote and jump-start the long-overdue restoration of the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal Train Shed structure which requires immediate stabilization. Once restored, the Train Shed could be reused as an outstanding and most desirable terminus for Park rail shuttles, for displays of historic railway equipment which once used the Terminal and for other cultural and historic purposes.
- Liberty Historic Railway, Inc. was formed on 29 January 2010 as a non-profit, public benefit corporation meeting the requirements of the Internal Revenue Service for exemption from Federal income tax under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We are further classified as a public charity under section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and our Employer Identification Number is 27-1997848. Contributions to Liberty Historic Railway are deductible under section 170 of the IRS Code. We are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfer, or gifts under sections 2005. 2106, and/or 2522 of the IRC Code.
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