LHRy Delegate Now URHS President

At the April meeting of the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, Larry Gross, the alternate delegate of Liberty Historic Railway was elected president of URHS, succeeding K.C. Smith.  Larry is an Emergency Medical Technician with the Morristown Fire Department and the Boonton Yard Foreman living in Morris Plains with his wife Barbara and children Nicholas and Hanna.  In his spare time Larry is an EMT trainer for several fire departments as well as a gymnastics instructor.

URHS Locomotive @ Spencer, NC Festival

United Railroad Historical Society’s cosmetically restored Reading F7 #284 joined 24 other Streamlined locomotives of the 1930s to 1950s for a four day festival at the NC Transportation Museum at the Spencer, NC roundhouse, courtesy of Norfolk Southern. No. 284 would have been a prime display locomotive at the CNJ Jersey City Terminal in Liberty State Park if not for the fanatical opposition to restoration of any track in LSP by leaders of the Friends of Liberty State Park. The Reading Railroad used such locomotives to haul their Crusader and The Wall Street trains between Jersey City Terminal and Philadelphia for years.

87-Year-Old NJ Bus Acquired

The Chairman of LHRy has acquired a 20 seat 1927 Yellow Coach parlor bus for the future NJ Transportation Heritage Park. The Type X coach with 24,128 original miles spent its entire life in NJ and the last 50 years in a barn on the estate of the late Dr. Ralph Cox at Rio Grande, NJ. While it does not run, needs 7 new tires, is missing some parts, and requires extensive restoration, the body is sound and the Bonhams auction price of $1,530 was quite attractive...

Train Shed Nominations Submitted

Late in February LHRy submitted two nominations as part of our last ditch effort to publicize the need for Stabilization and Restoration of the Central RR of NJ Jersey City Terminal Train Shed. The first was our third and final submission to the eleven most endangered list of National Trust for Historic Preservation. The second was to the Most-At-Risk List of the National Railway Historical Society. The focus is to draw national attention to the Train Shed which is on the edge of being irreversibly lost.

New Interpretive Signboards

Twenty-six 3' x 4' color photo signboards have been placed on the perimeter fence which encloses the CRR of NJ Jersey City Terminal Train Shed. Two are vintage aerial views of the Terminal; four show Superstorm Sandy damage; and the balance show Park amenities. Estimate for the re-opening of the Terminal is the middle of 2015...

Train / Track Curtains

Liberty State Park is moving forward with the upgrading and replacement of the train / track announcement curtains on the concourse of the CRR of NJ Jersey City Terminal. We have shown consultants / contractors LWDMR Architects and Metal Man Restoration sample original curtains from the collections of Frank Reilly and Ralph Shelhamer. Selection and placement will be as per research by McKelvey and posted on the LHRy website.

Train Shed Nominations Submitted

Late in February LHRy submitted two nominations as part of our last ditch effort to publicize the need for Stabilization and Restoration of the Central RR of NJ Jersey City Terminal Train Shed. The first was our third and final submission to the eleven most endangered list of National Trust for Historic Preservation. The second was to the Most-At-Risk List of the National Railway Historical Society. The focus is to draw national attention to the Train Shed which is on the edge of being irreversibly lost.

Train Shed Funding Improbable Without Government Assistance

The results of the Funding Feasibility Study for the Central RR of NJ Jersey City Terminal Train Shed Stabilization and Restoration have been presented to NJ Parks officials. It concluded: 1. Since no leadership level financial support (private or public) was forthcoming, a capital campaign is not recommended presently. 2. The state or federal government would need to take the lead on the project, provide critical public funding and recruit leadership from the private sector, for the stabilization and restoration of the train shed to occur. The study was required by Parks, performed by Ruotolo Associates, and funded by Liberty Historic Railway.

LHRy moratorium on continued efforts at LSP

Liberty Historic Railway’s efforts to date have been aimed at providing historic trolley shuttle service in Liberty State Park to enhance park-user mobility, improve visitor access, and reduce motor vehicle traffic and parking demand, as well as to provide displays of heritage rail equipment under a restored Jersey Central Jersey City Terminal Train Shed. The directors of LHRy have decided that a moratorium on continued efforts to these ends is warranted. One exception is our third attempt to get the Train Shed listed on the 11 Most Endangered Structures list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This decision was based on a number of reasons. As is well known, Liberty State Park sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, requiring that all officials responsible for this singular park dedicate maximum attention to repairing and remedying damage done to it. Also, while an expert independent study recently validated the trolley shuttle concept, one significant stakeholder group has declared its adamant opposition.

In the interest of the public and for the overall future vitality of Liberty State Park, LHRy will continue to call attention to the deplorable condition of the Train Shed as an integral part of the historic Jersey Central Terminal, which is the Park’s crown jewel. In the judgment of LHRy’s directors, it is unacceptable that the Terminal’s entire vast Train Shed area continues to be in danger of partial or complete collapse and thus completely off limits to the public. Past planning studies have concluded that the Train Shed, if restored, could be used for many and varied activities that could enhance the Park experience and make the Park an even better venue. However, a professional fund-raising feasibility study, paid for by LHRy, has concluded that raising the needed restoration funding through non-governmental sources will not be possible.

LHRy will continue to advocate for the preservation of historic rail transportation structures and equipment in New Jersey, including the use of those resources as an attractive and viable means of transport, education and public access.

Gold Award - Liberty State Park Circulator

Sam Schwartz Engineering has been selected by the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York to receive a Gold Award in the category of Transportation for their work on the Liberty State Park Circulator. Liberty Historic Railway is proud of the SSE study - our trolley shuttle was a major part of their work. Unfortunately, the locals who might have gained the most from such a rail circulator will be blocked by the unfounded fanatical opposition of the Friends of Liberty State Park to any rail installation in the park.

New Jersey heritage trolley car storage

There are several surviving New Jersey heritage trolley cars which sorely need a carbarn to protect them from the weather and for security. Since we have been blocked from establishing such a structure in Liberty State Park by the irrational and fanatical opposition of Sam Pesin and his Friends of Liberty State Park, we are searching for another temporary location for trolley storage until Pesin and his group come to their senses...

Train / Track Announcement Signs or Curtains

During July and August, Liberty Historic Railway was advised by Hudson County Open Space that they would be happy to entertain a grant application for $50,000 for a project which we deemed most worthy and needed. It would have been for the replacement of the existing, inaccurate, train / track announcement signs or curtains, which are on the concourse where there is heavy visitation when the Terminal is open. We proposed a full series of accurate signs to cover all tracks in use during the most colorful peak period of use by famous named trains - 1939 to 1949. That full series of signs (verified as correct by interviews with former CRR of NJ employees and knowledgeable historians) is on our website: www.LHRy.org . Unfortunately Park Management would not support this grant application. Their reason was that their interpretive plan dictated that any and all restoration of the Train Shed was to reflect the time period 1913-15 when the facility was completed. So, the erroneous signs will remain for the foreseeable future. LHRy tried to improve the situation...

Ferry Service Resumes to Liberty Island

More good news from Liberty State Park!  Ferry service to the Statue of Liberty will resume on the Fourth of July.  Let's shout out a cheer to everyone who made this possible.

Superstorm Sandy carried Bedloe's Island back to about 1870 or earlier: no power, sewage system or modern docking facility.  Moreover, the ferry docks at Liberty State Park were wrecked as well.  A lot of hard work from a lot of people has brought us all a treasure.

 

Specifics here.

 

Two giant steps backward, one baby step forward

LHRy was not awarded a $1,000,000 Transportation Enhancement grant to begin stabilization work on the Central RR of NJ Jersey City Terminal train Shed..

LHRy was not successful in our second attempt to get the Train Shed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's "America's 11 Most Endangered Structures" list..

However, LHRy has been granted "permission to conduct a feasibility study and not actual fundraising" for stabilization of the Central RR of NJ Train Shed at Liberty State Park.

Small steps!