Paulsboro Marine Terminal / Railroad Construction Company Tour

Nine West Jersey Chapter members were given a guided tour of the new Paulsboro Marine Terminal on the Delaware River, operated by Holt Logistics, in Paulsboro, N. J., on September 29. Presently, the sole commercial activity at the port is the unloading of ships laden with steel slabs produced in Russia. These slabs, which weigh about 23 metric tons apiece, are stockpiled for transshipment, then loaded into gondolas (two slabs per car) in dedicated trains run by Norfolk Southern. The Delaware River pier is currently being extended, and Railroad Construction Company, also of Paulsboro, is installing tracks on the new pier. Elsewhere in the terminal, a building is under construction for the manufacture of monopiles to be used in anchoring off-shore windmills. Following the terminal tour we were treated to a tour of Railroad Construction Company’s yard on Mantua Avenue. There, Chapter members were able to view the machinery used in track construction and maintenance, its stockpile of rail, the new wye track connecting the Penns Grove Branch with the Paulsboro Branch (leading out to the marine terminal), and the new diamond crossing of the wye track and RCC’s yard lead. Photos provided by Brian Yates, Ron Baile, and John Burlage.

September Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

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West Jersey Chapter’s September virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, September 27. WJC member Fred Ciocciola presented a two-part program. The first part was on a trip out west in 1967 to Colorado and Arizona, including Denver, Pike’s Peak, and the Silverton train. For the second part Fred shared his railfan experiences during his overseas trips for his job during the period from 1969 to 1971. Included were some additional photos of the places he visited and some of the on-the-job photos on the Navy ships.

June Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter’s June virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, June 28, and featured member Scott Barnes with a program on the life of William Frederick Allen (1846-1915), a civil engineer and New Jersey native who was instrumental in the founding of Wenonah in 1870. Later in his career, he tackled the thorny problem of how to synchronize clocks across the vast expanse of the United States, at a time when railroads were enabling rapid travel from place to place. The time zone system he perfected for American railroad use is largely the same one used worldwide today. You can play a recording of the presentation by clicking the image or by clicking here. The length of the program is 1:10:34.

November Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter held its first virtual membership meeting via Zoom on Monday, November 23, drawing a total of twenty participants. Dave Homer presented programs on placing a box car on the team track in Mt. Holly, in April 2006, with some additional photos of Mt. Holly that show what it looks like today; and a short ride on the CNJ from Lakehurst in April 2006. Next, Dave and John Kilbride narrated a walk from Princeton to Princeton Junction in October 2006, with some additional historical photos, and photos of what the area looks like now. Virtual membership meetings have been scheduled for the next three months - please check our Event Calendar for details. Guests are always welcome. Photo by Dave Homer.

Lansdale Trip

Starting at the Pennsauken Transit Center, we rode on the 8:41 am NJT train to 30th Street, which had to wait momentarily for the NJT train from Philadelphia to come off the Delair Bridge. We then rode the 10:04 SEPTA train to Doylestown, which got us to Lansdale around 11:10 am. After some photos of the Pennsylvania Northeastern locomotives (from the 3rd floor of the Parking Garage), we had some lunch and boarded the 12:38 PM train back to 30th Street. There was plenty of time to explore the station and its environs. We then took the 2:31 pm train back to Pennsauken, where we waited a couple of minutes for the train from Atlantic City to pull into Pennsauken so the southbound train could depart. Photos by Dave Homer and John Burlage.

19th Annual SEPTA Mid-Winter Trip

The 19th Annual SEPTA Mid-Winter Trip, conducted by Mike Brotzman, included trips on Regional Rail, the Broad Street Line, the Norristown High Speed Line, and the Sharon Hill trolley. After completing the first three legs of the tour: Jefferson Station (formerly Market East) to Warminster, Warminster to Fern Rock, and the Broad Street Subway from Fern Rock to City Hall, our group broke for lunch at the Reading Terminal Market. Following lunch, Regional Rail was taken from Jefferson Station to Elm Street, Norristown, then from there to the Norristown Transportation Center. We rode the Norristown High Speed Line to 69th Street Terminal, then took the Sharon Hill trolley to Clifton-Aldan, where we boarded another Regional Rail train for Center City Philadelphia. Photos by John Burlage and Kevin Painter.

SEPTA Trolley Trip

West Jersey Chapter members and friends pose for a group photo at the Yeadon Loop, in Delaware County, Pa., the usual terminus of Route 13. Our conveyance for this chartered trip was SEPTA PCC II car 2327, one of eighteen 1947 vintage PCC cars rebuilt by Brookville in 2003-2004. Our trip commenced at the Elmwood depot in West Philadelphia, and covered major portions of subway-surface trolley routes 11, 13, 34, and 36, and much non-revenue connecting trackage. Many photo stops were made, including the 40th Street Portal, the Woodland Shop, the Route 11 diamond crossing of CSX (formerly Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) in Darby, and the Eastwick Loop. Photo by Bill Monaghan.

West Jersey Chapter 75th Anniversary Banquet

West Jersey Chapter members and guests pose for a group photo at the Chapter’s 75th Anniversary Banquet, held at The Tap Room and Grill in Haddon Township, N. J. Bob Stanton, the sole remaining charter member, spoke of his long association with our Chapter, while Chapter Historian John Burlage spoke on the origin and early history of the Chapter. Our program for the afternoon was Railroading through the Pines by noted historian and Chapter member Paul W. Schopp. Paul’s presentation covered the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Kinkora Branch, the PRR “Back Road” between Camden and Bay Head Junction, and the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey’s Jersey City-Atlantic City train, The Blue Comet. Photo by Kyle Payne.

PATCO Shop Tour

West Jersey Chapter members watch as a wheel set is moved by hoist to a truing machine (out of sight to the right) to adjust the wheels’ running surface profile at PATCO’s shop complex in Lindenwold, N. J. In the foreground is a Pioneer III truck equipped for over-running third rail operation, which is used on all PATCO cars. The blue, green, and grey cylindrical canisters behind the truck are traction motors, color-coded by supplier. The cars visible in this scene are 1059 on the left and 1080 in the center, both PATCO II cars built by Vickers as 259 and 280, respectively, and rebuilt by Alstom in Hornell, N. Y. Our tour included a visit to the new shop building erected to service the newly refurbished cars. Photo by John W. Burlage.

Burlington County History Awards Ceremony

Authors and Chapter members Christopher J. Young, Jr., and William J. Coxey were awarded plaques for their book Two Roads to Medford, which won the Burlington County Published History Award for 2018. The awards ceremony was held at the Smithville Mansion on Friday, May 18. Accepting the award on behalf of the authors are (from left to right) Chapter officers John Burlage, Dave Homer, and Ron Baile.

SEPTA Trolley Excursion

West Jersey Chapter members and friends pose for a group portrait at the temporary eastern terminus of the SEPTA Route 15 trolley at Frankford and Delaware Avenues, Philadelphia, on Sunday, October 15, 2017. Our LRV for the six hour tour was none other than prototype Kawasaki "K-car" 9000, which was built in 1980. The tour covered much of Routes 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, and 36, non-revenue and diversion trackage, the Center City trolley tunnel, Elmwood depot, and Callowhill carbarn, with numerous photo stops. Photo by Bill Monaghan, Jr.

Athenaeum of Philadelphia Tour

West Jersey Chapter members and friends gather around a model of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Broad Street Station at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia on Sunday, April 23, 2017. Chapter member Kyle Payne (third from left) arranged the tour of the Athenaeum, which featured an exhibition entitled Laying Tracks & Laying Foundations: Building for the Railroad. More information on the exhibition can be found on the Athenaeum of Philadelphia's website.