South Jersey History Fair

West Jersey Chapter participated in the South Jersey History Fair, which was held on the grounds outside the historic 1756 Gabreil Daveis Tavern Museum House, 500 3rd Avenue, Glendora, on Saturday, June 11. The event was sponsored by the Gloucester Township Historic & Scenic Preservation Committee. Exhibitors included authors, historic committees, and groups from across all of South Jersey. Several Chapter members and many visitors stopped by to visit. In this photo, WJC members Ron Baile and Dave Homer are manning the Chapter’s exhibit. Photo by John Burlage.

May Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter’s May virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, May 23. WJC member Pierre Lacombe presented a program on the building of the Camden & Amboy Railroad between South Amboy and Bordentown. It has been popularly held that the stone sleepers used to support the rails were quarried at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. A retired professional geologist, Pierre debunks this notion through a thorough analysis of the sleepers remaining along the line. Yes, some of the stones were quarried at Sing Sing, but most of the stones were quarried at locations within 20 miles of the railroad.

Westville - Glassboro Driving Tour

Ten West Jersey Chapter members took a driving tour of the former West Jersey Railroad mainline between Westville and Glassboro on Saturday, March 21, 2022, stopping at many places along the line to inspect the current facilities and to note the remains for former facilities. Participants received a 24-page booklet covering the history of the line prepared by Chapter Historian John Burlage, with assistance from Scott Barnes, Dave Homer, and Brian Yates, and Brian distributed a seven-page handout containing supplemental material on various aspects of the line. John gave a brief history of the line just prior to the tour, and Brian and Scott served as docents at the tour stops. Dave showed photos from the past at many of the stops, and had an ample supply of cold water for everyone. Scott arranged to have have the beautifully restored 1893 Wenonah station opened, which is where the tour group took its lunch break. After lunch our group explored the abandoned right-of-way of the original railroad through Wenonah. The Glassboro station was also open, courtesy Rich Drobil. Photos by Kyle Paine, Dave Homer, and John Burlage.

If you couldn’t make the tour, no problem! You can purchase a copy of the tour booklet through our website Store.

April Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter’s April virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, April 25. WJC President Dave Homer presented a program entitled "Photos from a Box," which includes images from a box of photos donated by Chapter member Jerry MacDonald. In addition, Dave showed some miscellaneous photos, and pictures of the Hainesport Industrial Railroad, including some night scenes. You can play a recording of the presentation by clicking on the image or by clicking here. The length of the program is 58:27.

March Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter’s March virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, March 28. Rich Jahn of the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society presented a program featuring rarely seen rail images from the late Walter Schopp. Walt never shared his images and only since his passing has the ARHS been sharing some of them. Those who knew Walt know that he got around a great deal and took a lot of classic images of railroads in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and many other places. You can play a recording of the presentation by clicking on the image or by clicking here. The length of the program is 1:29:51.

15th Annual "Lines on the Pines" 2022

West Jersey Chapter participated at the 15th Annual “Lines on the Pines” festival held at Stockton University in Galloway Township. This festival celebrates everything Pinelands, and participants include authors, artists, craftsmen, historians, and musicians. WJC’s exhibit focused on the railroads which served the Pinelands, including the Jersey Central’s premier Jersey City to Atlantic City train, The Blue Comet. WJC’s participation was quite successful, and we picked up two new members.

December Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter’s December virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, December 27. WJC member Mike Brotzman presented a program on his many Mid-Winter SEPTA Trips, entitled "20 Years of SEPTA Mid-Winter Madness." In 2001 Mike organized a SEPTA fan trip in the week between Christmas and New Year's for members of an internet transit forum. The trip was so successful that he has repeated it every year since. This program explores the history of the event along with a selection of photos from each one.

November Virtual Chapter Membership Meeting

West Jersey Chapter’s November virtual membership meeting was held on Monday, November 22. WJC member Brian Yates shared South Jersey (and a few non-South Jersey) rail images he has scanned from the Francis Palmer Collection that the Chapter acquired a few years ago. The program featured a lot of images of South Jersey train stations and some trains that we haven't seen before. Some of the collection/scans are from photos from Frank Kozempel (and others).

Camden County History Alliance Meeting

West Jersey Chapter President Dave Homer and Vice President Ron Baile narrated a program entitled Vintage South Jersey Railroad Freight Stations / Shelters / Signals / Stations: A through Z on behalf of the Camden County History Alliance. The pictures presented were contributed by many individuals and organizations, and the subject material encompasses the area shown on the above map. You can play a recording of the presentation by clicking on the map or by clicking here. The length of the program is 1:37:26.

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.