Iron Rails in the Garden State Tales of New Jersey Railroading by Bianculli w/DJ

Description: RailroadTreasures offers the following item: Iron Rails in the Garden State Tales of New Jersey Railroading by Bianculli w/DJ Iron Rails in the Garden State Tales of New Jersey Railroading by Anthony J Bianculli Hard Cover w/ dust jacket 190 pages Copyright 2008 CONTENTS 1 The Colonel Takes to the Rails (1825)1 2 From Camden to Amboy by Rail in Seven Hours: Fare, $3 (1833)5 3 Isaac Dripps and the John Bull (1831)10 4 Ashbel Welch, Railroad Man (1836-74)14 5 Locomotives: From New Jersey to the World (1837-1926)18 6 Piercing the Palisades (1838-1910)25 7 The Final Barrier: Crossing the Hudson River (1838-Present)31 8 The Railroad and the New Jersey Bedroom Communities (1840-2006)39 9 The Jersey Central (1849-1976)44 10 The PJ&B, a Really Short Shortline (1865-Present)53 11 The Rascals at Bay in "Fort Taylor" (1868)58 12 Henry Drinker and the Musconetcong Tunnel (1872-75)64 13 The Railroad King of Blairstown (1876)67 14 The Great Frog War at Hopewell (1876)71 15 Frog Wars Redux (1879)75 16 Thomas Edison and Leo Daft: Electric Locomotive Pioneers (1880-83)78 17 A Railroad Bicycle and a Bicycle Railroad (1880 and 1892)82 18 Death of a President at Elberon (1881)88 19 William F. Allen and the "Day of the Two Suns" (1883)93 20 The "Hoodoo" Trolley Car and Other Streetcar Tales (1887-1940s)99 21 A Pair of Majestic Railroad Terminals (1889 and 1907)106 22 A Cape May Speedster (1895)113 23 The (Not So) Fast Line (1901-37)116 24 Catastrophe at the Thoroughfare (1906)125 25 Making Tracks in New Jersey (1914-Present)128 26 The Outlaw Railroad Strike and the "Indignation Specials" (1920)132 27 Modern Light Rail in the Garden State (1929-Present)137 28 The Dirigible Railroad at Lakehurst (1932-37)140 29 Calamity at Woodbridge (1951)145 30 Railroad Retreat and Renaissance in the Garden State (1950-Present)149 31 Preserving the Railroad: A Little Paint, Some Elbow Grease,157 and a Lot of Love (1980-Present) 32 Reliving the Past: Riding the Golden Oldies (Present)160 33 And, in Closing ...163 NOTES167 BIBLIOGRAPHY179 INDEX 183 INTRODUCTION New Jersey, the fourth smallest state in land area, is a gateway to New York City in the north and to Philadelphia in the south. Furthermore, it was an essential land link between those two great eighteenth-century cities. In 1750, stagecoaches, advertised as "flying machines," raced from the western shore of the Hudson River to the banks of the Delaware River opposite Philadelphia in less than three days. But in the nineteenth century, New Jersey became a "railroad state." By 1900, it had the highest track density of any state in the union. The first state charter ever granted to a railroad was written in New Jersey in 1815; the first locomotive and the fifth railroad built in the United States were located here. Being a small state in area, railroad mileage in the state of New Jersey was never as large as in its neighboring states. By 1860, only 560 miles of track were laid. One might argue that the monopoly enjoyed by the Camden and Amboy Railroad contributed greatly to the paucity of rail mileage, yet the legislature had authorized over 100 charters by that time but only 20 were exploited. Since the state government provided no direct aid to railroads, the few lines that were built served existing needs. Speculation was discouraged in favor of solid, revenue-producing investment. Still, entering the twentieth century, no town in the state, with very few exceptions in the northern mountains and the southern "pine barrens," was more than eight miles from a railroad!' By 1964, New Jersey's eleven major railroads, although in decline, still operated nearly 2,000 miles of lines in the state, making New Jersey the rail density leader in the country. The Pennsylvania Railroad's main line crossed the state from Trenton on its way to New York City and, measured at Rahway, was the busiest railroad in the world; a train passed that town every three minutes. The Central Railroad of New Jersey, with more miles of track in the state than any other, was built originally to bring coal from Pennsylvania, but by 1964 it was primarily a commuter railroad. These two roads and the many others--the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western, the Reading road, the Lehigh Valley, the Erie, the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines--were still prominent railroads in 1964, but that was soon to change. Within a few years their "flags had fallen" and they had disappeared, their rights-of-way abandoned or subsumed into government-owned or subsidized rail systems. This book chronicles stories of New Jersey railroads, beginning with its first, the Camden and Amboy, and proceeding to the most recent revivals, New Jersey Transit and Conrail Shared Assets, the creations of government intervention in the railroad scene. It is an eclectic collection of tales: it tells of railroad pioneers, builders, financiers, and technicians; of consequential railroad companies and their grand achievements and, in counterpoint, of shortlines and a most unusual industrial railroad whose raison d'was to jockey dirigibles into various locations. The book digresses into the arena of electric traction with a number of short narratives about trolley cars and interurban cars, including a recounting of the time a 10-year-old boy stepped into the breach and assumed the controls. It reports on two horrific accidents and the heroic actions of passengers and onlookers, and it describes a few of the "frog wars," when railroad companies resorted to violence to protect their turf. There are other intriguing stories involving the Lionel Company and other model train makers and the "bicycle railroad" at Smithville and a little remembered, but significant, railroad strike that followed World War I. All in all, it discusses people, places, and incidents that are informative and interesting, and it serves as a travel guide to some sites of New Jersey railroad history. However, even though the railroad associations no longer exist at several of the locations, the book serves another important purpose: it provides a record of events that should be remembered as part of New Jersey heritage. One caveat is that the reader is cautioned that the current locations of historical actions or artifacts that are pinpointed are a "moving target" and may, in this time of rapid change, no longer be there or accessible. Real estate sales and new construction, the depredations of vandals, and the ravages of time or sudden fire may have obliterated some of the sites. The map on this page will serve to orient the reader to the railroad sites mentioned in the book. Finally, readers are invited to lean back, get comfortable, and reflect on a New Jersey railroad scene of yesterday. Perhaps you can recall a favorite trackside location where, through three senses remembered--sight, sound, and smell--it is possible to conjure up an image of a steam locomotive speeding by, a great iron horse whose labored breathing, the staccato chuff-chuff-chuff of its exhaust as it hauls a long train up a grade, assails the ears and then leaves the lingering aroma of coal smoke as it disappears into the distance. I hope that the following tales will bring similar images to life. Climb aboard and enjoy railroading in the Garden State! All pictures are of the actual item. There may be reflection from the lights in some photos. We try to take photos of any damage. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us. 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Price: 150 USD

Location: Talbott, Tennessee

End Time: 2024-02-09T16:28:14.000Z

Shipping Cost: 13 USD