Jenkinsons Beach

O/T - The county park in North Arlington along the Passaic River once had an amusement park train decades ago. If you go down there with a good eye you can still see rails in the pavement, a bridge and the reminants of the concrete engine house.

Wasn't there TV advertisements or a MTV video that featured Jenkinsons Beach Train?

Below is a link to a new article discussing the Jenkinson's beach train which was recently posted. This might be the most informative piece regarding the beach railway which I've seen.

http://warofyesterday.blogspot.com/2009 ... train.html

Enjoy!

I moved here in 68 so I missed it....good article

The train was doomed the moment Old Man Jenkinson sold the beach to Pat Storino.

BTW, if you watch the History Channel, Rick Zitarosa, the train's last owner, is featured on the story of the Hindenburg as an expert.

Very nice account, thanks for sharing.

I visited the north side of the Manasquan Inlet many times during the 1980's, but almost never during the beach season. I would have made the trip to the other side and braved the shore traffic if I'd known what was there... oh, well...

I feel like a kid again in the 50's and 60's !!!

Those are great photos of the old Beach Train. I must have ridden it hundreds of times back then and later with my own kids in the 80's.

One item he missed were the 'grade crossings' complete with to scale crossbucks with working red flashers and warning bells. AIR, there 2 such with wood planks for beach goers.

And I think the F units had working horns, yes ?

Great memories

I rode the train in June 1995. The tracks were in deplorable condition. An employee actually rode the last car and his job was to watch for derailments. It was a 5mph ride at best and several times were we in the sand. The engineer and brakeman were just college beach bum kids watching portable TV set up on the loco to care much about the riders.

Sounds stupid, but whenever I walk past the old station (now modern bathrooms) I get a little depressed. I`m only 22, and have vague memories of riding that RXR when I was 8 or 9. Of course now that I`m old enough to appreciate and enjoy it, its gone. Wish there was a way to revive interest in bringing it back..... -Chris L.

CTL10D wrote:Sounds stupid, but whenever I walk past the old station (now modern bathrooms) I get a little depressed. I`m only 22, and have vague memories of riding that RXR when I was 8 or 9. Of course now that I`m old enough to appreciate and enjoy it, its gone. Wish there was a way to revive interest in bringing it back..... -Chris L.

You and me both...The last time I rode it was in 1993. I was devasted when I went back in 1997 to find the tracks and shed gone! My father took me on this train a lot back in the 1980's..

This was one of the many reasons why I loved Pt Pleasent. My parents and family friends too me down there many times during the 1980s and 1990s. Too bad it didn't run a bit longer otherwise the chances of saving it were higher then back in 1996 as more people would peitioned to keep it as it seperates them from other places like Seaside, Wildwood,etc. Pt Pleasent is still my favorite place to go for memories of the train plus I refuse to go that far south to WW and endure anymore traffic on the GSP.

There are a lot of memories for many of us in this article.

In my younger days of the 1960's and 70's, we always went to Risden's Beach in Point Pleasant, and we spent most of the summer with our Aunt Delores
who lived in Pt. Pleasant year round.

Our evening boardwalk excursions would be divided between Asbury Park, Pt. Pleasant, and Seaside Heights boardwalks, and the tradition
at the Point boardwalk was to walk to the inlet and take the beach train back. As the little train bounced along you would often here the horns
of trains on the nearby NJCL, and as a kid I would pretend that we were on the "big" train travelling to points unkown. The loop that the train travelled through to reverse direction was always the highlight.

As an adult I worked for the bank that funded the Jenkinson's complex in the late 1990's, and I often wanted to add my 2 cents about the fact that the
Beach Train never should have been sold off. Needless to say I held my tounge.

Where we now live on the east end of Long Island, the Railroad Museum of LI in Riverhead has the train ride that once ran at the '64 and '65 worlds fair,
and in it's own way, continues the tradition.

Ken

Thanks for the link! So, I take it this train was added after the Beach Train was removed?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUlUIx6FxQ

Nope, that's the Jenk's South (formerly Holiday Amusements) train on the boards, which has been there for more than 40 years. There was also a similar set up further north on the Central Avenue pier that was replaced with other rides, IIRC.

I've known Rick Zitarosa personally for many years. I first met him when he brought up a couple wheelsets to the Pine Creek RR shops at Allaire, to get them turned on the lathe. He said the upkeep of the operation was a never-ending job. The sand, the salt, and the weather were constantly trying to destroy the train, and it got to the point where it just wasn't cost-effective to keep it running.

Rick is very active with the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society. If you are into airships, he's the guy to talk to.

Its really nice to know that the train is still around, and whats even better is its only around the corner. Stored in wall, im living in brielle, maybe i should pay it a visit? I remember this train well when I was young my parents used to take us on it to the inlet and back when we would go to the boardwalk. We would always ride it at night, that was the best! i really enjoyed this train over the one they had by all the amusement rides because it really felt like you were going someplace.