NJ Transportation Heritage Museum ???

hello again...

I had heard that a huge museum "complex" (if you will) is underway, in Phillipsburg, NJ...the main focus of which will be NJ's RRs. Does anyone have any news on this...whether or not it's completed or how soon ???

Thanks,


MM

I saw a presentation several years ago about the grand plans for the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center. However, I don't believe they have advanced the site plan to any significant degree due to lack of funding. The web site of the 'Friends' group is http://www.njthc.org/, but it doesn't seem to have anything on the status of the overall project.

The land that was supposed to go towards a museum has been mostly now targeted for other purposes. The Friends were offered something like 5 acres but they made a lot of noise about have the land reduced by 90% and said they were going to greener pastures - literally! The last plan, now about 3 years old, is to locate the museum in a corn field about 6 miles east of Phillipsburg on Route 57. They still occupy the former Union Station on Main Street in Phillipsburg but I notice they are no more often closed than open. The website hasn't been updated in a long time. You can make your own conclusions about where all of this is headed.

MoonMix wrote:I had heard that a huge museum "complex" (if you will) is underway, in Phillipsburg, NJ...the main focus of which will be NJ's RRs. Does anyone have any news on this...whether or not it's completed or how soon ???

Where did you hear this?

Also, if such a complex existed, don't you think there'd already be a major discussion on this site?

That proposal died several years ago when former NJ governor, Jim Florio, spearheading an investment group, bought the ground for condos. But there is a small museum there already. The name escapes me at this time but it has Phillipsburg in it. They actually have an old amuseent park train ride that they run occasionally.

The main reason it didn't move forward is the severe opposition by other rail/transportation sites in the state that wanted to be the "official" state transportation museum. Now I heard a really great idea that I will pass along here. Make all transportation sites in the state, part of a statewide transportation museum. Buy a ticket at any one and it allows you access to all of the others. The money is deposited in a kitty for all museums to draw from. The avantage here is that instead of seeing what a single site has to offer, i.e, a train ride, restored rolling stock, etc, you can see it all. And the sheer size was a problem as well. It seems that Phillipsburg was the only single site that had enough room for all of the proposed rolling stock. Another reason why a statewide system would work better.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed wrote:That proposal died several years ago when former NJ governor, Jim Florio, spearheading an investment group, bought the ground for condos. But there is a small museum there already. The name escapes me at this time but it has Phillipsburg in it. They actually have an old amuseent park train ride that they run occasionally.
...
Later!
Mr. Ed

Phillipsburg Railroad Historians

Thanks Bob. Memory is a terrible thing to waste!

Later!
Mr. Ed