Train to Blimp Mail Transfer - Lakehurst - 1930

[Tom_E_Reynolds]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK3D4kFEqVk

After watching this, I have to ask, I thought only the CNJ had trackage going down to Lakehurst? Does this film show the PRR?
Can anyone identify exactly where this took place?

[R&DB]

At the beginning the film states Crossley, NJ which does not exist. Later it mentions Lakehurst, whidh was thhe then well known lighter than air facility and strictly CNJ territory, not PRR. If this was shot in NJ (as it appears from the terrain) it was probably on the Camden and Atlantic. The real kicker is this was produced by Hearst Movietone News, a notoriouus "fake news" producer. (look up Randolf Hearst) This is a stunt performed for who knows what reason. At the time blimps and dirirgibles were the way to fly as commercial airliners did not yet exist. But an interesting fllm non the less. Thanks for this find.

[Tanker1497]

Crossley does exsist or did and the train did run thought it to the north. It may the portion that was sold to Clayton. But it also could be the Camden and Amboy?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossley,_New_Jersey
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crossley ... 1474370158

[CharlieL]

According to wikipedia and old track maps, Crossley lay along PRR trackage just near the CNJ - PRR diamond (in currently Whitings). Just a short trip to Lakehurst, less than ten miles.

[R&DB]

I stand corrected! I found it on Historic Aerials 1931. East of Whiting / west of So. Toms River. The aerial view in 1931 looks exactly like the movie clip.
The real questoin here is why would anyone want to put mail on a blimp (35mph) vs train (70mph). Even the USPS is not that stupid. What I find interesting is that PRR would allow this 'entertainment' on a line with active passeger service. Hearst's idea or PRR's? Low traffic density due to depression? I wonder what the STB would have to say about someting like this today?

[snavely]

Not CNJ. Most likely the PRR Seashore line to AC. The last coach, the one with the goalposts on top for the mail pouch, is clearly marked Pennsylvania.

[CharlieL]

PRR seashore line Camden thru Toms River to Seaside and up to Bay head / Point Pleasant. Crossed the CRR tracks at Whitings.

The ROW can still be seen on Google earth views. There were plans (still are? for a large natural gas line to be placed on the ROW.

Line pretty much folded up when the GSP was built. The bridge crossing the Barnegat Bay burned in 1937. There have been discussions about this line here in the past. It was still active into Toms river into the early 50's

[CharlieL]

To expand further, it was part of the Pemberton and Atlantic, which PRR acquired. The railroad bridge at Bay Head over Twilight Lake burned in 1946, leaving Seaside stranded with no access from either direction It was abandoned and the ROW is now used for the southbound lanes of rte 35 in places down the peninsula.

[Return to Reading Company Olney Sta]

To expand further, it was part of the Pemberton and Atlantic, which PRR acquired. The railroad bridge at Bay Head over Twilight Lake burned in 1946, leaving Seaside stranded with no access from either direction It was abandoned and the ROW is now used for the southbound lanes of rte 35 in places down the peninsula.

Was actually the bridge over Barnegat Bay that burned December 1, 1946.

An article in "West Jersey Rails III" (publication of West Jersey Chapter NRHS) discusses this and the post-fire history. For a few years service was still operated from Camden to Barnegat Pier (at west end of destroyed bridge), then later service cut back to Toms River. In 1950 as mentioned above the track was abandoned east of South Toms River due to Parkway construction. (The r-o-w between Parkway and US Rt 9 was used for and still is a connector highway between the two.) Passenger service discontinued in 1952. Track from Birmingham (junction with Pemberton - Camden line) to South Toms River abandoned 1967.

[Rustygunz60]

I've explored the area around the Crossley siding several times. On the north side of the tracks, just inside the treeline, you can see several earthen ramps that were used to load clay from the narrow gauge cars to the standard gauge ones. If you follow the sand road from that point north you will come to the now-flooded claypits, passing several old ties still remaining embedded in the soil. Nothing remains of the structures that were once at the site but you can see them on aerial photos as late as 1940, including the branching out of the narrow gauge as it approaches the main line siding.

[CarterB]

I've explored the area around the Crossley siding several times. On the north side of the tracks, just inside the treeline, you can see several earthen ramps that were used to load clay from the narrow gauge cars to the standard gauge ones. If you follow the sand road from that point north you will come to the now-flooded claypits, passing several old ties still remaining embedded in the soil. Nothing remains of the structures that were once at the site but you can see them on aerial photos as late as 1940, including the branching out of the narrow gauge as it approaches the main line siding.

Are you allowed to drive an SUV or ATV to the siding area, and/or up the sand road?

[Rustygunz60]

There is a public sand road coming in from Rt 530 from the south that intersects the old PRR ROW exactly where Crossley was. It is just west of the airpark entrance, between the small industrial park on the north side of 530 and and an auto repair shop on the south side. The sand road is bordered by Ocean County Natural Land Trust property on both side as you first leave 530, then on both sides by New Jersey Natural Land Trust as you approach the ROW. The road itself is owned by neither entity from what I can make of the maps I use. There's a seasonable puddle near the end that may give your pause but I've cautiously driven through it with a 2x4 pickup without issue. It's not a far walk if you choose to not go through it. I've driven in from either end on the PRR ROW as well but since that is now a utility ROW the legality of driving on it my be questionable.

I'd avoid using an ATV in that area. They would not be legal on the sand road unless registered and definitely not on the utility easement or adjacent land trust properties.

[Ken W2KB]

There is a public sand road coming in from Rt 530 from the south that intersects the old PRR ROW exactly where Crossley was. It is just west of the airpark entrance, between the small industrial park on the north side of 530 and and an auto repair shop on the south side. The sand road is bordered by Ocean County Natural Land Trust property on both side as you first leave 530, then on both sides by New Jersey Natural Land Trust as you approach the ROW. The road itself is owned by neither entity from what I can make of the maps I use. There's a seasonable puddle near the end that may give your pause but I've cautiously driven through it with a 2x4 pickup without issue. It's not a far walk if you choose to not go through it. I've driven in from either end on the PRR ROW as well but since that is now a utility ROW the legality of driving on it my be questionable.

I'd avoid using an ATV in that area. They would not be legal on the sand road unless registered and definitely not on the utility easement or adjacent land trust properties.

Correct. Trespass on utility property including transmission or distribution rights of way is a 4th degree crime in New Jersey punishable by up to 18 months in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. In pertinent part, the NJ Statute reads: "N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3. a. A person commits an offense if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, . . . . he enters or surreptitiously remains or in or upon utility company property. . . . An offense under this subsection is a crime of the fourth degree if it is committed in or upon utility company property."

If the sand road is a public road an ATV cannot legally travel along it under any circumstances, it is no different than a paved public road in that respect. Only street legal vehicles, which ATVs are not even if registered and insured, can use public roads other than to cross from one side of the road to the other. If the sand road is a private road, the ATV driver could use it only with permission of the road owner or lessee.

[CarterB]

I've explored the area around the Crossley siding several times. On the north side of the tracks, just inside the treeline, you can see several earthen ramps that were used to load clay from the narrow gauge cars to the standard gauge ones. If you follow the sand road from that point north you will come to the now-flooded claypits, passing several old ties still remaining embedded in the soil. Nothing remains of the structures that were once at the site but you can see them on aerial photos as late as 1940, including the branching out of the narrow gauge as it approaches the main line siding.

Is the sand road north of the RR ROW legally accessible for a 4WD UTE?

[Rustygunz60]

I've explored the area around the Crossley siding several times. On the north side of the tracks, just inside the treeline, you can see several earthen ramps that were used to load clay from the narrow gauge cars to the standard gauge ones. If you follow the sand road from that point north you will come to the now-flooded claypits, passing several old ties still remaining embedded in the soil. Nothing remains of the structures that were once at the site but you can see them on aerial photos as late as 1940, including the branching out of the narrow gauge as it approaches the main line siding.

Is the sand road north of the RR ROW legally accessible for a 4WD UTE?

That road (the old narrow gauge route) is part of the nature trail on the NJ Natural Land Trust property so it isn't accessible by any type of vehicle. It quickly gets wet as you head north, due to the clay in the soil, and driving on it even if legal would tear it up and make a mess. It really isn't long enough of a walk to require driving it anyway. Unfortunately the nature trail has not been maintained since being established. The interpretive panels have deteriorated or are missing and if you want to walk it I'd wear calf-high rubber boots. This is the link to the NJNLT page for the preserve: https://nj.gov/dep/njnlt/crossley.htm There's a link on that page to a topo map with the outlines of the preserve on it. Being an older topo, it still labels the ROW as Penn Central. It also labels the clayworks RR.