Liberty Historic Railway Inc.
+1 908-464-9335

Today is Giving Tuesday and today we are asking for your support for our Erie Wreck Crane restoration. Over the past year, our volunteers have been painstakingl...y refurbishing components of this massive machine, and this week we finally put it to the test. Not only is this crane a fascinating artifact, but it will greatly increase our working capabilities here at Boonton Yard. Every dollar invested in No. 03125 we will get back tenfold, because having a functioning machine like this allows us to do heavy maintenace saves us the tremendous cost of renting a crane. You can donate quickly and easily here on Facebook, on our website www.urhs.org/donate, or by mail to our headquarters at 104 Morris Ave. Boonton, NJ 07005 This has been a tough year for many of us, and our organization is no exception. Anything you can contribute will help us keep our progress going despite our cancelled plans. Thank you for your support!

Exciting news: Our Erie Railroad 160-Ton wreck crane can now be counted among our operating artifacts in Boonton Yard! This project was a labor of love by one o...f our volunteer mechanics, Erik Stenzel, who has been rebuilding components in his home shop over the past year. Check out his startup and operating demo in this video. No. 03125 was built in 1926 by Bucyrus as a steam-powered crane. In the late 50s, the Erie converted it to diesel, and it now runs on a 6-cylinder Caterpillar D327. Rather than an electric starter, it has a pony start, which is a 2-cylinder gasoline engine that warms and starts the diesel. In this video, you’ll first hear the smaller (and much louder) pony motor before seeing the exhaust from the big motor. With some generous help from Liberty Historic Railway Inc. this crane is now fully functional. Because of the cables’ age, and because they have been exposed to the elements, we are exploring options to have the machine re-cabled. This will allow us to operate it at its full weight capacity. Not only is this a fascinating machine, but it will greatly improve our working capabilities in Boonton Yard, and save us thousands in crane rental costs in the long run!

New York Central Tavern-Lounge No. 43. This car would have run primarily on NYC daytime long-distance trains like the Empire State Experess and Commodore Vander...bilt (just to name a few that ran out of our area). It’s Amtrak-certified and owned by United Railroad Historical Society of NJ https://www.urhs.org/charters See more

The corn maze is open! Come take a beautiful ride along the Delaware River to the corn maze and get lost! 877trainride.com for tickets.

More info at ... www.877trainride.com

NYC 4083 and the Hickory Creek meeting up briefly while we were doing some rearranging of our yard today.

See our friends at Delaware River Railroad Excursions... Our 2020 Season Starts August 1st! Ride the River Train, Mine Train or Winery train.

Here’s a post for the rivet counters: when the Central came up with their three test paint schemes that led up to the eventual cigar band scheme, they evident...ially put in some extra effort. The original paint diagram that was provided to us by NYCSHS indicated the logo on the front was a reflective Scotchlite decal. Since the door handle interfered with where the logo was supposed to land, on some of the test units, the shop when out of their way to move the whole door latch down a few inches. I always found this amusing, since that would take a not insignificant amount of work, just to avoid having to cut a hole in the sticker. (Look at the other cigar band units and you’ll notice they all have the handle in the middle of the logo). Still, it shows that whoever repainted this engine in 1961 cared about the finished product. When we restored 4083, it didn’t have a door at all, since it was welded closed during its 1970s rebuild. This door is a recreation, but behind it, you can see the lock strike which was cut and welded a few inches lower. We painted this engine 6 years ago, and this weekend I finally got to putting a replacement handle where it belongs.

Our organization is saddened to hear of the death of Ray Kenny, NJ TRANSIT’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Rail Operations. Mr. Kenny had a remarkable railroad career spanning more than 50 years. He started as a ticket clerk on Long Island Railroad, and later worked up the ranks to be Acting President of the system. Mr. Kenny was also known to appreciate railroad history, which is a trait he brought to his work, and one that we particularly admire. He will be sorely missed by many. Coronavirus is serious, and we are all feeling its effects in more and more ways. Stay home, stay safe, and save lives.

Will be at the show on sunday

From the Trenton and Mercer County #288 restoration team, .... "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

New York Central 20th Century Limited observation car Hickory Creek along with New York Central 43 trail on the back of an Empire Service train seen at the S curve in Irvington...11/17/19

Empire Connection Sunset, Limited. The United Railroad Historical Society of NJ former New York Central owned Hickory Creek (obs/lounge/sleeper) and 43 (tavern/...lounge) held the markers on the return from Rutland, VT of Amtrak Train 292 on Saturday, November 16, 2019. The Hickory Creek is restored to its "as delivered" external appearance, wearing the lightning stripes and lighted tail sign of the NYC's 20th Century Limited. The 20th Century Limited used NYC as its south/east terminal, but operated out of Grand Central Terminal. Since 1991 with short interruptions for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, all Empire Corridor Amtrak trains have used the Empire Connection as their regular connection to New York City, but go instead to New York's Penn Station, paralleling the West Side Highway through the Harlem Valley of New York, New York. See more

Look for NYC Hickory Creek and New York Central #43 on today's #293. While it will be dark when we depart New York, at least the tail sign will be glowing brig...ht. Both cars return tomorrow from Rutland on #292. The next opportunity to see the cars in action will be on Sunday (17 November), when they make a New York Penn/Albany round-trip on trains #233 and #244. Share your pictures if you catch the cars on any of the trips.

Make your way to the pumpkin patch via The Great Pumpkin Train! Best of all, kids get a free pumpkin! Who’s ready for a unique trip?