Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook, NJ

I have heard that a railroad ran out to Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook back in the late 1800s. Near one of the batteries there are even rails in the ground! There is also the remains of the old CNJ bridge over that river next to the drawbridge. I was wondering whether the two are somehow related to each other?:roll:





Thanks!

I would expect that the ex-CNJ branch that went south from that bridge was the connection for the military RR.

Thanks!

The site's museum has some information on the railway operation once located there. Prior to WW II the 52nd Coast Artillery Regiment (Railway) was based at Sandy Hook.

I believe the Long Branch & Seashore RR (which became part of the CNJ) originally went there, with steamers to NYC. Later, the Government took over the railroad on Sandy Hook and the CNJ built the Navesink RR from the south end of Sandy Hook west to Atlantic Highlands, and built the pier there.

Sandy Hook was served by the Sandy Hook Proving Ground Railroad which connected with the CNJ in Seabright. Also, the Army ran a narrow gauge railroad there which served the batteries, the mine depot, piers and was used for distributing coal around the Hook. When I was stationed there in 68 - 70 you could still see the tracks on the mine pier that was used by the Coast Guard. Also, I believe that the public works building near the existing Coast Guard station was the engine house for the narrow guage railroad. If I remember correctly you can still see tracks imbedded in the concrete in that area.

The museum located in the old Army brig on Sandy Hook has some information and pictures of railroad activity there. Also, you can purchase a picture history book of Sandy Hook in local information section almost any book store in NJ that has lots of great pictures/information.

By the way, what happened to the Roll Eyes icon?

Last time I went to Sandy Hook I recall seeing rails imbedded into the concrete/blacktop next to Fort Hancock.I believe that is parking lot H?

danb wrote:Near one of the batteries there are even rails in the ground!

This would be Battery Potter. The rails are somewhat visible right up to the big door into the battery, then inside they are go straight down the main hall with a set of wheels still sitting on them.

During WWI or II, were there ever actual railroad guns stationed at Ft. Hancock? or were all the batteries fixed?

There were indeed railroad guns at Fort Hancock between the World Wars. These belonged to the 52nd Coast Artillery Regiment (Railway Gun, 8-Inch).

Metalrailz wrote:Last time I went to Sandy Hook I recall seeing rails imbedded into the concrete/blacktop next to Fort Hancock.I believe that is parking lot H?

I saw these tracks in the parking lot back in 2005. There was also a buried rail near the battery.

Ft. Hancock was the twin of Ft. Tilden in the Rockaways, guarding the entrance to lower NY harbor. See my post in this forum on Ft. Tilden, and check it out some time...amazing concrete bunkers that housed 16" guns hidden off in the dunes, with rails still in their concrete floors, and in the magazines as well.

The railroad was connected to the Seashore Branch with a connection right at the bridge over the Shrewsbury River, and had their own locomotives. the book "The Henry Hudson Trail: CNJs Seashore Branch" has a picture of the locomotive running light over the bridge and notes it as the last rail move out of Sandy Hook, i think the date was 1948. Most of the ROW is from what I have gathered, the southbound lanes of Hartshorne Drive, the main road out to the fort. There is one area where you can see where the tracks looked to have taken a different route, but basically most of the Southbound lanes are the route. Ive seen pics where the power lines roughly parallel the tracks.

There are a few spots out on the hook itself where you can see/tell that there was tracks at one time, either like out in the parking lot where there are still rails in the ground to spots where there is a hump in the road and a fill on either side of it. Seems like there was a good amount of trackage out there at one time.

In that big parking lot, I think it is parking lot H, on the west side of it, (as if on your way to Officers Row) there is a big brick building that to me, sure looks like it could have been an engine house.....

In the event you gentlemen have not seen this, here's a good site on Sandy Hook/Ft. Hancock:

http://members.trainweb.com/bedt/milrr/fthancock.html

Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for railway photos and a locomotive roster.