Old Coaches at Boonton Depot Getting Scrapped?

Chopping has still not commenced as of today...

Security fence installed:


Tree cut away from CNJ observation car:


Dumpster in place:


View of old LIRR coaches from Main Street OHB:

You must remember that the cars could not be moved on the nearby rail. So that meant trucking them out. A very expensive way to get them out. And there are probably cars in better shape that would be easier to grab.

Later!
Mr. Ed

And with scrap steel going for roughly $0.10/lb, there is at least $100,000 worth of steel at the site.

A few years ago we, the Pemberton Township Historic Trust, made inquiries into who really owned the cars. We were (are) interested in the hardware from the CNJ caboose. So if anybody knows who actually owns these things, let me know, please. Thanks.

Later!
Mr. Ed

When I checked with the owners of "Connexions" Night Club (very fun place, by the by) they said that ownership was theirs. Perhaps you could give them a call.

The owners are very nice and actually knew some of the history of the railroad cars. They did want to be rid of them as they were worried that a homeless might use them as a shelter and end up being hurt if some idiot, arsonist decided to chuck a Molotov Cocktail into them.

Kind of a sad ending for cars that once hailed from the glory days of Railroad.

Thanks SF, I will contact them.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Does anyone know how the coaches and caboose came to be there? I mean, who bought them and brought them there, and why? It doesn't sound like the owners of Connexions did so, even if they own them now.

There is an older thread around here somewhere (2007?) that was a "debate" amongst a couple of our Forum members that discussed the origination and the original scrapping plan of those cars.

There most likely are many individuals amongst us here, that have a more solid knowledge of these cars than I, but I will offer the first peanut.

If I am recalling properly, I believe the cars were originally brought in to create a unique series of small shops & stores to make the railroad station into a themed mini strip mall. Unfortunately, I believe the idea was short lived after a few attempts at different commercial businesses didn't take. Once they were abandoned long enough, it sounded like a small group of homeless individuals started taking shelter within. At somepoint one or more fires were initiated within the cars as people sought for warmth, cooking, or whatever and things went severly downhill from there.

Thanks. (I searched, but "Boonton" and "coaches" brings up a lot of threads.)

I can see turning an old coach into a diner, maybe, but not a retail store.

Just to adjust my previous response, i was able to find one of the earlier (earliest?) threads addressing the soon to be scrapped railcars. This discussion dates back to atleast 2004. You can read the thread here: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... n+homeless

Heard from a reliable source that the cutting started this morning.

Just an FYI_
A year ago, the scrapper conatcted us at the Oyster Bay RR Museum (www.obrm.org) on Long Island to see if we were interested in salvaging what we could from the old LIRR coaches.
Fortunately, we were able to salvage many parts that were missing from the cpach we had recently returned to LI and have just started restoration on at our display yard.
Many thanks to that company for caring. I know that the woodwork and interior pieces were salvaged on the cnj cars by another group in NJ.
MADDOG

Many years ago we were told of an old CR N5c that was to be scrapped. We contacted the scrapper to see if we could obtain a few pieces for our N5c that were in poor shape or missing entirely and how much they would charge us fir them. They told us to come and get whatever we wanted as long as it wasn't a coupler or truck, no charge. We harvested the icebox, a roof section and many little parts. It seems that many of these scrappers are willing to work with the preservation organizations if you just ask them.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Went past the site yesterday afternoon. I believe the red coach has been cut up. Dumpster was full of cut metal in the parking lot and at least one wheel set was adjacent to it.