Trolley Tracks Found In Sea Isle City

Interesting article for sure in today's AC Press.

http://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/pre ... 002e0.html

Can we have the background on these tracks? Will anybody be able to get pictures?

Given the accuracy of the press, I would be curious if these are truly trolley tracks or actually the remains of the WJ&S (PRR) tracks which once ran the entire length of the island. The old PRR ROW can still be seen running through the marshes as you exit SIC. The PRR tracks ran south to Stone Harbor and north to Ocean City and the RDG (ACRR) entered the island at Strathmere.

A much better description and chronology can be read in Jim Boylan's post here: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 97&t=57333

The various rail lines in Cape May County, both current and abandoned, can also be seen here:

http://www.nj.gov/transportation/gis/maps/capemay.pdf

"A local donkey-pulled trolley service, later replaced by a steam locomotive, was offered beginning in 1887, between Sea Isle City and Townsend's Inlet. Trolley line on Sea Isle City decommissioned in 1916. A decade later, the trolley line, running parallel to the sea, became a wide avenue, extending through Strathmere and into Ocean City to the north and into Avalon on the south. With the decommissioning of the trolley line, the trolley station building was no longer in use. Local Lutherans purchased the building and set to work converting it into a church, offering Moonlit boat rides to raise the necessary funds. The Sea Isle City history museum has an original trolley bell. "

It would appear from the records that the trolley line operated on Landis/Ocean Ave South of what is now JFK boulevard, and the railroad on the next street East on Pleasure Ave.

"An unintended upside to demolishing the railroad was that the path where the railroad used to sit became a popular place for people to take walks and ride their bikes. The path would later be named Pleasure Ave."

Is landis the main road on the western side of the island? I vacation there every summer but can't remember.

Landis Ave is the main drag N/S along the island. If you go to historicaerials.com, you can clearly see in the 20's 30's where the railroad ran on what is now Pleasure Ave.

I've used historicaerials.com and you can't see anything clearly back that far. Some photos are so bad and fuzzy that I wonder why they even post them.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Can anything be found in Stone Harbor? From Stone Harbour up to Sea Isle City, were the tracks in the street or ever on their own ROW?

"It was like a little transportation system".

No, you ijit, it WAS a transportation system. CARS are like a little transportation system. REAL transporation systems have rails.

RussNelson wrote:"ijit

I LOVE IT! Have not heard that since a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Seriously, though, that quote is embarrassing. "A little transportation system. We here in Cartown don't know what transportation is unless you have your own."