abandoned NJT engines on the old DL&W rail line

The Delaware, Lackwanna and Western rail lines that services from morris county thru Sussex County and into PA were closed down years ago. the rail lines coming up from the east diverged into two lines in Landing. the line that went west into Warren County remains active, but the other line was shut down. You can walk the trail 30 miles from Landing all the way to the Paulsinkill Viaduct which crosses the Delaware. Some time in 2010 NJT pretty much abandoned 29 apparently functional engines along the line somewhere (location not disclosed). They’ve been completely sealed up, except for one train which someone pried open. Along the way to them i found an old stone rail building. its completely sealed up and unless one has a blow torch, access isn’t possible.

more details on the history of the line closer from wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware,_Lackawanna_and_Western_Railroad

All the pics on Flickr

Old Cemetery at Piscataway High School

Visit Piscataway High School on Behmer Road and you’ll find a large sprawling school complex, a well kept parking lot and a small stadium for the football team, the Chiefs. You will also find the FitzRandolph Cemetery, a collection of barely a half dozen graves belonging to one of Piscataway’s most prominent families in the 1800’s.

More pictures

 

Abandoned farm in Phillipsburg

An explorer friend of mine messages me and says “Hey I found this great big farm! I didn’t have time to check it out because it was almost dark. Wanna go with me?” How could I resist? So I met up with him Friday and checked it out. It appears to have been abandoned for maybe 8-10 years or so. The place was pretty well cleaned out. We didn’t find the usual leavings, like mail and garbage and clothing. We found a few toys here and there, a little bit of junk amongst the weeds and bushes but very little else. There was no evidence of kids or squatters either. No beer cans, bottles or drug use. No graffiti. I like to find stuff left behind, sometimes you can learn a bit about the people or the place. Not here, but it was nice to not see a place ruined by vandals either.

It looked like your typical farm. there definitely were animals raised here, and there was a fairly large corn field that was fallow. Interestingly the corn was still growing in neat rows. Apparently the birds eats the corn cobs as they fall but enough kernels remain to seed new plants. The buildings are in rough shape but nothing that couldn’t be salvaged. The buildings were probably built in the 50’s. There was a garage/shed type building, one large main barn with some smaller wings built off to the side, as well as the two actual houses. The houses had a very weird layout, I suspect it was expanded at some point. Its the only way to explain the layout.

I’m surprised it is still here and that its pretty untouched. Its in what I would say a prime retail location and is easily visible from the road…..

All the photos are here or go to the Facebook group

Decrepit barn at the Laurita Winery

 

 

 

 

 

Found this old barn at the Laurita Winery when i went there for a food truck festival. There also is an old farm and barn museum there with lots of cool things like milk cans, old tools, spinning wheels and barn doors.

 

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Was Action Park the most dangerous park ever?

http://www.buzzfeed.com/danm3/35-horror-stories-that-prove-action-park-was-the-6wr

this article says yes. My main memory of the park was the looping water slide. Picture a hotwheels stunt track but it was a tube not a slide and it featured you and not a toy car and there you have it. Words can’t convey how much abuse it put your body thru. it was short, fast and brutal. IIRC you had to be a minimum weight and height because if you weren’t there was a risk you wouldn’t make it thru the loop. My neck and head felt horrible afterwards and I wouldn’t ever do it again.

Prince Rodgers Cemetery

Located in Bridgewater about 5 yards from a major road and yet completely invisible from it, lies a small burial plot of slaves from the 1700’s. 

 

 

Located approximately 500 feet from Foothill Road and Bridge Rd in Bridgewater is a burial plot. Known as the Prince Rodgers cemetery, (it has also been referred to as the VanderVeer Burying Ground), there are a handful of headstones, several of which are broken.  Prince Rodgers was born in 1813 and was a slave of Cornelius Van Horn until being freed from slavery by his master at age 25. Other sources claim that Rodgers was a slave of the VanderVeer family. Completely forgotten despite being yards from the road, it sits between two homes one of which is owned, the other appears abandoned. Several years ago efforts began to restore the cemetery. Black plastic and wood chips have been laid down and the brush was cut back, but not much progress has been made since then and the weeds and brush have returned.

 

The East Hanover bar that trolls grammar nazis

I have worked in Livingston on Route 10 for 2 years but I rarely traveled on Route 10 because my home lay to the east. Ever since I moved out west I travel that road every day and that was how I became familiar with Bogey’s. it’s a small tavern, has a bar in front and some tables in the back. My girlfriend recently ate there and said the food was pretty good (which is high praise coming from her). What makes the place interesting is their signage. For years they have had signs that have grammatical errors or words incorrectly spelled. In the beginning I thought it was an accident but the repeated nature of it makes me believe that it is intentional. Some would even say they’re trolling.

 

 

 

After seeing this sign I decided to ask about it since supposedly this wasn’t the first time. The owner stated that it was an error the first time but when it happened again they decided to leave it be. Several weeks later, as a joke, it seems someone “fixed” the sign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A month or two later we saw this sign which mocks the business name, but misspells the key word. 

 

 

Last week this sign went up. And that’s when I knew that it had to be intentional. It’s nice to see a business with a sense of humor. Now when I pass by I smile instead of grinding my teeth.

Two of NJ’s oldest and largest psychiatric facilities slated for demolition

A few weeks ago the state announced that it was seeking bids to demolish the main Kirkbride building that was the primary building at Greystone. A number of old buildings have already been torn down and now the state intends to finish the job. This week similar plans were announced for Marlboro. Marlboros demise was actually announced 2 years ago but numerous studies had to be done before any actual demolition could take place. The facility opened in 1931 and closed in 1998 though alcohol rehab treatment is still done in a handful of buildings if I recall correctly. Now abandoned for 15 years the buildings have deteriorated and natural decay mainly from weather and water damage has let asbestos contaminate the halls. I visited there myself about 7 years ago but I would likely not visit today if given the chance. Though the buildings may structurally be sound, certain areas have weak floors and that, coupled with the asbestos would far outweigh any benefits of exploration. It is estimated that it will cost 75M to demolish the buildings safely, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the cost were closer to 100M. I say that because the state estimates restoring the Kirkbridge building at Greystone would cost well in excess of $100M. The The question then becomes what to do with the sprawling estate, and a park seems a likely choice given the emphasis on Green Acres preservation. Anything would be better than to sell it off and make more subdivisions.

Head 2 Head on 295

If you drive on 295, as you approach exit 65B you will see a large piece of public art called Head 2 Head, created by artist John Martini. The two giant heads weigh a combined 45 tons and are part of a project by the Grounds For Sculpture, a local park featuring large works of art. The Sculpture On The Way (SOTW) program is meant to be a visual path that leads visitors to the Grounds for Sculpture. By displaying art publicly it is hoped that it was will encourage local residents and business owners to display art publicly on their own, unaffiliated with the program itself.

You can read more about the SOTW program, featuring descriptions and locations of other pieces here. You can read more about Head 2 Head here

1937 Yellowstone Park Bus

I saw this car in Readington, NJ, off to the side of Route 22. I was headed south, not doing anything but driving along, when I saw this 4 row open air … Frankencar. I couldn’t think of another word to describe it. It looked like some really old car had been stretched and customized into something totally new.

Turns out, it wasn’t new at all. It was in fact, very old. The car is owned by the Tewksbury Balloon company and it is used as their chase vehicle. When you fly in a hot air balloon, you gain lift through the use of hot air jets, but despite that you are still at the mercy of the wind. The pilot has to watch the winds very carefully and at the same time be watching the terrain for suitable landing spots. Most of the time, balloon pilots set down in a large open space such as a baseball field, parking lot or a farm. On rare occasions it’s someones backyard. A chase vehicle follows on the ground and when the balloon lands they pick up the pilot and passengers. The basket goes on or in the vehicle along with the balloon itself.

This chase vehicle is a 1937 White Model 614 Yellowstone Tour bus. Yellowstone National Park was the first National Park established in the United States by President Grant on March 1, 1872. Covering over 3,400 square miles, the Park was a popular destination for Americans eager to explore thanks to the recent introduction of the automobile. As visitor levels soared, increasing traffic volumes created problems for Park management so in 1917, multi-passenger bus tours were introduced. The model pictured above was first introduced in 1931. These 14-passenger units featured glass side windows and an opening top cover so that guests could stand up to enjoy the scenery. These buses also had a more powerful 75hp engine than their predecessors, to facilitate climbing the mountain passes, and new hydraulic brakes provided increased safety.

Many of the Yellowstone buses are prized by collectors and are often used in tourism related businesses. More information on the history and models of Yellowstone buses can be found at Geyser Bob’s detailed website here.

The Tewksbury Balloon company flies passengers over the hills of northern and central NJ out of White House Station, so if you fly with them you can ride in their Yellowstone bus on trip back to their launch site. There are lots of pictures on their facebook page.

You can also see pics of another restored 1937 yellowstone bus here