Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 (lettered as Tyburn Railroad No. 400) is loaded in Morrisville, PA on January 25, 2022. Adam B. Reich photo.
Operation 88 moves forward yet again! On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, Hoboken Manufacturers Railroad No. 700 was transported back to its home state of New Jersey after an absence of 45-years.
The shipment is the culmination of two months of planning. Originally, plans had called for shipping the locomotive directly to the United Railroad Historical Society of NJ’s yard in Boonton, NJ on December 20, 2021, the day prior to the shipment of M&NJ No. 2 to Port Jervis, NY. Due to a number of clearance issues discovered during route surveys, shipment had to be postponed while alternative plans were explored. The Morristown & Erie Railway, Inc. (M&E) generously offered to take delivery of the locomotive at their Troy Hills Road Bulk Transload Facility in Whippany, NJ and a new date was scheduled.
Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 (lettered as Tyburn Railroad No. 400) is prepared to be moved to New Jersey on January 25, 2022. Adam B. Reich photo.
In addition to determining a delivery location, many other logistical details had to be sorted out and coordinated between numerous individuals and organizations. Dozens of emails and phone calls were exchanged over the course of several weeks in order to make the move possible. Logistics included inspections, surveys, procuring equipment, scheduling, and so on.
Since the locomotive would be delivered to Whippany, the M&E would need to move the GE 44-tonner over NJ Transit between Morristown, NJ and Boonton, NJ in order to deliver it to the United Railroad Historical Society of NJ yard. NJ Transit would need to inspect the locomotive prior to its arrival on the M&E to approve it for shipment over their lines. John Nolan and Rich Adams worked to prep the locomotive for an inspection by NJ Transit, which it passed on January 5, 2022 without issue.
Finally, after weeks of logistical wrangling and a positive truck route survey, January 25 was set as the date of the move.
At 7 AM, crews began to arrive at the Tyburn Railroad in Morrisville, PA. The loading location, where the tops of the rails had to be at grade level with 100-feet of room for the truck to maneuver, had been determined to be the railroad’s driveway. The Tyburn Railroad is a busy train-to-truck transload facility with many trucks entering and leaving throughout the day. In order to provide for the move, the railroad generously rearranged its schedule in order to keep its driveway clear for loading the locomotive.
Some of the crew who made the move of Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 possible pose with the locomotive before it departs Morrisville, PA on January 25, 2022. Adam B. Reich photo.
A little before 7:30 AM, Lenny Yocum from Daily Express, Inc. arrived with the truck and trailer to load the locomotive. The Tyburn Railroad closed their gate and a little before 9 AM the truck was positioned over the tracks. John Nolan of Diamond Crossing Enterprises LLC utilized his backhoe to set the loading ramp into position. The Tyburn train crew, utilizing their own locomotive and idler car, shoved No. 700 onto the trailer. Tri-State volunteers, Erik Stenzel and Richie King, assisted with loading. The trailer was reconnected, moved off the driveway, and the load secured.
Meanwhile, a cache of GE 44-tonner parts was loaded into two pickup trucks. The acquisition of No. 700 and M&NJ No. 2 included all spare parts for both locomotives. Most parts were removed from Morrisville, including filters, gaskets, rebuilt heads, a rebuilt auxiliary generator, a gearbox, and more. Volunteers will return to load all remaining parts, and will also travel to two other Regional Rail LLC locations to gather their remaining parts.
Shortly before 11 AM, the locomotive departed the Tyburn Railroad and began its journey. In order to avoid any clearance issues, a circuitous route was taken through Pennsylvania before reaching I-78 East just outside of Allentown, PA. At 1:02 PM, No. 700 crossed the Delaware River and reentered the State of New Jersey after a 45-year absence. At Exit 29, the locomotive ventured onto I-287 North and eventually reached Route 10 and Troy Hills Road. No. 700 arrived at the offload site around 2 PM. Bruce Brueche of B. Brueche Jr. & Sons was on-hand to set the loading ramp and pull the locomotive off of the trailer. Around 2:30 PM, the locomotive was back on the rails.
After residing at the facility for 32-years, Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 departs the Tyburn Railroad in Morrisville, PA on January 25, 2022. Adam B. Reich photo.
Tri-State volunteers, Kevin Phalon and Adam Reich, were on hand throughout the day to film and photograph the move. At Whippany, News 12 New Jersey was on hand to capture the event for the 6 PM news hour (link to News 12 story).
Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 is ready to be offloaded in Whippany, NJ on January 25, 2022. Adam B. Reich photo.
The transportation of Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 would not have been possible without the support of all the aforementioned people and entities, as well as the numerous contributions of the public. Major funding for the move was provided by Liberty Historic Railway, Inc. and numerous other donors. Also, a special thanks to John Nolan of Diamond Crossing Enterprises, LLC and Kevin Cotter and Brenda Rieder of the Tyburn Railroad for coordinating scheduling and logistics in Morrisville, PA, Mark Eyer of Daily Express, Inc. for handling the trucking logistics, Rich Adams for lending his mechanical expertise, News 12 New Jersey for covering the project, Tri-State volunteers Kevin Phalon and Adam Reich for filming and photographing the move, Erik Stenzel of Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc. for coordinating work site activities, and Richie King of Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc. for handling the bids, finances, insurance, and other paperwork for the move.
With No. 700 safely on the rails in Whippany, NJ, it awaits final shipment on its own wheels to the URHS yard in Boonton, NJ in the coming weeks. Once delivered to Boonton, Tri-State Railway Historical Society volunteers can begin the second phase of the Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 portion of the project. Mechanics will get the two Caterpillar D17000 engines running and the locomotive will be cosmetically restored.
Your generous support will help Operation 88 continue forward to completion. Please consider an online donation here, or you may mail us a check at Tri-State Railway Historical Society, Inc., PO Box 1217, Morristown, NJ 07962. All donations, large or small, will help get this project done!
Hoboken Manufacturers No. 700 is offloaded in Whippany on January 25, 2022. Adam B. Reich photo.
THE TRANSPORTATION OF HOBOKEN MANUFACTURERS RAILROAD NO. 700
was made possible by the following:
B. Brueche Jr. & Sons
Daily Express, Inc.,
with special thanks to Mark Eyer and Lenny Yocum
John Nolan of Diamond Crossing Enterprises, LLC
Morristown & Erie Railway, Inc.,
with special thanks to Chuck Jensen and Matt Phalon
NJ Transit
Operation Toy Train,
with special thanks to Frank Eichenlaub
Rich Adams
Regional Rail LLC / Tyburn Railroad,
with special thanks to Don Craumer, Kevin Cotter, and Brenda Rieder
United Railroad Historical Society of NJ, Inc.
DONORS TO OPERATION 88
as of January 28, 2022
Liberty Historic Railway, Inc.
Gabriel Caprio
Reg Mitchell
Steven R. Cohen
Frank M. Dellapolla
Tom Piccirillo of HobbyAdvisors LLC
Erie Limited Xpress
Matthew Wolchko
Christopher Vitz
Michael Scruggs
Philip Gengler
Roberta Ballard
Sandra Shaw
Bruce Benson
John Centenaro
Leon Moreau
Thomas Scheffer
Eric Kammer
Pat Kauffman
Timothy Stuy
Lisa Nalepka
John Dunn
Barry Kanig, in memory of Ken Combs