Hi folks,

I recently acquired a nice book on The Public Service of New Jersey and was looking at all the neat trolleys that used to run in the area where I now live. I'm feeling chuffed that I figured out there was a trolley line in the Maywood - Elmwood Park area based on the street patterns and bit of abandoned right-of-way crossing Passaic street. Then I purchase the book and read about the Hudson River Fast Line between Paterson and the Palisades. Now if I can just figure out where the private right of way was in Bogota, NJ.

The main point of this post was that there are some nice pictures of PSNJ's Private Car New Jersey being stored complete in a Montclair car barn in the 1940's. I've heard that it was turned into a yard office building.

Does anyone know where it was? I'm guessing that it is gone. Does anyone know when that happened?

Thanks,

Charles

I can't help on the car itself, but I tell you that this car had its own custom china pattern featuring the old Public Service logo. After the car was retired the china was briefly used in the executive dining room at Newark HQ, then stored. It was given (sold?) to several employees in the 1960s. I have a couple of pieces in my collection. The manufacturing date on the china was 1918.

Well I don't know the answer for your specific questions, but for all you PSNJ fans, I wanted to mention that the Shore Line Trolley Museum (East Haven/Branford, CT) is presently featuring a couple New Jersey pieces of equipment for public viewing.

The first is Osgood Bradley-built #4584, a rare surviving street railway trailer car. Built in 1921 and used as an iron works office for over 60 years, the car has been at SLTM since 2004. Since last year, significant stabilization work has been undertaken, including a patched and partially-re-canvassed roof, replaced windows and replicated faux-window and door frames, rust removal, and a new coat of paint, among other work. The car is presently parked in front of our Quonset building and can be closely inspected on our guided tour.

The other is NJ Transit (TCRT/PSNJ) PCC #25. SLTM acquired this car from NJT back in January 2014 when several PCCs from NJT's City Subway line were being disbursed among the streetcar preservation community. Our car 25 is currently parked near our loop and can be seen from the trolley during a ride down America's oldest continuously-operated suburban trolley line. It is now operable and may move around the property from time to time.

Whether you're into PSNJ or some other aspect of street railways, I invite you to visit the Shore Line Trolley Museum this summer. You never know what you might see! http://www.shorelinetrolley.org. We're open 7 days a week through Labor Day.

Thank you both for the information. The china is very cool although it would be great if the car was still around to display it. It's great to see the trailer in such better shape. The only photo of it that I could find was it rusty and shrouded. I'll have to stop on by this summer.

Thanks,

Charles

Is Public Service 2431 still at Branford?

Keith