Does anyone know the current situation of the New Jersey Museum of Transportation? There were rumblings of them being evicted off the property they're on even before the current situation which I can't imagine has made it better.

Not too much new by the looks of things from some months back. Per a 26 June 2020 NJDEP email, the NJDEP has made it clear that while the NJMT COVID plan has been approved, trains are not to be operated until certain requirements unrelated to COVID are met. This would include providing the NJDEP with a safety inspection and list of qualified operators. As of 20 July, this ban was still in place. As of this morning, web page and FB page still indicate no trains are running. To date, there is still no new lease/license in place for the use of the property.

The plan limits open car seating to 24 people, possible limited use of the caboose, and no use of the coach, so max seating would be in the 30 people range assuming some use of the caboose. In truth 24 people for a train in the middle of the summer is not bad, but would be a significant issue for Fall and Christmas trains.

The question is whether they made a decision not to operate this year or if they are not making a decision, just not operating. I hope it was a decision.

Based on documents available from the NJDEP OPRA process, there are several factors at play here, keeping in mind that NJMT/Pine Creek sits on leased land owned by the NJDEP:

1) Yes, they were shut down due to State of NJ COVID-19 requirements. For reasons shown below, the NJDEP has prevented NJMT from operating the train even though NJMT has an approved COVID-19 plan which limits equipment they can use and the number of people who are allowed to ride on the open car in particular.

2) They are still closed based on NJDEP requirements tied to the now expired lease for the property. In particular is an inspection report of the equipment and ROW performed by someone who is licensed or qualified in some way. The need for this inspection is based on an issue a current Trustee brought up some years back which calls into question the safety of the passenger equipment. NJMT also owes the NJDEP a list of qualified operators.

There are deeper issues involving the lack of any agreement with the NJDEP to even be on the property. Based on OPRA documents, NJMT has not been in compliance with the lease for many years focusing primarily on financial reports and work planning documents that must be submitted annually.

Based on IRS tax returns, it looks like available cash to keep the doors open is tight. Hopefully a donation or a CARES grant is available to tide them over.

In looking at any number of FB pages, there seems to be a fair number of people with an interest in the place and willing to help. Many of them have a pretty good understanding of what is needed to turn the place around, but current management, for whatever reason, will not let go. Various ongoing State of NJ investigations into the management of NJMT might help, but probably taking too long to have any positive impact before it is too late.

If anyone wants some of the documentation, feel free to message me and it will be provided.

J.R. May