I am trying to get details on this, but the 100+ year old Red Bank, NJ train station was the scene of police and military activity this morning.

The depot, which is a two-story wooden classic still operating as a station (with agent!), is on NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, once the New York & Long Branch operation of the CNJ and PRR.

On-site accounts say that one or two undetonated artillery rounds were discovered feet from the depot this morning. Local police were called in, and a team of Army experts complete with flack gear sand-bagged the suspected explosives.

If anyone has anymore info on this, or sees a link later today, please post it.

The Red Bank depot has been the subject of preservation discussions. The wooden crossing guard shanty has recently been restored and returned to the site and a visitor's center has opened in a corner of the main waiting room. Red Bank is one of just three remaining wooden depots on the line (the others are the empty near-twin in Matawan and the similarly empty Middletown depot).

Rob Davis

rdavis@rypn.org

Would they switch cars for USN's Earle Ammo Depot there?

Electric City Trolley Museum Association

Were Jay and Silent Bob lurking in the area? Their "Secret Stash" Comic Book store is nearby.

http://www.nps.gov/stea/

Hey Tim! Next time you are down at Silent Bob's, drop an e-mail first and I can give you the railroader's tour of Red Bank!

Rob

PS: The incident yesterday escaped media attention.

> Were Jay and Silent Bob lurking in the area?
> Their "Secret Stash" Comic Book
> store is nearby.

Hmmm...munitions trains heading for Earle indeed pass through the Red Bank RR station area. One block south of the station, the C of NJ track branches off from the NY&LB main, and down that branch a few miles is the Earle Ammo Depot connection. A yard with roundhouse & turntable used to be between the branch & main, south of the station. The freight station was opposite the yard on the east side of the NY&LB main.

I grew up about a mile away from the Red Bank station, and am very familar with the station and nearby yard. I was awaiting further info. on this find, as the station is in heavy daily use by commuters to NYC, so I was very surprised to hear about shells found there. Just lying on the ground? (dumped there recently?) or unearthed (underneath walkway/parking lot? the whole vicinity is paved over).

There *was* an incident back in the 1960's when a boxcar carrying a missile (allegedly with a nuclear warhead) was parked overnight without a guard in the Red Bank yard. As I recall, this boxcar had to be cut out of an ammo train due to a hotbox, and it was fixed and moved out the next day. There was an article in the local paper (Red Bank Register) about it. BTW the Register ceased publication many years ago.

I could also tell the story of the circus train being unloaded there at Red Bank (vintage 1955-56?) if you like. Also, how about the visit to Red Bank by rail by King & Queen of England in 1939? That one was a little before my time, but I recall seeing the photos. K&Q detrained at Red Bank and were driven a few blocks to Marine Park (docks) where they went aboard a small British(?) naval vessel for the completion of their trip to NYC.

Jim Vliet

> Would they switch cars for USN's Earle Ammo
> Depot there?


jvliet@optonline.net

Jim,

I'd love to hear the circus story!

Som the munitions scare turned out to be this, according to radio reports Friday. Some unarmed sheels were stolen from the backyard of a local military collector by a homeless man.

He planned to sell the stolen shells for $1 to commuters! Well, they were big... and heavy... so he left a trail of shells behind them when they got too heavy! And that's when they were discovered by an unsuspecting commuter!

Thank heavens that's all it was!

Rob