Railroads did more than move people and freight. They shaped towns, determined where businesses grew, and influenced where people chose to live. Across New Jersey and throughout the Northeast, the arrival of the railroad in the nineteenth century transformed quiet rural communities into connected destinations. Stations became the centers of commerce, trains carried workers and visitors each day, and entire regions developed along the routes of the rails.
Our researchers, both young and old, learned so much about transportation methods that occurred post 1850 industrialization period, including the Civil War, including New Jersey’s stagecoaches, first toll roads and turpikes, the canals, then rails, then highways, all working to move product and people faster across the great Garden State.
The Mr Local History Project’s railroad and train history series explores those stories. Through photographs, maps, newspaper accounts, and local research, we take a closer look at the trains that built our communities, the lines that were proposed and never constructed, the stations that became gathering places, and the colorful characters who rode the rails. From coal trains and commuter lines to luxury club cars and the famous Millionaires Express, each story reveals how the iron rails shaped the history of our towns and the landscape we know today.
Mr Local History Reseach – Trains and Railroads
Taking a Ride on the Millionaires Express Train 100 Years Later
Views: 1,819 A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. No exclusive subscription required. For 1 day only, ordinary passengers were invited aboard the legendary Millionaires Express, the famed Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad club car that once carried the wealthy residents of Bernardsville Mountain…
Railroad Photo Collection – The West Line of Central New Jersey
Views: 144 While researching the rich history of the West Line to Bernardsville, New Jersey, here are just some of the images from the series, gathered from various sources, to share as an online local photo collection that spans from…
Railroad Men of The Somerset Hills
Views: 245 The iron rail that brought the steel horse to the Somerset Hills.This story is as much about the railroads that were built as it is about the railroads that weren’t. Railroad Companies of the Time Before we begin,…
Looking Back at Train Stations Along the Peapack Gladstone Line
Views: 1,090 Stations in the News Railroad service into the Somerset Hills began in 1872 when the Passaic Valley and Peapack Railroad opened a new line running west from Summit into northern Somerset County. The original route established stations at…
Millionaires Express Elegant Commuting – Who Was On That Exclusive Subscriber List
Views: 621 History says the subscriber list is lost, so Mr. Local History is trying to rebuild it. We wanted to begin this addition to our Somerset Hills train history series with the story behind what became widely known as…
Historic Train Accidents on the Peapack Gladstone Line
Views: 396 As our researchers investigated the history of the Millionaires Express story, we found several articles about a terrible rail accident involving the Millionaires Express on June 5, 1908. We’re sharing a few stories/articles from the era and are…
The Millionaires Express Train – Luxury Between Hoboken & the Somerset Hills
Views: 2,276 UPDATE:For 1 day only on Sunday, May 17, visitors can experience the “Millionaires Express” at the Whippany Railway Museum by riding in restored 1900s era luxury club cars once used by wealthy railroad travelers on New Jersey’s famed…
Northside or Southside – Train Determines Socio Economic Town Dynamics
Views: 1,002 Part of our Mr. Local History Train Series….. For years, the Mr. Local History research team has been digging into New Jersey’s railroad history. As we traced old rail lines town by town, something curious began to appear…
Passaic Valley & Peapack and the West Line Railroad – What if the West Line Succeeded?
Views: 467 A Retrospective The Mr. Local History Project conducted a deep dive into the beginnings of railroads in New Jersey, focusing on east-west corridors that sought to connect Pennsylvania with New York through New Jersey’s crossroads. Long before the…
The West Line Railroad: Fate That Created a Community Instead of an Industry
Views: 2,775 The iron rail that brought the steel horse to the Somerset Hills.This story is as much about the railroads that were built as it is about the railroads that weren’t. As our researchers identify new pertinent information, this…
1892 – Getting to the Poconos – Taking The Train
Views: 3,137 Many of us forget that the automobile didn’t really start gaining a presence until the 1920s, so getting around was either by rail or horse-drawn carriage. So if you were coming from Philadelphia or New York City to…
Grand Mansions and Historic Estates Mapped in New Jersey’s Somerset Hills
Views: 43,836 Many people have asked why you post all this history stuff on the area you’re calling the Somerset Hills. Well, call it passion. Call it intrigue. Call it local awareness. I think the main reason is that the…
Somerset Hills Rail Travel & Commuting Over the Last 150 Years
Views: 7,845 Ever wonder what it was like to travel on a train back in 1872 in the Somerset Hills? Train service has always been a connector between Somerset Hills, Hoboken, and New York City. Service runs on what is…
Population Trends in the Somerset Hills
Views: 8,494 As a former township historian in this area, I learned that everyone has a point of view on what changed the area over the years. No matter who you talk to, you typically hear that the area is…
