Volunteer Railroaders Association (aka VRA) is a New Jersey-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of volunteers interested in railroad heritage and preservation. [1] The VRA has conducted rail-oriented excursions in New York and Pennsylvania, in addition to New Jersey, including children oriented fund-raising train rides in New Jersey and New York. The group owns and operates and four railroad speeders. One is a rare Lehigh & New England Railroad Sheffield Corporation model 40B. The group has also organized gatherings of as many as 40 speeders in Pennsylvania. [2]
The VRA's mission is to raise funds for the preservation and restoration historic railroad right of way, rolling stock and other related items. We also strive to educate the public to create an awareness of our mission through our many events focused on the history and future need for railroad operations. To restore, maintain and operate historic railroad speeders (motorcars) the Hawthorne NJ railroad station [3] and to demonstrate speeders place in railroad history.
In the beginning the group was known as the Susquehanna Volunteer Association (SVA) and was incorporated on 4 October 1993. [4] [5] The SVA volunteers worked on the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) steam excursions beginning that year. Between 1996–1998, the Volunteer Railroaders Association and New Jersey Transit co-sponsored steam excursions using Chesapeake & Ohio 614, a class "J-3-A" 4-8-4 "Greenbrier" (Northern) type steam locomotive. The volunteer-run excursions traveled 180 miles (290 km) round-trip between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Port Jervis, New York. [6] In 1997, the group changed its name to Volunteer Railroaders Association and adopted the slogan "So close, only the paycheck is missing."
Regional gatherings are also organized, such as a gathering of 40 speeders between Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and Lackawaxen on May 17, 2003, for example. [2] Other past excursions have included the Delaware and Ulster Railroad in New York and the Delaware, Lackawaxen, & Stourbridge Railroad (DL&S) in Pennsylvania. [7]
The VRA meets quarterly in Hawthorne, New Jersey, and leases the Hawthorne station from the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway. On May 22, 2011, the organization celebrated the completion of its almost year-long restoration project for the station, which had received the blessing of city officials. [8] In January 2019, the VRA was one of three organizations recognized as "Member of the Year" by the Hawthorne Chamber of Commerce. [9]
Since its founding, the VRA has run many trips carrying thousands of people. The children's events are fundraisers to benefit the creation of the NJ State Transportation Museum, the Friends of the NJ Railroad & Transportation Museum and other railroad related preservation activities. Trips such as Santa Train Rides [10] [11] and Easter Bunny Train Rides [12] [13] on NJ Transit using modern coaches. The VRA no longer runs any Santa or Easter trips on New Jersey Transit due to prohibitive costs.
The current project that has been ongoing for a few years is running 45-minute speeder trips from Cape May, New Jersey, to the Cape May Intracoastal Waterway Canal on the Cape May Seashore Railroad in southern New Jersey. [14] [15]
In 2020 a committee of the Volunteer Railroaders Association was formalized [16] to provide track car services to small railroads throughout the eastern seaboard. All through its history the VRA had been providing brush cutting service to various shortlines. This sub-group has a motto "FIRST IN SAFETY, FIRST IN SERVICE" and is composed entirely of professional railroaders. A restoration project to assist in clearing the right-of-way of the Cape May Seashore Railroad for resumption of excursions between from Rio Grande, New Jersey, to Cold Spring began in 2020.
Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census.
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway is a Class II American freight railway operating over 400 miles (645 km) of track in the northeastern U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Cape May Seashore Lines is a short line railroad in southern New Jersey that operates both freight trains and excursion trains. It offers two excursion services: a 30-mile (48 km) round trip between Richland and Tuckahoe along the Beesley's Point Secondary railroad line and a 14-mile (23 km) round trip between Rio Grande, Cold Spring Village, and Cape May City along the Cape May Branch. The track is owned by NJ Transit and leased to the Seashore Lines. The Cape May Branch is the original line operated by the Cape May Seashore Lines and runs from Cape May north to Tuckahoe, connecting to the Beesley's Point Secondary in Tuckahoe. Cape May Seashore Lines operates freight service along the Beesley's Point Secondary line between Winslow and Palermo, interchanging with Conrail Shared Assets Operations in Winslow. Tony Macrie has been president of the Seashore Lines since he formed the railroad in 1984.
The New Jersey Midland Railway was a 19th-century predecessor to the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYS&W) that operated in Northern New Jersey and Orange County, New York.
The Cape Cod Central Railroad is a heritage railroad located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It operates on a rail line known as the Cape Main Line which is owned by Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The line was previously owned and operated by the Cape Cod Railroad, the Old Colony Railroad, and later the New Haven Railroad, each of which operated passenger trains on the line from 1854 to 1959. Although it is the namesake of the Cape Cod Central Railroad (1861–68), the two companies are unrelated.
The Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Scranton area.
The East Broad Top Railroad (EBT) is a 3 ft narrow gauge historic and heritage railroad headquartered in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania.
The Stourbridge Line is a shortline railroad that operates 25 miles (40 km) of former Erie Lackawanna Railroad trackage between Honesdale and Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania where it connects with Norfolk Southern Railway. The line was previously owned by the Lackawaxen-Honesdale Shippers Association and operated under contract by Robey Railroads. The operation was contracted to the Morristown & Erie Railway in January, 2009; service ended in 2011. Service was resumed by the Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad (DL&S) on May 9, 2015.
The Southern Michigan Railroad Society is a railway museum in Clinton, Michigan, United States. It has preserved 13.5 miles (21.7 km) of track and a variety of railroad equipment including the only GMDH-3 locomotive ever built. Trains are operated on a seasonal schedule.
The Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad, sometimes shortened to Reading and Northern Railroad, is a regional railroad in eastern Pennsylvania. Its headquarters is in Port Clinton. The RBMN provides freight service on 400 miles (640 km) of track. Its mainline consists of the Reading Division between Reading and Packerton and the Lehigh Division between Lehighton and Dupont. Its main freight cargo is anthracite coal.
The Stewartstown Railroad is a heritage railroad in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1884 by local interests in the Stewartstown area and opened in 1885, the Stewartstown Railroad survives today in very much original condition and retains its original corporate charter.
The Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project is a project under study by NJ Transit to reintroduce passenger service on a portion of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway (NYSW) right-of-way (ROW) in Passaic, Bergen and Hudson counties using newly built, FRA-compliant diesel multiple unit rail cars. Plans call for service to run from Hawthorne south through Paterson, east to Hackensack and then southeast to North Bergen, where it would join the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR).
The North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and safe, legal operation of railroad equipment historically used for maintenance of way purposes. The organization is primarily composed of those who own and operate a personal railcar speeder. NARCOA has around 1,400 members worldwide.
The Maywood Station Museum is located in the 1872-built New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway station in Maywood, New Jersey, United States.
The Whippany Railway Museum is a railway museum and excursion train ride located in the Whippany section of Hanover Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States.
Hawthorne is a former rail station located in Hawthorne in Passaic County, New Jersey. Volunteer Railroaders Association, a non-profit railroad preservation group leases the station from the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway. The station house is an at-grade single story wooden structure which served as the ticket office until June 30, 1966, and was also used as a freight depot building.
The North Alabama Railroad Museum, Inc. is a railroad museum in Chase, Alabama. The museum, incorporated in 1966, is an all volunteer organization. The museum has a collection of rolling stock, a small train station, and a small heritage railroad called the Mercury and Chase Railroad which operates between April and December. The mission of the NARM is to "preserve railroad history in North Alabama and South Central Tennessee." It is run entirely by its 100-plus volunteers. The museum is open to the public daily, volunteers are usually available on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Admission to the museum is free, however there is a charge for riding the trains. A schedule of rides is available at the museum's website.
North Hawthorne, known as North Paterson when originally constructed, was a rail station and yard located in Hawthorne, Passaic County, New Jersey. The facility, which was equipped with car and engine shops, served passengers and freight for both the Erie Railroad and the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railroad from 1892 to 1966. Passenger service from North Hawthorne primarily transported commuters to and from the Susquehanna Transfer station in North Bergen or the Erie Railroad's Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City. Connecting service included the now defunct Public Service Railway, which at one time used North Hawthorne as the terminus of a trolley line connecting Hawthorne to Paterson. Once a sizable complex with multiple spurs and sidings for surrounding industries, North Hawthorne has been reduced to a single runaround siding. Every structure associated with the yard has been demolished, except for the roundhouse, which today is owned by private interests.
The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, Inc. is a non profit educational organization directed at supporting the preservation of New Jersey's historical railroad equipment and artifacts for the proposed New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center or in its absence, another railroad museum in New Jersey.
The Vince Lombardi Park & Ride is located on the New Jersey Turnpike in the Meadowlands in Ridgefield, Bergen County, New Jersey. The park and ride and separate service area to south of it are dedicated to and named after Vince Lombardi. Located at the edge of the Little Ferry Yard it has been viewed as a potential rail station location since the 1990s and as of 2021, it is under consideration by NJ Transit as part of the Passaic–Bergen–Hudson Transit Project.