Whippany Railway Museum - History

History

In 1965, Whippany was the location of the Morris County Central Railroad, a steam excursion railroad. A group of employees of the Morris County Central Railroad came together to form the Morris County Central Railroad Museum and used half of the Morristown and Erie freight house. In 1967 the freight house was moved across the tracks to its present day location. during the years from 1967 to 1973, the museum was visited by thousands of railfans who had come to ride the excursion trains. In 1973 due to financial pressures the Morris County Central Railroad moved its operation to Newfoundland, NJ. One year later the Morris County Central Railroad Museum also moved to a restored refrigerator car at the Newfoundland, NJ, location where it operated as the Pequannock Valley Transportation Museum.

The tough economics of the late 1970s, as well as several serious acts of vandalism and arson to the railroad's equipment and its facilities, soon caused the closure of the railroad. Morris County Central Railroad ran its last train at the end of 1980. The Museum stayed opened however.

In 1983 the members of the Pequannock Valley Transportation Museum began looking for a new site, preferably in a railroad structure. The freight house at Whippany was immediately considered, but it was in very bad shape, having suffered from the ravages of nature and time, as well as vandalism. it was scheduled to be demolished. But the members of the Pequannock Valley Transportation Museum began the hard task of cleaning up the site as well as restoring the freight house building itself. This included lifting the building off and replacing its crumbling foundation. In January 1984, the PVTM moved the last of its property back down to Whippany. During this time the Museum was reorganized as the Whippany Railway Museum to better reflect its new location. Work continued throughout 1984 and 1985 refinishing and setting up displays, as well as creating a gift shop. Finally, on October 26, 1985, The Whippany Railway Museum had its grand opening.

The museum has continued to flourish at its Whippany location, as well as expanding its collection of New Jersey railroad history. In early 2011 the Whippany Museum was recognized for its efforts in the preservation of this history by a proclamation from the New Jersey State Assembly. This proclamation applauded the efforts of the volunteers who preserve for future generations the history of railroading in the state of New Jersey, as well as recognizing the events and excursion rides that are regularly hosted by the museum.