Berlin Train Station - Berlin, NJ
N 39° 47.631 W 074° 55.526
18S E 506384 N 4404879
Local train station still looks exactly as it did at the turn of the 20th century. Today it is the home of the Berlin historical society and doubles as a museum, too. If you hang out long enough, you will see some modern trains speed by.
Waymark Code: WMB8J7
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 04/19/2011
Views: 6
This is such an excellent place to watch trains. You can come to this old train depot, sit on the porch with a schedule and watch modern trains speed by. When I arrived on site it was to find a geocache. I noticed another person sitting on the porch. Guess what he was doing? That's right...train spotting! So, we hung around and saw two passes. I took video of both and posted them on Youtube. I have also provided a link below so you can see the train pass by and the gates rise and fall. Good stuff!
So, like I wrote I hung around to see the NJ Transit train pass by. The gates closed, all kind of dinging, bells and whistles ensued and THIS video resulted.
I also noticed there are welds on the track which means the original track is long gone. There is a neat milestone to the rear which indicates 16 miles to Camden. It is actually 13.84 miles from this marker to the Camden city hall. Parking is to the front and was not a problem on the gravel.
I found the following on the Long-A-Coming historical society website. The Camden and Absecon Railroad Company laid a single rail line in 1853 that ran parallel to the main road between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Atlantic City, New jersey. The Long-A-Coming Station, as it was oringinally called, was built in 1856. A hotel and tavern were within walking distance of the station to make it an ideal place for a stop.
On February 5, 1867, the station was renamed "Magnolia". This caused much confusion because the town of Magnolia was nearby. So, three months later, on May 7, the town name and the station name were changed to Berlin.
The first Station Agent was Joseph L. Thackara. Other residents who served as agents were Howard C. Sharp, Mr. Brace, Henry N. Gillon, David R. Lee, Herbert R. Snyder, and John W. Green. The station was used for both passengers and freight.
After some heavy rail traffic in the early years, the depression and increase of automobiles caused train travel to decline. By the 1960's the railroad that had grown to a double track was reduced back to a single line and stations were closed and removed. The Berlin Station was closed. It stood empty until 1994 when two residents, Roy Schmidt and Dan Pomponio, Sr., organized the restoration of the station. The Long-A-Coming Historical Society members did the work. The restoration took 2 years to complete. The railroad allowed the station to remain on its original spot. It is the meeting place for the Long-A-Coming Historical Society and several other area organizations.
The Berlin Train Station is the oldest existing station in New Jersey. It is listed on the New Jersey and National Registry of Historic Places.
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