Happy Birthday to Chatham's Train Station

On June 14th the Chatham Historical Society put together a bunch of events to celebrate the train stations centennial. One of the highlights was the railway museum inside the eastbound station. Comprised of 100 artifacts from the private collection of my father, it was well received by the public, committee officials, local politicians, and even the executive director of NJ Transit. Throughout the day we had people telling us how much they loved the little museum. Most were amazed to find out that this was only a small portion of my fathers collection. One aspect of this exhibit that made me proud was the fact that for the first time my father had an opportunity to show off items that he has collected over the last 40 years on a grand scale. The museum was his and everyone on the centennial committee couldn't stop thanking him. It was a long day for him, my girlfriend, and myself. By the time the day was over we were all exhausted but it was worth it to bring a little piece of railroad history to the citizens of Chatham. Below are some pictures highlighting the exhibit we set up that day.

All of the train station was used to show off items from my fathers collection.  

A DL&W switch marker stands on top of one of the waiting benches.

A spike hammer and life vest from a former DL&W ferry are on display.

A DL&W coal scoop.

One of the original DL&W station signs for Chatham. This was one of the biggest highlights of the exhibit for many visitors.

An Erie Lackawanna E8 passes through Dover NJ in this photograph. The builders plate for this E8 was on display as well.

A cast iron No Parking Sign. Used at train stations to reserve a space for the station agent or a express truck.

Various lanterns from the DL&W.

A certificate NJ Transit handed out to the ridders of the first revenue MidTown Direct Train On June 10th 1996. For the first time ridders from Chatham could go to NYC without transferring trains. MidTown Direct has impacted Chatham and other towns like it in a positive way since its introduction almost 20 years ago.

The museums crew taking a picture after all the chaos. It was a fun filled day for all of us.

In conjunction with the centennial Chatham decided to try and break the Guinness record for most railroad whistles blown at the same time. The record was held at 397 by a small town in Utah. Chatham had over 1200 people participate in the record attempt. While we are still waiting for verification from Guinness it seems certain that Chatham will add a world record to its history books. Congratulations to all involved in the record breaking attempt.