The
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society got a tour offer from
the recently preserved Glassboro PRSL train station. Unfortunately, since the
Northeast Blizzard of ’16 was about to take place (current forecast of 18”-24”
and 45-65 mph wind gusts) kept the attendance down to about 6 people. Since I
live less than 5 miles away and the flurries had just begun I got to briefly
attend. Attached are some bad photos (I forgot I had left the camera settings
for close-up model train picture taking [Av: depth of field]).
The
station was originally built in the 1860s (think Abraham Lincoln) making it one
of the oldest historical buildings in Glassboro, NJ. Reading some of the
on-line sites listed below, it appears the project is approaching 15 years and has
consumed grants of $1.3M. Much of the money went to fight off the termites and
vandals (hence all new plumbing and electrical). CSA (Conrail Shared Assets)
still operates the (down to a single) track and the evening would include a
fast freight run by (which came 40 minutes early). The building was restored to
its 1950s appearance.
Many
historical items and pictures line the facility and current displays include
Rich Drobil’s HO PRSL model railroad (and a generic Lionel layout). Also present was a G
scale (BIG!) model of an RDC (Rail Diesel Car), 12 of which used to handle the bulk
of the passenger traffic on the PRSL.
P.S. The ride home 45 minutes later was challenging!
 |
| Rich Drobil's HO PRSL |
 |
| G Scale RDC |
