(rshsdepot) Beach Haven, NJ

[jdent1_@_optonline.net]

END OF THE LINE FOR HISTORIC RAILROAD STATION

Contractors determine that converted home can=27t be moved because of ter=
mite infestation
Published in the Asbury Park Press 01/30/05
By ERIK LARSEN =

MANAHAWKIN BUREAU
   =

One of the last surviving relics of the old Long Beach Island Railroad is=
 expected to be torn down soon to make way for a 21st century home=2E

Greg and April Albright have lived in the cramped=2C awkward quarters of =
the converted house since their honeymoon in 1992=2E He=27s a geologist a=
nd she=27s a stay-at-home mother=2E Since the birth of their son=2C Hunte=
r=2C six years ago=2C the novelty of living in a century-old train statio=
n has begun to wear thin=2E

=22Come here=2C let me show you something=2C=22 began April Albright as s=
he guided a visitor from the living room that once served as a common are=
a for waiting passengers to her home=27s bathroom=2C which in its previou=
s incarnation served as the ticket booth=2E

=22When Greg brushes his teeth=2C there=27s not enough space on either si=
de of the sink for his elbows=2C=22 she demonstrated=2E

There=27s also no closet space=2C so Hunter=27s things and clothes are in=
 a pile near his narrow=2C rectangular bedroom=2C which was a walk-in clo=
set before he was born=2E

The home also is drafty=2C doesn=27t heat properly=2C and there=27s a ter=
mite problem=2E

That=27s why it can=27t be saved=2C explained Township Commissioner Rober=
t A=2E Palmer=2C who said he had the house inspected by two contractors =97=
 Atlantic Structure Movers and Buterick Bulkheading =97 who determined th=
e house could not be moved because of the termite infestation=2E Palmer s=
aid before inspections were done=2C the township had hoped to move the ol=
d station to Bayview Park=2C on the western side of Long Beach Boulevard=2C=
 across the street from the municipal complex=2C where a decommissioned C=
oast Guard vessel is now parked=2E

=22We also ran into a problem with funding=2C=22 said Palmer=2C who estim=
ated the project would cost in the tens of thousands of dollars=2E =22We =
wanted to use Green Acres (grant money)=2C but the state was rather clear=
 that this wasn=27t one of the uses allowed=2E Basically=2C Green Acres f=
unding hinges on whether a project is purely recreational in nature=2E No=
w=2C there was a provision for bathrooms=2C but there are already bathroo=
ms there=2E=22

April Albright said she doesn=27t believe the termite infestation is bad =
enough to prevent the house from being successfully moved=2E The real pro=
blem=2C as Palmer pointed out=2C is the issue of money=2C she said=2E

=22I=27ve been on the phone with the Tuckerton Seaport=2C that place in P=
ennsylvania with all the trains (Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Stras=
burg)=2C and nobody really has the resources to move it=2C=22 she said=2E=


In September 1990=2C Stafford moved its old train station from East Bay A=
venue to its current location on West Bay Avenue and Route 72=2C next to =
the Old Stone Store=2E That station=2C even older than Long Beach=27s=2C =
had been built for the Tuckerton Railroad=2E

The Stafford Township Historical Society moved it=2C said Stafford Mayor =
Carl W=2E Block=2E

=22We had some participation in it=2C=22 Block said=2E =22I remember we p=
aid =2410=2C000 at the time=2E=22

Stafford historian Timothy G=2E Hart said it=27s a shame to demolish such=
 a priceless piece of history that helped shape the modern island=2E

=22It=27s one of the last vestiges of the railroad on the island=2C=22 sa=
id Hart=2C a self-proclaimed railroad buff who knows the railroad history=
 of southern Ocean County=2E Hart explained that the station the Albright=
 family occupies was built for the increasing number of working-class peo=
ple who came to the island for inexpensive vacations=2E

Indeed=2C according to =22Eighteen Miles of History on Long Beach Island=2C=
=22 written by the late John Bailey Lloyd=2C the station was built by Phi=
ladelphia banker and lawyer Harold McLaughlin=2C not long after he establ=
ished the Brant Beach section of what is present-day Long Beach Township =
in 1909=2E In those days=2C railroad stops could make or break a town=2C =
and McLaughlin was trying to encourage fair-weather visitors to consider =
setting down roots on the island=2E

From 1886 to 1935=2C the Long Beach Island Railroad tracks were used by t=
he Long Beach Island Transportation Co=2E=2C the Pennsylvania Railroad an=
d Tuckerton Railroad=2E Train stations of all styles and sizes dotted the=
 island from present-day Barnegat Light to Beach Haven=2E Until a wooden =
bridge was built in 1914=2C it was the only way other than boat to get to=
 the island=2E

After the railroad trestle over Manahawkin Bay washed away in a nor=27eas=
ter in November 1935=2C train service permanently ended=2C according to L=
loyd=27s book=2E

Sometime later=2C the station was moved from its location at the corner o=
f the west side of the boulevard near 63rd Street to the corner of the bo=
ulevard and 60th Street=2E It was converted into a town hall for Long Bea=
ch=2C a function it served until about 1955=2C when it was privately acqu=
ired and used as both a home and a summer tourist shop=2E

The Albrights have hired Rob Roth of Long Beach Township as their archite=
ct=2E The house they plan to build will be a traditional seashore style=2E=
 They hope to have permits in place to demolish the existing building by =
March 1=2E



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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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