BERKELEY – At some point in the near future, a train will run in Berkeley Township.
This isn’t the same as the mass transportation that helped settle the area a century ago. A locomotive – the engine car at the front of a train – with an interesting tie to Berkeley has been found and is being brought back to life.
The Berkeley Times spoke to Chris Lynch and David Donley, who are reconstructing the locomotive.
The locomotive was built in 1926 (making its centennial birthday next year) by the Plymouth Locomotive Works in Ohio and bought by the BW Sangor Corporation, he said.
Benjamin Sangor had an interesting history as well. A Russian immigrant, he published “racy” magazines and started a comic book company. He lost his ability to practice law after being convicted for embezzling and larceny while chairman of the Toms River Trust Company.
He sold about 8,000 lots in Pinewald between 1928 and 1929, and built the Royal Pine Hotel and an 18-hole golf course.
In front of the hotel – which is now Crystal Lake Nursing and Rehabilitation Center – was a manmade lake. After excavators dug up the soil, the train was used to cart it elsewhere.
Engine #2173 was one of two used for this project, said Josephine More, Historical Society Publicity Chair. A photo exists of Ziegfeld Follies girls dancing on top of the train as a publicity stunt.
The locomotive was then bought by a brickyard in upstate New York. Then another. “It then went into private ownership and nobody knew where it was for decades,” Lynch said.
Until it came up for sale online.
Lynch’s friend spotted it and looked into the serial number. Once its legacy was learned, it was transferred to the Berkeley Township Historical Society.
Lynch and Donley were invited to check it out and see how much work was needed.
“Nine hours later, we had half the engine taken apart,” Lynch said.
Donley, of Toms River, said Lynch had asked him for a second opinion on that day in August of 2024.
“We weren’t sure what to expect,” he said. “And we just jumped right into it.”
“Because this is a museum piece to be seen by the public, we wanted to make it look presentable,” Donley said.
The wooden structure of the roof had rotted away, he said. They measured what was left, drew it, and a friend helped get a replacement. They knew another connection who could get them sheet metal.
Mechanically, some of the parts still work, surprisingly.
“We learn a little bit about it every time we work on it,” he said. “Some parts we find are broken. Other parts we assume are broken but aren’t.”
This kind of work fascinates them, and they couldn’t help but be drawn into the mystique and the story behind the vehicle.
Some of the work has just been cosmetic, but the engine itself is out for refurbishing. An anonymous donor provided a carport tent so that they can work on it in any weather. They’ve even built a railroad for it.
“It’s been a fun project,” Lynch said. “We hope to have it fully restored and functional.”
It’s so rare that you can find a piece of history and put it back in action.
Lynch and Donley are restoring the locomotive for free.
“When you restore an old piece of railroad equipment, all the blood, sweat, tears, and cursing is worth it when you see children enjoying it,” Lynch said.
They are currently restoring an old train in Pennsylvania.
“These two young men have absolutely no connection to Berkeley Township whatsoever, and yet they have volunteered countless hours of their time planning and carrying out #2173’s restoration, researched and documented #2173’s entire history from the original build in 1926 to today, obtained sizeable donations, enlisted their other train enthusiast friends to assist, procured large material donations (such as railroad ties) from major construction companies in NJ, and have fast-tracked (no pun intended) #2173 to be restored, in its entirety and to be running down a track once more,” Morey said.
Up until now, this part of Berkeley’s history was just written down, or spread through word of mouth. Now, there will be a physical connection to a unique portion of the town’s past.
