BOONTON — A vicious vandalism attack has occurred at the fenced United Railway Historical Society (URHS) Boonton Rail Yard. Major damage was inflicted to the rare Lackawanna Railroad parlor / commuter car No. 2454, owned by the Whippany Railway Museum. The car had just completed a multi-year restoration costing hundreds of thousands of grant and donated dollars. In addition, several restored locomotives and other cars owned by the URHS also suffered damage.
URHS’s yard is well protected by more than 2000 feet of fence as well as our neighbor’s back yards. That makes trespassing extremely difficult. They are also lucky to have our equipment stored in the welcoming, safe community of Boonton. Unfortunately that does not stop all crime, and they are working to prevent it in the future.
URHS and Whippany Railway Museum are raising funds to fix the damage done to the equipment as well as improve improve the yard’s infrastructure to allow for electronic security.
The rail preservation / restoration community is devastated. Liberty Historic Railway provided significant funding for 2454. Liberty Historic Railway Chairman Bill McKelvey and the Whippany Railway Museum have jointly offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to arrest and conviction of the perpetrators.
The URHS and Whippany Railway Museum are grateful for any donation you can make to help undo the damage done! Please click here to make a donation.
Anyone with information regarding this incident are asked to please contact the Boonton Police Department at (973) 402-9371.
