The Whippany Railway Museum

Mission:

The Whippany Railway Museum is decicated to Preserving the Heritage and History of the Railroads of New Jersey through the Restoration, Preservation, Interpretation and Operation of Historic Railroad Equipment and Artifacts from New Jersey and the immediate vicinity.

History:

The Whippany Railway Museum has been bringing to life the history of New Jersey's railroads to the public since 1985. However, the Museum's age belies its heritage. The Museum is built upon nearly 40 years of preservation experience.

In 1965, Whippany was home to the Morris County Central, a steam tourist railroad. Several employees and volunteers of the MCC banded together and cofounded the Morris County Central Railroad Museum. This group began displaying a small collection of railroad memorabilia in one half of the Morristown & Erie freight house, which at that time was directly alongside the stone passenger station.

From 1967 to 1973, the freight house and Museum were enjoyed by thousands of visitors who came to ride the excursion trains. However, a change was to take place: the Morris County Central decided to move its tourist operations to Newfoundland, NJ. The small Museum followed suit, and in 1974 was in operation again. Now known as the Pequannock Valley Transportation Museum, it was based out of a converted railroad refrigerator car.

Finally, on October 26, 1985, the newly rebuilt Whippany Railway Museum held its Grand Opening to an enthusiastic public. The Whippany Railway Museum has shown that it is indeed possible to have a quality operation through much hard work and the tremendous positive support of the public.