MB Railroad Images …
Many seasoned borough residents know that a train once ran through town. Monmouth Beach also had a railroad station — two in fact. The main station — a classic railroad depot — stood until the mid-1950s.
Situated just off Beach Road, the first depot was constructed in 1877. A second more elaborate station — its twin in Little Silver still stands — was built in 1888 by the Monmouth Beach Association for $8,000. By Summer 1901, the station was accommodating 63 train stops a day. The Central Railroad of NJ line was officially closed on Christmas Eve 1945 (although a November 1945 nor’easter had technically wrecked area tracks). By May 1953, Railroad Avenue had been changed to Seaview Avenue and the large slate-roof train station was finally torn down in 1955.
Another borough rail station — much smaller — was in Galilee. In November 1913, the station was moved — placed on the tracks and pulled by locomotive — 300 yards north and closer to the Low Moor station, according to the Long Branch Daily Record. A new office and freight room were also added. It endured a major fire in 1917, discontinued its railroad agent in 1929 and was abandoned in 1942.
The train system that ran through town for 80 years, the Long Branch & Sea Shore Railroad (part of the Central Jersey of NJ), opened in 1865 and stopped running in late 1944.
Plus: Long Branch Railroad Images / Sea Bright Railroad Images
Monmouth Beach Railroad Station, 1907. “Modern toilet facilities” were not available here until October 1919.
Monmouth Beach Railroad Station, 1920s. John T. Lawley, a borough native, Middletown Twp. committeeman, and Monmouth County sheriff, was a ticket agent here. He died in 1947.
Railroad Station, Monmouth Beach, 1910s.
Monmouth Beach Railroad Station, 1910s.
Monmouth Beach Railroad Station painting by Gail Gannon, 1960s.
Monmouth Beach Railroad Station, 1919.
Train passed over Beach Road, late 1930s.
CJRR train depot at Monmouth Beach, 1906.
Town sign at Monmouth Beach Railroad Station, 1942.
Monmouth Beach train station (r) along Railroad Avenue, 1910.
Typical Camelback steam locomotive on the CNJ line, 1920s.
MB train station, 1909.
Central Jersey train passing through Monmouth Beach, 1942.
Train tracks (c) running through town, early 1900s.
MB train station, 1930s.
MB train station, 1920s.
John Nilsen (l) at the Monmouth Beach railroad station, November 1942.
MB train station, March 1950. Only the building was up for sale at the time. Any buyer had to move it. The trains had stopped service in late 1944.
MB train station, 1920s.
In Monmouth Beach — a typical Central Jersey train that ran from Sandy Hook to Long Branch, 1930s.
MB train station abandoned, 1950s.
Old MB railroad right of way looking north at the top of Riverdale Avenue, 1970s.
Old MB railroad right-of-way looking north at the top of Riverdale Avenue, 2008. Note: track remnants are still visible in foreground.
Note MB railroad station (at right) on Sanborn map, 1907.
Cancellation notification by CJ Railroad ending stops in Monmouth Beach, December 1945.
Map of train stops along the Jersey Shore, early 1900s.
The end of trains in town. APP, July 1945.
Galilee train station, 1903. The station was moved via rail north toward Sea Bright in November 1913.
Galilee railroad station (c) from 1889 Wolverton’s Atlas. . E.G. Carr was station agent there for many years.
My father Wilbur Lewis is in the photo with John Nilson at the MB Station. He’s on the right. I had seen part of this photo on your home page and wondered who the other man was. I shared on a Facebook page and someone answered my question and posted a link to this page about the MB railroad station. Mystery solved! If you have any other information about this photo, please let me know. Thank you.