Woodburning Stoves Review

NJ – Whippany: Whippany Railway Museum


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The Morristown & Erie Railroad Whippany Water Tank was erected to supply the M&E’s steam locomotives.

The original Whippany Water Tank was located along the main line in the Whippany yard, at the same site as the present-day tank, and was erected on a timber frame base in September or October 1904. At sixteen-feet tall, it held nearly 16,000 gallons of water. In 1917 the timber frame was replaced by the current, existing brick and concrete base, which measures 11′ x 12′ 4" wide and 12′ 4" high. The walls are 12" thick, with an 8" concrete covering. The entire base is reinforced with steel rails. The total cost of the brick base was 1.48. When completed, the original 1904 wood tank was set in place upon the new base.

On August 10, 1922, another another wood tank, this one fourteen feet tall, was ordered to replace the original 1904 tank. The third and final wood tank was ordered from G. Wollford Wood Tank Manufacturing Co. on October 3, 1947. It is virtually identical to the 1922 tank. It was ordered with a new conical-covered roof and cost a total of 1.00 Again, the original 1904 water-level indicator was installed on the new tank. The new tank was shippped via the P.R.R. and D.L.& W.R.R. on November 11, 1947. This tank was not erected until the Summer of 1948 by F. Seymour Cook.

The M&E had two tanks along its 11-mile route: one at the Morristown, NJ yard, and the other, four miles distant at Whippany. The Morristown tank was fed from a pipe leading from the nearby Whippany River. The Whippany tank drew its supply of water from a natural spring and creek that still flows alongside the tracks in the Whippany rail yard. After the brick bases were installed on both tanks, coal-burning stoves kept the pipes, pumping machinery and the tanks themselves warm during the Winter months to prevent the water from freezing.

In 1952 the Diesel Era began on the Morristown & Erie and the last three steam locomotives were retired and eventually scrapped in 1955. The Water Tank at Morristown had its tank removed in the mid-1950′s and the brick base was roofed over and became a storage shed for the track crew. The Whippany tank however, remained untouched and in position. When the Morris County Central Railroad began operating weekend excursion service with restored, steam-powered locomotives in 1965, the old Water Tank was repaired. It continued operating without failure until 1973 when the MCCRR moved its excursion operations to another location. Since 1977 the Whippany Water Tank has been empty, but it has seen some occasional maintenance over the years. During the mid-1980′s the Morristown & Erie Railway refurbished the Water Tank and made repairs to the brick base and wooden support frame for the water spout. n 1994 the Whippany Railway Museum funded the installation of a new roof on the Water Tank, and in 1997 the Museum was able to secure the donation of a new water spout that had been replicated in exact fashion by the fine craftsmen at Fritze & Sons of Whippany, NJ.

The Whippany Railway Museum, at 1 Railroad Plaza at the junction of Route 10 West and Whippany Road, was opened on October 26, 1985. The open air museum, open Sundays only from April through October, includes a museum building, grounds and rolling stock collection. The museum was developed from the expansion of the former Pequannock Valley Transportation Museum, originally the Morris County Central Railroad Museum, which was started in 1965 on the the site of the Morris County Central, a steam tourist railroad.

Morristown & Erie Railroad Whippany Water Tank New Jersey State Register (2006)
Morristown & Erie Railroad Whippany Water Tank National Regiser #06000762 (2006)

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