On the Trail (Track?) of the Blue Comet
By Mark Stutzbach November 2014 Originally published in Weird N.J. May-October 2015 Made another pass on the edit here!
I looked at the sheet of paper in my hand from Geocaching.com again. It said “As the dirt road bends left, the trailhead goes straight, as the road would if it went straight.” Trailhead? The dirt road did veer to the left. If I head straight at that point I will be pushing my way through dense brambles, closely packed bushes, and swamp. But if I stop here, this report is toast, I thought. I decided to push on.
The description said the tracks were 50 to 60 feet from the dirt road. I did not have a compass to keep me straight, but I did have a waypoint record on my phone of where my car was parked. So I was in no danger of becoming hopelessly lost, unless my phone ran out of battery of course.
I counted my steps and tried to go as straight as I could, but small trees and thick undergrowth made going straight very hard. I pushed on and by step counting I had travelled over 100 feet. I decided to turn back. The brush was so thick it was hard to see where I had come from so I turned around from where I was and tried to head straight back. Or so I thought. After crashing through more thick brush I stepped on what I thought was a moss bank and sank. I felt the water rush into my shoes. I was in a marshy pool 4 or 5 feet across and the water was halfway up to my knees. I have to keep going. But I felt hopelessly lost and wet.
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I looked up to see if I could see the return dirt road through the bush, but a few feet away there was the railroad tracks! So much for heading back to the car. I waded through the pool and stepped up on to the elevated tracks. Before moving on I found a curved stick to place on the rails. Across from the stick there was some wood debris. This marker along with the debris will give me some idea of where to leave the tracks to return to the car. It will be important for me to find this place again. Even though I could find the direction of the car, if I left the tracks at the wrong place, I would have much more thick brush and swamp to crash/wade through. I already had my fill of that.
My curved stick bread crumb. The wreck of the Blue Comet is straight ahead to the west. For as far as I could see ahead the abandoned railroad tracks stretched on. Small cut trees and other trees randomly left standing growing through the tracks made walking the tracks a bit more difficult. Someone, for some unknown reason, spent a good amount of time cutting the small trees down and leaving others. I checked my phone and the GeoCache was straight ahead to the west, a half a mile away. From my research online I know this cache was located very close to the where the Blue Comet train derailed in 1939.
The abandoned Blue Comet rail line
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I thought of the story of the Blue Comet as I walked down the rails to the west towards the scene of the accident.
In 1929 the Blue Comet train was created by the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The Roaring Twenties were fading. It was a period of prosperity and optimism with advances in technology, culture, and social practices. On February 21, 1929 the spectacular Blue Comet train made its first three hour run between Jersey City and Atlantic City, NJ. To get to the Blue Comet station New York travelers would have to take the ferry across the Hudson to make the trip. Still the trip to Atlantic City could be made in under three hours. Given traffic, this feat is still hard to match today.
The train was created to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad for Atlantic City passengers. The twist was to provide near luxury accommodations with reserved seating at a price even the not so well off could afford. Round trip tickets to Atlantic City cost only $8.40.
Everything about the train was designed to be eye pleasing down to the color theme, sea blue and cream to give the riders a taste of what was to come. And to directly please the taste, good reasonably priced food was provided in the dining car. You could buy a full-course dinner with upscale entrée choices for $1.25. The train also featured specials like the Blue Comet Dinner for a very affordable $.75.
The Blue Comet Logo
The Blue Comet name came from the primary blue color of the train and the comet inference of speed. Each of the cars were named after a real comet.
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The train routinely traveled at seventy miles per hour, but was capable of more to make up lost time when needed.
The Blue Comet was an immediate success. And the victim of very bad timing, it ran smack into the Great Depression and the emergence of the automobile as a practical means of transportation. Also the Pennsylvania Railroad had direct access to New York City, making that route a bit more convenient without the need for a ferry ride. By the closing of the 1930s the Blue Comets end time was near. Another event would hasten the demise of the proud Blue Comet.
On August 19th 1939 the Blue Comet left Union Station in Atlantic City bound northward at 3:35 PM. Besides the Engine and a tender fuel car, five comet named cars were in tow. There were two coach cars, the D’Arrest and the Winnecki, a combination coach and freight car the Halley, an observation car the Beila, and a diner car the Giacobini.
On that day a once in a generation summer storm dumped over 13 inches of rain on southern New Jersey. The Blue Comet crew was warned to look out for heavy sand deposits on the crossings. The conductor and engineer held the throttle back to cruise between 35 to 40 miles per hour to reduce the risk to the train and its passengers at crossings and limited visibility situations.
About a mile past the Chatsworth station two twenty four inch drainage pipes were installed in the two swampy areas surrounding Mile Post Eighty Six to facilitate natural drainage from the nearby cranberry bogs.
It was thought also most of the water would drain naturally flowing along the raised tracks until it would reach the creek flowing into Chatsworth Lake a half mile away.
But on that day the two culverts were overwhelmed by the deluge. Water had collected to extreme levels and ran across the tracks sweeping the Pine Barren sand from under the tracks.
The culvert to the west of Mile Post Eighty Six was the most over whelmed by the storm as it handled most of the bog drainage and was further from the creek to the east.
Just past this culvert and Mile Post eighty Six was where the Blue Comet passengers and crew felt the sick feeling of a drop in the tracks. The engine was heavy enough to stay in contact with the tracks and traveled far past the point of derailment before it could stop.
The five trailing cars all derailed and were spread over tracks, all off the track and listing at precarious angles near a clearing on the north side of the tracks. The passengers feared being dumped into the swamp but luck was with them that day as the cars did not topple over. The entire area was covered by water.
Some Quotes from the 1939 Philadelphia Inquirer account of the disaster:
"The suspense when the train started to lean was terrific. Everyone began to scream, thinking it would overturn in the water beside the tracks."
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"I was thrown to the end of the car and practically everything, including tables, chairs, and a flood of broken glass, smothered me." Word of the crash spread quickly and rumor escalated the carnage to 100 bodies spread around the crash site. First responders rushed to the scene from all over the area. The reality was there were only 49 people aboard most of which were injured, some serious. The worst injuries were to the diner car Chef Joseph L. Coleman. When the diner car, named the Giaccobini, overturned the hot stove rolled on top Joseph, crushing and scalding him. These injuries proved fatal. He was the only casualty of the train wreck. The train was cleared from the scene and all cars were repaired and returned to service except the Diner car Giaccobini. Like Joseph, the Giaccobini would no longer be a part of the Blue Comet legend. The track was repaired quickly and the Blue Comet was back in service within a few days Unfortunately the wreck was the harbinger of the end of the line for the Comet. On September 12, 1941 the Blue Comet crashed into a delivery truck at a crossing with no watchman or crossing signal and killed a mother and her two young daughters. They were on their way home from visiting a neighbor. This tragedy possibly hastened the end of the Blue Comet. And on September 27, 1941 the Blue Comet made its last run. In an amazing coincidence Enoch “Nucky” Johnson, the real life figure HBO’s inspiration for Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, was sent to jail for tax evasion only a few weeks before the last run of the Blue Comet. Unlike the fictional Nucky, the real life version lived to a ripe old age after incarceration. It was the end of two eras end another chapter in the weird history of New Jersey. My GPS signaled I was getting closer to the crash site so I started looking for the second Culvert that was in the area that may have contributed to the track flooding. The culvert was easy to find and still looked in very good condition.
The culvert just east of Mile Post 86 looks like it is still working.
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Walking further I noticed a large clearing to the right.
The clearing you see in the old photographs where the cars were repaired. Strewn about on both sides of the track were railroad tie fragments. This was the ending of the area of the derailment. But if you did not notice the amount of discarded railroad ties you might walk right on by without realizing this was the site of a train accident.
Discarded damaged railroad ties.
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Walking the clearing I found a damaged Coke bottle. The neck is broken off and there is a chip in the base, but otherwise in outside weathered shape. It was bottled in Bridgeton, NJ and bears the raised lettering: Pat D-105529. I looked this bottle up and it is called a D-Patent bottle that was made from 1938 to 1951. So this very bottle could have come from the diner car wreck or provided refreshment to a railroad worker clearing the damaged cars. I prefer the former explanation as the area is devoid of stone or anything that could have broken the neck except by the derailing or possibly the tracks.
The D-Patent Coke bottle from Bridgeton, NJ. Not far past the clearing is the spot where the tracks were washed out causing the accident. I walked past the derailment location to look for the culvert that was at the root of the washout. I also wanted to find Mile Post Eighty Six, one of the markers that lined the tracks helping train engineers and maintenance workers go to exact locations on the tracks. I knew that number Eighty Six would be before the failed culvert as I was walking the accident backwards. I kept my attention to the right as that was the more likely side as the left side was more open. I would be looking for a flat area and I knew the marker was not still standing. Then I spotted it about 10 feet off the side of the tracks. It was facing downward in the swamp with the hollow base showing at the top of the bank. I also noticed a depression in the flat sandy area by the tracks where it once stood marking the location. Apparently one of the derailed cars knocked it off its perch and down the slope.
The remains of the famous Mile Post 86
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Walking further west I noticed a small blue drawing of a train engine nailed about 8 or 9 feet high on a pine tree trunk. There was no writing on the sign, only the small drawing. I thought, is this small sign supposed to mark the spot of the Geocache? But that did not make sense as the cache locations were usually only marked with GPS coordinates and obscure clues on the website. Besides, this spot was well over 100 feet away from where my GPS indicated the cache. The sign did not give any clue as to its meaning until I looked around. I noticed a small depression about 6 inches wide leading away from the tracks filled with water next to the tree that held the sign. Then I realized, this spot must be the location of the culvert that caused the crash!
The puzzling marker at the cause of the crash. After examining both sides of the tracks I found the remains of the culvert that overflowed and caused the derailment. A tree had grown behind the railroad tie that was mounted over the 24 inch pipe and another had grown in front of it almost completely clogging the entrance of the culvert, rendering it almost useless. It is a fitting end for the culvert that let down the Blue Comet.
The remains of the Culvert that could not handle the flooding. Trees have made it useless today.
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Interestingly the tracks and sand bedding below the tracks in this area looked in very good shape. So even though the culvert is no longer in service none of the track-bed has washed away over the years. So a storm like the one in 1939 has not passed through since that time. While the blue Comet was a popular train, it was not a lucky one.
Having found all my objectives except the cache I decided to walk further west to see why the water did not flow further that way instead of to the east. What I found was the ground along the tracks steadily rose until the tracks were dug out to be below the surrounding pine forest. So it made sense the water would collect from the nearby bog and flow to the east to eventually exceeding the capacity of the first culvert and washing out the tracks.
As I walked further west something seemed different and I noticed other than the slight wind whispering in the pine trees all other sounds had stopped. Before there were crickets keeping me company but now they were silent. A chill ran through me and I had the feeling I was being watched. You know the feeling? I turned around to face down the tracks and saw no one. So I turned back and continued west. But I could not shake the feeling. Each time I turned around no one was there.
Then looking to my left I noticed a wide path followed the tracks. So I ran up the bank and looked down both sides of the path. I saw no one. Feeling foolish I started back towards the Geocache on the path. Only a short way down the path I found a railroad tie spike sitting on top of the pine needles. These spikes are pounded through a metal plate into the wooden trestles and have a lip on the side that fit over the base of the track to hold the track down. It was right in the middle of the path on top of the ground cover. No one could have traveled down the path and not noticed it.
The railroad tie left in the middle of the path alongside of the tracks. Who left this? For me?
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Who left it? Was it left there for me to find? I may never know. After picking up the spike I continued on the side path back towards the crash site. Not long after that, the creepy feeling that made me feel uneasy was gone and then I noticed the crickets were back. Was all that my imagination? I looked at the spike in my hand. I wanted to leave right away, but I had to find the cache. I walked back east to the GPS coordinates indicated from the Geocache. This was when I found out that GPS positions can fluctuate while standing still and later discovered they can be inaccurate by 10 to 50 feet. The original GPS location could be off by this number, my GPS could be marking up to 100 feet away from the cache. Part of the Geocache challenge. However, the Geocache claimed to be on the actual location of the derailment. I knew from my research the spot was about 150 feet east of Mile Marker Eighty Six. I stepped out this distance and it came out very close to the same area as where my GPS was indicating. Most Geocache entries give you some clue as to the location of the cache and I decrypted the clue ahead of time to help. I searched for more than a few minutes but with no luck. Even though I had the location and the clue I was not able to find the cache and sign the log. I was disappointed and started the trek back to the east. Serendipity was with me. As I started back along the tracks right just past the location of the derailment I noticed another trestle spike sticking part of the way out of the ground. The spike I noticed was ticking up a few inches up over a metal hold down plate. I reached down and tried to just pull it out, but it was not budging. I had no tools with me and there were no rocks around to use as a tool. So I started wiggling and kicking it side to side and managed a little play to wiggle the spike. At first there was not much movement but then I started making progress lifting the spike slowly as I moved it side to side. After a few moments of this the spike was free.
The railroad tie damaged by the crash and reused by the repair workers.
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This spike was very different than the straight newer looking spike I found on the trail. It was rusted and pitted. And it was bent in the middle. Some great force had bent the spike. Then I realized I was looking at a spike that was bent by the wreck of the Blue Comet. Either this spike was only half way out and was pounded back in during the repair, or possibly the repair crew reused damaged spikes that were still usable. Since the damaged tracks were repaired and the damaged track hauled off, other than the discarded wooden trestles, these reused spikes were all of the left over evidence of the Blue Comet disaster.
It was now getting dark. I did not bring a flashlight. So if I missed my bread crumb I might wander on down the tracks for miles if my very low phone battery gave out. And I knew the tracks stopped abruptly to the east and dumped into a creek. Why risk the danger of walking the woods at night? And what about that creepy feeling I had earlier? Might someone remove or worse move my bread crumb? I headed back towards my track exit in the waning light, waded the swampy area, and crashed through the bush back towards the dirt road.
Amazingly I found the dirt road and made it back to the car without incident. Or so I thought. Later that night after showering and changing I decided to read before going to sleep. Almost out of nowhere my ankles and legs start itching and burning madly. I looked at my ankles and calves and they were covered with small bite marks. Later I learned I was the victim of a Chigger attack.
Chigger larvae bites, at least the ones in NJ, last way beyond the initial bite and itch and weep for weeks. So I was itching, scratching and then thinking of the Blue Comet long after my visit. But it was all worth it for the adventure.
It could just be urban legend but there are residents of the Pine Barrens who say on some hot steamy summer nights you can still hear the distant echo of the Blue Comet Whistle signaling another load of happy passengers on their way to the sandy beaches of Atlantic City. Perhaps in some other nearby dimension of time and space the Blue Comet lives on in the Weird New Jersey Zone.
Next Page: More on the Blue Comet
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The Blue Comet Follow-up
I went back to the site with my secret Geocache weapon, my daughter Melissa, and we found the Geocache. Finally. A very interesting entry in the cache log was from a gentleman who witnessed the passing of the Blue Comet as a child. We took an item and left an item as is the Geocache custom and signed the log. Mission accomplished.
With my online Blue Comet research I knew that two of the actual Blue Comet coaches were at Winslow Junction, which happened to be on the way home. Melissa was exhausted by the trek into the woods and fell asleep in the passenger seat. As we pulled into Winslow Junction I woke her up so we could get a few pictures of the old unrestored cars. The cars were easy to spot from the clearing on the side of the road.
The first old car we noticed across the parking lot was marked with number 1172. I knew this was the Westphal. It was a Blue Comet car, but not one that was part of the crash in 1939. The second car to the right of the Westphal was another Blue Comet coach. While it was not painted with an obvious number I knew this was the D’Arrest from online pictures. This was one of the cars in the wreck that survived the crash and was put back into service. Both of these cars had a life after the Blue Comet hauling passengers across NJ, but in the shadow of their former glory.
The Westphal. A Blue Comet car
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We walked past the Westphal and as we did Melissa said, “Dad let’s get out of here I just heard a door close.” I looked back at the Westphal and could see no one. I thought we were alone. It could have been her imagination. We decided to take a quick look at the D’Arrest before leaving.
The D’Arrest. A Blue Comet coach that was one of the cars in the wreck! Right away we noticed the number 666, the number of the beast. There was also an attempt of a hexagram also on the side of the car. We were spooked by the closing of the door. We walked to the far side of the coach car and after some deliberation climbed the stairs. The floor at the top of the steps was littered with recent trash including a small pizza box. The door to the car was padlocked. But the afternoon highlighted the inside of the car with a spooky light.
The creepy D’Arrest interior.
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It was time to leave. We walked down the D’Arrest steps and started back towards our car. It was then the door noise source became apparent. As we walked across the weeds growing in front of the car we heard more noise from the Westphal. Three twenty something boys laughing stomped out of the car, carrying camera equipment, and then started walking away from us. Melissa was relieved. We walked back to our car and headed home. This was a fitting end to a very interesting day chasing the tale of the Blue Comet.
References:
http://www.railroad.net/
http://www.njpinebarrens.com/the-travail-of-the-blue-comet/
https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/then-and-now-the-accident-of-the-blue-comet- train.1666/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Comet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression
http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/arts-and-entertainment/boardwalk-empire/Memories-of-the- Blue-Comet-Keep-Chugging-111124714.html
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/cnj_rstr.html
https://www.facebook.com/CentralIndianaChapterOfTca/posts/728861627149077
Tales of South Jersey, Jim Waltzer and Tom Wilk Rutgers University Press, 2001
Deluxe, The Tale of the Blue Comet, Robert Emmons Jr. Scifidelity Pictures, 2009
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