Phillipsburg Railroad Historians

Phillipsburg Railroad Historians Local history museum and operator of the historical Centerville & Southwestern miniature railroad. Located at 10 Pine Alley, Phillipsburg, NJ. All aboard!

PRRH is a nonprofit, all-volunteer group of rail-interested folks whose mission is to preserve the rich railroad history of the Phillipsburg area. We maintain a collection of full-sized railroad artifacts significant to Phillipsburg and the local railroad industry. Recently we were recognized for the full restoration of Lehigh & Hudson River Railroad caboose #18, a historic WWII-era railroad caboo

se. (https://www.wfmz.com/news/piece-of-restored-wwii-history-chugs-into-phillipsburg/article_8f3887cf-7ca7-51fb-b0b0-3a2071dfe3f9.html). Our current restoration project is Lehigh & Hudson River #105, a wood-bodied flanger car built in the 1870's, and originally from the New York, Ontario & Western Railway. We also operate the historic Centerville & Southwestern miniature railroad, a 1/6 scale railroad originally created on Becker's Farm in Roseland, NJ in 1938. The trains are equipped for automatic air brake operation and are conducted with full hand signals and rules designed after prototype railroad practice. Although short, the C&S is Phillipsburg's authentic "mainline in miniature," and it's a ton of fun! Please visit us at our free open houses offered 6-9 times a year, or consider joining our forces as a volunteer! You can learn how to restore rolling stock, conduct the C&S, and more. Whatever your age, skill level, or experience, we need you!

As a reminder for everyone who will be traveling to our museum from the west. The Main St bridge (Black Bridge) is still...
06/19/2026

As a reminder for everyone who will be traveling to our museum from the west. The Main St bridge (Black Bridge) is still closed for repairs so you will be required to take a detour. This can be accomplished by turning onto Hudson Street before crossing the bridge, then following it to Chambers Street where you should make a right turn. Afterwards you should then travel down to and make a right onto Stockton Street. After you pass under the railroad, make a right turn onto Main Street and follow it down to our usual entrance across the way from Joe’s Steak Shop.

We can’t wait to see you all tonight from 6-8!

Well folks, are you ready? Because our next open house is TOMORROW!!Tomorrow from 6pm-8pm we will be open for our annual...
06/18/2026

Well folks, are you ready?
Because our next open house is TOMORROW!!

Tomorrow from 6pm-8pm we will be open for our annual Ice Cream Train! Take a nice ride on the historic Centerville & Southwestern Miniature Railroad through a nice summer evening and when you get back, enjoy some FREE ice cream!

This event was highly popular last year as we nearly hosted 500 passengers in the matter of 2 hours! 😱
So you want to make sure to attend while the ice cream lasts! The event will be first come first served so don’t wait until the last minute.

As always our events are completely FREE however donations are always greatly appreciated and they keep us running to provide these events for you!

Check out these photos one of our members grabbed yesterday of the old Chestnut Ridge!Even though the line east of Ampal...
06/14/2026

Check out these photos one of our members grabbed yesterday of the old Chestnut Ridge!

Even though the line east of Ampal has been inactive for many decades, the track is still in place in most spots. One of the most notable spots is in Little Gap just next to the covered bridge. Here the bridge over Hunter Creek is left standing with the rails, ties, and everything in place.

The only thing rolling through here now are the memories of the Railbus, speaking of which…

If you’d like to see an important piece of Chestnut Ridge history, come on down to one of our open houses and catch the Railbus! Arguably the most famous piece of equipment from the railroad resides here!

The new car shop is really looking good! Here’s some shots of the new doors that were installed a bit ago. Now we are in...
06/11/2026

The new car shop is really looking good!

Here’s some shots of the new doors that were installed a bit ago. Now we are in the process of getting electricity put throughout the building, then we can start laying track!

You’ll be passing right on by this during our open houses. Speaking of which, our next open house is next Friday the 19th from 6-8pm! Make sure to come on out for some evening rides with ice cream to go with it!

Every week or so we perform general maintenance to our facilities and equipment. Yesterday was focused on replacing ties...
06/03/2026

Every week or so we perform general maintenance to our facilities and equipment. Yesterday was focused on replacing ties on the Centerville & Southwestern as well as other general items.

As evident in the pictures, this is much easier than replacing ties on a standard gauge railroad. So easy in fact that it can be done with only one person within a short time frame.

Constant maintenance is key to keeping a railroad running smoothly. This comes with the need for volunteers. So if maintenance like this interests you, or maybe you happen to work in the track department at another locations, we would love to have you come and volunteer with us! There is no thing as too much help and we love having new volunteers help us out!

Looking for a nice and relaxing way to cool off? Come on down for our ice cream train on June 19th! We’ll be running the...
05/31/2026

Looking for a nice and relaxing way to cool off? Come on down for our ice cream train on June 19th! We’ll be running the Centerville & Southwestern Railroad as we hand out ice cream to those who attend. The line is full of shade as all of the foliage has grown back in providing us with a nice cool ride.

And the best part? It’s completely free!

We will be open on Friday June 19th from 6pm to 8pm. Ice Cream is first come first served so don’t wait until the last second!

Due to the rainy weather, we will be closing down the open house early. Thank you to those who braved the weather to sto...
05/23/2026

Due to the rainy weather, we will be closing down the open house early.

Thank you to those who braved the weather to stop by. Our next open house will be our Ice Cream Train on June 19th.

Today is our first open house of the year!Don’t mind the rain today as we’ll still be open to provide fun and history to...
05/23/2026

Today is our first open house of the year!

Don’t mind the rain today as we’ll still be open to provide fun and history to all who come by. We will be open from 10am - 4pm as we’ll have the Centerville & Southwestern running, restored equipment on display, and the museum for folks to look through.

As a reminder for everyone who will be traveling to our museum from the west. The Main St bridge (Black Bridge) is still closed for repairs so you will be required to take a detour. This can be accomplished by turning onto Hudson Street before crossing the bridge, then following it to Chambers Street where you should make a right turn. Afterwards you should then travel down to and make a right onto Stockton Street. After you pass under the railroad, make a right turn onto Main Street and follow it down to our usual entrance across the way from Joe’s Steak Shop.

As always our events are free but donations are greatly appreciated!

Last Sunday us at the PRRH were the setting for little two year old Jasper Tavarez Simoes as he, his mom Vivianna, and h...
05/21/2026

Last Sunday us at the PRRH were the setting for little two year old Jasper Tavarez Simoes as he, his mom Vivianna, and his friends and family celebrated his birthday with a fantastic railroad themed party. This included special rides on the Centerville & Southwestern!

We are always grateful to host such special events like this whenever the chance arises. If you or someone you know may be interested in chartering you can contact us at the phone number: 610-826-2580

We would be delighted to have you and make your event memorable!

02/01/2026

The winter months are always tough to do work in, especially with around a foot of snow on the ground. That’s one of the many reasons why our Facebook account has declined in the amount of posts. But not to worry, we’re still trying to do all we can during these frigid times.

So let’s go back to when we only had a slight dusting of snow on the ground (in the shadows) as the C&S pulls into the station after another run.

Address

10 Pine Alley
Phillipsburg, NJ
08865

Telephone

+19088591146

Website

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