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93-470: The Civil War, just ten years earlier, had introduced several new innovations in weaponry. Rifled cannon fired pointed-nosed projectiles farther and faster than cannonballs and ironclad warships with mounted guns that could destroy the walls of a traditional fort. The Army needed a place to test its own new weapons. The Sandy Hook Peninsula met the Army's needs for an experimental testing area for heavy ordnance and

186-675: A boat across Delaware Bay, a railroad across the Delmarva Peninsula , and a boat across Chesapeake Bay , according to a statement issued in 1873 over the signature of Jay Gould, President. The only lengthy NJS branch in south Jersey ran from Bridgeton to a place called Bivalve, on the Maurice River in Port Norris . It was opened in 1872 by the Bridgeton and Port Norris Railroad , but connected at Bridgeton not with

279-463: A branch running east to the resort town of Long Branch on the shore. It was the first railroad to reach Long Branch. Summer service in the first year was three train and boat trips per day in each direction. This first section included what would remain the two largest engineering works on the line: the long pier at Port Monmouth and the Navesink River bridge at Red Bank. Later in 1860

372-406: A gun was fired, the gun crew stood behind 12-foot (3.7 m) thick concrete walls in the niches in case the gun blew up during testing and personnel could watch from atop a 50-foot (15 m) observation tower behind the traverses. In 1889, a narrow gauge railroad was constructed to bring equipment and guns from the docks to the proof battery. In 1893, a standard gauge railroad was completed to

465-458: A harbor entrance control post was built on the long-defunct Battery Potter, and Battery Gunnison was rebuilt to accommodate the 6-inch pedestal-mounted guns of Battery Peck as an examination battery . This battery also became known as Battery New Peck. Two Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) batteries were established at the fort, each with an authorized strength of four 90 mm (3.54 in) guns , two on fixed mounts and two on towed mounts. AMTB 7

558-615: A hurricane in September 1944 destroyed both the Atlantic Highlands pier and parts of the railroad along the shore to the Shrewsbury River. The railroad along the shore was rebuilt, but did not last much longer. Passenger service from Highlands over the Shrewsbury River bridge and south to East Long Branch was eliminated in 1945. This ended passenger operations over the original Long Branch and Sea Shore Railroad and

651-618: A new route from Camden to Long Branch in 1881, running via a new line from Whitings to Toms River and Seaside Heights and up to the end of the NY&;LB at Bay Head Junction , just south of Point Pleasant. The Pennsylvania likewise rerouted the trains from Philadelphia off the NJS in 1880, running instead by a new line to Sea Girt and then up the new NY&LB. The section of the NY&LB from Long Branch to Point Pleasant therefore had trains to both New York and Philadelphia, but not through service, and

744-549: A now obscure date in the early 20th century. A map and timetable from January 1910 no longer shows it as part of the railroad. The property may have been held together for some time longer. Although this section has been closed for over a century, it can still be traced easily in satellite images by following power line right of ways from the Navesink River between Red Bank and Middletown just east of NJ State Route 35 , north across Middletown and through Belford, then towards

837-668: A railroad from Camden near Pemberton . The other, the Tuckerton Railroad , ran southeast to reach the bay towns from Waretown (which was also on the NJS's branch from Lakehurst) to Tuckerton . Gould lost control of the New Jersey Southern Railroad company in the Panic of 1873 and it went into receivership. Rail service to the Monmouth County coast was revolutionized by the opening of

930-552: Is all the more remarkable because the monopoly was set to expire on January 1, 1869. The Camden and Amboy Railroad further weakened the R&;DB by supporting a competing service to Long Branch. The Long Branch and Sea Shore Railroad was opened in 1865 from Spermaceti Cove on Sandy Hook down the narrow sand spit to a station in Long Branch near the R&DB station. This route was shorter and faster both by sea and land than

1023-631: The Blue Comet , which started operating two round trips a day starting in February 1929. Trains covered the 136 miles (220 km) in 168 minutes, including running at 70 miles per hour (100 km/h) on the NJS from Red Bank to Winslow Junction. The service was rerouted to the former Camden and Atlantic Railroad line in 1933 when the Pennsylvania Railroad and Reading Company system's combined their southern New Jersey services as

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1116-453: The Camden and Amboy Railroad proved notoriously unable to handle the traffic on its one-track main line across New Jersey, and the R&DB rapidly became a valuable alternate route. 17,500 troops were sent via the R&DB over nine months starting September 1862. But the Camden and Amboy Railroad took the matter to court, and tried to use its influence in the state legislature to dissolve

1209-763: The Coast Defenses of Sandy Hook . In 1924 this was renamed as the Harbor Defenses of Sandy Hook. On 9 May 1942 Fort Hancock became part of the Harbor Defenses of New York and the Sandy Hook command was disestablished. In 1901 coast artillery companies were created by redesignating the heavy artillery companies which previously garrisoned forts, and in 1907 the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps

1302-644: The Delaware Bay . It was to form part of a rail and water route from the New York City area to the Norfolk, Virginia area. The man behind it was William A Torrey, who owned 43 square miles (110 km ) in the area of present-day Lakehurst . Construction began in 1858 from Port Monmouth on Raritan Bay. The first segment opened in June 1860 ran south via Red Bank as far as Eatontown and then by

1395-451: The Harbor Defenses of New York and predecessor organizations. Between 1874 and 1919, the adjacent US Army Sandy Hook Proving Ground was operated in conjunction with Fort Hancock. It is now part of Fort Hancock Memorial Park. It was preceded by the Fort at Sandy Hook , built 1857–1867 and demolished beginning in 1885. The Sandy Hook Light , built in 1764 and the oldest working lighthouse in

1488-804: The Highlands Military Reservation to the south of Sandy Hook. In 1917 construction began on two 12-inch (305 mm) batteries at Fort Hancock with two guns each on long-range barbette carriages; these were completed in 1921 and named Battery Kingman and Battery Mills . Following World War I a number of additional changes took place in the Coast Artillery, and Fort Hancock was no exception. The proving ground functions were relocated to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The three 8-inch (203 mm) guns of Battery Arrowsmith were removed. Unusually, Battery Reynolds-McCook

1581-526: The New York and Long Branch Railroad (NY&LB) in 1875 from Perth Amboy to Long Branch. It was the so-called "all rail route" from Jersey City , operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey . The NY&LB crossed the NJS original mainline at Red Bank and the NJS mainline via Long Branch on the west side of town at Branchport. This was the third railroad to Long Branch, and it rapidly became

1674-758: The New York and Long Branch Railroad to Red Bank, the Southern Division to Winslow Junction, and the Atlantic City Railroad , which was acquired by the CNJ in 1883 (and later transferred to the Reading Company ). Atlantic City had long been a vacation spot for Philadelphia, while New Yorkers had gone to shore points on Long Island or the coast near Long Branch. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) operated through parlor cars from Jersey City ( Exchange Place ), but by way of Camden, where

1767-551: The Northeast Corridor Line south of New Brunswick and runs over what is now a freight line via Jamesburg and Freehold , entering the former NJS at Farmingdale . The Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders opposed the Monmouth Junction routing, and received support from Governor Jon Corzine early in 2008. Residents of Jamesburg, where the railroad runs in a grassy island in the middle of

1860-644: The Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines , and the Blue Comet was cut back in 1934 to one round trip a day except in the summer, because of economic conditions. Continuing decline in ridership led to cancellation in September 1941. A timetable of May 1945 shows passenger service cut back to two round trips a day from Jersey City to Red Bank, down the NJS to Lakehurst, and the Toms River branch to Barnegat . The remainder south

1953-416: The " Abbot Quad " arrangement. This was designed to place the mortars as closely together as possible, in the hope of scoring multiple hits on an enemy ship by firing simultaneously in a bracketing "shotgun" pattern. The battery had four pits in a square arrangement, with four mortars per pit, also in a square. The pits were separated by a traverse, which were the ammunition magazines and storages areas that ran

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2046-639: The 1870s as a separate company and the lines that it had constructed or run continued to be run in the New Jersey Southern name until the early 2000s. The New Jersey Southern Railroad (NJS) began life as the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad Company (R&DB), in March 1854. The R&DB was chartered to construct a railroad from the Raritan Bay to Cape Island (Cape May), near the outlet of

2139-644: The Army Ground Forces Association, a non-profit group of living historians who have brought the Battery back to how it looked in 1943, and who offer living history programs throughout the year. The Army Ground Forces Association is also an official Park Partner with the National Park Service. Fort Hancock has one of the largest collections of preserved Endicott batteries anywhere, including various experimental batteries at

2232-501: The CNJ ferry slips at the Liberty Street Ferry Terminal , at 04:30, 10:15, 15:45, and 17:00, taking about an hour to reach Atlantic Highlands. The service was operated by two boats, Monmouth , built in 1888, and Sandy Hook , 1889. As summer traffic continued to increase, a third boat, Asbury Park , was added in 1903, and a new stop was added at Pier 81 North River (42nd St) in 1905. Information available for

2325-503: The Civil War era), a 10-inch (254 mm) Rodman gun, several Nike missiles, and two rare 6-inch (152 mm) M1900 guns at Battery New Peck a.k.a. Battery Gunnison are displayed at the fort. Battery Gunnison was the only gun battery at Fort Hancock that wasn't salvaged for scrap after World War 2, and still retains these two guns on barbette carriages, made in 1903. The Battery has been undergoing an in-depth restoration since 2003 by

2418-472: The Long Branch and Sea Shore Railroad, when it was of no further interest to the Camden and Amboy, and improved it by extending it farther north on Sandy Hook to Horse Shoe Cove. From this base he then acquired the former R&DB. The Horse Shoe Cove dock was more sheltered than Port Monmouth, and its better access to Long Branch made it the preferred route for the combined railroads. Boat service to Port Monmouth

2511-519: The M1896 Buffington-Crozier carriage was developed for the 12-inch gun. Although a few installations such as Battery Torbert at Fort Delaware were begun as gun lift batteries, these were completed with disappearing guns, and Battery Potter was the only gun lift battery completed. In 1903 Battery Potter was named for Joseph H. Potter , a Civil War general. By 1907 several additional batteries were completed at Fort Hancock, and with

2604-639: The NJS but with the West Jersey Railroad running to Camden. The principal commodity was oysters , at that time plentiful in the area and much in demand. The NJS did not acquire this line until 1887, after the B&;PN company had failed and it was reorganized as the Cumberland and Maurice River Railroad . Also at this time two connecting lines were built in central Jersey, both from Whitings. The Pemberton and New York Railroad ran west to meet

2697-429: The NJS main line. The old NJS main line from Port Monmouth to Red Bank was downgraded to a branch with minimal train service. The NJS line from East Long Branch to Eatontown saw a few trains that allowed passengers to use the bay route and connect at Eatontown for southern New Jersey. The last railroad related to the NJS, Atlantic Highlands route, was not built until after the CNJ took over operations. Atlantic Highlands

2790-411: The New Jersey Southern Railroad near the end of 1869. That summer, a cooperative arrangement with the Camden and Amboy Railroad permitted operation of a train service from Philadelphia to Long Branch, via Trenton , Monmouth Junction , and Farmingdale , using the R&DB main line and branch north of Farmingdale. The new company was created by railroad financier Jay Gould . He had first taken over

2883-489: The Proving Ground. When Fort Hancock was commissioned in 1895 as a Coast Artillery Post, it shared the peninsula with the Proving Ground. The "Proof Battery," where new and converted guns would be fired, was built at the northeastern end of Sandy Hook along the ocean side. The firing range extended 3,000 yards (2,700 m) south along the beach and for long range test firing, guns would be aimed out to sea to provide

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2976-425: The R&DB route, which had been built incidental to the main line to southern New Jersey. The Camden and Amboy Railroad supplied the locomotives and cars for the new road. The LB&SS would later become part of the New Jersey Southern. The R&DB company, having exhausted its limited resources on the fight with the Camden and Amboy Railroad , went into bankruptcy, and was reorganized under new management as

3069-551: The R&DB, while the R&DB appealed to the United States Congress to protect its operation. Through service to Camden was discontinued in February 1866, and in December 1867 the R&DB lost its case on appeal and was ordered to close the section of line from Atsion to Atco, making it impossible for passengers to travel to Camden even by changing trains. The Camden and Amboy's zealous defense of its rights

3162-473: The United States, is located on the grounds of Fort Hancock. The Sandy Hook area was first fortified as part of the third system of US fortifications . Construction on the Fort at Sandy Hook began in 1857 and ceased in 1867, with the fort serviceable though largely incomplete. This fort was never officially named, but since the area was named Fort Hancock in 1895 it is often called by that name. It

3255-427: The adjacent Navesink Highlands at the Highlands Military Reservation . In later battery design, the pits were first built with open backs for the four mortars, and then ultimately redesigned to be arranged in a line with open backs, and two mortars per emplacement. By 1909 the following batteries were constructed: Facilities for planting and controlling an underwater minefield were built as well. Battery Dynamite

3348-518: The armor but only at limited distances. In the 1880s, new high- powered, breech-loading rifled cannons made of steel were introduced. They had greater ranges and more striking power. When new models of guns and mortars passed their ordnance tests, they were mass-produced at gun foundries around the country and then sent to Sandy Hook for testing before being issued for use. Many new types of gunpowder , artillery shells , fuses and primers used to explode projectiles were also tested. In 1900, Proof Battery

3441-542: The cars were switched to Atlantic City trains on the PRR-owned Camden and Atlantic Railroad (the same road that once connected with the NJS predecessor, the Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad). The PRR later started running through trains from Jersey City to Atlantic City, notably, the Nellie Bly, as early as 1901. The CNJ management decided in 1928 to recover some of the luxury passengers with trains called

3534-621: The civilian railroad was moved to a dock in the Spermaceti Cove vicinity and later removed altogether. Later, the Sandy Hook Proving Ground took over the railroad on the Hook, and utilized it for passenger, troop train, and railway gun movements. This also allowed for interchange with Class 1 railroads at Highlands, New Jersey . The Sandy Hook Proving Ground's engine was named "General Rodman". When they left circa 1920,

3627-500: The construction of Battery Arrowsmith under way to cover its sector, Battery Potter was disarmed. Three spare gun lift carriages were modified as barbette carriages, designated Altered Gun Lift Carriage M1897, and emplaced at Fort Flagler (2) and Fort Worden (1) in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. Battery Reynolds (half of which was renamed as Battery McCook in 1906) was a battery of sixteen 12-inch caliber mortars in

3720-479: The end of the NJS at Atsion, crossed the Camden and Atlantic at Winslow Junction , and reached the agricultural town of Vineland in 1870. This company was backed by Charles K. Landis , the founder of Vineland as a somewhat utopian community. The railway was continued onward to Delaware Bay at Bay Side in 1871. The New Jersey Southern's plan now was to reach Baltimore by means of the Vineland Railway,

3813-419: The first forts built and prototyped several weapon installations. The first batteries begun at Fort Hancock were Battery Potter and Battery Reynolds (later Reynolds-McCook), initially the "Gun Lift Battery" and the "Sandy Hook Mortar Battery", both of which were built with high walls all around for land defense, a feature not found in most subsequent US installations. Battery Potter was the prototype battery for

Sandy Hook Proving Ground - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-489: The first operational gun of the Endicott Program) and was completed in 1894, but for some reason was not accepted for service until 1898, possibly due to extensive testing. The gun lift system proved expensive to build and operate, as the steam plant had to be running continuously to provide pressure for elevator operation. Other early 12-inch gun installations were on simple non-disappearing barbette carriages until

3999-461: The first stateside Cold War defenses. The fort was deactivated again in 1953, but reactivated in 1956 as a Nike missile base (site NY-56). This lasted through 1974, when the stateside Nike missile system was deactivated. Hurricane Sandy damaged Buildings 119 and 120, built during World War II , and in 2018 the NPS decided to raze the buildings, with demolition to begin in 2020. Fort Hancock

4092-478: The former R&DB was revived for about two years from 1878 to 1880. The rail portion of the new route ran from Sandy Hook via Long Branch, Eatontown, Whitings, and Pemberton to Camden. Travellers could leave New York by boat at 11:00 in the morning and arrive at Philadelphia by ferry at 4:20 in the afternoon. The Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the Pemberton route in 1879, and used it and new construction to create

4185-470: The former proving ground. Significant remains include the dynamite gun battery and the test battery for the 14-inch (356 mm) gun turrets of Fort Drum in Manila Bay, Philippines. Many of the garrison buildings survive. However, only a small part of one wall of the third system fort, with four embrasures , remains. Nike Site NY-56 remains one of the few Nike batteries left in the nation where both

4278-557: The fort. Subsequently, the fort was used as a practice range for other railway artillery units. In 1940–41 Fort Hancock served as a mobilization center, with first a tent city and subsequently numerous temporary buildings accommodating trainees. With Batteries Kingman and Mills and 16-inch (406 mm) batteries at Fort Tilden and the Highlands Military Reservation providing adequate gun defenses for Greater New York, Fort Hamilton's other 6-inch (152 mm) through 12-inch (305 mm) weapons were gradually scrapped in 1942–43. In 1943

4371-593: The landward approaches. As was common in Third System forts in the Northeast, it was built primarily of granite . At some point, with the casemate tier of the three seacoast fronts largely complete, the fort was redesigned to speed its overall completion, basically by eliminating the landward bastion and simplifying its neighboring bastions. Following the Civil War, it was determined that masonry forts were vulnerable to rifled guns, and funding for their construction

4464-424: The largest boat, was sold after the 1916 season as no longer needed. The two older boats were kept running well into the automobile age, but Monmouth was retired after 1938 as worn out, leaving only Sandy Hook , which made the last run on the bay route in 1941. Sandy Hook went into war service in 1943 and was sold in 1946 for a hefty $ 75,000. Any hopes for a resumption of service after the war had been dashed when

4557-587: The launch and radar sections survive intact. The Launch Area was heavily damaged in Hurricane Sandy, but the radar site, located at Horseshoe Cove, is under restoration by US Army Air Defense Artillery veterans of the Cold War era, several of whom were stationed at Fort Hancock in the 1960s-70s. Notes New Jersey Southern Railroad The New Jersey Southern Railroad was a railroad that started in 1854. It would continue under this name until

4650-516: The longest continuous gun lines in the Endicott system. They were begun as the seven-gun Battery Halleck in 1896, built on top of the third system fort, and were divided in 1904 after expansion to nine guns. The unnamed one-gun battery contained a 4.72-inch (120 mm) French-made Schneider gun unique in the US artillery system; it was probably a test gun from the Proving Ground pressed into service after

4743-562: The main line was opened as far as Lakewood . As construction continued, instead of turning southeast at Lakehurst to Toms River and parallel to the shore to Cape May, the main line continued southwest, opening to Whiting ( Manchester Township ) and Atsion (now in Wharton State Forest ) in 1862. The route passed through the center of the lightly populated Pine Barrens , and was connected to towns on Barnegat Bay only by stages running on public roads. A branch to Toms River

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4836-547: The mainland and connected with commercial railroad lines that were originally built to allow civilians from steamships to travel down the shore. It is believed that the New Jersey Southern Railroad had a dock in Horseshoe Cove. The train would then take the tourists that came from New York City to destinations including Long Branch. When Fort Hancock did not want civilians near its facilities,

4929-608: The necessary distance. The first test firing took place in October 1874, when a 10-inch (25 cm) Rodman smoothbore cannon, converted into an 8-inch (20 cm) rifled gun, was fired. After firing 700 rounds, the Ordnance Board found the gun to still be "sound and serviceable." To test the guns' striking power, armor-piercing projectiles were fired at large, thick iron plates, similar to those used in making warships. These tests proved that rifled Rodman guns could penetrate

5022-427: The northeastern shore in 1854. It was decided to lay out the Proving Ground on the eastern margin of the Hook, just below the southeast bastion of a Civil War-era fort. The firing range was to extend southward along the beach with the facilities consisting of the wooden gun platforms of the proof battery, a bombproof, a frame instrument house, and sand butts on the firing range. After its formal establishment in 1874, it

5115-607: The northern end. A huge granite five-bastioned fort near the northern end of the Hook dominated the area, even though it was still incomplete and was destined never to be completed. In addition to the fort, there was the Engineer's wharf, erected on the western shore in 1857, to accommodate the fort's construction, the Engineers' shop and quarters, and the Sandy Hook Life-Saving Station , established on

5208-485: The old NJS line to Port Monmouth at Belford , and a track connection was made there. The record is no longer clear, but it appears that in addition to the primary service from Jersey City to Atlantic Highlands by rail, some trains also operated in connection with boats from New York, running from Atlantic Highlands pier down the old NJS to Red Bank and Eatontown. A notice from 1892 reports special trains to Monmouth Park Racetrack running this way. The Atlantic Highlands route

5301-417: The older guns remained in place until World War II. The new 12-inch batteries originally had open emplacements; these were casemated against air attack in 1942–43. Fort Hancock was generally in caretaker status from 1919 until the 1930s. In 1931 Batteries C and E of the 2nd Battalion, 52nd Coast Artillery (Railway) Regiment , totaling two 12-inch railway mortars and two 8-inch railway guns, were stationed at

5394-502: The opening of Pennsylvania Station .) To make this possible the two railroads had built a connecting line from Atsion to Atco on the Camden and Atlantic Railroad . As roundabout as it was, this service caused controversy because it broke the state-authorized monopoly of the Camden and Amboy Railroad for travel between Jersey City and Philadelphia. But as the Civil War put demands on the railroads to transport troops and materials,

5487-525: The original Long Branch branch of the Delaware and Raritan Bay Railroad, built in 1865 and 1860 respectively. Service was cut back to Atlantic Highlands in 1958 and eliminated (Matawan to Atlantic Highlands) in 1966. In the 1990s, most of the route from Matawan to Atlantic Highlands was made into the Henry Hudson Trail . The portion of the old NJS from Port Monmouth to Red Bank was abandoned at

5580-579: The outbreak of the Spanish–American War. The 3-inch (76 mm) batteries were often called "mine defense" guns, intended to defend a minefield against minesweepers . Fort Hancock was originally part of the New York Artillery District, part of which became the Coast Defenses of Southern New York in 1913, along with Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth . However, circa 1915 Fort Hancock became its own coast defense command as

5673-524: The portion along the shore was part of the NJS, and even that was not part of the original Raritan and Delaware Bay Railroad. The bay route was shut down in the cold months by some date in the 1880s. Some all-rail trains to Atlantic Highlands continued on to East Long Branch, and in the off season they were the only train service. However, from May to October the bay route was very busy indeed, with summer resident commuters, vacationers, and day visitors. For many years boats left Pier 10 North River, adjacent to

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5766-562: The possible journeys involving the NJS bay route to Long Branch and a change of trains to the Pennsylvania Railroad were not promoted. The New Jersey Southern was formally acquired by the Central Railroad of New Jersey in September 1879, although a CNJ timetable of July 1878 shows that the NJS was already operated by the CNJ at that date. The CNJ moved to consolidate operations of the rail and bay routes. A new link

5859-443: The primary route. The time by rail from New York (including a ten-minute ferry ride to Jersey City) was about 1 hour 40 minutes. The "bay route" to Sandy Hook took about 2 hours but writers of the period considered it the more pleasant journey, at least in good weather. The New York and Long Branch was extended by separate companies to Sea Girt in 1876 and Point Pleasant in 1880. The idea of connecting New York and Philadelphia by

5952-401: The railroad operation was transferred to the engineer unit at Fort Hancock. Sandy Hook Proving Ground became a permanent installation in 1903 and continued to test weapons through World War I . During the war, the site was commanded by Colden Ruggles , who later served as the Army's Chief of Ordnance . A dual military command existed with the Sandy Hook Proving Ground – contained within

6045-533: The shore of Port Monmouth east of the existing pier. Satellite images also reveal a branch in the Compton Creek marshes heading east towards previous and current fish processing facilities. The most well-known trains on the NJS mainline were the fast trains between Jersey City and Atlantic City. "The first direct fast train ever run from New-York to Atlantic City" was inaugurated in January 1889, running down

6138-477: The site of Fort Hancock – continuing to test ordnance equipment while the Coast Artillery Corps exercised the harbor defense mission for New York Harbor. However, as guns could hit targets further and further away, Sandy Hook lacked enough space to test new long-range guns. In 1919, when Sandy Hook could no longer contain the ever-increasing range of larger and more powerful weapons, testing

6231-430: The steam-hydraulic gun lift carriage . The Endicott Program centered on disappearing guns , which would remain concealed behind a concrete-and-earth parapet until raised to fire. Most of the weapons in the program were mounted on Buffington-Crozier disappearing carriages. However, early on there was doubt that this carriage could successfully raise and lower a 12-inch (305 mm) gun. The alternative developed for this

6324-444: The summer of 1915 shows nine round trips, and most boat trips connected at Atlantic Highlands with four boat trains: a Point Pleasant express, a Long Branch express, a Long Branch local, and a shuttle to Atlantic Highlands. Extra trains were sometimes added to accommodate crowds, particularly northbound on Sunday nights. A few Long Branch express trains continued to Eatontown to connect with trains to southern New Jersey. Asbury Park ,

6417-451: The width and breadth of the Battery. These were built of concrete, backfilled with sand, and covered with vegetation. The entire battery was surrounded by a high concrete wall covered with earth for land defense. This arrangement was used at a number of early Endicott forts. However, simultaneously reloading the mortars in each pit proved cumbersome. Four mortars - the mortar closest to the magazine door in each pit - were removed and emplaced in

6510-473: Was at a location that is unclear from references, while AMTB 8 was at the "old" Battery Peck. In 1946 it was determined that gun defenses were obsolete, and Fort Hancock's guns were scrapped. The fort was deactivated with the demise of the Coast Artillery Corps in 1950, but a year later was re-activated as a base for 90 mm (3.54 in) and 120 mm (4.72 in) antiaircraft guns ,

6603-418: Was built in 1878 from the NJS Long Branch station, now called East Long Branch, to the NY&LB at West End, on the south end of the town. The main services from New York were now: Jersey City to Point Pleasant over the New York and Long Branch; Sandy Hook to East Long Branch and (via the new link) to Point Pleasant; and Jersey City to southern New Jersey, turning off the New York and Long Branch at Red Bank into

6696-527: Was closed by 1988. Freight service remains on the NJS main line from Red Bank to Lakewood as part of Conrail's Southern Secondary line. The line from Winslow Junction to Vineland is run by the SRNJ , The line south of Landisville is out of service after it was damaged by floods in 2003. New Jersey Transit proposed passenger service over parts of the NJS in 1996 as a project called MOM (Monmouth Ocean Middlesex) . The first draft environmental impact statement

6789-487: Was cut off in 1867. The fort remained incomplete until 1885, when almost all of it was cannibalized to build the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, the new Fort Hancock, and supporting structures such as a seawall . A small portion of one wall remains in place with four cannon ports. In 1874 the Sandy Hook Proving Ground was established as a weapons testing area, primarily for coast defense weapons . This

6882-732: Was decommissioned as an active U.S. Army installation in 1974. It is now part of the National Parks of New York Harbor under the National Park System . A museum is managed as part of the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area . In 2013, the Park Service introduced Nubian goats to the fort in order to clear away poison ivy that has been growing unchecked on the six-acre property for about 40 years. The 21st Century Federal Advisory Committee

6975-405: Was discontinued about 1871. Trains now ran through from Sandy Hook to Long Branch to Eatontown Junction and from there down the NJS main line to southern New Jersey. Some service continued to run on the old NJS route from Port Monmouth via Red Bank to Eatontown. Meanwhile, down in south Jersey, the main line was finally extended to Delaware Bay, but not by the NJS. The Vineland Railway started at

7068-532: Was established to operate the country's new defenses. Following the American entry into World War I a number of changes took place at forts in the US, with a view to getting US-manned heavy and railway artillery into service on the Western Front . Fort Hancock was less affected than most forts, probably due to its being a primary defense for New York City. One 10-inch (254 mm) gun of Battery Halleck

7161-600: Was for freight only. The last regular passenger service on the former NJS ended in 1957. The very last passenger train was probably a special run to Toms River in 1972. The Central Railroad of New Jersey was among the railroads merged into Conrail in April 1976. Conrail began closing segments of the former NJS, and in 1978 severed the main line by abandoning the stretch through the Pine Barrens from Lakehurst to Winslow Junction. The Toms River branch (diverging at Lakehurst)

7254-585: Was formed in September, 2012, intended for citizens to advise the National Park Service on potential redevelopment of the Fort's unused buildings. Since then, various rehabilitation and adaptive re-use proposals have been solicited for lease of the various buildings from the National Park Service. As of 2018, a few of the structures are under lease or letters of intent. The NPS is also seeking repairs to structures heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. A 20-inch (508 mm) Rodman gun (the biggest gun produced in

7347-483: Was further extended along the shoreline to the Shrewsbury River in 1890. The Central Railroad of New Jersey acquired the entire route in 1889. The connection between Atlantic Highlands and the New Jersey Southern routes was made in 1892 with the construction of a railroad bridge over the Shrewsbury River and the closing of the Sandy Hook boat docks. Sandy Hook was a military base, Fort Hancock, and more land

7440-660: Was moved to the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland . Fort at Sandy Hook Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township , New Jersey . The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor , with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. The fort served from then until 1950 as part of

7533-482: Was nearly two years before facilities were completed that allowed staffing and testing to reach its potential. Because of the period of time involved, the bulk of the weaponry designed, built and installed for coastal defense under both the Taft and Endicott Boards were tested at Sandy Hook. Over time, several red brick buildings, including structures used as maintenance buildings and an Officers Club, were built as part of

7626-480: Was now needed for weapons testing, so the dock and railroad that had been allowed on the federal property now had to go. From May 1892, the boats now ran to Atlantic Highlands, only, and the shore trains ran from there, over the new bridge, and down the old route to East Long Branch. For more than forty years this routing via Atlantic Highlands continued to be known as the Sandy Hook Route. As explained only

7719-463: Was on land that was already government owned, which provided flat and open areas for testing. Sandy Hook was distant enough to be far from towns but close enough to large cities and transportation by water. In 1874, most of Sandy Hook was covered with holly and cedar forests and tidal marshes which still cover a large percentage of it today. Most of the Federal development of the Hook was concentrated on

7812-413: Was one of a few built for Zalinski pneumatic dynamite guns ; these used a dynamite-loaded projectile with a much larger explosive charge than conventional guns of similar bore. However, they also had a much lower velocity with consequent fire control problems and were withdrawn from service by 1902. Batteries Bloomfield, Richardson, Halleck, and Alexander together formed the "Nine Gun Battery" with one of

7905-582: Was opened later, in 1866, and extended to Waretown in 1872. The reason for the Pine Barrens routing soon became clear. In September 1862, the R&DB and the Camden and Atlantic Railroad began operating a through service between the New York City market (specifically, in Jersey City ) and Philadelphia once a day, without change of trains between Port Monmouth and Camden . (New Jersey trains would only begin entering New York City in 1910 with

7998-471: Was operated by the Ordnance Department and was organizationally separate from Fort Hancock. In 1890 construction began on the artillery batteries at Fort Hancock, which was named for Major General Winfield Scott Hancock in 1895. These resulted from the large-scale Endicott Program , which in 1885 proposed a new, comprehensive system of forts defending port cities. Fort Hancock was one of

8091-562: Was released in 2003. The three study routings run south to the current end of operable track at Lakehurst. One branches off the former New York & Long Branch, now called the North Jersey Coast Line , at Red Bank as NJS trains did. The Boards of Chosen Freeholders (county governments) for Monmouth and Ocean Counties both announced a preference in 2006 for the Monmouth Junction routing, which branches off

8184-463: Was relocated because of Fort Hancock's need for the location to build a gun battery. The new Battery was built southeast of its old location. The eastern end of the new Proof Battery was designed for test firing machine guns, field and siege guns, and howitzers – larger guns like a 14-inch (36 cm) caliber – were test fired at the west end of the battery. In the middle were mounted a variety of guns from 1-to-12-inch (2.5 to 30.5 cm) caliber. When

8277-552: Was removed for potential service as railway artillery ; several other weapons including the other guns of Battery Halleck and the three 8-inch (203 mm) guns of Battery Arrowsmith were listed for removal but remained at the fort. Battery Engle's single 5-inch (127 mm) gun was removed for service as a field gun on a wheeled carriage and not returned to the fort, as were almost all of the 5-inch (127 mm) M1897 guns forcewide. Also, four mortars (one from each pit) of Battery Reynolds-McCook were removed in 1917 to be remounted at

8370-571: Was settled in 1881 as a Methodist camp meeting site, and by 1882 some of the Sandy Hook boats also stopped at the Atlantic Highlands pier. The railroad from Matawan on the New York and Long Branch was opened to Keyport by the Freehold and New York Railroad in 1880 and extended by the locally financed New York and Atlantic Highlands Railroad to Atlantic Highlands in August 1889. The route crossed

8463-563: Was sometimes locally called Fort Lincoln or Fort Hudson. Originally two tower forts were proposed, but a much larger single fort was decided on instead. The initial design of the fort was by then-Captain Robert E. Lee of the Army Corps of Engineers . The fort was designed as a five- bastion irregular pentagon, with two tiers (one casemated , one barbette ) of cannon totaling 173 guns on three seacoast fronts, with another 39 guns covering

8556-399: Was stripped of all its mortars, and the mortars at Highlands were also removed. The 3-inch (76 mm) M1898 guns of Battery Urmston were removed in 1920 as one of several weapon types withdrawn from service at this time. The new long-range 12-inch (305 mm) batteries and a 16-inch (406 mm) gun battery at Fort Tilden had become the primary gun defenses for Greater New York; however,

8649-424: Was the gun lift carriage, essentially a barbette carriage mounted on a hydraulic elevator. A steam plant powered the hydraulic system. One advantage of the gun lift carriage not found in most US disappearing gun installations was 360° all-around fire. Battery Potter (known as "Gun Lift Battery No. 1" until named in 1903) received its first gun in 1892 (a 12-inch (305 mm) gun M1888 , Watervliet serial no. 11,

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