On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, New Jersey inaugurated its 57th governor, Mikie Sherrill.

In the weeks following her election victory, The Sherrill-Caldwell Transition Team took several actions :

1).
On January 16, 2026, then Governor-elect Sherrill nominated Ed Potosnak as the next Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the agency overseeing the Liberty State Park redevelopment and, by extension, the fate of the CRRNJ Terminal. 
This is the same department to which I have submitted a portion of my in-progress proposal multiple times. I received no response. With a new commissioner now in place, I intend to renew this appeal endeavor.

2).
In the week before her inauguration as governor, the Sherrill+Caldwell Transition Team invited public input through a statewide survey to allow the sharing of ideas and priorities to "help guide policy and improve how state government serves" New Jerseyans.
One survey question asked was this : "7. Unmet Needs: Are there any services, resources, or opportunities you feel are missing in your community that would improve your quality of life?"
I responded by typing a bit of what I have stated in this petition and flyer : that New Jersey is missing a modern, comprehensive state railway museum capable of preserving the state’s rail history from the past seven(7) decades.
I had answered this survey in the hopes that someone on the Team will read it and hear this most serious plea.


Separately, I have made direct efforts to engage the New Jersey Legislature. :
1)– In late November 2025, I contacted and visited the office of my State Senator (District 31) to hand-deliver a copy of the flyer linked to this petition.
2)– In early December 2025, I sent a formal letter to the Chair of the "Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation", urging legislative attention and action on this issue.

To date, I have received no reply. I intend to follow up.


I must also note that of the fifteen(15) NJ rail preservation organizations I contacted back in early December 2025 –11 by email and 4 by mailed letters w/ fliers– I have likewise received no response.


This silence is persistent, and it is deeply unsettling.


What haunts me daily is the accelerating loss of historic NJ-connected rolling stock as NJDEP’s plans continue to move forward. Under present conditions, New Jersey is on track to permanently lose much of its tangible rail heritage.

In an earlier update, I identified seven(7) highly vulnerable historic railway rolling stock (trains). In that list there are now THREE (3) that are critically endangered :
1). NJT ALP-44 electric locomotives — abandoned units that are on the Lackawanna Cut-Off and are actively being scrapped. This proposed new Museum desperately needs specifically numbered ones.
2). The Newark Airport AirTrain (monorail) — seriously threatened as replacement construction officially began on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
3). Amtrak’s Acela Express trainsets — withdrawals are steadily accelerating. Of the original fleet of twenty(20), only thirteen(13) remain. A recent withdrawal is Acela Train #2150 which completed its final run on Friday January 3, 2026.


I want to be clear with everyone who has kindly signed this petition :

This effort is not merely about "saving" a historic building, nor is it solely about stopping NJDEP’s current plan.

This is about advocating for the creation of a state-level railway museum within the old Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) Terminal - the site that is capable of housing this proposed institution that, in turn, is capable of preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting New Jersey’s rail history from the past seven(7) decades in a way that no existing rail preservation organization of New Jersey is currently capable of doing.

If nothing is done now, there will soon be nothing left to save and New Jersey will have made that choice knowingly.


But I am not giving up. 

If this proposal and petition are given a chance, then New Jersey can seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save the integrity of the CRRNJ Terminal, can contribute meaningfully to the state and local economy through stable jobs and tourism, and finally properly safeguard Our modern railway history just like so many states across the US are doing right now. 

To quote Governor Mikie Sherrill in her inauguration speech :
"The key to all of this is opportunity. It's not a guarantee for success. It's a guarantee at a shot. And New Jerseyans know that. That's why our state punches above its weight. Because we know exactly what we can do if we are given a shot."


Please continue to share and support if you can- we must not give up and I still firmly believe that the old CRRNJ Terminal can be a State Railway Museum for New Jersey.