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By CHUCK DARROW
Courier-Post Staff
Getting your family into training can be an alternative to the standard summertime family fare of the beach, amusement parks and miniature golf.
We're not talking about lifting, running, sweating and abs of steel, but riding the rails on popular tourist excursion trains. Three are within a 90-mile radius of Cherry Hill.
"We get families on here, and they'll say, `This is our first train ride ever, it's really neat,'" says Tony Macrie, president and general manager of the Cape May Seashore Lines, operating a 13-mile loop between Cape May Court House and Washington Street in downtown Cape May.
Indeed, the Cape May Seashore Lines, as well as Hunterdon County's Black River & Western Railroad and the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad based in New Hope, Pa., offer a taste of pre-jet travel to generations whose only knowledge of rail transportation may be the PATCO Hi-Speed Line.
The lure, offers Paul Harland, general manager of passenger operations for the New Hope & Ivyland, is the vintage locomotive and passenger cars.
"Kids love it," he says. "How many kids did you know who didn't want to be involved with trains?"
But the railroads' appeal spans generations. "We get older folks who remember commuting on railroads and younger people who've never ridden on a railroad," says Budd Sauselein, the conductor on the Black River & Western.
"Grandparents like to bring their grandchildren to show them what it was like," says Sauselein.
Each of the three lines offer short round trips - none exceeding 90 minutes - including stopovers. But more importantly, they offer a once-commonplace experience not accessible to most people these days, as well as views not seen from a car window.
The Cape May & Seashore Lines rolling stock features eight circa-1950, silver, self-propelled cars that, explains Macrie, were actually used for Philadelphia-Jersey Shore commutes on the old Reading line.
To verify their authenticity, the cars boast original posters announcing special deals, like the 1956 "Bargain One-Day Train Excursion" to the Miss America Pageant in in Atlantic City. The round-trip fare? $2.85 from Haddonfield.
Reaching a top speed of 30 MPH, the line offers passengers the sights of South Jersey's flat, inland topography, some wooded areas, a vineyard (just north of Cold Spring Village) and a number of back yards, dotted with above- ground swimming pools.
Perhaps the highlight of the trip is crossing the Cape May Canal, which connects the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay. It was built by the military during World War II so U. S. ships could avoid being torpedoed by German U-boats patrolling the coast of Cape May.
Paul and Helene Burroughs of Rockville, Md., were glad they took the trip on a recent Tuesday afternoon. Visiting Cape May for the first time since they honeymooned there 50 years ago, the couple, said Helene, "Thought it would be nice" to ride the train. She added, "It was fun. It was interesting."
The Cape May line also serves a practical purpose for Shore visitors. "If you're going to Cape May," says Macrie, "you can park (at the Cape May Court House station at the 4-H Fairgrounds) and take the train, and not have to deal with parking."
Unlike the Cape May Seashore Lines, The New Hope & Ivyland and Black River & Western utilize steam-powered locomotives. Passenger cars are decades older also.
Tourists may find the New Hope line more interesting, thanks to the narration provided by the conductors, who explain the line's history and highlight noteworthy sites.
For instance, while riding the approximately 85-year-old passenger cars pulled by a 1925 Baldwin locomotive, passengers learn the trestle the train crosses just south of the 110-year-old red brick station was where the heroine, played by Pearl White, was tied to the tracks in the 1913 classic silent film, The Perils of Pauline.
Another site is the Huffnagle House, a mansion originally built by William Penn's grandson in 1705.
If you're looking for speed-inspired thrills, however, the New Hope & Ivyland probably won't suffice: "We travel at 20 MPH," says Harland. "We're not in business to get people anywhere quickly." That also applies to the others, whose pace can only be described as "leisurely."
That was just fine for the Gyllenhaal family of Tucscon, Ariz., who were back East visiting family members.
Dennis Gyllenhaal, 47, suggested the ride because he wanted his sons, Evan, 16 and Wade, 11, "to have the experience of riding a train."
Evan proclaimed the sojourn to be "neat." Gesturing toward the verdant woods passing outside the window, he added, "It's nice going through this area. Out in Tucson, it's all desert."
For the boys' grandfather, Peter Gyllenhaal, 74, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., the excursion provided some nostalgia. "I rode the Reading for years," he said of the train that was part of the Reading Railroad system. "This is just like the train I rode."
To encourage more families to ride the rails, there are three "Story & Song" excursions daily (11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m.), which are aimed at younger children and their parents.
For pure scenic enjoyment, the Black River & Western is the best bet. The electric/diesel 1955 General Motors locomotive pulls 75-year-old cars, once belonging to the New Jersey Central Railroad, between Flemington and Ringoes in Hunterdon County.
As you leave Flemington, lush woods and rolling hills replace the sights of modern-day suburbia.
Wildlife is also on the scenic menu. On a recent afternoon, 5 1/2 -year-old Danielle Rette of New Egypt squealed with delight as she spotted an antlered buck loping through an open field.
The 20-minute stop at the 150-year-old Ringoes station is part of the fun. A small room contains a variety of railroading memorabilia, including menus from trains of the past: On Oct. 26, 1929, fans riding the Pennsylvania Railroad to Princeton to see the Tigers take on the Naval Academy in football could enjoy a sirloin steak for $1.75, or a grilled lamb chop for 65 cents.
Danielle Rette's mother, Linda, 40, described the trip as "very relaxing." She added riding the railroad "makes you think about history and how far we've really come."
Perhaps most importantly, these slow-paced, short-haul train rides prove that, in this increasingly segmented, high-tech society, there are still some things that can be shared and enjoyed by people of all ages.
Then again, for those lucky enough to work on a railroad all the live-long day, the motives may be a bit more selfish.
"To me, says Charles Check, a conductor on the New Hope & Ivyland, "it's like having my own train set - only I can ride in it!"
If you go
(908) 782-6622, Web site www.brwrr.com. Trains operate Saturday and Sunday, March 31 through Dec. 9. During the months of July and August, additional trains run on Thursdays and Fridays. Additional trains run Good Friday, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Columbus Day and Nov. 23.
Admission: $8 adults; $4 ages 3-12.
Directions to Flemington Station: Take I-295 north until it becomes I-95 south; followI-95 south to Route 29 north; stay on Route 29 north to Route 202 north; take Route 202 north to the Flemington Circle and get on Route 12 west to station entrance on right.
•Cape May Seahore Lines, (609) 884-5300, Web site www.cmslrr.com
Trains operate seven days a week through Labor Day; weekends through Dec. 23.
Admission: $8 adults, round-trip, $5 round-trip for children.
Directions to Cape May Court House Station: Take the Garden State Parkway South to exit 10A (Route 657 west); follow the signs to the 4-H Fairgrounds where the station is located.
•New Hope & Ivyland Railroad, (215) 862-2332, Web site is www.fieldtrip.com/pa/58622332.htm
The trains operate on full schedule April through November and weekends only during other months. Call for current schedule.
Admission: $7.95 adults; $6.95 senior citizens; $3.95 children 2-11; $1 children under 2.
Directions: Take Route 29 north to Route 179 west into Lambertville; cross the bridge into New Hope, continue west to station entrance on the right.
•For links to other excursion railroads in the U. S., go to www.railterminal.com/touridx.shtml.