Historic Train Car Edison Once Rode In Vandalized In Morris Co.

BOONTON, NJ — A historic train car that once carried Thomas Edison was vandalized in Boonton last week, the URHS & Whippany Railway Museum said.

The train car, pictured above, had its windows smashed in just after "a multi-year restoration costing hundreds of thousands of grant and donated dollars" wrapped up, Kevin Phalon wrote on a GoFundMe campaign.

The car is a rare Lackawanna Railroad parlor / commuter car, numbered 2454. Volunteers told NJ.com the car carried Thomas Edison, who was then 83, to one of his final public appearances in 1930. The publisher of Forbes magazine also rode in this car.

Phalon said the car was in the safe area that generally deterred crime. "URHS's yard is well protected by more than 2000 feet of fence as well as our neighbor's back yards. That makes trespassing extremely difficult. We are also lucky to have our equipment stored in the welcoming, safe community of Boonton, NJ. Unfortunately, as we have learned, that does not stop all crime, and we are working to prevent it in the future," he wrote.

The Museum is looking to raise $5,000 to help offset restoration costs. Anyone interested in donating can do so through a GoFundMe (the United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and is a GoFundMe certified charity). Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to contact Boonton Police Department at 973-402-9371.