The Seashore Lines was founded by Tony Macrie in January 1984. Regular train service between Cape May Court House and Cold Spring Village began in 1996. Service was extended in Cape May City in 1999 after repairs to the swing bridge crossing the Cape May Canal were completed. In 2005, mechanical issues with the Cape May Canal swing bridge prevented trains from entering the city of Cape May. Although the bridge was repaired a year later, a severe storm in April 2007 damaged the tracks and left locomotives stranded in Tuckahoe. Passenger train service between Rio Grande and Cape May City resumed on October 12, 2009.
New Jersey Seashore Lines
New Jersey Seashore Lines is a subsidiary of Cape May Seashore Lines. New Jersey Seashore Lines was created by Cape May Seashore Lines in conjunction with the Clayton Sand Co. in Chatsworth. Using state and federal grants New Jersey Seashore Lines has rehabilitated of track between Lakehurst and the Woodmansie section of Chatsworth, where Clayton operates a sand mine. New Jersey Seashore Lines had originally planned to operate rail service to transport sand and gravel from Clayton and serve the needs of any other customers that might need rail service along the line. The line was originally owned by the Central Railroad of New Jersey and was once part of the route of the famed Blue Comet. South of Woodmansie the tracks are abandoned leaving no connection from the south. Neither CMSL, their subsidiary NJSL or Clayton Sand Co. have released any information on the current or future plans for the line and if or when operation may begin.
The Seashore Lines currently operates excursion trains on 15 miles of Conrail's Beesley's Point Secondary between Tuckahoe and Richland. Current passenger train operations include the Valentine’s Express, St. Patrick’s Express, Fall Foliage Express, and the Santa Express service. Train sets primarily consist of the railroad's two GP38diesel locomotives and two to four coach cars. The Seashore Lines also operates occasional passenger excursions for the Buena Vista Township / Richland Village Festival.
2012 vandalism
On March 1, 2012, the Seashore Lines received a telephone call from the New Jersey State Police, advising them that theft of track material had occurred on their Cape May Branch in Dennisville. This is the Seashore Lines’ main line between Tuckahoe and Cape May City. The investigating trooper informed them that several individuals associated with the theft had been arrested and charged with indictable offenses. Arrested on Monday, March 5, were a father and son team from the Villas section of Lower Township, New Jersey, along with a third individual from Rio Grande. Several days later, Macrie and two Seashore Lines employees conducted a detailed track inspection of the entire area of the theft, which consisted primarily of the removal of tie plates and spikes. This inspection concluded that the area of the theft encompassed approximately 6,800 feet, or 75 percent of the total number of tie plates and spikes in that particular section of track. In their actions to remove the tie plates and spikes, the perpetrators also damaged and destroyed numerous cross ties. Excursion trains did not run during the summer of 2012 due to the damage from the vandalism. The company offered rides to the public on railroad speeder vehicles along several miles of track on the Cape May Branch. As of early 2020, service into Cape May has not resumed.
Roster
The Seashore Lines owns and leases a large roster of equipment:
Three EMD GP38's, two leased from GATX, one leased from LLPX. Two of which are ex. PRSL #'s 2011& 2012, respectively;
