Off the coast of Long Branch, New Jersey resides a mysterious wreck that has historians and enthusiasts puzzled as to its story. Lying in 90 feet of water are a pair of steam locomotives, which lay at the bottom of the sea for over 100 years before being discovered. When divers first encountered this odd sight in the Atlantic, no one had a clue about the origin of this underwater train wreck site.
In 1985, scuba diver Paul Hepler was mapping the ocean bottom with a magnetometer when he got two huge signals. It definitely meant he had found something big and metallic, but it was very soon clear this was no ordinary wreck site. There was no sign of any debris from a ship, just two locomotives resting proudly on the silty bottom. Railroad aficionados excitedly examined photos, counting wheels and peering closely at the remains of smokestacks, all which could offer vital details as to the trains’ origins.
The cars resting in this underwater train wreck site were identified as class 2-2-2-T, a rare breed of locomotive generally used in train yards, rather than for transportation, due to their small size. Still, no one could figure out how they got there. There are no records of them being lost at sea, or of a vessel carrying locomotives going missing. The most widely accepted explanation is that the engines were being shipped from Boston to New York and were possibly pushed or washed overboard in a storm. Why the crew would not have reported missing two steam locomotives once they made port is anyone’s guess.
Today these unusual deep sea residents are still easily recognizable despite their layer of barnacles and marine plants. They sit upright and fairly close to one another, as if they were chugging along some sunken railroad making their way to the station. Take a look at this video showing scuba diving historians exploring this unusual underwater train wreck site.
