By Josh Margolin, Star-Ledger Staff

Published 2/5/01

There never was a memorial service, never anything to remember the 85 people who died on Feb. 6, 1951, when a speeding, jam-packed Pennsylvania Railroad train crashed near downtown Woodbridge.

Until yesterday.

"This is amazing to me that they never had anything," said 53 year old Mary Coyle Siller of Marlboro, whose grandfather, former Assemblyman John Coyle, was killed in the wreck. "Fifty years later, we’re going to a memorial service for my grandfather who I never really knew."

Right after the wreck, there was a push to honor those who died and those who lived through it. To mark the first anniversary, survivors, rescuers and families of the victims asked the railroad to allow a ceremony but executives with the Pennsylvania Railroad would not hear of it. They would only allow a survivor to throw a wreath off the back of the anniversary train as it passed Woodbridge a year after the crash.

"Railroads tended to be kind of heartless and there wasn’t the mood to be touchy-feely then," said Rob McGonigal editor of Wisconsin based Classic Trains magazine and author of the book "Heart of the Pennsylvania Railroad." "The Pennsylvania was the leader in the industry. People couldn’t tell them anything."

Now, five decades later, the Pennsylvania Railroad is banished to the history books. And with memories of the crash still alive for many, Woodbridge Township set aside a brief piece of a sunny Sunday afternoon to remember the dead, honor the living, dedicate a memorial plaque, and finally say thank you to the volunteers who rushed into service as the mangled mess of The Broker lay incredibly along Fulton Street at Legion Place.

Several times during his speech, LaPenta was interrupted by his tears. He recounted his experiences, talked of the sacrifice and heroism of others and paid tribute to the families who poured into Middlesex County that night.

"It was a time when the average person became heroes, though none would admit it," LaPenta said during the service held at the United Methodist Church that was ;used as the Red Cross’ base of operations during rescue efforts.

The crash occurred at 5:43 pm that Tuesday a half century ago when "The Broker" – Pennsylvania Railroad train No. 733 – derailed on a temporary trestle just south of the Woodbridge Station. About 1,100 passengers were aboard the train, which got its nickname because of the express service it offered the Wall Street crowd looking for a quick trip from Exchange Place in Jersey City to Bay Head on the shore.

The wreck was blamed on engineer Joseph Fitzsimmons of Point Pleasant, who was found to have disregarded a posted slow-down order by throttling the train at more than 50 mph into the trestle. The temporary bridge had been put into service just hours earlier because of laborers nearby who were building the New Jersey Turnpike.

Fitzsimmons survived the wreck and lived to retire from the railroad two years later, but, after the crash, he never touched the controls of another train. He died 25 years ago.

Yesterday, in between songs like "America the Beautiful" and "Amazing Grace," people shared their stories of loss and looked at films, photos and news clippings that date to the wreck.