Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, NJ Walk (Sep 24)
Details
PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW CAREFULLY, ESPECIALLY THE BOLD TYPE.
NOTE: THE MEETING PLACE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DRIVING IS DIFFERENT FROM THOSE WHO ARE TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. (IF YOU ARE DRIVING, PLEASE SEE "THE MEETING PLACE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DRIVING" SECTION BELOW.)
If you are registered for this walk and can't attend, please change your RSVP online from "YES" to "NO". THERE IS NO NEED TO POST WHY YOU CAN'T MAKE THE EVENT.
BRING LUNCH, WATER ( (AT LEAST TWO OR THREE 16.9 FL. OZ SIZE BOTTLES), SUN PROTECTION, COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES, AN EXTRA LAYER OF CLOTHING (IT PROBABLY WILL BE COOLER WALKING AROUND GLENMONT [THOMAS EDISON'S FORMER ESTATE]), AND (MAYBE) INSECT REPELLENT. WE WILL BE WALKING IN THE SHADE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. WE WILL START HAVING LUNCH BETWEEN 12:30 PM AND 1:00 PM.
IF YOU CAN'T KEEP UP WITH A MODERATE PACED WALK WITH SOME UPS AND DOWNS FOR 5 1/2 to 6 MILES, THEN THIS WALK IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU. WE WILL BE WALKING ON PAVED SIDEWALKS OR PAVED COUNTRY ROADS. FOR THE MOST PART, THERE IS ONE UPHILL, WHICH IS A 1/2 OF A MILE WALK UPHILL FROM THE GATEHOUSE AT MAIN STREET TO THE GLENMONT ESTATE.
No young children or pets allowed on this walk without the prior approval of the organizer. Thank you for your cooperation.
This is a sociable walk along a very scenic route filled with interesting places. I will occasionally comment on some things (about Thomas Edison's life, the Glenmont Estate (Thomas Edison's former 13 1/2-acre estate), and the Thomas Edison Laboratories and factories) along the way, but you will still have plenty of time to socialize with others. WE WILL, ONCE IN A WHILE, STOP AT POINTS OF INTEREST.
If you have any questions for me, please contact me through my private Meetup inbox. The organizer for this Meetup event is John (the event host) who is listed on the top of the "going list" with a photograph. Thank you.
Description: Thomas Edison built the complex of red brick buildings on West Orange’s Main Street in 1887. The facility, one of the largest and most technologically advanced for the time, allowed Edison to develop and mass produce many of his earlier inventions, including the phonograph, and to develop a movie camera and start the film industry.
For more than forty years, the laboratory created by Thomas Alva Edison in West Orange, NJ, had enormous impact on the lives of millions of people worldwide. Out of the West Orange laboratories came the motion picture camera, vastly improved phonographs, sound recordings, silent and sound movies and the nickel-iron alkaline electric storage battery.
According to the National Park Service Rangers at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park and the National Park Service's website, all National Parks have FREE admission on Saturday, Sept. 24th. Therefore, Thomas Edison National Historical Park has FREE admission.
We will be walking around the grounds of the Glenmont Estate (Thomas Edison's former 13 1/2 acre estate) as well as walking around the Laboratory Complex. However, we will NOT BE TOURING INSIDE of Thomas Edison's former home because getting the limited tickets (which are free) are on a first-come, first-served basis (in-person registration/no online registration) early each morning. So whether the day were FREE or not, the limited tickets (which are free) would be sold out in the morning by 10:30 AM.
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm
Below is a list of all National Parks (including Thomas Edison National Historical Park) that are FREE on Saturday, September, 24, 2016.
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks-state.htm
Cost: The cost of this event is $2 per person, which is paid at the start of the walk. This is for the organizer's Meetup preparation costs and fees.
Meeting Time: The meeting time is (before lunch) at 11:00 AM.
MEETING PLACE FOR THOSE WHO ARE TAKING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
Meet the organizer outside of the entrance to the Glenfield Middle School at 25 Maple Avenue in Montclair, NJ. Before the walk, restrooms are available in Glenfield Park, which is next to Glenfield Middle School. (Later on, restrooms will be available at the Thomas Edison Laboratory Complex and Glenmont Estate.)
West Orange doesn't have any train stations that run through its town. There are no NJ train stations near the Edison Edison National Historical Park, which is in West Orange. There are also no buses from Manhattan that go directly to Thomas Edison National Historical Park. The Bay Street train station is one of several NJ transit train stations that are located about 1 to 2 1/2 miles away from Thomas Edison National Historical Park. So there is no easy way to get to the Thomas Edison Historical Park by public transportation. The organizer and those who came by public transportation will be walking from the meeting place to Thomas Edison National Historical Park. This walk is about 2 1/4 miles. Since West Orange is located next to Montclair, we will be initially walking through the southern end of Montclair, but will not be spending much time in Montclair.
Below is outside of the entrance to Glenfield Middle School.
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IF THE TRAIN IS LATE, THE ORGANIZER WILL WAIT FOR THE LATE-ARRIVING TRAIN.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM MANHATTAN TO BAY STREET IN MONTCLAIR, NJ:
At the NJ Transit section of NYC Penn Station, take the 10:11 AM NJ Transit train (the Morris & Essex Line) from MANHATTAN to the NEWARK BROAD STREET STATION. This train arrives in the Newark Broad Street train station at 10:30 AM. You will then have to get off this train in the Newark Broad Street station and switch to a second train (the Montclair-Boonton Line) at the same platform of the station. (YOU WILL TAKE YOUR TRAIN TICKET WITH YOU.) The second train (the Montclair-Boonton Line) leaves from the same platform of the Newark Broad Street station at 10:32 AM, arriving in MONTCLAIR'S BAY STREET TRAIN STATION at 10:45 AM.
(According to New Jersey Transit officials, if the first train [the Morris-Essex Line] arrives late at the Newark Broad Street station, the second train [the Montclair-Boonton Line, which is the connecting train] will stay and wait for it at the Newark Broad Street station.)
Before boarding the train, buy a ticket at a New Jersey Transit ticket window or vending machine. Get a ticket from NYC to Bay Street in Montclair, NJ (Regular fare is $7.25 one way; children/disabled/senior fare [62 years and older] is $3.25 one way; YOU BUY ONLY ONE TICKET (ONE TICKET FROM NYC TO BAY STREET IN MONTCLAIR. AT THE END OF THE WALK, WE WILL BE GOING BACK BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION A DIFFERENT WAY.) Purchasing a regular fare ticket on board the train is more expensive (about a $5 surcharge). However, children/disabled/seniors citizens [62 years and old] who show the proper identification may purchase a ticket on board the train without paying the penalty of the higher on board prices.
ALLOW EXTRA TIME BECAUSE THE TICKET LINES ARE SOMETIMES LONG AT NYC PENN STATION. (IF YOU MISS THIS 10:11 AM TRAIN, THE NEXT TRAIN IS AT 12:11 PM.)
Below is a schedule of New Jersey Transit train's Montclair-Boonton Line on the weekend.
https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0030.pdf
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FROM NEW JERSEY:
If you live in the Newark area, you can get the 10:30 AM train [the Montclair-Boonton Line] at Newark Broad Street that goes to Bay Street, Montclair. There are also New Jersey transit buses that go from Newark to Bay Street in Montclair. (Buy only a one-way ticket. At the end of the walk, will be going back by public transportation a different way.)
If you live (Hoboken, Jersey City, etc) near the Hoboken Terminal, you can get the 10:10 AM train (the Montclair-Boonton Line) from the Hoboken Terminal that goes directly to Bay Street in Montclair. If you take this train, you don't have to change trains at Newark Broad Street.(Buy only a one-way ticket. At the end of the walk, we will be going back by public transportation a different way.)
If you live elsewhere in New Jersey, you can get the 10:20 AM train [the Morris-Essex Line] at Secaucus Junction that then goes to Newark Broad Street. At Newark Broad Street, you would switch to the 10:30 AM [the Montclair-Boonton Line] to Bay Street in Montclair. (Buy only a one-way ticket. At the end of the walk, we will be going back by public transportation a different way.)
THE MEETING PLACE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DRIVING:
Park your car in West Orange (somewhere near the entrance to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park) and then meet the organizer and those who came by public transportation (train) between 12:00 PM and 12:10 PM outside of the gate to Thomas Edison National Historical Park. The address is 211 Main Street, West Orange, NJ.
If you are driving and meeting the group outside of the entrance to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park between 12:00 PM and 12:10 PM, you will be walking a shorter distance. You will then be walking about 3 1/2 to 4 miles, not 5 1/2 to 6 miles.
Below is a photo of outside of the gate at Thomas Edison National Historical Park. The link also gives driving directions to Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
https://www.nps.gov/edis/planyourvisit/directions.htm
Finishing Time/Place:
We will be finishing about 4:00 PM at Thomas Edison National Historical Park (211 Main Street, West Orange, NJ).
The drivers will have their cars parked somewhere in West Orange.
If you came by public transportation, you will then take the No. 21 NJ Transit bus from Thomas Edison's Laboratory (the bus stop is located just outside of the entrance to Thomas Edison's Laboratory in West Orange) to the Orange NJ train station (the Morris & Essex Line), which then goes directly from Orange back to NYC Penn Station (The trains on this line run once an hour, and you don't have to change to another train.) The bus ride from the Thomas Edison Laboratory to the Orange NJ train station is less than a mile.
Below is the schedule of the No. 21 NJ Transit bus. (From Thomas Edison National Historical Park to the Orange train station, the regular bus fare is $1.60, and senior bus fare is .75. The bus takes only exact change.)
https://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0005.pdf
Below is the schedule of the Morris-Essex Line NJ Transit train. (From the Orange train station back to NYC Penn Station, the regular fare is $6.75 and senior fare is $3.00.)
http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/R0040.pdf
Rainy weather or other bad weather conditions, will cancel this walk. Therefore, if it is rainy weather or other bad weather conditions, or the forecast is for rainy weather conditions or other bad weather conditions, I will post a cancellation notice before Saturday morning 7:30 AM. If I don't post a cancellation notice, I plan to be at the meeting place. If I do cancel the walk, I will also post a cancellation notice on the Discussion Board.
If this is canceled because of bad weather conditions, I will reschedule it during another FREE national park day. There will be more FREE national park days in 2017.
Below was Thomas Edison's Laboratory Complex, which is now Thomas Edison National Historical Park.
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Below was Thomas Edison's estate (including his Queen Anne style house, potting shed, greenhouse, garden, and barn that had chickens and cows), about a mile away from Edison's Laboratory Complex. He also had an ice skating pond, outdoors swimming pool, and playhouse. We will also be walking around the grounds of his former estate.
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Below was Thomas Edison's car garage. The top floor was living quarters for Thomas Edison's chauffeur.
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Below was Thomas Edison's electric car charging station in his garage.
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