Railroads of Picatinny Arsenal

Presented by Jason HuggAN and Jeff Ranu

U.S. Army Picatinny Arsenal is located in the Highlands of northwestern Morris County. Picatinny is situated on approximately 5,853 acres and stretches northwards from Rt 15 towards Green Pond. The Arsenal specializes in the research, development, acquisition and lifecycle of advanced conventional weapon systems and ammunition. The Cultural Resources Program (CRP) located in the Environmental Affairs Division of the Directorate of Public Works manages the historic structures, buildings, districts, and archaeological sites located across the Arsenal.

This presentation demonstrates a historical background of Picatinny Arsenal’s Railroads that were used to transport ammunition, equipment, and personnel across the installation, along with the Wharton & Northern Railroad, which was installed starting in 1887 with a 99-year lease. At one time, Picatinny had over 42 miles of railroads across the installation.

Jason Huggan was the former Cultural Resource Manager (CRM) for Picatinny Arsenal from 2007 to 2020. Starting in April 2020, Huggan accepted a promotion to Environmental Affairs Division Chief within the Directorate of Public Works. He has been with Picatinny for over 15yrs and prior to this held a similar position at Fort Lee, VA and Fort Irwin, CA as CRM. Huggan has a Master’s degree in Archaeology and Heritage from the University of Leicester, UK and has worked in over 15 states across the continental U.S. with over 19yrs of experience in cultural resource management. Huggan is also a Registered Professional Archaeologist.

Jeff Ranu became the DEVCOM-Armaments Center Historian in 2017, when it was still ARDEC, upon retirement of the renowned Arsenal Historian Dr. Patrick Owens. He has also served as an engineer at the installation for 23yrs. Ranu’s credentials include Masters Degrees in both Engineering and History. Duties as the Historian include researching technical historical information about ammunition and weapon systems for Army engineers, and supporting current programs and field maintenance. He also maintains the Picatinny Historical Archive, which contains documentation dating back to 1880 and conducts oral history interviews on a variety of topics from Picatinny Arsenal.

The membership portion of the meeting begins on Zoom at 7:00 PM. Click here to register in advance for this webinar. Attendees will need to register in advance for the webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The presentation will continue on Zoom and be simulcast on our Facebook page after. All are welcome to attend!