JLM Trains, L.L.C.
Hazlet Train Stop, Hazlet, NJ
I started working at the Hazlet Train Stop around 1975. I had been hanging around there and the owner, Boyd Mason, asked my father if I wanted to learn how to repair trains. Of course I did! I was dropped off the next Saturday ( I wasn’t driving yet, I was only 10). Boyd and I sat down and we completely rebuilt an American Flyer handcar. I was taught how to completely disassemble a motor, clean each component, check it for proper operation and reassemble it. As Boyd always stressed, “I can’t guarantee it if I don’t fix it”. I still go by that. At the end of the day I was handed that handcar and told, “Never get rid of this, it’s the first train you’ve ever rebuilt”. Of course I still have it.
This video is from the 16MM copy supplied by Channel 2 News. For a few years they would come down and do a piece around the holidays. This clip is from 1977 and I seem to remember that the reporter was Dave Monsees. Look closely at around 14 seconds in. I’m just to the left of the pole on the right hand side of the frame. Sorry for the poor quality, but it gives a small look at the layout. Shortly after this was shot, the layout was dismantled and a new layout constructed.
Some Photos
L to R. Vic Lembo, Boyd Mason, Gary Mason around 1977
Article from local newspaper Advisor 1977
Ad from 1980 from an MDK catalog