Vintage car fanatics, pickers, and film geeks alike would find treasure in the 12-acre trash wonderland at Wade’s Salvage in Atco, New Jersey. This lot is filled to the brim with everything from old aircraft to buses and everything in between. It’s the go-to source for scraps needed to fill in apocalyptic and disaster scenes for film and television projects shot on the East Coast. On a tour of the yard, Untapped New York Insider and photographer Klaus-Peter Statz captured towering stacks of cars and fuselages that seemingly sprout out of the forest, rows of stray tires, piles of discarded electronics, and more. Check out some of his photos below and learn more about this Pine Barrens junkyard!
Wade’s Salvage was created by Ed Wade after he returned from World War II. What began as a successful auto body shop turned into a salvage business when bits and pieces of vehicles began to stack up on the property. Those pieces were sold to local scrap metal markets and soon Wade began scouting for items on the curb that he would fix up and sell at local flea markets.
In the early 1980s at age 17, Ed’s son, Andrew Wade, joined the family business, accompanying his father to bid on government surplus. He started the vast aircraft catalog at the yard when he purchased two wrecked planes for just $40. Wade continued to find decommissioned airplanes, with each piece holding a rich history. A walk through the yard will have you passing jet engines repurposed as planters and Korean War aircraft piled on top of buses and cars.
In the late 1980s, the yard began buying scrap metals from the public to melt down into raw materials. While some items are melted down for their material, some are picked up by TV and film crews as props. This aspect of the business began when a location scout for Eddie and the Cruiserschose the yard as the backdrop of their tale of a defunct rock band.
After the success of Eddie and the Cruisers, the yard became known in the film industry as the spot to check out for a wide array of items. Throughout the years, Wade’s Salvage has provided props for a variety of movies, including The Invasion,Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, as well as shows like Blind Spot, The Walking Dead-Dead City, and Manifest.
Lately, New Jersey has ventured further into the world of film, with several studios coming into the state, including a large Netflix facility set to open in Monmouth County. Thanks to a relationship with the New Jersey Film Commission and an increase in production facilities in New York City and northern Jersey, Wade’s Salvage has had plenty of business. They even provided materials for the runway at New York Fashion Week as well as set the scene for background photos for the Bon Jovi 2019 European Tour.
The yard is well aware of the collection they have amassed, saying, “Our twelve-acre site may look full, but it is functional.” Nothing is too massive for Wade’s Salvage to pick up. Larger items are hauled in by trucks and personnel. A large portion of the materials come from commercial clean-outs, municipal pickups, and the public. During the pandemic, there was a large influx of new drop-offs due to everyone cleaning their garages and basements.
The yard’s employees look towards the future and say they are “always on the lookout for interesting items to set aside for future projects.” They now take a deep look at what materials are coming in and asses them from an artistic perspective rather than just recycling them as scrap.
Next time you watch a new movie or show, take a look at the industrial props, as they may have come from this gem of a salvage yard in Jersey! Check out more photos in the gallery below:
Writer currently living in Queens and attending St. John's University with a passion for history, art, language, and the ever-changing world around us.
