Rahway Valley Railroad

Rahway Valley Railroad
	7.1 mi
	11.4 km
	5.0 mi
	8 km
	4.4 mi
	7.1 km
	3.1 mi
	5 km
	2.9 mi
	4.7 km
	0.9 mi
	1.4 km
	2.6 mi
	4.2 km
	1.7 mi
	2.7 km
	Lehigh Line
	to Port Reading Junction
	RVRR bridge over the Rahway River
Overview
Headquarters	Kenilworth, New Jersey
Reporting mark	RV
Locale	Union County, New Jersey
Dates of operation	1897–1992
Successor	Morristown and Erie Railway
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Rahway Valley Railroad (RVRR) was a short-line railroad in the Northeastern United States which connected the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Roselle Park and the Central Railroad of New Jersey in Cranford with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western in Summit. Operating over a span of 95 years (1897–1992) in Union County, New Jersey, in its prime it was one of the most successful shortline railroads in U.S. history, turning a profit during the Great Depression. During its lifetime, the RVRR was instrumental in the development of Kenilworth (site of its headquarters) as well as Union Township, Springfield and other towns along its route. Later years saw traffic decline; in 1986 the line could not secure liability insurance. The railroad was sold to the Delaware Otsego Corporation which did little to revitalize the nearly 90-year-old line. Traffic continued to decline until service ended in 1992, with a single customer remaining.

History

New York & New Orange Railroad 1897–1901

The New York & New Orange Railroad was incorporated on May 6, 1897 by the promoters of the New Orange Industrial Association. The organization had been formed in 1894 by several Elmira, New York businessmen in order to develop a swath of land on the border of Cranford and Union to be known as New Orange (now Kenilworth). The Elmirans envisioned an ideal manufacturing town with many amenities. The railroad was formed to serve the town's residents and factories.

The initial stretch between Aldene and New Orange was surveyed in Summer 1897 by J. Wallace Higgins and Anthony Grippo. Contractor Frank H. Bailey, of Elmira, constructed the two-mile stretch between July 1897 and March 1898. Connection was made with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) in October 1897. An extension was made to N. 19th Street in New Orange during Winter 1898-9. The half-mile long Lehigh Valley Branch was constructed, to make connection with the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV), in early 1899. The railroad's first locomotive, No. 1 (named "New Orange"), was acquired in July 1899. The CNJ operated the railroad until it was formally opened for passenger traffic on August 1, 1899.

The town of New Orange proved to be less fruitful than its promoters had hoped. The NY&NO quickly fell into default. It was sold under foreclosure on February 16, 1901 to the hastily organized New Orange Four Junction Railroad.

New Orange Four Junction Railroad 1901–1905

The New Orange Four Junction Railroad (NOFJ) was incorporated on February 4, 1901 by several of the New Orange promoters. It took over the NY&NO twelve days later. William W. Cole, one of the Elmira men, took charge of the enterprise as President and General Manager. Day to day operations were deferred to Horatio F. Dankel, the railroad's Superintendent. An extension to Summit, New Jersey was continually contemplated. Despite this, the NOFJ led a quiet, menial existence as "one of the most uneventful corporations on earth."

In October 1902, the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased Tin Kettle and Press hills in New Orange for the purposes of excavating them for fill material, to be used in filling Greenville Yard in Jersey City, Waverly Yard in Newark, and the approach to the North River Tunnels. The NOFJ hauled hundreds of carloads of fill material between the excavation sites in New Orange to the junction with the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

In 1904, the New Orange Industrial Association failed. The remaining promoters engaged several New York City businessmen and reorganized the enterprise as the Kenilworth Realty Corporation. These men partnered with Louis Keller, founder of the Social Register and the Baltusrol Golf Club, to form the Rahway Valley Railroad and construct an extension of the NOFJ to Summit. The two railroads were consolidated on March 1, 1905.

Rahway Valley Railroad 1904–1986

View of the Rahway Valley Railroad at Summit circa 1910

Louis Keller, a founder of Baltusrol Golf Club, was dissatisfied with the transportation to his golf club over the rough dirt roads that existed in Union County, New Jersey in the early 1900s. He was further frustrated with efforts of the New Orange Industrial Association, and their two railroads the NY&NO and NOFJ, to build a rail line from Kenilworth to Summit. Keller became involved with a project called the "Cross County Railroad" in 1903 in which he invested, but the project went bust. He decided to take matters into his own hands and form the Rahway Valley Railroad on July 18, 1904. Not being experienced in managing and building railroads, Keller became associated with NOFJ President William W. Cole and brought him on as RVRR president, the NOFJ and RVRR were consolidated on March 1, 1905.

Through the efforts of Keller and Cole the line was eventually extended to Summit in 1906, but they were denied access to connect to the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad in Summit. Over the next twenty-five years court battles would ensue over this connection before one was finally made in 1931.

In 1909, to lower costs, Keller created a lessee company, the Rahway Valley Company, to lease the entire railroad to, in-order to lower costs. The lessee company was controlled by the Keller family for its entire existence. The Rahway Valley Railroad Company owned all of the track, stations, and other structures, from Roselle Park to Summit, and the Monsanto Branch, but its operations were carried out by the lessee.

In 1914 when World War I started the Rahway Valley Railroad experienced a boom in activity. A gunpowder plant was built by the American Can Co. in 1914 on the Unionbury Branch. A plant only known as the “Fireworks Factory” was also opened on the Unionbury branch by Czarist Russia, and shipped via the RV. A disaster on the Unionbury Branch almost destroyed the Fireworks Factory, and rumors of German spies caused the line to hire armed guards to protect the rails from foreign infiltrators. The American Can Co. provided a string of eight coaches that came from Staten Island via the Staten Island Railway every morning loaded with workers and then transferred to the RV. The Lehigh Valley ran its trains up to Kenilworth for a time to bring in workers, and the CNJ shipped as many as 5,000 arsenal workers a day for three shifts. At its peak the RV carried thousands of workers to the factories around the clock.

In 1918 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles World War I quickly came to an end, and with it freight traffic severely declined and almost all passenger traffic disappeared. With a lack of traffic the railroad was put into a greatly compromised position. The railroading experience of William W. Cole disappeared with his unexpected death in 1915, his replacement Charles Wittenberg died in 1919. Louis Keller, with nowhere to turn, and with no ability to operate the railroad himself, brought Roger A. Clark and his son George into the company in 1919. Through Roger Clark's ability to attract business on the line the line's financial situation began to turn around.

In 1921, Louis Keller died. The executors of his estate appointed Roger Clark president. His first move was to discontinue passenger service. Since 1918 there were two passenger trains a day that consisted of one passenger coach and locomotive No. 5 which primarily were to cater to Keller's golfing pals, which the Clarks called the "blue chip fellows." Next Clark upgraded the increasingly deteriorating Rahway Valley Railroad locomotive fleet. Nos. 9 & 10 were put out to pasture as unneeded and were eventually scrapped. In 1927 No. 12 was purchased, but deemed to large and retired in 1929. It wasn't until 1929 that Nos. 13 & 14 were purchased that the RVRR completely phased out the older locomotives.

Roger Clark died in 1932 and the Keller estate put his son George A. Clark in the helm of president. Under George Clark the Rahway Valley Railroad made its actual first net profit in many years in 1934. Clark also continued to attract new businesses to locate on the line. An increase in larger industry along the railroad also occurred. But by the early 1950s with the increase of improved highways, trucks began chipping away at the Rahway Valley's business market.

Clark forced himself to dieselize the railroad in 1951 with the purchase of 70-ton locomotive No. 16 from General Electric. For a few years the Rahway Valley interchangeably used steam (#13 & 15) and diesel (#16) power until a second diesel locomotive (#17) was purchased in 1954. No.13 was scrapped and No.15 was put into storage in Kenilworth until it was sold to Steamtown in 1959.

George A. Clark died in his office in the old Kenilworth Station in 1969. His son Robert G. Clark was created president. By the time George Clark died a significant decrease in the traffic on the Rahway Valley Railroad could be seen. With smaller profits came deferred track maintenance and weeds could be seen growing along the line. In the early 1970s came the closing of the line in Maplewood. Bob Clark attempted to attract new business to the line, and was temporarily successful, but his base was still being taken out from under him. He unexpectedly died in 1975.

The Keller estate, still owners of the railroad, appointed experienced railroader Benard Cahill to the presidency. Cahill was able to bring new life to the railroad. He secured grants from the state to update trackage and secured new office space in a former Lehigh Valley passenger coach that he purchased and parked on a siding in Kenilworth, the previous offices in the old Kenilworth Station burned in 1974.

In 1980 passenger trains were again run over the Rahway Valley Railroad, albeit for a week, for the occasion of the U.S. Open being held at the Baltusrol Golf Club. Trains were run between Kenilworth and Baltustol in a push-pull formation by Nos. 16 & 17. The train, sponsored by the Union County Trust Company, used passenger coaches rented from the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad in New York.

Despite improvements and revitalization, the formation of Conrail in 1976 put the Rahway Valley Railroad in an awkward situation. Previously having three independent railroads connecting to it, the RVRR now had one railroad connecting to it in three separate places. With Conrail the last train ran to Summit in 1976. No longer using the Summit connection, the RVRR increasingly used the former Lehigh Valley connection and less and less used the former CNJ connection at Aldene. But despite these new predicaments the RVRR under Cahill kept trudging along, increasingly relying on its largest customer, Monsanto Corp. in Kenilworth, as slowly more smaller customers switched to trucks.

Delaware Otsego Corporation 1986–1992

In 1986, the Rahway Valley Railroad was unable to purchase liability insurance. The line was in turn sold to the Delaware Otsego Corporation (DO), which operates the New York, Sushquehanna, and Western. Nos. 16 & 17 were removed from the line in 1989, and put into service in Binghamton, NY. The replacement No. 120 of the NYS&W, an EMD SW9 built by EMD.

The DO did little to revitalize the line. The DO deferred track maintenance and customers became disenchanted with the lines new management and turned to trucks. The DO, also operators of the former Staten Island Rapid Transit Line from Cranford to Linden, began using the Aldene connection which had received less maintenance in years past, so derailments were frequent. In 1988, the now-unused former Lehigh Valley connection was removed. Monsanto Corp. closed and Jaeger Lumber discontinued service in 1991. With virtually no business left to serve the Delaware Otsego Corp. closed the Rahway Valley Railroad along with the Staten Island Rapid Transit line in April 1992, the RVRR having only one customer left.

Current status

Rahway Valley Railroad tracks along North Michigan Avenue in Kenilworth.

The Morristown and Erie Railway (M&E) was contracted by the state of New Jersey in 2001 to refurbish and operate the southern portion of the former Rahway Valley Railroad. M&E operations on the southern portion of the former Rahway Valley Railroad commenced in July 2005 and connect to the newly restored Staten Island Railway on Staten Island, New York, and the national rail network via an interchange with Conrail Shared Assets in Cranford.

As of 2010, the funding for the Rahway Valley rebuild by NJDOT are not enough to keep rebuilding. Now most of the line from Roselle Park-Union/Springfield border is cleared of trees and thick brush. New track has been inserted from the Union/Springfield border to the Union Wye (behind Rahway Avenue). All the sidings to the railway's potential future customers were left unconnected to the main line. Also track has been inserted in some parts of Kenilworth. As for the sections past the Union/Springfield border nothing has been done yet through the towns of Springfield or Summit.

As of May 15, 2012, M&E removed all its assets from the railbeds since they did not exercise their option to extent the operating agreement with Union County.

Rahway Valley locomotive roster

#	Model	Built	Builder	Acquired	Disposition	Notes
1	4-4-0			7/1899	1902, scrapped	Ex-Northern Central Railway #322. Named "New Orange."
2	4-4-0	12/1880	Baldwin Locomotive Works #5394	1900	1903	Ex-Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad #80.
3	4-4-0			1901	3/24/1906, wrecked	Ex-Pennsylvania Railroad, class D3 (?). Wrecked in Springfield by runaway coal hopper. Scrapped.
4	2-6-0	1869	Dickson Manufacturing Co.	1904	1913	Ex-DL&W Morris & Essex Division #220, Exx-DL&W Morris & Essex Division #92, Exxx-Utica, Chenango & Susquehanna Valley Railroad (DL&W - Utica Division) #15, Exxxx-Lackawanna & Bloomsburg Railroad #23 (named "William E. Dodge"). Acquired from Fitzhugh-Luther Co. Retired 1910/1. Scrapped.
5	0-6-0T	8/1882	Baldwin Locomotive Works #6305	4/1906	12/1915	Ex-Central Railroad of New Jersey #710, Exx-Central Railroad of New Jersey #23. Retired 6/2/1913. Sold for scrap to M.D. Adelson.
6	0-4-4T	2/1889	Baldwin Locomotive Works #9827	12/4/1906	5/1912	Ex-Silver Lake Railway #3, Exx-Manhattan Railway #348, Exxx-Suburban Rapid Transit #13. Purchased from Southern Iron & Equipment Co. Sold to Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. To Philadelphia, Bethlehem & New England Railroad. Scrapped.
7	2-4-4	6/1908	Baldwin Locomotive Works #32817	6/20/1908	1917	Purchased new. Sold to General Equipment Co. To US Army for use at Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, NY. Scrapped.
8	2-8-0	3/1900	Pittsburgh Locomotive Works #2070	2/1916	4/1929	Ex-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad #9319, Exx-Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad #140. Purchased by Louis Keller and leased to railroad. Sold to General Equipment Co. Scrapped.
9	0-6-0	11/1893	Altoona Machine Shops (PRR) #506	12/1917	10/1922	Ex-Pennsylvania Railroad #506, Class B-4. Retired 1920. Traded to General Equipment Co., along with #10, for #11. Sold to Jefferson Construction Co., #11. Sold to Seaboard Air Line, #124. Scrapped May 1930.
10	0-6-0	6/1895	Altoona Machine Shops (PRR)	2/1918	10/1922	Ex-Pennsylvania Railroad #396, Class B-4a. Retired 1922. Traded to General Equipment Co., along with #9, for No. 11. Sold to Jefferson Construction Co., #10. Sold to Seaboard Air Line, #123. Scrapped May 1930.
11	2-6-0	3/1904	Baldwin Locomotive Works #23934	10/1922	1/1935	Ex-Grafton & Upton Railroad #5. Acquired from General Equipment Co. in trade for Nos. 9 and 10. Retired 1933. Scrapped.
12	2-8-0	8/1902	Pittsburgh Locomotive Works (ALCo) #25640	9/1927	2/1943	Ex-Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad #96, Class C1B. Retired 9/1928. Scrapped.
13	2-8-0	9/1905	Baldwin Locomotive Works #26355	5/18/1928	4/18/1955	Ex-Lehigh & New England Railroad #19, Class E-7. Last used 2/26/1951. Scrapped.
14	2-8-0	9/1905	Baldwin Locomotive Works #26356	8/22/1928	12/15/1951	Ex-Lehigh & New England Railroad #20, Class E-7. Retired 5/31/1950. Scrapped.
15	2-8-0	6/1916	Baldwin Locomotive Works #43529	7/28/1937	6/5/1959	Ex-Oneida & Western Railroad #20. Retired 11/28/1953. Sold to F. Nelson Blount. Now on display at the Steamtown National Historic Site.
16	70-ton	1/1951	General Electric #30838	1/29/1951	12/22/1986	Purchased new. Sold to Delaware Otsego Corporation. Donated in 1995 to United Railroad Historical Society of NJ. Donated in 2017 to Tri-State Railway Historical Society.
17	70-ton	1/1951	General Electric #32130	2/2/1954	12/22/1986	Purchased new. Sold to Delaware Otsego Corporation. Donated in 1995 to United Railroad Historical Society of NJ. Donated in 2017 to Tri-State Railway Historical Society.

Proposed rail trails

Union County Park Line rail trail - Two abandoned railroads exist in the county.[1] The status of the abandoned railroad between Summit and Cranford is uncertain. The City of Summit and the Summit Park Line Foundation are working on turning the portion of the abandoned railroad from Morris Avenue to Briant Park in Summit into a rail trail[2] that will be approximately one mile long. This rail trail, potentially called the Summit Park Line[3] would provide a greenway to connect several county parks, akin to a Summit High Line. It would create a path directly from Summit to the Arthur Kill in Linden, New Jersey by utilizing the Rahway Valley Railroad and the Staten Island Rapid Transit line. The Summit council applied for a $1 million grant toward the Park Line project in November 2016.[4] “If Summit is able to complete the project, it might help other parts of the greenway come through,” said Union County Public Relations Coordinator, Sebastian Delia.[5] The Rahway Valley Railroad runs from Summit to Roselle Park. Beginning in Hidden Valley Park, the railroad right-of-way continues by connecting Houdaille Quarry, Briant Park, Meisel Park, Rahway River Parkway, Galloping Hill Golf Course and Black Brook Park. The ending of the railway is on Westfield Avenue in Roselle Park. The Staten Island Rapid Transit runs from Cranford to Staten Island, although the project would only include the section that runs from Cranford to Linden, New Jersey.[5] The possible beginning in Cranford would be a lot adjacent to the railroad right-of-way on South Avenue East. The lot is currently owned by Lehigh Acquisition. The ending of this trail would be in Linden along another empty lot. A boardwalk could be placed over the existing tracks due to the possibility of the line being reactivated.

Accidents on the NY&NO and the RVRR

September 1, 1899 — at 1:10 p.m., a Mr. Theo Harrison of Newark, New Jersey, was driving his horse-drawn wagon on Westfield Avenue when he tried to outrun the oncoming NY&NO locomotive No. 1. Mr. Harrison was thrown from the wagon[6] and sustained a minor flesh wound on the right leg from a broken crosstie. He was later reported to be partially paralyzed.
May 11, 1904 — William H. Harding, a conductor on the New Orange Junction Four Railroad (NY&NO), was fatally injured while coupling cars[7] and died May 13. The accident was a result of carelessness on the part of Mr. Harding.
March 24, 1906 — James Gray, an engineer on the Rahway Valley Railroad, lost a foot when locomotive No. 3 was struck by a coal hopper that had broken loose and ran downhill. The locomotive was scrapped after the accident.[8]

External links

References

Abandoned right-of-ways Union County (Map).
Barbara Rybolt (January 16, 2015). "Summit's own Highline would be 'crown jewel' in city's trail system". Independent Press.
"Summit Park Line Foundation".
Bob Faszczewski (November 3, 2016). "Summit Council Applies for $1 Million Grant Toward Park Line Project; Parking 'Holidays' for Thanksgiving Weekend, December Approved". TAP into Summit.
Jennifer Rubino (24 May 2016). "Rails to trails for train tracks through Summit". Union News Daily.
"Accident". Railroad and Canal Reports: 248. 1901.
"New Orange & Its Railroad". Rahway Valley Railroad.
"Keller's "Baltusrol & Pacific"". Rahway Valley Railroad.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Abandoned right-of-ways Union County (Map).

[2] Barbara Rybolt (January 16, 2015). "Summit's own Highline would be 'crown jewel' in city's trail system". Independent Press.

[3] "Summit Park Line Foundation".

[4] Bob Faszczewski (November 3, 2016). "Summit Council Applies for $1 Million Grant Toward Park Line Project; Parking 'Holidays' for Thanksgiving Weekend, December Approved". TAP into Summit.

[unionnews2016-5] Jennifer Rubino (24 May 2016). "Rails to trails for train tracks through Summit". Union News Daily.

[6] "Accident". Railroad and Canal Reports: 248. 1901.

[7] "New Orange & Its Railroad". Rahway Valley Railroad.

[8] "Keller's "Baltusrol & Pacific"". Rahway Valley Railroad.