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Abandoned | Kenilworth Yards

Kenilworth Yards

Left: No! I was not here tanning. This is pure history! Where my pickup is parked was once where the RVRR Office Staff once parked their own cars and then made their way into the Kenilworth Station for a day's work. My truck is located approximately where Bob Clark's white car is located in this photograph. Right: Standing where countless photographers did before, the view is now of the rear of a strip mall and not of a railroad station. Compare to this photo. 6/18/2013. Photos taken by Richard J. King

The heart of the Rahway Valley Railroad was its yards, shops, and offices (Kenilworth Yards) located at the corner of N. 31st Street and Boulevard in Kenilworth. Today this area, from an RVRR perspective, is completely unrecognizeable. The Kenilworth Station was razed in 1979 and all of the remaining structures were removed not long after the railroad's closing in 1992. This area remained vacant for a period, but today a strip mall has been constructed at this location.  

This aerial view shows where the RVRR's Kenilworth Yards were once located. The arrow points to the strip mall which now occupies the site of the Kenilworth Station and the Engine Sheds. The red line denotes the RVRR mainline. Google Maps.

In this spot, now occupied by rotting railroad ties, once sat the RVRR's ex-Lehigh Valley "Black Diamond," which the RVRR refitted as their offices c.1975. Compare to this photo. 6/18/2013. Photo taken by Richard J. King The sounds and smells of coal smoke, hissing cylinders, and sqealing brakes once eminated from this spot. Compare to this photo. 6/18/2013. Photo taken by Richard J. King.
Now occupied by ornamental trees is the RVRR mainline. Hard to believe this is the same location that this photograph, as well as this one , were taken so many years ago. 6/18/2013. Photo taken by Richard J. King. In this location once sat locomotives, awaiting service, or the call to duty. Compare to this photo. 6/18/2013. Photo taken by Richard J. King.

Perhaps the most unbelievable of all the photos on this page is this one. Standing on the main track, I stand where Mr. C. A. Schrade did on August 19, 1937. 6/18/2013. Photo taken by Richard J. King.
Here we see reminders of the attempted reactivation of the Rahway Valley Railroad, 2001-2007. The Morristown & Erie Railway removed countless ties and rails from this general area, stacking them here, to make way for new rails. These old RVRR relics unfortunately never did have a successor, and its unclear whether they ever will, the track bed on this stretch is today mostly barren. Photos taken by Richard J. King.

Beyond rotting ties and rusting rails, the only other vestige of the Rahway Valley Railroad is this lone concrete footing, once one of four, that once supported the RVRR's Water Tower. The view on the right shows where the tower would have stood, all those years ago. Compare to this view. 6/18/2013. Photos taken by Richard J. King.

Head Back to the Station!