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The
story of our little Rahway Valley Railroad traces
its earliest beginnings to the bustling little city of Elmira, in
upstate New York, in the early 1890s. On a warm summer’s day in 1892
a man, with big ambitions and a grand plan, set foot in the fair
little city of Elmira. The man’s name was Charles W. Manahan,
Jr.
A
hardware salesman by profession, Manahan was a native of the town of
Norwalk, Ohio. This Midwestern hardware salesman came east to New
York that day with grandiose schemes brewing in his
head.
Manahan’s plan would give birth to a northern
suburb. Manahan had conceived the idea of purchasing farm land in
the northern reaches of the City of Elmira and turn it into a
bustling little manufacturing village. Manahan, a persuasive man,
was able to attract investors in the likeness of Elmira’s wealthy
elite, namely such men as the famous bridge builders Robert Grimes and
William S. McCord; the well-known Civil Engineer,
William W.
Cole; the wealthy grocers, brothers,
Ray and Charles M. Tompkins; the
banker, Matthias H.
Arnot; as well as other men of considerable wealth who
made their fortunes from their investments, Howard H.
Hallock, Platt V. Bryan, and
George W. Robinson
, among others.
With a
considerable amount of financial backing from Manahan’s investors,
the Elmira Industrial Association was then formed.
A great deal of land was acquired and within a few short years a
bustling village was well underway. As quoted from Manahan’s
obituary, “The Industrial Association accomplished the sale of
building lots through a system of drawing and in October the drawing
of these lots was held. The Industrial Association then sent out
inducements to manufactures to locate on the property. Free sites
and railroad facilities were offered and it was not long before
twenty factories had been erected and were in operation. Factories
required workmen and workmen needed homes and the buildings began to
appear rapidly and soon the village was growing rapidly. Streets
were marked out, stores were constructed, a railroad depot was
built, and then came the hotels” (“Man
Who Planned Elmira Heights
”).
The little town that Manahan and his associates had
begun was thriving, so much so that the bustling manufacturing
village was formally incorporated as Elmira Heights on May 1, 1896.
Realizing the success of their endeavor in Elmira, the
men backing the Industrial Association inquired of Manahan if
another, similar, project was feasible. Manahan was keen to the idea
of beginning another manufacturing town, as well as the idea of
continued financial success. The associates proposed looking
southward for their next project. The farmlands and meadows of New
Jersey looked enticing, being within seeing distance of the skyline
of Gotham itself. Indeed, a town located within a short train ride
of the “Big Apple,” New York City, seemed rather foolproof. Manahan
concurred and soon he, accompanied by his wife Julia (nee Russell),
moved south to East Orange, NJ.
Soon
after his relocation to New Jersey, Manahan began his search for the
ideal location for this new manufacturing village. Manahan sought a
location that was flat, near a good source of water, free of malaria
and mosquitoes, within several miles of New York City, and near a
railroad. Manahan’s search turned up a location that seemed to meet
all of the aforementioned criteria. This location was in the
southwestern part of Union Township, NJ, just west of the City of
Elizabeth. This proposed location for the new village was sparsely
settled and mostly comprised of third and fourth generation
family-owned farms. This area was also near a railhead, the Central
Railroad of New Jersey’s mainline lay just a stone’s throw to the
south, and had a good running source of water in the form of the
Rahway River.
The decision was made and the project that would give
birth to the village of “New Orange” was soon underway. The name
stemmed from New Jersey’s well-known Oranges (Orange, South Orange,
West Orange, and East Orange) which by association would attract
buyers, it was believed (Manahan lived in East Orange). With capital
set at $500,000.00, the associates formed the New Orange
Industrial Association
(NOIA) in 1894. Most, if not all, of
the earlier associates in the Elmira Heights project reprised their
roles at chief investors.
Rather
quickly some 3-1/2 square miles of land, comprising of some thirty
farms, were acquired by the association for immediate development.
Preliminary ideas and plans for the development of this land were
soon drafted. What the associates planned to include in their new
village were anything but modest. The plans soon began to take on
the aura of a city, rather than a village.
The
NOIA hired the likeness of J. Wallace Higgins, the
young Civil Engineer, of nearby Roselle, NJ to draw up a “master
plan” for the proposed town of New Orange. Higgins, a 23-year old
recent Rutgers University graduate, drew up a grandiose plan.
Higgins’ plan included such things as wide thoroughfares, a large
man-made lake called “Lake Wewanna” complete with its own Yacht
Club, an Opera House, a grand City Hall, lots for hundreds of homes,
several proposed factory sites, an enormous City Hall, an Electric
trolley line, and a railroad which Higgins titled the “Belt Line
Railroad” complete with its own grand Central Station. One of the
financiers of the project referred to Higgins’ plan as “one of the
most substantial he had ever examined.”
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 |
| These two maps show what the
proposed Town of New Orange was to look like. The map on
the left is the original plan while the one of the right
is a later modified version. Both were drawn up by J.
Wallace Higgins. Collection of Rutgers
University. | |
The
associates, not having raised the $500,000 startup capital among
themselves, began to raise money for their project through the
selling of stocks and bonds in their association. An excerpt from an
Elmira, NY newspaper reveals how the associated enticed people to
invest in the project, “The mechanic or laboring man, who may wish
to invest his money in this association can do so and receive the
same privileges and benefits as do the largest investors . . . The
extraordinary advantages offered in the investments make them of
double values to the purchaser, and the sales are unusually heavy as
a consequence. One of the best holiday gifts that could be made
would be a block of shares in the new association. Make the most of
the present opportunity as the stocks are going rapidly” (“Third
Week Opens Brightly”). One of the major investors in the project was
Matthias H. Arnot, president of the Chemung Canal Bank of Elmira,
NY. Arnot subscribed to $100,000 worth of five year bonds in the
NOIA. This purchase was used as publicity to entice additional
purchasers, “. . . the solid business men recognize the value of the
investments . . . Many of the merchants and mechanics of this city
are investing their funds in the new association as it is absolutely
secure . . . Only a part payment is required upon the placing of the
subscription, the balance to be paid in installments. No safer
investment could be made . . . “(“Mr. Arnot’s
Purchase”).
By
1896 a great deal had been accomplished as is revealed in the
following excerpt, “A project to found a model city in New Jersey .
. . is now under way. For this purpose a tract of land about three
and one-half miles square has been secured . . . The place has been
named New Orange . . . More than one hundred acres have
been reserved for industrial purposes, the intention being to erect
model factories there. The remainder of the land will be devoted to
residence purposes. The New Orange Industrial Association . . . will
construct a belt railway passing by the doors of the factories and
connecting with the Central [Railroad] of New Jersey . . . the
Lehigh Valley, and the Lackawanna Railways” (“A Model
City”).
Indeed
by 1896 the project of the New Orange Industrial Association was
well underway, roads constructed, large quantities of homes being
built, and factories being erected. Among those early factories
built in New Orange were the “Big Four” and included the Circular
Loom Company, the Ricca Manufacturing Company, the New Orange
Decorative Leather Company, and the Charles E. Wright Company, as
well as other still being built. Factories which appeared shortly,
or not long, thereafter were the Palmer Leather Company and Monarch
Roofing Company.
With
homes being constructed and factories going into operation, the
amount of people, and production seemed to warrant the construction
of a railroad. The nearest railhead to New Orange was the Central
Railroad of New Jersey (“CNJ” or “Jersey Central”) at Aldene in
Roselle Park, some two miles distant. Transportation to Aldene from
New Orange at this time was being provided by horse drawn carts and
wagons. The amount of activity at New Orange called for something
more substantial.
With
all things in New Orange on the “up and up,” the associates of the
New Orange Industrial Association decided that it was time to bring
direct rail service to their growing manufacturing town. On May 6,
1897 articles of incorporation were filed for the New York & New Orange Railroad
Company (NY&NO) and subsequently a charter was granted
for the railroad on June 11th. “Articles of incorporation of the New
York and New Orange Railroad were today forwarded to the Secretary
of State at Trenton . . . The capital is $100,000 . . . The railroad
will run from Roselle, N.J. through the town of New Orange, forming
a new suburban belt line railroad and connecting five trunk lines,
the Jersey Central, Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and Reading,
Baltimore and Ohio, and Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western a dozen
miles to the westward of New York City and in the suburbs Jersey
City, Newark, and Elizabeth. Work will be commenced on the new
railroad next week, and it will be pushed forward to completion this
summer” (“New Suburban Belt
Line ”).
The
incorporators, and primary investors, of the newly formed New York
& New Orange Railroad comprised of investors in the NOIA as well
as some local men of note. Of the Elmira faction were Robert Grimes,
who was appointed President; William S. McCord, who was appointed
Treasurer; and Charles W. Manahan, Jr., who was appointed Secretary.
The remainder of the incorporators were local men, major landowner
Dennis Long, who was appointed Vice President; as well as lawyer
Nicholas C. J. English; Theodore C. English; and George B. Frost.
Capital was set at $100,000, the estimated cost to build the
railroad.
“These
gentlemen, [the Board of Directors], engaged . . . J. Wallace
Higgins to lay out the initial right-of-way . . . Roselle Park to
New Orange, temporary terminal of the line, with a spur line linking
the line with the Lehigh Valley Railroad . . . Surveys were started
in the heat of summer, 1897. Mr. Higgins was assisted by Anthony
Grippo, a local surveyor” (McCoy 2).
A mere
month after the railroad was chartered, work was already in full
swing on its construction which is evidenced in a news article that
appeared in an Elmira paper, “NEW ORANGE – A New Jersey Town That is
Booming Right Along . . . a large force of men and teams [are] at
work on the New York & New Orange railroad, which is being built
under the supervision of the well-known engineer, Frank H. Bailey,
of Elmira, N.Y., who has the entire charge of the construction. The
railroad will be completed as fast as money and men can do it . . .
New Orange is beyond the experimental period and is sure to be a
prosperous city and one of the loveliest of all the Oranges” (“New Orange: A New Jersey Town That Is Booming
Right Along”).
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| The
NY&NO leased this 4-4-0 American from the CNJ
between 1897 and 1899. CNJ #502 was earlier New Jersey
Southern Railroad #24. Collection of Jeff
Jargosch. | |
Construction
of the railroad continued throughout the summer of 1897, “Local drag
line crews were hired, timber cut, and as grade, ballast and rails
were laid, a [Jersey] Central engine and several flat cars were
leased to complete the line thru the poultry farms and orchards to
the end of track” (McCoy 2). The Jersey Central engine was a 4-4-0
American type locomotive that the NY&NO had started leasing that
summer of 1897. CNJ #502 was of 1871 vintage
and formerly with the New Jersey Southern Railroad as their #24 (Jargosch).
Work
on the railroad’s construction was halted during the winter months
of 1897-1898, but resumed after the spring thaw. Within Higgins’
original plan for the “Model City of New Orange” the railroad, as to
be constructed, was to have a grand central station, a large rail
yard of six tracks, and a large locomotive roundhouse of eleven
stalls. Although it looked great on paper limited funds, and perhaps
more rational thinking, prevented these grand plans for the railroad
from ever taking place.
The
original railroad as completed stretched between the Central Railroad of New
Jersey at Aldene to New Orange, with a short branch
line extending to a connection to the Lehigh Valley
Railroad (LV) in Roselle Park (the LV constructed a
short spur to connect with the NY&NO near present day Webster
Ave. in 1898). The New York & New Orange Railroad only measured
2.96 miles once completed in mid-1898.
.jpg) |
| The New Orange Station is seen here
in this 1902 view. It is said that the station housed
New Orange's first
telephone. | |
With plans
for their “Grand Central Station” on hold for the moment, a more
modest depot was constructed just north of the main road through New
Orange, called the “Boulevard,” across the street from the original
“Big Four.” What the new depot lacked in grandeur it made up for in
its quaint Victorian-style. The new depot, titled “Central Station”
on timetables, bore the name “New Orange” on its bay window. Other
stops for passenger trains along the new NY&NO included Aldene
along the CNJ, Roselle along the LV (later Roselle Park), as well as
Faitoute Ave. and Twentieth Street both in New Orange.
Up
until this time the NY&NO’s motive power consisted of a single
leased locomotive, CNJ #502. In July of 1898 management made the
decision to acquire their own locomotive. “The pride of the infant
pike arrived . . . at the Roselle Park yards in an eastbound
freight. Her long pilot, piston rods, and slide valves [were] all
crated in the tender. She was turned over to Duane Kimball, a
qualified engineer hired from the Jersey Central, and a few days
later, under steam, glided over the new 70 lbs. rails into New
Orange, amid much whistle blowing and cheering from the local
populace gathered along the right of way. The new depot was the
scene of great speech making” (McCoy 4). NY&NO #1 , appropriately named
“New Orange,” was a 4-4-0 American type formerly of the Northern
Central Railroad (a Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiary), numbered as
their #322 (Frye).
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| These two views show New York &
New Orange Railroad #1, named "New Orange," on the day
she arrived at Aldene on the CNJ. The unit was
ex-Northern Central RR #322 and in the photo on the
right '322' can be discerned on the number plate. The
locomotive arrived inoperable, parts being carried in
the tender, but was readied for service by Duane Kimball
who is seen in the cab. Left photo: Collection of John J.
McCoy, courtesy of Don Maxton. Right photo: Collection
of Thomas T. Taber,
III. | |
Although capital for the NY&NO was set at
$100,000, estimated costs for construction, but only $50,000 was
ever raised by the company. By the time the railroad was in full
operation a total of $88,000 had been spent on getting the initial
three miles of track in service, leaving the company in a pool of
debt. The main backers of the rail line, Grimes, Cole, McCord,
Manahan, and so on, probably disregarded this debt as only a
temporary condition. The NY&NO, as they saw it, was well on its
way to becoming a real money maker. They saw the NY&NO as an
integral part of their new town of New Orange.
John
J. McCoy recounts those very early months of the railroad, “The area
had few roads, mostly wagon trails, impassable during prolonged bad
weather. Students commuting to Upsala College in New Orange, city
dwellers from Jersey City, Bayonne, and Elizabeth crowded aboard the
[Jersey] Central excursion trains, changing at Aldene for the
NY&NO for the remainder of their trip to one of the many picnic
groves along the line” (McCoy 4).
The
lease of CNJ #502 was allowed to expire in 1899 and the CNJ not long
after had the locomotive scrapped (Jargosch). Luckily, the NY&NO
had acquired its second locomotive in July of 1899. NY&NO #2 was a 4-4-0 American type, of
1880 vintage, formerly of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and
Baltimore Railroad, numbered as their #80 (Frye).
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|
This drawing of New Orange Station
appeared in a scathing 1899 article about the condition
of the town of New Orange and the New Orange Industrial
Association | |
These happy
early days of the railroad, and for the town of New Orange, were not
to last. The associates painted a pretty picture of the railroad and
their town but behind the façade was a completely different story.
An article published in the New York Herald on August 12, 1899
revealed much about the status of the town, “Peculiar methods
employed to induce workingmen to invest in the new town of New
Orange, NJ . . . Town is sparsely settled . . . after 3,000 persons
have joined the scheme, and about one-half of the total amounts due
under their contracts have been paid, there will be a drawing, and
those who have given up their money will learn exactly what they are
to receive in return. They may find themselves owners of corners on
what are intended to be leading business thoroughfares . . . or they
may find that a portion of what is now a swamp is all that they can
claim . . . The projectors declare that there will be no blanks.
They tell customers that the poorest lots will be worth every cent
paid for them, while those who draw the prizes will be able to
realize many times the amounts they have invested . . . A large
portion of those who have paid their installments have never seen
New Orange and know nothing about it aside from what they have been
told by the agents who have induced them to part with their money.
They have, however, seen the fine maps of New Orange, showing many
wide avenues . . . public parks . . . a City Hall . . . and a long
lake. There are factory sites and hotel sites and facilities for
growth in every direction. It is already a wonderful town – on paper
. . . I finally reached New Orange . . . Washington Avenue, on which
the hotel fronts may someday hum with traffic. It is cut through for
a short distance, and runs to a post office, opposite a dismal
swamp, surrounded by high grass, from which mosquitoes . . . Here
and there are small frame houses, a few of them tenanted, but the
majority vacant and awaiting the influx of the crowd . . . The
building of the town has been slower than was anticipated by some”
(“Lottery Plan to Sell Town Lots”).
As for
the railroad, “The road is largely dependent upon the factories at
New Orange for its business. “On account of the industrial
depression during the year of 1899 the factories were not running,
consequently the light business done on the railroad” (Annual Statements of the Railroad and Canal
Companies, 1899). For the entire year of 1899, the NY&NO
only accrued an abysmal income of $562.98. Debts surmounted to over
$3,000 and the railroad was in financial ruin.
As if
almost in tune with the downward spiral, the NY&NO encountered
its first accident on September 1, 1899, “The train was backing down
to Aldene at the crossing of Westfield Avenue and struck a top wagon
containing Theo. S. Harrison of Newark, NJ, throwing him out of the
wagon. He sustained bruises and a laceration of the right leg, and a
contusion to the back of the head” (Annual Statements of the Railroad and Canal
Companies, 1899).
A
change in day-to-day management of the railroad occurred when C. A.
Millard, the NY&NO’s Superintendent, left the railroad in April
of 1900 to attend to business matters in the West. Horatio F. “Harry” Dankel, who had previously
been with the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Roselle, NJ, was
hired on and appointed to the Superintendent’s post (“Harry Dankel’s New Post”). Dankel would
remain with the railroad for many years to come.
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| This early view shows the Rahway
River Branch somewhere between N. 19th St. and N. 20th
St. looking
west. The house seen just up ahead still stands on
N. 18th St. The cows
belong to
Mr. David Stein, local milk dealer,
who allowed his cows to graze freely around the area.
New Orange, and later Kenilworth, remained
mostly rural until industrial development brought on by
World War
I. | |
Despite the
financial turmoil an extension of the railroad’s track was afforded
in the fall of 1900. Under the direction of the new Superintendent,
work began on the NY&NO’s “Rahway River Extension.” This spur
line was later officially known as the Rahway River Branch. “The
chief improvement of the week . . . is the completion of the New
York and New Orange Rahway River Extension through the heart of New
Orange to the Palmer Leather Works, near the banks of the Rahway
River . . . Superintendent Dankel . . . is entitled to a great deal
of credit for the manner in which he has pushed work on this
extension during these autumn days. The line, extending . . .
through the heart of the new city, presented some rather difficult
problems in railroading. Yet day after day for the past week the
tracks of the railroad have been pushed on through the cut which was
made where the old Higgins homestead was torn away, across the bend
at Monroe Street and on to Palmer Leather factory. The ties are all
down, the rails are in place, and just as soon as Mr. Dankel and his
gangs of men can complete a switch on the side of Monumental Hill,
thus allowing the removal of gravel for ballast, trains will be
running to the Palmer Leather Works. The gravel lies in such a
convenient position that ballasting will prove only the work of a
very few days and it is believed that next week will see the trains
running . . . This mile of extension . . . is of importance in more
ways than one. In the first place it opens up a new tract of land to
steam railway traffic and bring a large amount of property into
direct passenger communication with New York City as well as provide
excellent freight shipping facilities for the Northern section of
New Orange. In the second place it enables work to be finished on
the Palmer Leather factory without any delay. This completion of the
Rahway River Extension will give New Orange four railroad stations
and possibly five. There will be the station at the Palmer Leather
Works, the present station at Twenty-second street, the Central
Depot, near which are located the new Wright Machine Shops, the
Clothing Factory, and the Ricca Musical Instrument Factory on
Faitoute avenue. President Cole, of the railroad, has not yet
determined whether a station will be ordered at the curve at Monroe
Avenue or not. This and other important matters connected with the
train services will be taken up at a conference of officials at some
time in the near future. But with four railroad stations within the
limits of the town the people will certainly be well off for
transportation facilities” (“News of New
Orange”).
Surmounting debts, costs of the Rahway River
Extension, and possibly a settlement paid to Mr. Harrison, spelled
the end for the New York & New Orange Railroad by the end of
1900. Being unable to pay its taxes the railroad fell into
foreclosure on November 8, 1900, to be auctioned off at a Sheriff’s
sale at a later date.
Now
under foreclosure, things couldn’t possibly get any worse for the
little railroad but they did. On the night of December 3, 1900
thieves broke into the New Orange Station. “The terminal station of
the New York and New Orange Railroad at New Orange, NJ was entered
by thieves last night and robbed of $30 in small change, a large
number of railroad tickets, and several express packages. The
thieves forced open a window through which they entered the station.
There is no clue to their identity” (“A Railroad Station
Robbed”).
The
associates, realizing the dire straits their railroad was in,
quickly organized a new company called the "New Orange Four Junction Railroad
Company" (NOFJ) on February 4, 1901. The goal of the NOFJ
was to acquire the old company, the NY&NO, and extend it all the
way to Summit as called for in the original plans. The organizers of
the NOFJ included William W.
Cole, William S.
McCord, Charles W. Manahan,
Jr., Platt V.
Bryan, Albert M.
Bennett, Dennis Long,
and Nicholas C. J.
English . All except the latter two men were of the
Elmira faction that organized the New Orange Industrial
Association.
The
newly formed New Orange Four Junction Railroad acquired the New York
& New Orange Railroad at auction on February 16, 1901. The name
of the NY&NO quietly faded into history but as one paper put it,
"What immortalized the New York and New Orange road was a statement
made by an Elizabeth attorney that he could walk from Aldene to New
Orange quicker than the train could take him, because the engineer
stopped at every crossing to talk politics with the flagman" ("New
Jersey Has 3 Great Railroads").
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|
William W. Cole was instrumental in
the development of New Orange and later Kenilworth. Cole
also helped guide the fortunes of the New Orange
railroads. | |
William W. Cole
, the well-known Civil
Engineer of Elmira, NY who accrued his wealth by organizing various
Public Utilities and had also served as a division engineer on the
Toledo, St. Louis, and Kansas City Railroad, personally took charge
of the newly formed railroad and served as its President and General
Manager throughout its existence.
Cole
retained Harry Dankel
as the line's Superintendent. Cole, whose home was in Elmira, NY and
conducted business affairs in New York City, left much of the
day-to-day operations of the railroad to Dankel. Both remained
determined to extend the railroad to Summit and make a connection
with the Lackawanna there. The pair focused upon the goals and
aspirations of the new pike and the railroad became ever more
distanced from the New Orange Industrial
Association.
Even
after the industrial recession of 1899 concluded, things with the
New Orange Industrial Association continued to deteriorate. The
association found itself in several legal proceedings and also
suffered from the loss of several of its original founders.
President of the NOIA and former General Manager of the NY&NO,
Charles Millard Tompkins, died
on July 1, 1900 after a bout with appendicitis. The well-known
bridge builder, Robert Grimes
, who was a major investor in the association and a past
president of the NY&NO suffered a paralyzing stroke in December,
1898 and passed away on December 8, 1903. The most devastating blow
was the death of Charles W. Manahan,
Jr ., founder and General Manager of the New Orange
project, and secretary of the NY&NO and NOFJ. Manahan's health
had deteriorated in the last months of this life and he passed away
on November 14, 1901 at this home in East Orange,
NJ.
 |
|
Levi Naylor helped organize the
Kenilworth Realty Corp. in 1904, successor to the
NOIA. | |
Howard H.
Hallock , a major
investor in the association, as well as the railroad, took charge of
the New Orange project after Manahan's death in 1901. Hallock
attempted to circumnavigate the inner and outer turmoil of the New
Orange Industrial Association's financial situation for more than
three years. In 1904 the remaining investors, including Hallock,
brought Levi W. Naylor, a
native of England, into their midst. Together they reorganized the
project and reset their goals. The "Kenilworth Realty Corporation" was
formed to carefully manage the sale of the remainder of the old NOIA
land holdings. A set of more modest ambitions was set forth for the
new organization. Dreams of grand city halls and yacht clubs quickly
faded. Slowly but surely a town emerged from the village of New
Orange and the failed New Orange Industrial Association. Several
years later the Borough of Kenilworth was formed on June 18,
1907.
Meanwhile, the New Orange Four Junction
Railroad looked for more lucrative business prospects. Up until this
point the NOFJ, and its predecessor the NY&NO, relied upon the
few factories in New Orange for its main source of revenue. Other
revenues came from shuttling passengers, twelve times a day, from
New Orange to connections with the CNJ and LV at Aldene and Roselle
Park, respectively. These revenues were relatively negligible and
never outweighed expenses for the little railroad. Like its
NY&NO cousin, the NOFJ was in a financial rut. Cole and Dankel
both firmly believed that the railroad could become a success should
it complete an extension to Summit and connect to the
Lackawanna.
 |
| NOFJ
#3 is seen here with a lone combine, coming off the
Lehigh Valley at Roselle Park. Springfield Public
Library. | | Despite
its aspirations of expansion, the NOFJ remained small and
inconsequential through its existence, and a bit of a peculiarity in
the world of railroading. What the line lacked in length, it made up
for in folksy rural charm. The following story is told of the line's
conductor, "Bill Harding is among the loneliest conductors in the
land. He is the only man who separates people from their tickets on
the little New Orange and Four Junction Railroad, the smallest in
the State. Back and forth Bill goes between Aldene and New Orange
over the two and a half miles stretch of road until one would think
he would get suck looking at the same scenes and barn yard fowls
that salute him as he flits by. Bill is not an old man, but knows
his own road all right and all the people who ride with him, which
is something less than a million per diem" ("Gossip on the
Railroads"). Other employees of the railroad at the time included
names such as Halladay, Shallcross, Haines, and Bell. Unfortunately
the NOFJ’s beloved conductor, Bill Harding, died as the result of a
coupling accident that occurred on May 11, 1904.
What
the little NOFJ was afforded at this time was a new locomotive, well
new to the line. NOFJ #3 was purchased in 1901, an
ex-Pennsylvania Railroad unit of the 4-4-0 American wheel
arrangement. By April of 1903 the NOFJ had discarded the two
locomotives it inherited from the NY&NO, #1 and
2.
In
1902, an article appeared in the New York Times reporting the
following, "The Pennsylvania Railroad Company is interested in a new
line, the survey for which is being made, from Summit to New Orange.
The route is through Springfield and along the Baltusrol Golf
Grounds. The line, which will be known as the New Orange [Four]
Junction Railroad, will be extended later to give connection to the
New Jersey Central, Lehigh Valley, and Pennsylvania" (“New Orange
Junction Railroad”).
 |
| Joseph
Gow, foreman on the Tin Kettle Hill removal job, poses
along side a steam shovel used in the project. It took
three years to remove and transport the soil to the
marshes. Collection of
John J. McCoy, courtesy of Don Maxton. |
|
|
| A
Pennsylvania Railroad train rolls across an embankment
composed of soil from New Orange's Tin Kettle Hill.
Collection of John J.
McCoy, courtesy of Don
Maxton. | |
Just how much
interest the Pennsylvania
Railroad (PRR) had in the NOFJ is to be questioned. What is
known is that around this time the PRR was embarking on several rail
projects in the Garden State, some of which required great deals of
fill. In October, 1902 the PRR purchased Tin Kettle Hill in New
Orange for this very purpose. “The Pennsylvania Railroad Co. has
purchased Tin Kettle Hill at New Orange and will use the soil for
filling in the meadows between Newark and Jersey City” (“Tin Kettle
Hill Purchased”). The 186-foot tall Tin Kettle Hill, being along the
NOFJ, prompted the PRR to contract with the little New Orange pike
to carry out carloads of excavated soil for forwarding to the
Pennsylvania Railroad’s projects in Newark and Jersey City. McCoy
expounds on this time period, “A bold and expansive development by
one of the rail giants made a brief but tremendous impact on the
[NOFJ], as well as the surrounding countryside. The original main
line, New York to Philadelphia on the Pennsylvania Railroad ran thru
Newark to the terminus at Jersey City, on the banks of the Hudson,
where passengers and freight were transshipped via steam ferryboat .
. . to Manhattan. An enterprising railroader from Georgia, Mr. W.G.
McAdoo, constructed a tunnel beneath the [Hudson] river, from New
York to Jersey City, thru which he ran an electric railway, and on
across the South Kearny meadows, paralleling the [PRR] mainline to a
terminal in Newark, with passenger interchange with the [PRR], at a
point called Manhattan Transfer. This service reduced the arrival
time reduced the arrival time for the [PRR] trains from the west and
south by thirty minutes. Encouraged by Mr. McAdoo’s success, the
[PRR] built a tunnel under the mighty Hudson at the site of their
projected multi-million terminal at 33rd St. Manhattan. The approach
required the construction of a 4-mile electric rail line, elevated
well above the tidal marshland, connecting with the old main line at
Manhattan Transfer. For the enormous job of backfill, embanking and
grading, millions of cubic yards of fill dirt were required. Among
other sites, Tin Kettle Hill was purchased, the removal of which
brought intense activity to the little [NOFJ] Railroad. Wide eyed
locals watched as gigantic steam shovels . . . began ‘moving the
mountain.’ Long trains of earth filled gondolas moved out to the
connecting lines eastward to the ‘Kearny high line’” (McCoy 6).
 |
| The
big steam shovel is seen here loading a string of
gondolas. The locomotive seen here might have been a
contractor's engine as it does not appear to be similar
to any of the NOFJ's locomotives. Collection of John J. McCoy,
courtesy of Don
Maxton. | | The
job of moving Tin Kettle Hill, carload by carload, for the
Pennsylvania Railroad did get the cash flowing for the little New
Orange railroad. In 1904 the NOFJ reported a surplus on the books,
the first time in its history. For a time things looked upwards on
the little NOFJ. “Once more the little [New] Orange Four Junction
Railroad has been heard from. It is not heard from very often,
because it is so small and inconsequential that something out of the
ordinary has to happen before it gets into print . . . The Pennsy is
now using the magnificent sand banks of New Orange as a filler for
the unfilled portion of the Greenville yard, and the Lehigh Valley
Railroad is hauling it to a connection with the PRR, and it is
arriving by the train load every day” (“One of New Jersey’s Shortest
Railways”). Carloads of fill travelled over the NOFJ, and its
successor, for upwards of three years before the final carload was
carried off.
While
the NOFJ enjoyed the profits of hauling fill for the PRR, management
of the NOFJ continued to concentrate their efforts on an extension
to Summit to assure continued success. The aspirations of the little
NOFJ captured the attention of Louis Keller
who had founded the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, NJ in 1895.
The course itself was just a few miles to the northwest of New
Orange. Keller, since the club’s founding, desired it to have better
transportation options offered to its members. Many of the club’s
members included the rich and powerful of high
society.
With
their aspirations similar, Cole and Dankel began serious talks with
Keller about building a rail line from New Orange to Summit. It was
surmised that the financial situation of the NOFJ would inhibit it
from further expansion and ward off potential investors, a new
company would have to be formed to accomplish their
goal.
.jpg) |
| Blueprint showing the planned route
of the CCR. Not only did the CCR plan to connect New
Orange with Summit, a branch line was also planned to
extend through Millburn to Maplewood. Collection of Frank
Reilly. | |
September of
1902 witnessed the formation of the Cross-Country Railroad (CCR),
organized to construct a railroad from a connection with the
Lackawanna in Summit and down to the Baltusrol Golf Club, a distance
of 1.5 miles. While only this construction was outlined in the
incorporation papers, plans for the railroad included an extension
to New Orange as well as a branch line through Millburn to
Maplewood. Initial backing came from Keller, Cole, and Dankel as
well as some Elmira, NY capital. Ray Tompkins and Howard H. Hallock,
both tied in with the New Orange Industrial Association pledged to
subscribe 146 of the 250 issued shares.
With
these developments, newspapers touted that the New Orange Four
Junction Railroad was finally going to be extended from New Orange
to Summit, "The rumors which have been current for a long time that
the projected line of the [New Orange] Four Junction Railroad would
be built in the near future have been strengthened by the fact that
a representative of the road has been getting extensions of time on
the right of way, setting the limit at Jan. 1 next, and giving
assurance that work would be started this Fall. The course of the
road will be from New Orange . . . into Summit and terminating in a
station to be erected adjoining the Lackawanna railroad station. The
company now holds a clear right of way over the entire route, and
contracts for the work have been let. It plans to compete with the
Lackawanna between Summit and New York, and besides a promise of
better time, the new route is more direct" (“To Build New
Railway”).
For
more than a year the Cross-Country Railroad project sat idle, no
construction ever having been performed. In March of 1904 interest
in constructing the CCR was again ignited, “The Cross [Country]
Railway Company, which is believed by many to be the successor of
the New Orange Railway Company, which about a year ago purchased
considerable property through the eastern section of Summit for a
railway line and later abandoned the project, made application last
night to the Summit Common Council for trackage rights in several
Summit streets. The company proposes to connect Summit and Elizabeth
by a steam railroad. Louis Keller, organized of the Baltusrol Golf
Club, signed the application . . . should Summit grant the trackage
rights asked for the company would agree to begin the work of
construction of the line early during the coming Summer” (“Jersey Railway Project”).
For
unknown reasons the Cross-Country Railroad never came to fruition.
Perhaps Tompkins and Hallock, who had their money tied up in the New
Orange Industrial Association, backed out of the project. Keller,
Cole, and Dankel however remained determined in their efforts to
construct a railroad between New Orange and Summit. They regrouped,
gathered new investors, and on July 18, 1904 the Rahway Valley Railroad Company was
formed.
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|
NOFJ #3 is seen here pulling into
New Orange Station. Collection of John J. McCoy,
courtesy of Don
Maxton. | | |
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