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"New Jersey's Streak 'o
Rust"
The Route of the Rahway Valley
Railroad |
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| #13 departs the LV
interchange and rounds the curve before crossing Webster Ave.
in Roselle Park. The scene is typical of RV ROW of the time
period. The tracks are ballasted with cinders.
Photo taken by Charles Roselius, collection of
Don
Oberding. | |
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Here we are attempting to chronicle the Rahway
Valley Railroad mile by mile, rail by rail, and tie by tie.
In the first section the railroad is broken up into the six towns it
served, Summit, Springfield, Union, Kenilworth, Roselle Park, and
Maplewood as well as informative pages regarding the three major
branch lines the railroad had, the Rahway Valley Line, the Rahway
River Branch, and the Lehigh Valley Branch. All the railroad owned
structures (engine sheds, stations, etc.), grade crossings,
junctions, interchanges, and bridges are cataloged and chronicled.
All locations are given a corresponding milepost to the nearest 0.01
mile (margin of error +/- 0.01 mile).
The second section breaks the railroad up into customer and
industry lists which the railroad served throughout its
history.
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The Rahway Valley
Railroad:
Rail by Rail, Tie by
Tie |
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Roadbed and Track: The roadbed generally is
in good condition. Practically all of the line is ballasted with
engine cinders. There are some drainage ditches that should be
cleaned out, particularly in cuts, but drainage could be considered
generally good. The track was laid with second hand 70 pound rail in
1918 and 1919 with the exception of about five miles laid with new
70 pound rail in 1906. Rail is in fair condition and no renewals
will be required for some time, except a small amount for broken
rails and curve wear. Ties are all oak and pine, 90% of them
treated, laid approximately 2,640 to the mile. Both cross and switch
ties are in very good condition. The operating condition of the
track generally is uniformly good. (From the August, 1944 report
on the Rahway Valley Railroad by Wm. Wyer &
Co.). |
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Maps of the Rahway Valley
Railroad
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In the course ninety five years that the
Rahway Valley
Railroad , along with its New Orange predecessors,
existed the track plans and arrangements were constantly changing.
As the years went by industrial concerns came and went from the
railroad and the needs of existing plants changed. In tune with
these changes, the railroad often moved, shortened, added, or
sometimes completely removed sidings and spurs as the years went by.
This section is an attempt to chronicle all of the track
arrangements on the Rahway Valley Railroad over the course of
1897 to
1992.
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Map of
the Rahway Valley Railroad that was drawn up for the Lehigh
Valley Railroad when they pondered purchasing the RV in the
1920's. Courtesy of the Steamtown National
Historic
Site
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Map of the
Rahway Valley Railroad from John J. McCoy's
Rahway Valley Railroad: Saga of a
Shortline
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.jpg) |
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Drawn by Thomas T.
Taber, III |
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#1 -
SUMMIT |
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A -
Lackawanna Interchange
B - Summit Station
C - Ashwood Avenue
D - Russell Place
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#2 -
SPRINGFIELD |
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A
- Orchard Street
B -
Horseshoe
C -
Baltusrol
D - Springfield Station
E - Meisel Avenue
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#3 -
UNION |
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A - Liberty Avenue
B -
Katemiller
C - Branch Junction
D -
Unionbury
E -
Morris Avenue
F -
Vauxhall Road
G -
Hollywood
H -
Stanley Terrace
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#4 -
KENILWORTH |
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A - Route 22
B -
Tin Kettle Hill
C -
Kenilworth
D -
Boulevard
E -
Parkway
F -
Colfax Avenue
G -
Rahway River Branch
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#5 - ROSELLE
PARK |
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A - Westfield Avenue
B - Roselle Park
C -
Aldene
D -
Cranford Junction
E - Staten
Island Junction
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#6 -
MAPLEWOOD |
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A - Rutgers Street
B -
Newark Heights
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Customers of the Rahway
Valley Railroad |
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is what made the Rahway Valley Railroad tick, its customers,
and even serve a purpose for that matter. During its lifetime
the Rahway Valley served scores of different customers and
shipped wide varieties of products and materials.
While many short lines are
built to serve one single industry, the Rahway Valley served a wide
variety of diverse customers, from coal yards to pharmaceutical companies,
and everything in between. George A.
Clark, the railroad's long time
president, was quoted as saying the key to his railroad's success was
"Instead of a few big fellows we have dozens of little ones. In slow times
the big ones shut down and everything stops. If you have little fellows
some of them are sure to keep on" ("New
Jersey's Streak 'o Rust " TRAINS
Magazine, by John T. Cunningham, October 1950)
Compiled here is a
listing of the many
customers that the railroad served throughout its many years,
although not complete, it is an attempt at a "Master List " of Rahway
Valley customers and is ever growing.. | |
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