| The
Baltusrol Station (MP 5.00) often
characterized as the
Rahway Valley Railroad's picturesque “Golfer’s Station” was built for just
that purpose, to serve the nearby Baltusrol Golf
Club.
Louis
Keller
, chief promoter and financier of the
Rahway Valley Railroad, had the railroad built to serve his
Baltusrol Golf Club and therefore when the railroad was
constructed through the area in 1905 Keller had the Baltusrol
Station constructed. The depot was located roughly five
hundred yards from the main entrance of the club. During the
passenger service era many of Keller’s wealthy socialite
friends would detrain here and then either take a stage or
make the short walk along Baltusrol Way to the golf club.
After all passenger
service was suspended over the rails of the Rahway Valley Railroad the
Baltusrol Station was left without a purpose as far as being a passenger
depot. There was too little freight generated here to warrant a full time
freight agent to be posted here and what little freight there was could be
handled at the nearby Springfield
Station .
Being less than two
decades old at the end of passenger service the Baltusrol Station was in
good condition and well maintained. Roger A. Clark , President and
General Manager of the railroad at the time, most likely thought it silly
to let a good building to sit abandoned and unused. So in turn the
railroad decided to lease out the station. By leasing out the station it
provided the railroad with some extra change in its pocket while also
giving the building a new lease on life. Over the years the station saw
several tenants including the United States Postal Service who used the
building as the “Baltusrol Post Office” and later on Andrew Wilson, a DDT
wholesaler, leased space here.
During the
height of the “freight hauling” days the Baltusrol Station was the
site of interesting operations on the railroad. The depot was
located at the foot of the horseshoe curve that ascended the
Watchung Mountains. By being at the base of the horseshoe, crews
would often cut long trains in half here and bring the first cut of
cars up the mountain then “double-back” down the hill to retrieve
the rest of the train. This was called “doubling the hill,” a very
time consuming process. See the Grade up the
Watchung Mountains
.
Unfortunately
the “Golfer’s Station” is no longer in existence today. The rumor that
the station was demolished to make way for the construction of Interstate
78, is false. The building lay far enough to the southwest of the
highway construction for it to escape being removed. However the Baltusrol
Station suffered a far worse fate, the depot was the victim of a major fire
that ravaged the entire building. The remains of building were subsequently
removed. | 
