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Unionbury (RVL MP 0.78) was a
station along the route of the Rahway Valley Line in Union
Township. This area was located between the railroad
embankment and International Paint, on Morris Avenue.
The name itself, "Unionbury," does not seem
historical to the area. The name was more than likely coined
by the railroad itself. Unionbury was chosen to avoid
confusion with a station the railroad had already named Union
(earlier Doty's).
Although the line was completed to Maplewood in
1918, the earliest mentions of a station here are not until a
passenger schedule which took effect in April of 1921. The
Rahway Valley Line was completed at the tail-end of the era of
Rahway Valley Railroad passenger service, which ended in the
early 1920's. It is unclear whether Unionbury was ever a stop
for passengers travelling on the Rahway Valley Railroad. The
possibility is entirely plausible, as this location would have
been a good connecting point for trolleys of the Morris County
Traction Company, which travelled along Morris Avenue, on
their way to Elizabeth.
In the RV's April 1921 passenger schedule labor
trains are mentioned as running on the Rahway Valley Line,
perhaps to serve the many industries along the line. Perhaps
they used the rail-buses for this? The schedule does not make
mention of any scheduled stops at Unionbury, nor does any
schedule that has come to
light.
There were two railroad owned buildings here, the
freight agency station and a freight house
(measured 10' x 12' in a 1922 tax assessment). The agency
station was a small concrete block building, painted yellow
with a mansard roof. The freight house, which transferred
freight on the team track here, was reportedly destroyed by
fire.
The freight agent posted here handled all
paperwork for freight cars bound for customers on the Union
portion of the Rahway Valley Line. The workload for the
Unionbury freight agent increased when the Newark Heights
agency station in Maplewood was closed and consolidated with
Unionbury.
For many, many years the
Unionbury freight agent was pipe-smoking Thomas E.
Miller. Mabel Miller, Tom's
daughter, even assisted him here at different times. But as
the years wore on and the 1960's arrived, the job of the Tom
Miller steadily dwindled. Anthracite coal had been the bread
and butter of the Rahway Valley Line, which was Tom's
territory. The switch to oil and natural gas as home heating
fuel spelled the end for the coal yards along the branch to
Maplewood. The Unionbury Freight Agency had out-lived its
usefulness and was doomed to be closed. The management of the
Rahway Valley Railroad, namely Bob Clark, however kept the
agency open for the time being. The reason? To let Tom Miller
finish out his time so he could collect his pension. Tom did
eventually retire and the little yellow agency station, and
Unionbury, were closed forever.
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