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| In the baggage compartment, O.
Winston Link tends to the fire in the coach's
stove. | |
In the late teens, as passenger service
was coming to an end, an occasional “mixed” train was run. The Rahway
Valley operation crew would tack on the old combine to the westbound
freight to provide a minimal passenger accommodation. This was apparently
run for a few years before giving up the moves to the rail cars. Finally
even this basic service fell to the
wayside.
But, in the
mid-sixties the Rahway Valley Railroad revived mixed train moves . . .
well, kind of.
O.
Winston Link, the noted railfan, had an old 1898 wooden combine that
he acquired around 1960. This was a short, 62 foot, truss rod car
that had at one time worked for the Rutland Railroad in Vermont.
Link had made arrangements to use a spur next to the Kenilworth
enginehouse to restore his tired old car. The car arrived on the CNJ
and was picked up at Aldene along with the interchange freight. The
combine was spotted on the siding and Link began the restoration
work. The yellow car, under a light green tarp, was a familiar sight
to those passing on the Boulevard who
cared to look and keep an eye on things.
An
electric extension cord ran through a window into the shop. By the
way, this was a sore spot with George Clark, as to “who was paying
the electric bill.” But unknown to outsiders, who thought that
little was being done, and that the car only sat, the crews on the
RV freights were asked on two occasions to move the car, and take it
to Union where it could be run around the wye and put back on the
spur. This exposed the other side so that Link had room away from
the enginehouse wall to work, yet still be close enough to keep his
extension cord hooked up. At some later point at least one more run
up across Route 22 to the wye was made.
When the car was finished (and admittedly a
beautiful job), Link had the RV tow the car to the DL&W
interchange in Summit. It was to be moved to Morristown and the
Morristown & Erie Railroad.
The M&E moved it to Whippany, although a frequent visitor to the
M&E, I vaguely recall seeing it there wrapped in
tarps.
So, at least
five train movements towing a vintage 32 ton wooden combine took place on
the Rahway Valley.
After
resting in Whippany, NJ for a while, the 32 seat combine was on the
road again. She made her way to Croghan, New York and into the
collection of the Railway Historical Society of Northern New York.
The combine is reported to need work and repair if it will ever run
again.
At least two more passenger cars,
a wooden and a stainless steel observation, were worked on in
Kenilworth. Later on it was a haven to E-8 diesels, in for
restoration. |
