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  • Carlton Hill Alignment

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Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New Jersey

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 #1079258  by JHZR2
 
Was it a lake or just meadows? My mother indicated that Memorial Field and the like was mostly meadows that got filled in.

Have to ask more about this to my grandparents. My family has been there at least since the turn of the 20th century.
 #1081907  by Rutherforidan
 
The term lake is really a misnomer. It was more like a large pond. It would have been located based on the information that I have between Erie Avenue in Rutherford and Herrick Street in East Rutherford, both of which are to the east of Jackson Avenue. As mentioned previously there was a "pond" in that location before the Carlton Hill Condominiums were built when I was growing up. Also the postcard images in the video appear to be facing west to me, as the "smokestack" was on the eastern side of Jackson Avenue.
I should also mention that after sending the same video to a cousin of mine, who grew up in Wallington and was born during the 1940s, she fondly recalled going with her parents for picnics to the "lake" and going there with her friends.
The area now occupied by Memorial Field was always land, it was originally part of Waling Van Winkle's Farm. His farm house was in the general vicinity.

One other thing that I has come to mind while thinking about this discussion; I believe Delselco (spelling?) Foods (a maker of prepackaged and deli salads) also used this line for freight shipping. I should have remembered this as if the wind blew in a certain way you could smell cooking potatoes throughout northwestern Rutherford during the 1970s and 1980s. It is this company that would have used this line into the 90s I'm guessing. I found an article online about two weeks ago stating that Delselco merged with another company and I therefore assume it longer exists, or moved its operations to the other companies location in the Midwest, if I recall correctly. I can't find that article now, I should have posted it when I first found it. I don't know where exactly in the area Delslco was located, perhaps what is today Kelways Industrial Park, which is really just offices with warehouse space.


A big update-I believe the demolition of the Frommer Building has begun. When driving to work this morning I first noticed some felled trees along the rail line. I then saw a chain-linked fence around the building with at least two dump trucks within the fence. I also heard some banging.

A continuation from after I got home from work; today is the day that the weekly local newspaper is delivered and the main story is the demotion of the Frommer building. Here is the article which also contains a link to a photo gallery of the interior: http://www.northjersey.com/news/1695800 ... space.html
Last edited by Rutherforidan on Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:57 am, edited 8 times in total.
 #1081940  by Rutherforidan
 
Pursuant to my above post I thought everyone maybe interested in this: Walling Van Winkle's home was located at approximately Darwin and Hastings Avenues so just a bit south of Memorial Field. A photo of the foundation of this home is included in the following link. The photo looks north, toward the area that today includes Memorial Field. Also in the link are photos of the Main Rutherford train station.

http://www.awvanwinklerealestate.com/photo.htm
 #1164441  by El Jefe
 
Late Post… to answer the original question; it can easily be witnessed (& accessed) NOW in these pre-summer months…
Re: I know Bergen Co. Line as a Commuter & (old) Carlton /Erie Line as a Bicyclist. I bike the trail in summer; which runs clear from Montross Ave / Maple St to the Passaic River.

OLD CARLTON TRACKS go WEST against [existing NJ Transit Rail, which curves NORTH-EAST].
Going SOUTH-EAST; the old Carlton Rail [a/k/a Bike Trail] remains problematic due to wild brush (in warm months).
The bike trail ‘ends’ south of Montross Ave (= going towards Manhattan Skyline); yet in winter, this brush is gone.

(See attachment)

During this time, a hiker / biker can easily navigate to the ‘exact-point’ connection, with the existing Bergen Line.
[I’m not a rail expert, but original connections remains covered by gravel & mulch, c. 5 ft high].

DISCLAIMER & CAUTION / Please Note: On Trail; many trees & limbs remain compromised after Sandy. After connection; you ARE ON LIVE NJ TRANIST RAIL, subject to Danger & Trespassing. Please exercise caution…
Attachments:
(318.59 KiB) Downloaded 4857 times
 #1486504  by erie910
 
I lived about 5 blocks from the Carlton Hill station in the 1960's. When service through downtown Passaic was ended, the E-L ran two commuter trains in each direction from/to Carlton Hill with an intermediate stop at Rutherford. Trains to Hoboken would board (timetable) east of Jackson Av, while trains from Hoboken would stop west of Jackson Av. for detraining. Both former Erie Main Line tracks were in service to near the Passaic River. The westbound track was curved to join the eastbound track by a switch. In the morning, the trains would deadhead west from Hoboken and would run west onto the Carlton Hill Branch to near the river. The engine would uncouple, run ahead onto the eastbound track, and then run eastbound to where the Carlton Hill Branch joined the Bergen County Line. The engine would switch onto the westbound Carlton Hill Branch track, and would run back to Carlton Hill. It then coupled onto the consist (usually 2 coaches), pumped up the air, did an air test, and then shoved the consist onto the eastbound track. Then the train would pull east to the Carlton Hill Station for loading. This was a time-consuming process for very few riders. Each westbound train in the evening would repeat this process, and then would run to Hoboken where it was stored overnight. On most trains, the power was an RS-2 or RS-3. The engine crew had much better visibility in one of these than in a GP-7 or GP-9 when running long hood forward. Given that this operation was abandoned in 1966, and there is more housing development in the area, one wonders if revived service on the branch would attract significant ridership. With push-pull operations, one track only is needed, but a hand-thrown switch at the Bergen County line would have to be replaced.