Hanford Branch

[nyswfan]

Does anyone have any photos of the Hanford Branch?

I found this photo dating back to 1962

http://www.gingerb.com/Sussex%20JCT.on% ... ew%202.jpg

and you can see in the distance that the tracks were already torn up.

I've noticed where the ROW used to run right through the A&P parking lot in sussex. My dad informed me that he used to hunt off of lower unionville rd in the early 60's, and he always remembers the A&P being there.

Due to the hieght of the ROW coming over the hill, and the hieght of the center of Sussex after the A&P, there had to be a rather large fill right in the middle of the A&P parking lot, correct?

[henry6]

There are several histories on the Susie Q; check your library or hobby shop or the ads in TRAINS, RAILPACE, and RAIL FAN magazines.

[cjvrr]

nyswfan,

Take a look at this thread;

http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?bo ... 1095384669

It has many recent photos of the Hanford Branch.

Chris

[henry6]

There are probably pictures, etc., under the name Middletown and New Jersey, too, as it was a tourist operation in the 70s.

[cjvrr]

The Middletown & New Jersey was / is a separate railroad from the NYS&W Hanford Branch. Throughout this area's long history it was built as a separate railroad, then consolidated, and then separated again.

The NYS&W pulled out in the mid to late 1950's pulling the line from its connection with the Middletown & Unionville (predecessor of the M&NJ) just south of Unionville in an area called Hanford. There was nothing there save for the railroad facilities. The NYS&W line was pulled up south through Sussex down to Franklin. A small section was left it so the Lehigh & Hudson River RR could access the zinc mine in Ogdensburg. Between Ogdensburg and Beaver Lake the NYS&W was also pulled up.

The Middletown & Unionville became the Middletown & New Jersey and continued operations to Unionville. Economics slowly caught up to the RR and they pulled back operations by the early 1970s, but left the tracks in place into Unionville. Late last year the new owners of the M&NJ started pulling the long dormant rails up from a point south of Slate Hill all the way to Unionville, about 8 miles worth of track.

The passenger excursion trains on the M&NJ only lasted a few years during the 1960's.

You can find out alot more information about the history of the M&NJ and some about the Hanford Branch here;

http://www.mnjrhs.org/main.html

[ap621]

Does anyone have any photos of the Hanford Branch?

I found this photo dating back to 1962

http://www.gingerb.com/Sussex%20JCT.on% ... ew%202.jpg

and you can see in the distance that the tracks were already torn up.

I've noticed where the ROW used to run right through the A&P parking lot in sussex. My dad informed me that he used to hunt off of lower unionville rd in the early 60's, and he always remembers the A&P being there.

Due to the hieght of the ROW coming over the hill, and the hieght of the center of Sussex after the A&P, there had to be a rather large fill right in the middle of the A&P parking lot, correct?

I believe the Hanford Branch was abandoned in 1958. By looking at satellite photos of the area around A&P store 684 in Sussex, I could tell that the A&P was once a much smaller "centennial style" store like this one...


A&P didn't start building these styled stores until 1959 (the 100th anniversary) So I'm guessing that the railroad did not pass through the parking lot because the store didn't exist yet.
Not only am I a train buff, but I'm also a big fan of A&P's history.
-Mike

[lt230s]

I found this photo dating back to 1962

That is actually the Deckertown extension for the L&NE that crossed under the Hanford branch just before Sussex. The branch is on the other(north) side of the Rt. 23 overpass.

A&P didn't start building these styled stores until 1959 (the 100th anniversary) So I'm guessing that the railroad did not pass through the parking lot because the store didn't exist yet.
Not only am I a train buff, but I'm also a big fan of A&P's history.
-Mike

The A&P was built at that location in late'60s/early '70s. The original A&P was on Main St. in Sussex. The train did pass thru what is now the parking lot. It used to be a junkyard owned by a friend of my fathers and open fields. If you want to see what it looked like in 1963 or 1956 got to:
http://www.historicaerials.com/Default.aspx
They have historical aerial photos and you can go back to as early as 1931 in some areas. They also have a swipe feature that allows to overlay a new photo with old so you can compare the different landscapes for different years