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Discussion relating to the PRSL

Moderator: JJMDiMunno

 #745024  by louisfols
 
Can anyone that has seen photo on S. Jersey or PRSLHS site verify it as Buzbys please?
 #745586  by GE-RULES
 
louisfols wrote:Can anyone that has seen photo on S. Jersey or PRSLHS site verify it as Buzbys please?
If you're speaking of the pictures on SJRail.com of the 2 large cement blocks and old rail remains at the East end of River Drive in Westville, NJ then yes this was what remained of the Buzby's Cement plant.
 #746329  by David
 
GE-RULES wrote:
louisfols wrote:Can anyone that has seen photo on S. Jersey or PRSLHS site verify it as Buzbys please?
If you're speaking of the pictures on SJRail.com of the 2 large cement blocks and old rail remains at the East end of River Drive in Westville, NJ then yes this was what remained of the Buzby's Cement plant.

Hey--That is me in that photo--LOL--Geee that was five years ago!
 #751602  by JJMDiMunno
 
Guys,
Lou was actually referring to the photo attached to this post, which was sent to the PRSLHS group as opposed to the material on SJRail.com.
Mystery_Photo.jpg
Mystery_Photo.jpg (114.84 KiB) Viewed 12387 times
Mike DiMunno
 #753341  by PRSL2005
 
Dam that photo I asked over on the PRSLHS list and that went to over 20 e-mails. WOW and now its on here. I was going to bid on that but someone got it before it could.
O well I wanted that for the http://www.SJRailcom/wiki :(
 #791195  by Lattice180
 
If this is the property at Route 130 and River Road in Westville, it was owned by WJ&S and must have been leased out to Buzby for the cement plant. I ended up selling the ground to a couple of gentlemen who had the idea of building a marina. But their plans never materialized as they could not get a zoning change from Borough of Westville to develop the project. It was zoned for parkland.
 #945735  by rick773
 
From the PRSLHS forum:
From: Richard Balassaitis [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 2:18 PM
To: '[email protected]' Subject: Buzby Brothers - Westville, NJ
...
Some folks had questioned whether this really was the Buzby Brothers concrete facility in Westville, NJ.
(Buzby Brothers were listed as having a private siding in Westville on “The Reading Modelers” 1954 Freight Shipping Guide.)

... I grew up in Westville (2 blocks from the photo) and vaguely remember the plant as a kid.
Brakemen guarding the roadway, as setouts to the siding were made, was a common traffic disruption on Gateway Blvd. in the early 1950s.
... I only vaguely remember the building (behind the steam engine) but would check next time I was in Westville to verify the location.
No building exists there now but I did find remnants of a building foundation in the midst of the overgrowth.
I believe it was a bait shop (or at least the billboard above the building advertised bait) and a boat launching area to timber creek was located on the other side of the PRSL mainline.

So I do believe this is the correct location for the photo.
Westville has converted the site to a pleasant picnic grounds on the bank of the creek where Buzbys once stood.

The photo shows where Gateway Blvd splits into separate N/S lanes after coming over a traffic bridge over Big Timber Creek.
The Brooklawn circles are on the other side of the Timber Creek bridge.

To the right of the photo was the Westville power plant the PRSL used to electrify portions of the PRSL mainline through Woodbury and southern points.

To the left of the photo, the road now further splits to go to Routes 130/295 and route 45 through Woodbury.
Route 47, Delsea Drive (DELaware River to the SEAshore), come through town on the other side of the PRSL main.
This network of roads (as the name Gateway Blvd suggests) underscore why Westville, NJ used to refer to itself as the Gateway to South Jersey.

The PRSL coming through town and diverging to 3 separate routes at Woodbury also underscores the area as a traffic (rail and roads) gateway to southern NJ.

I have been to the Westville library to try to research this, but for an old established town the resources are meager.
 #971197  by rick773
 
Here is a photo taken in the same location as the one with the steam locomotive above. 50+ years have passed and massive overgrowth has taken over.

A NewJersey concrete highway barrier now seperates the northbound and southbound lanes (2 each) of Gateway Blvd.

The siding crossed the road just to the right of where Mr. Jim Kearney is standing.

I have found the foundations of the building to the right of the steam engine in the midst of that overgrowth.
The billboard on that building used to advertise "Bait". Timber Creek lies just beyond.

The streetlight pole is still there but the light has been modernized.

The foundations for the tower at the Buzby concrete plant can still be found further up River Drive (left side of picture).
Image
The road to the right leads over Timber Creek to the Brooklawn circles. To the left it splits and goes to 1) Woodbury; 2) Route 130 southboand.
 #1127684  by rick773
 
Just received this picture of an advertisement featuring the Buzby Bros facility.
I have never seen the PRSL power plant in the background painted like that before.
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