Caldwell Branch

jmp883 wrote:NJ Vike,

I've lived in Wanaque for 30+ years and the bridge abutments are about the only visible remnants of the Greenwood Lake Branch. North of the bridge abutments most of the roadbed has been built on.
There is one section still visible but it runs along the back of private residences.

In Ringwood the ROW is used as an access road around the reservoir. The Sterling Mine RR ROW is used as a reservoir access road along Sloatsburg Road. If you follow Sloatsburg Rd into New York, you will crest a large hill. At the base of that hill, on both sides of the road, the Sterling Mine RR ROW is very visible. In addition to the roadbed and ties an old telegraph pole is still standing with one or two insulators still on it. Due to the growth of trees and brush this area is best viewed in the winter when the trees are bare.

For more info/pics on the Greenwood Lake Branch and Sterling Mine RR from Wanaque north go
to: www.gsmrrclub.org. Click on the History link and you will see one link for the GLB and one for the Wanaque Reservoir. Some great pics.

Joe,

Thanks for the heads-up. I had a hunch that I wasn't going to see much due to the vegatation but when I first saw the bridge, little did I know that was about all I was going to see. I did, however, see the line run across several streets in the Wanaque area just right off of RT 511. I did notice that one street was named Railroad Avenue. Could it be that this was the location where the tracks crossed over 511?

Traveling further north showed absolutley nothing although, this was this little historical building up towards Greenwood Lake. I was thinking of stopping in to see if they had any information on the RR but just wanted to get back.

NJ Vike,

Just south of the river there is a pronounced hump in the road. This is where the line crossed Rt 511 (Ringwood Avenue). Between that crossing and the river, on the northbound side of the road is an open patch of grass, this was the location of the Haskell Station.

If you make the right turn onto Railroad Avenue from Rt 511 north and take it to where it turns to the left you will see the Wanaque Golden Age Club building on your right. This is where the old Wanaque-Midvale station sat. A color photo of this station with an EL RS-3 powered train is in the new Morning Sun EL Commuter book. Just north of here is the Wanaque Elementary School, built on the site of the former yard and wye. When I first started going to school there in 1973 the foundation of the water tank was still visible and there was still pieces of rail and spikes all over the playground. Today the playground is fairly grown in with grass and you can hardly tell this was once a railyard. There is a website with before and after pictures of the railyard/Wanaque School site, it's web address just eludes me at the moment.

Joe,

Yes - I did see the Wanaque Golden Age Club building starting at Railroad Avenue and did look around. There is one website that had some before and after shots but it looks like it was taken down. I believe the e-mail address was jsumpter or sumpter. I took a look at it last year and thought I would look at it again when I'm ready to explore. Unfortunately it's gone. I do see that the Garden State Model Railroading Club has some good before and after shots there as well.

Ken

Update to all regarding Caldwell Branch customers...

After talking with my family this weekend, we remembered the following...

The lumber yard on Durrell St in Verona was Charles Bahr (bar) & Son...

The lumber yard on Depot St in Verona was WEBSCO, West Essex Building Supply COmpany...

And also, the W.P. Johnson Oil Company's property on Fairview Av in Verona also had the remains of a coal unloading trestle, about 100-200 feet long. The abutments were made of cement, and a steel bumping post was still on the last abutment, and a few "bridge rails" were in place. It was clearly visible (from the Branch) in the late 70's into the 80's, but barely visible from the street, it was located in the extreme southwest corner of their parking lot covered by overhanging trees. As of '74, there was no track leading onto the span. Probably a long-lost coal dealer that sold to homeowners back in the day...I forgot about that spur in my original post, hope it adds to the discussion.

Was there a siding or small yard on the west side of Bloomfield Avenue just where the line came out and underneath Bloomfield Avenue? Perhaps it ran in NW direction for several hundred yards?

What was typical power on this line? RS-2, RS-3, GP-7, NW/SW?

To my limited knowledge, no, there wasn't. I checked an Erie track profile/diagram I have and it doesn't show anything in the area either. Going west (timetable direction) from Verona, WEBSCO had their spur, the track went under the Bloomfield Ave mini-tunnel, then ran parallel to Bloomfield Ave all the way to Caldwell Yard. It may not be visible anymore, but years ago you could see a grade/right-of-way along Bloomfield Ave EAST of the mini-tunnel at various locations. This was an abandoned attempt by the Erie to build a line into the heart of Lackawanna territory; parallel to the Montclair Branch / M&E Division. There was at one time a spur located about halfway between Cedar Grove and Great Notch. It led to, and was called, the "reservoir" spur; probably used during the construction of the Newark Reservoir. The tracks were long gone by the time I learned to ride a bicycle, but a trace of the old roadbed/grade was visible. No idea when that spur was built or removed, when was the reservoir built?
As I recall my youthful days, the "normal" power was SW class switch engines, with GP units as the second most common. I recall seeing at least one U25B. The Alco's were gone by the time I was old enough to see, but were certainly used. I've seen photos from Erie days of A-B-B-A F unit lashups, but that was pre-EL merger times, and alot more traffic going to/from the M&E at Essex Fells. I suppose whatever engine Croxton had lying around was used...except 6 axles. The job that worked the Caldwell Branch also worked the Orange Branch, so nimble, lightweight, 4 axles were the "rule", although I haven't seen any 6 axle loco restrictions in any EL timetables I have.

Alan Dustin wrote me about the status of the Caldwell Line
on Sept 10, 1985

"Thank you for your letter inquiring as to the status of the Caldwell Branch. The Caldwell Branch was never transferred to either Conrail or NJ Transit, but remained with the Erie Lackawanna Trustees. It was operated by Conrail for about a year after April 1, 1976 under the New Jersey Department of Transportation's Light Density Line program but service was discontinued when the LDL program ended.

Alan Dustin
Vice President & General Manager
NJ Transit Rail Operations

Passenger service ended on the Caldwell Branch Monday Oct 6, 1966
when EL's new schedule went into service.

Freight Customers
The Sanitarium at Overbrook used to get coal. Closed by EL era
West Essex Building Supply Corporation, Verona NJ
JW&D Coal and Lumber at Caldwell closed by EL era
Grossman Brothers just west of Roseland Ave. closed by EL era

BlockLine_4111 wrote:What was typical power on this line? RS-2, RS-3, GP-7, NW/SW?

Page 90 of Erie Lackawanna In Color Vol. 3 shows one picture each of a GP-7 and an SW1200 operating on the Caldwell Branch.

OH? I though it was those little Pacifics with the Vanderbilt tenders! Oh, yes, later the RS2s or 3s and GPs.

Okay then, to recap the Caldwell Branch freight customers we have:

Overbrook Hospital, Cedar Grove
Charles Bahr & Sons Lumber Company at Durrell St., Verona
W. P. Johnson Fuel Company at Fairview Ave, Verona
West Essex Building Supply at Depot St., Verona
The Speer Coal Yard, later Gossman, Roseland Ave. Caldwell
The JW&D Coal Yard, also Roseland Ave, Caldwell
The Team Tracks at Caldwell Station
The Morristown & Erie Interchange at Essex Fells

Add to these the obscure and forgotten:

Spur to the Cedar Grove Reservoir, construction equipment/supplies 1901-1904(?), from near Bowden Road to the reservoir;
A team track at Overbrook Station, (serving the Cedar Grove area), the hospital got a lot more than just coal--meat and other supplies arrived in carload lots;
Just west of Fairview Avenue was a spur for the Newark City Home coal supply, with coal shed, separate from Johnson's
Slayback-Van Order Lumber-Coal-Ice adjacent to the Caldwell yard, gone by 1951. Slayback was originally in Verona, on Bloomfield Avenue, 1892 -1900. The construction of the underpass (tunnel) to eliminate the grade crossing probably forced their relocation to Caldwell, although they already had built their icehouse there.

There may also have been customers around the Francisco Avenue crossing in Great Notch, although I have been unable to identify them as yet. Some of these were probably quarries. Opposite Bahr Lumber, there was a short, stub end track that may have served as a loading point for the American Bronze Powder Company down on Grove Avenue. JW&D Coal may also have been the Caldwell Lumber Company in the 1920's. There was also a feed business at Roseland Ave that may have had a spur at one time.

Mark

Just was reading these posts...

I went to Google earth to see what can still be seen of the Caldwell Br.

The Google Earth pix were taken in the winter, so no foliage.

The Branch ROW is easily visable where it leaves the NYGL tracks
just beyond the catenary from the new pass yard.

I was able to follow it to Essex Fells, although it's a little weak in a few
places, like where it parallels Bloomfield ave. The siding to the hospital is also clearly visible.
Someone who knows the line better than I do, can probably find
some of the other sidings, too.
I was pretty amazed, that even today the ROW goes thru mostly rural looking areas with just a lot of trees.

Looks like the M&E track from the west is still in place to Eisenhower Pkwy or so. Cars are on the siding just to the west of the bridge over the river there.

If anyone else can look at it on Google earth, I'd interested to know
where to look to find the other sidings.

Upon further examination on Google Earth, I can find the following siding ROW's...

Overbrook Hospital, Cedar Grove
Charles Bahr & Sons Lumber Company at Durrell St., Verona

West Essex Building Supply at Depot St., Verona

At least 1 siding west of Roseland ave, row houses/condo's now there.

Siding ROW at Oak lane/Buttonwood ave, curving to the east near
Borough place.

I was wondering were the pax stations, and the M&E interchange was located.

Seems there is a big industry just north of Harrison Ave, which had several
sidings. Also a warehouse west of 280, south of the tracks, which has or had a siding.
Is (was) this part of the M&E?

pdtrains wrote: I was wondering were the pax stations, and the M&E interchange was located.

Seems there is a big industry just north of Harrison Ave, which had several
sidings. Also a warehouse west of 280, south of the tracks, which has or had a siding.
Is (was) this part of the M&E?

The Essex Fells station was at the Oak Lane crossing, in the south east quadrant. Caldwell was on Bloomfield Avenue, where the railroad makes a reverse curve. The station was in the center of the reverse. Verona was just RR east of West Essex Lumber, you may be able to make out the almost square freight house still standing there. Overbrook station was RR east of the power plant, and east of the hospital road from Grove Ave.
Cedar Grove station was at the Pompton Ave underpass in the north west quadrant. Except for the Verona freight house, all are gone, some for a long time now. On Oak Lane, just west of the railroad, you may be able to see a home that was the original Essex Fells station 1892-1902. It was moved after the now missing station was built, and stands almost paralell to the ROW but about 100 feet from it.

The Morristown & Erie had several customers at Harrison Ave, their onetime Roseland station. Baer Concrete, a coal yard, and some other customers were all clustered together.

The warehouse west of I-280 is Polaner, the jelly people, unless you're an "All Fruit" consumer, in which case "please don't call it jelly".

Mark

Does the ROW still exist as it leaves the Booton Line heading towards Cedar Grove? I see the trail just as I went on the bridge that is on RT23.

NJ Vike wrote:Does the ROW still exist as it leaves the Booton Line heading towards Cedar Grove? I see the trail just as I went on the bridge that is on RT23.

NJ Vike,

Yes, I believe it is a designated bike/walking trail from Great Notch through Cedar Grove into Verona.. I think its a good 3 or 4 miles or so... There are still some concrete mileposts in the ground, but one cool structure is the old Verona Freight house that is still standing! I walked it a good 4 to 5 years ago, but I would like to bike it one of these days!

Steve