Hello all...
I'm new to the forums here, first time post. I grew up / lived in Verona from '74 to '85 and spent alot of time going for walks with my dad along the Caldwell Branch. I remember seeing coal hoppers spotted for unloading at Overbrook Hospital (they generated their own electricity) as well as a rare visit from a boxcar along the warehouse dock, boxcars at the lumber yard (forget the name) on Durrell? St, and cars at Caldwell's team track. In addition, I understand the other lumber yard on Depot St in Verona (West Essex Supply?) received cars as well as the M&E interchange in Essex Fells. There may have been another customer spur in Cedar Grove, west of the Pompton Av/Rt 23 bridge, a building supply place along Grove Av, behind the Grasshopper bar (if it's still there/same name?). That place appeared to have a roadbed/grade going into it at one time, but never saw any actual track in their property. Most, if not all, the switches for the customer's sidings were oriented to do the work going west. Regarding the Branch's fate...there was a washout just west of Overbrook's switch during the summer of '75, I vividly remember my dad carrying me down, around, and back up around the washout, watching out for the ties dangling in mid air, still spiked to the rails! After we got around the mess, I was stung by my first bee! I recall reading somewhere that a boxcar DID get stranded at Caldwell as a result of the washout, and a disagreement ensued between the EL and M&E about retrieving the boxcar. The M&E wanted some crazy amount of money to run over the EL's track to get the car for the EL, so it was the EL's idea to have the local police block off all the road crossings, release the brakes off the car, and simply let gravity roll it to the M&E at Essex Fells, with an employee riding the car and controlling the speed with the handbrake; thereby making an interchange! The EL studied the long term viability of the Branch and it was determined it was a money-loser, and allowed to go to the EL's "estate" after Conrail, never actually belonging to Conrail. The washout WAS scheduled for repair (per the owner of the lumber yard), but it never happened. I recall a few cars of ballast sitting in the "yard" at Great Notch forever, my dad saying how they must be "lost". My childhood mind determined those cars were "small coal cars", and hindsight being 20/20 were probably for the Caldwell Branch repair. I remember the day I was on my way home for dinner on my bicycle and found a salvage company in the process of dismantling the tracks at the Fairview Ave crossing. A traumatic event for a youngster to see "his" train tracks being torn up! Never again to hear a whistle announce a train's arrival to my neighborhood. No more land speed record bike rides to catch "the train" at the crossing. No more "switchers" (as my dad called the engines) going into the lumber yard or switching cars along Bloomfield Av in Caldwell. No more waves from the "guys hanging out" in the caboose. I'll remember the last train I saw on the Branch forever; we heard the whistle/horn far off, flew up to Durrell St crossing, saw the train coming at us eastbound from Fairview Av, the flashers, the bell, the horn, the "tha-thump tha-thump" of the jointed rail, an SW class running cab first pulling two boxcars and two guys standing on the back of the red caboose waving at us as they bounced along out of sight towards Overbrook, Great Notch, Silver Lake, and a child's life long memory...
Wow, I just read my post and must say thank you for allowing me to re-live a great time in my life...
