Carlton Hill Alignment

R36 Combine Coach wrote:The NJT Main Line is actually the original Lackawanna Boonton Line south of Paterson Jct. (under the Garden State Parkway). The section between there and downtown Paterson is the former Erie Newark Branch.

Take a look at http://binged.it/wGTnR5

At about that point the present NJT Main Line leaves the DL&W Boonton line. The Erie Newark Branch was parallel 100+ meters to the east, east of that warehouse, where Kuller Ave is now.

I know Kuller Road was built in the 1960s on the old Erie ROW.

About 10 yrs ago, I found quite a few date nails along that stretch dating from the 1930s.
There were two tracks past the Bleachery with a spur off to the loading dock, then a bit further west another spur on a small trestle that went into the bleachery, further down on the northern track, another spur that went to another industry, then the two tracks narrowed to one which went into the dirt pile a bit further west, allowing for switching to any of the spurs. The foundation for the Carlton Hill station was still there on the South side of the tracks just west of Carlton Ave.
See also this parallel thread for photos and more of the Carlton Hill area:
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 27&t=91743

CarterB wrote:About 10 yrs ago, I found quite a few date nails along that stretch dating from the 1930s.
There were two tracks past the Bleachery with a spur off to the loading dock, then a bit further west another spur on a small trestle that went into the bleachery, further down on the northern track, another spur that went to another industry, then the two tracks narrowed to one which went into the dirt pile a bit further west, allowing for switching to any of the spurs. The foundation for the Carlton Hill station was still there on the South side of the tracks just west of Carlton Ave.

Foundation? I found platforms on either side, couldnt say foundation though. Neat! Will need to look more.

timz wrote:

R36 Combine Coach wrote:The NJT Main Line is actually the original Lackawanna Boonton Line south of Paterson Jct. (under the Garden State Parkway). The section between there and downtown Paterson is the former Erie Newark Branch.

Take a look at http://binged.it/wGTnR5

At about that point the present NJT Main Line leaves the DL&W Boonton line. The Erie Newark Branch was parallel 100+ meters to the east, east of that warehouse, where Kuller Ave is now.

3 questions:
1. Given that the Erie Newark Branch used to go down Kuller ave, going back north now on the current trackage from the marker on the map link back up to Hazel St, was the current trackage essentialy the old DLW branch up to its Paterson freight station near downtown, or all new trackage/ ROW? I think this DLW branch ran just next to the Erie Newark Branch on its west side for a while.
2. I understand correctly what you all are saying, north of Hazel St, is the modern trackage the Erie Newark branch back up to the Erie main? I ask because the DLW I mention ran next to the Newark branch to just before Getty st until it peeled of to run northwest just on the southwest side of Getty.

3. When was the Newark branch (on the ROW which is now Kuller St) abandoned? Before the running of Erie trains on the lower Boonton, or after that was done.

THanks, JS

EDIT: Answering my own questions 1 and 2, looking at historicaerials.com (comparing 1953 and 1966), it seems that coming south from Paterson, the crossover after the realignment from the Erie Newark Branch to the DLW Paterson branch (and then to the lower DLW Boonton line) occured 2 blocks north of Hazel St, even with Paxton st.

The ROW over Kuller Road was abandoned in 1963 upon completion of the realignment.

Hello everyone,
Sorry of this a dead thread, but in doing some research on my own I came across it. As by my screen name (though I now see I have a misspelling in it) I have lived in Rutherford my entire life as did my mother and grandfather, and his parents for a large percentage of their lives and just thought that I would add some information to this topic.
My grandfather lived on Beach Street and worked for The Travelers Insurance Company in New York City. He would take a train to work, but he boarded the train at the Carlton Hill Station and not the main Rutherford station at Station Square. This was probably a three to five minute walk at most depending on your walking speed.
The factory that has been mentioned was on the north side of the tracks and to the east of Jackson Avenue. It was the Standard Bleachery and then became Royce Chemical Company. As a child in the 1970s I often saw trains pulling up to Royce Chemical Company and backing up up traffic. Royce closed this factory in the mid-80s I'm guessing. The spot is now occupied by the Carlton Hill Condominiums.
Directly across from the Carlton Hill Station is a factory with a yellow sign with black lettering that says Frommer on it. This building has been scheduled for demotion by East Rutherford in fall of 2012 to make way for a park. A recent article in our local newspaper ( a few months ago) stated that the Frommer builder was part of the Standard Bleachery complex. I'm guessing at some point this portion of the complex was sold off for use by the Frommer Company.

Hello everyone,
I'm sorry if this a dead thread, but as lifelong Rutherfordian (as you can tell by my screen name, though I see I misspelled it when registering) I thought I would add a little to this conversation. Not only am I a life long Rutherfordian, but so was my mother and my grandfather was born, raised and lived in Rutherford for most of his life.
My grandfather lived on Beach Street and worked for the Travelers Insurance Company in New York City. He would commute via train. Rather then use the main train station at Station Square he used the Carlton Hill Station as it would be no more then a three to five minute walk (dependent on your walking speed) from his home on Beech Street. He would have begun working for the Travelers at sometime in the 1920s through his retirement in the mid-60s.
The factory that has been mentioned started as the Standard Bleachery c 1880s and later became part of Royce Chemical Company. This factory was located on the north side of the tracks to the east of Jackson Avenue. Royce Chemical closed the plant I would say sometime in the early to mid-80s. Today the Carlton Hill Condominiums occupies this spot.
I grew up in this area during the 1970s and 80s and often saw trains pulling up to the factory. These trains consisted mostly tankers and hoppers. There may have been a few box cars as well. These trains would back-up traffic on Jackson Avenue as the trains would extend across the street.
The building directly across from the station to the north, which currently features a yellow sign with the black lettering of "Frommer", is scheduled for demolition in the fall of 2012 to make way for a park. This building apparently was originally part of the Standard Bleachery complex according to a local newspaper article discussing the demolition. I'm assuming that at some point this part of the complex was sold off to the "Frommer" Company.
http://www.northjersey.com/eastrutherfo ... _work.html

Here is a photo of a hopper car near the factory:
http://www.20thcenturyhobbies.com/train ... er1-77.JPG

Here is an image of the Standard Bleachery. Of special note you can see Carlton Hill Station on the left:
http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/wpim ... 343a88.jpg

I few years ago I had found online a photo of a hopper in front of Royce Chemical taken from the far side of Erie Avenue but I can't find now.

Standard Bleachery: " The plant of the standard Bleachery at Carlton Hill covers more than twelve acres
of ground, and it is the largest concern of its kind in the world. Its operations con-
sist in the conversion of cotton piecegoods from gray cloths, as they come from
the loom, into the fine, finished products which eventually reach the market. These
goods, manufactured principally in New England, are shipped direct to the bleach-
ery. They include lawns, India linens, organdies, crepes, Swiss curtains, Persian
lawns, long cloth, embroidery goods, and a number of fancy woven fabrics for wo-
men's and children's dresses, in plain and mercerized finish. Many processes of great
interest are used in converting the fabrics into the finished product, several days be-
ing spent in passing through the various stages of development. When finished the
goods are neatly packed and shipped all over the world, the bleachery having a rep-
utation for careful workmanship, which is unsurpassed. An average of one thousand
hands are now employed, and the plant is operated day and night. The village of
Carlton Hill is practically an outgrowth of this industry's development, and the
company owns eighty acres of land."
Must have been quite the operation and rail loadings in its day!

Rutherforidan wrote:Hello everyone,
I'm sorry if this a dead thread, but as lifelong Rutherfordian (as you can tell by my screen name, though I see I misspelled it when registering) I thought I would add a little to this conversation. Not only am I a life long Rutherfordian, but so was my mother and my grandfather was born, raised and lived in Rutherford for most of his life.
My grandfather lived on Beach Street and worked for the Travelers Insurance Company in New York City. He would commute via train. Rather then use the main train station at Station Square he used the Carlton Hill Station as it would be no more then a three to five minute walk (dependent on your walking speed) from his home on Beech Street. He would have begun working for the Travelers at sometime in the 1920s through his retirement in the mid-60s.
The factory that has been mentioned started as the Standard Bleachery c 1880s and later became part of Royce Chemical Company. This factory was located on the north side of the tracks to the east of Jackson Avenue. Royce Chemical closed the plant I would say sometime in the early to mid-80s. Today the Carlton Hill Condominiums occupies this spot.
I grew up in this area during the 1970s and 80s and often saw trains pulling up to the factory. These trains consisted mostly tankers and hoppers. There may have been a few box cars as well. These trains would back-up traffic on Jackson Avenue as the trains would extend across the street.
The building directly across from the station to the north, which currently features a yellow sign with the black lettering of "Frommer", is scheduled for demolition in the fall of 2012 to make way for a park. This building apparently was originally part of the Standard Bleachery complex according to a local newspaper article discussing the demolition. I'm assuming that at some point this part of the complex was sold off to the "Frommer" Company.
http://www.northjersey.com/eastrutherfo ... _work.html

Here is a photo of a hopper car near the factory:
http://www.20thcenturyhobbies.com/train ... er1-77.JPG

Here is an image of the Standard Bleachery. Of special note you can see Carlton Hill Station on the left:
http://images.cloud.worthpoint.com/wpim ... 343a88.jpg

I few years ago I had found online a photo of a hopper in front of Royce Chemical taken from the far side of Erie Avenue but I can't find now.

I'm surprised the entire building didn't just fall on top of itself. There was noticeable structural weaknesses in the building. Hate to see Frommer's go, but it's for the best.

This is great to see all the renewed discussion in the Carlton Hill Station.

Here are all my pictures from when we visited the station. Lived in Rutherford most of my life and still visit often. Only found out about this station and those tracks within the last year...

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 43&start=0

Sorry about the double post. I didn't realize that the posted needed to be approved, so I thought maybe I had closed the site before I hit the submit button.
As someone who believes in historical preservation I can agree somewhat about seeing the Frommer building go. However replacing it with a park, is in mind progress. At one time the idea was floated of replacing it with condonminums/townhouses. I'll take open space any day, and lets face it, it isn't the most attractive or architecturally interesting building.

Sorry I should have added this in my last post. This is a bit off topic but you might be intrested in seeing these photos:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locThu ... x?id=92565

I did some more research on the Standard Bleachery/ Frommer Building. (I have information and images but they are all in books) but I couldn't find anything on line. Here is another article on the tearing down of the Frommer Building: http://www.northjersey.com/news/1614005 ... _park.html

Here is an article on William McKenzie the founder of the business: http://www.getnj.com/hudberg/genealogical541.shtml

I did some more research and here are some images of the Standard Bleachery from a video on You Tube consisting of postcard imagery. The images of the bleachery start at 2:28 and last until 2:56. It begins with what is referred to in the image as Lake East Rutherford. This name was new to me, I had always heard of it referred to either the Lake of the Woods or Swan Lake. This "lake" no longer exists. When I was a child it had been reduced to more of a pond, as Royce Chemical occupied a much larger footprint. The pond at this point was bright green in color (obliviously from something being dumped into it). It was then filled in completely when the Carlton Hill Condominiums were built. The "lakes" reduction in size might also have to do with the belief that open water incubated the Polio virus, as many bodies of water in this area were filled in when this idea took hold, I'm not sure of the time period.
The image at 2:44 would be looking south toward Rutherford. The current Frommer Building is on the right. It was indeed part of the bleachery as an elated "covered bridge" can be seen connecting the buildings. I'm not sure if I have faint memories of this bridge or not. If I do have memories I do not remember the bridge being as large as it looks in this photo.
Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZierOrb8KY
Also of interest may be the images toward the beginning of the video of the Rutherford train station (depot) which is still in use. The first image is from the East Rutherford side, the second from the Rutherford side.