Raritan River Railroad SW900s

How I wish the "Ricky" was still around, and that I wasn't born "just too late".

I've read that the colors of the RRRR were based off of Stevens Institute, but I've always appreciated their resemblance to the Scarlet and White of Rutgers...

Hey guys.

Found this in Industrials, Short Lines and Military Forum.

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 11&t=21482

http://www.railroadforums.com/photos/sh ... 1290491954

Second one is actual link to photo, for those who don't wish to read forum

Look interesting? And it's only a short haul north from SA.

John

Pennsyjohn wrote:Hey guys.

Found this in Industrials, Short Lines and Military Forum.

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 11&t=21482

http://www.railroadforums.com/photos/sh ... 1290491954

Second one is actual link to photo, for those who don't wish to read forum

Look interesting? And it's only a short haul north from SA.

John

I don't think that's a 900. Almost all the 900's had single exhaust stacks. Certainly the RRRR's units were single-stacked like #6 here: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 841&nseq=9

Also, as you can see from the photo of #6, the paint scheme has the gray stripe running the length of the locomotive - from cab to radiator grille. The picture shown earlier in this thread looks a little "pixely" - as if the RRRR logo was painted on a copy of the photo.

Also, note the number board above the rear of the cab in that photo - differently shaped than the view of #4 in this 1979 shot in South Amboy - http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1046059.

I don't know if any of the Raritan River SW900s survive. But I was made privy a while back to a series of emails in a retired railroaders forum.

One of the former Conrail guys was sent from E'port Shops after the RRRR was gathered in to inspect their power. He said the units were beautifully maintained and he recommended to his bosses that yes, the RR power should not be sold or scrapped.

I remember him saying the units were sound mechanically, the prime movers were clean, excellently maintained. A lot of the original cab controls were in place too, just as they'd come from EMD. Even the tongue-and-groove wooden flooring in the cab was intact and in excellent condition. Believe it or not, he said the units had floor mats at the doors for crew members to wipe their feet before entering the cabs. Judging by the condition of the floors, those mats were used too.

Several months later, after the engines had been reassigned to Conrail service, he saw one in for a scheduled inspection at the E'port Shop. He said in just a few months the Conrail crews had managed to beat the living daylights out of the engine.

Pennsyjohn wrote:Hey guys.

Found this in Industrials, Short Lines and Military Forum.

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 11&t=21482

http://www.railroadforums.com/photos/sh ... 1290491954

Second one is actual link to photo, for those who don't wish to read forum

Look interesting? And it's only a short haul north from SA.

John

If your referring to the picture of the Port Jersey switcher, I can tell you it's NOT a Raritan River survivor, even though the paint scheme is similar. The PJRR 1197 is actually a rebuilt SW1200 of Missouri Pacific heritage, and is still active on the Port Jersey... although I recently saw a picture of it repainted into a light blue w/ grey stripe scheme.

Not my pic but it does look pretty nice.
http://www.flyerguide.net/viewphoto.php ... 060&nseq=0

Cool,thats my photo. The paint job has been finished with the number and lettering.

An interesting photo from the late '50s; can anyone confirm (or get closer to) the date or location?? The hack seems to be from the period, but this was a few years prior to my birth.......

http://refarkas.rrpicturearchives.net/s ... id=3598011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chris

Here is some more info on the RRRR Cabooses that will help:

http://raritanriver-rr.com/CaboosesOfTheRRRR.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since the caboose is yellow with red window trim, its dated after 1954 (when the red engines showed up), but by 1966, the windows were painted with black trim.

Since the caboose is very yellow, and very clean, I would assume its closer to the 1954 time frame.

The location has me stumped, I cant identify that building with the large bricks in the background.

Thanks, Tom, I very much appreciate the effort & info; the gentleman who posted this photo was not the original photographer. I was attempting to assist him in the date/location info, so this confirms the approximate date...there were many brick buildings along the line, so the absolute location will be tough to determine.

Great website, by the way; everyone in central Jersey should know this history, nice work.....

Chris