Raritan River Rail Road (RRRR) Field Trip #4

12 Nov 2005

For the fourth time in as many years several of us that frequent the forums at http://www.raritanriverrailroad.com (thanks again Webmaster Joe!) got together to see what’s left of the old RRRR. Last year Nikcap, RRRR4, Tom, Pennsyjohn, and I walked from the Sayreville side of the South River Swing Bridge to the bridge that spans the old Crossman narrow gauge line plus a few side trips (see http://www.raritanriverrailroad.com/rrrfld3.htm for details of this trip). This year EMD19927 & his father-in-law, RRRR4, Tom, and I got together to take part in RRRR Field Trip #4.

We walked from the site of the Crossman Company at the rear of Kennedy Park in Sayreville, through the area of the RRRR shops in South Amboy, and to the old connection with the New York & Long Branch / Jersey Central (now NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line [NJCL]). Mary & Pop Pop met us at Bergen Hill for a while and Nikcap met us at the site of the South Amboy shops.

The ground we covered is highlighted on the below 1947 RRRR system map (Figure 1) and local map (Figure 2). The yellow numbers on the local map are tied to the section numbering used throughout this report.

Figure 1 – RRRR System Map Showing Track Covered During RRRR Field Trip #4

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Figure 2 – Local Map With Numbered Points of Interest During RRRR Field Trip #4

When we met at Kennedy Park at 7:00AM (just below #1 on the above map) the temperatures were near the freezing mark but the skies were sunny. However, by the end of the day it felt like it was nearly 60 degrees. Most (if not all) of us were armed with coffee, but when RRRR4 showed up with a dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts, breakfast was complete. After shuffling one of the vehicles to the approximate midpoint of the hike we began our walk at about 7:50AM.

#1) Crossman Company – Our first stop was just behind Kennedy Park. This was the site of the Crossman Company which had a track off the RRRR feeding it. Crossman’s (a producer of sand, clay, and other aggregates) was operating in this area before the RRRR was born and continued operations into the late 1960’s. We spent more time here than I expected but that was because the ruins (Figures 3, 4, & 5) were plentiful yet cryptic enough to keep our interest.

Figures 3, 4, & 5 – Crossman’s Ruins

After the ruins we set out to locate the right-of-way (ROW) of track that served Crossman’s. We were interested in this ROW since we believe it was part of the original ROW prior to a track relocation that occurred in this area in the late 1930’s. The ROW was still visible as a path through the woods (Figure 6) as well as evidenced by the many ties we found still in the ground.

Figure 6 – ROW of RRRR Track that Served Crossman’s

#2) Bridge at Lower Main Street (aka Roberts Crossing) – We followed the ROW in Figure 6 to where it met the mainline. At this point the old mainline is intact and still in use by Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrail) as part of their Sayreville Running Track.

We walked about a quarter mile to the bridge over Lower Main Street (Figures 7 & 8). Built in 1930, this structure appears to have been constructed to handle two sets of track (note right side of Figure 8).

Figures 7 & 8 – Lower Main Street Bridge & Its Wide Support Wall

I know of no evidence that suggests two sets of track ever crossed this location. Perhaps at the time of the bridge’s construction RRRR management was planning for possible future expansion. The only other track that I know ran through this area was the Public Service trolley which crossed the RRRR track at grade before the Lower Main Street Bridge was built (see Figure 9, which is the top photo on Page 27 of Fred Deibert’s “Rails Up The Raritan [RUTR]). Quite a bit of fill had to be added to both sides of Lower Main Street to get the RRRR track up to the required height when the Lower Main Street Bridge was constructed.

Figure 9 – Public Service Trolley at Roberts Crossing (Today’s Lower Main Street)

#3) Phoenix - Just east of the Lower Main Street Bridge is a point on the line called Phoenix. I heard it was named after a local land owner but I haven’t been able to confirm this. Figure 10 is taken at Phoenix and is facing east toward South Amboy. A switch used to exist approximately where the 2-mile marker is located in this picture. The track bearing to the left is the beginning of the old Kearney Spur whereas the break in the trees in the center of the photo shows the path of the old mainline into South Amboy. Figure 11 is a similar shot but taken from where the mainline used to lie facing toward the Lower Main Street Bridge (barely visible near the center of the photo).

Figures 10 & 11 – Phoenix & the Kearney Spur (looking east & west)

Phoenix is where the Kearney Spur begins its approximate two mile run to companies such as Gerdau Ameristeel (http://www.ameristeel.com/locations/sm/sayreville_loc.cfm), the Middlesex County Utilities Authority (http://www.mcua.com/wwater.htm), and the old National Lead / Titanium Pigment plant. I believe National Lead comprised about 30% of the RRRR’s business in the late 1970’s but it stopped operations in 1982. Also, although the Middlesex County Utilities Authority is still operating near the end of the Kearney Spur, I don’t know if they take rail deliveries anymore. If they don’t, then the steel plant is the only customer left on this end of the line. That means CSAO maintains approximately 3.5 miles of track (which includes three bridges and two major grade crossings) between the Gillespie Spur and the steel plant for a single customer. If the steel plant ever closes or stops taking rail deliveries we can probably kiss another five miles of old RRRR ROW goodbye.

We decided to save exploration of the Kearney Spur for a later date. We left the active track and began the final two mile walk into South Amboy via the old mainline’s ROW. This brought us into an area of some new businesses and warehouses which were built on the old ROW. Also, the ROW was breeched by the construction of Kennedy Drive in Sayreville. It was here that we left a vehicle at the midway point of the hike in case we needed it. We shuffled the cars once again and returned to Kennedy Drive to make the final trek into South Amboy.

#4) Garden State Parkway (GSP) Overpasses & The Penn Cut Siding - A short distance from Kennedy Drive are two pair of GSP overpasses over the old RRRR ROW. Figure 12 is facing toward South Amboy with the southbound lanes of the GSP on the two nearest overpasses. Figure 13 is facing toward Kennedy Drive with the northbound lanes of the GSP on the two nearest overpasses.

Figures 12 & 13 – Garden State Parkway Overpasses

On the nearest overpass in Figure 13 you can see two metal structures attached to the bottom of and perpendicular to the road deck (i.e., parallel to the ROW). These structures are also barely visible on the nearest southbound overpass. I found out that these two overpasses predated the other two and were the original overpasses built when the GSP was constructed in the mid 1950’s. The other two overpasses were built at a later time (in fact, the RRRR helped deliver some of their major structural members). We theorized the purpose for these structures were to deflect the exhaust of the steam locomotives. Although the RRRR stopped using steam in 1954 engineering plans for the overpasses were probably drawn up at a time when steam was still running on the RRRR. When the two later overpasses were built steam was long gone from the RRRR so such structures were not needed.

The location of these GSP overpasses also coincides with one end of the RRRR’s Penn Cut Siding. This siding began immediately after the Bergen Hill Bridge and ran half a mile to where it rejoined the mainline at approximately where I was standing to take the picture in Figure 12. The siding was used to store all sorts of cars but I primarily recall the long strings of ilmenite-loaded hoppers destined for National Lead. This black powdery substance was mined in the Adirondacks and, per RUTR, was “brought in as a raw material for titanium dioxide used basically in paint manufacture, paper and rubber”.

However, when the hoppers containing the ilmenite leaked a bit, the ilmenite would form little black mounds which strikingly looked like gunpowder to the kid I was at the time. I recall my friends and I discovering these little piles and then collecting and secreting the material away to a more “secure” site where we tried to light it off. It’s a good thing it wasn’t gunpowder as we most certainly would have hurt ourselves if it was.

A bit further down the line we crossed the South Amboy city line at the Raritan Street overpass. There are two older photos I recall taken from this vantage point: The one on top of Page 22 in RUTR (Figure 14, which is vaguely re-created in Figure 15) and the one in Lucius Beebe’s book “Highball - A Pageant of Trains” (Figure 16, re-created in Figure 17).

Figures 14 & 15 – Then & Now of ROW Between GSP (in background) and Raritan Street

Figures 16 & 17 – Then & Now Between Raritan Street & Route 9/35 (in background)

Next along our path was the Route 9/35 overpass (Figure 18). This photo was taken pointing deeper into South Amboy with Bergen Hill only about 500 feet past this overpass. To the right of this photo is a sandy, hilly area where I had my first and last ride on a 3-wheel ATV. I almost flipped over while going down a rutted hill. A large part of my potential mishap was due of my inexperience on the thing, but it sure seemed inherently unstable when going downhill and turning. That experience gave me a better understanding of why they probably made 3-wheelers illegal.

Figure 18 – Route 9/35 Overpass

Just to the left after passing under this overpass the RRRR had a few short storage tracks next to the Penn Cut Siding. I’m not old enough to recall seeing cars parked on these tracks but I do recall the tracks being there 30 years ago. In fact, I was able to find some rail in the vicinity (see Figure 19) so I assuming these are the remains of these short tracks.

Figure 19 – Possible Storage Track Rails Near the Beginning of the Penn Cut Siding

Just after snapping the above photo I heard the familiar bellow of diesel locomotives. Hopping out of the woods (and probably to the surprise of my fellow hikers) I made a bee-line to the Bergen Hill Bridge to catch a train passing under it on the Amboy Secondary on its way to Browns Yard in Old Bridge. This is the first time we saw train action during one of our RRRR Field Trips. A Norfolk Southern locomotive led the train (Figure 20) followed by CSX-owned SD40-2 #8817 in a Conrail paint scheme (Figure 21). Figure 22 shows the tail of the train as seen from the RRRR’s Bergen Hill Bridge.

Figures 20 & 21 – Train on the Amboy Secondary Heading for Browns Yard

Figure 22 – Train on the Amboy Secondary as Seen from the RRRR’s Bergen Hill Bridge

#5) Bergen Hill – We all had our hangouts as kids. Mine was Bergen Hill.

I had relatives and a very good friend that lived at the end of Elm Street in South Amboy, so I spent a lot of time there. The ever-present RRRR tracks beckoned as they were only a stone’s throw away (literally). The occasional train only heightened my desire to investigate. Leaving the streets and heading out onto the tracks with their seemingly desolate geography and other entrapments was like visiting another world to the kid I was at the time. And they always called you back, enticing you to further explore and discover more of their secrets. The RRRR at Bergen Hill was my “uncharted territory” as a kid.

Bergen Hill had a passenger station, a few derailments, was the origin of a connection to the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), and was the location of the demise on the RRRR’s swiftest steam locomotive. Oh yeah, and there’s a 132 foot Cooper E60 (i.e., limitation of 6,000 lbs per linear foot) bridge there that us locals named “The Red Bridge” (Figure 23).

Figure 23 – East Side of Bergen Hill’s “Red Bridge”

The Bergen Hill Bridge crosses over the old PRR tracks (now CSAO’s Amboy Secondary). Figures 24 & 25 respectively show the west & east sides of the bridge with the single track Amboy Secondary beneath it.

The PRR maintained a large yard in this area primarily to store cars destined for the coal docks on the Raritan Bay in South Amboy. This yard sort of started just about where the RRRR’s Bergen Hill Bridge crossed over the PRR tracks. I read somewhere that this yard had 14 tracks at its widest point. South Amboy’s famed “Hole-in-the-Wall” crosses under the remains of this large yard.

Figures 24 & 25 – West and East Sides of the Bergen Hill Bridge

If I correctly remember the date that was on the builder’s plate, the Bergen Hill Bridge was built in 1907. Figures 26 & 27 below are a set of before & after pictures of the Bergen Hill Bridge facing toward Sayreville. Mr. Robert A. Staples courteously agreed to let me use his 09 Jun 1980 photo of five RRRR SW-900’s crossing the Bergen Hill Bridge. Other fine RRRR photos by Mr. Staples can be found at http://www.thebluecomet.com/rrrr.html as well as later in this report.

Figures 26 & 27 – Then (by Robert A. Staples) & Now Pictures of the Bergen Hill Bridge

After we completed our inspections of the Bergen Hill Bridge and began kicking through the leaves and brush to find the remains of the Bergen Hill Station, Mary and Pop Pop joined us. Mary’s father and brother and Pop Pop worked for the RRRR. Pop Pop began working for the railroad in 1946 and stayed with the line over a decade after it was absorbed by Conrail. Figure 28 shows all of us with the Bergen Hill Bridge in the background as Pop Pop tells us some RRRR stories.

Figure 28 – The Gang at Bergen Hill

In Figure 26 you can see a switch that begins immediately at the end of the bridge. This is the track that headed up a grade under Route 9/35 to a small yard (see Figure 29 from Page 39 of RUTR) paralleled Washington Road and which that is now occupied by small commercial buildings.

Figure 29 – Sketch of RRRR Junction

We didn’t walk this stretch of ROW but I have some pictures I took during a previous day of exploring. The track on the other end of the yard crossed over Washington Road and descended to meet the old PRR tracks (now the Amboy Secondary). Figures 30 & 31 show what remains of the grade that descended to the PRR tracks. To the left in the background in Figure 30 you can see the Washington Road overpass over the Amboy Secondary while I stand on the leaf-covered grade that rises up to meet Washington Road. Figure 31 is a shot of the descending grade taken broadside. You can still make out the sharp line that the grade makes laterally across the center of the photo (see the yellow arrows).

Figures 30 & 31 – Grade Descending to RRRR Junction with the PRR

Anyway…getting back to Bergen Hill, the best photo I have ever seen of the Bergen Hill Station is used at the bottom of Page 74 of RUTR (Figure 32).

Figure 32 – RRRR #10 at the Bergen Hill Station

I know this station was used for passenger service but I’m not sure if it had any freight use. If it didn’t, and since passenger service on the RRRR ended in 1938, I doubt this building saw much action after that date. I think I recall hearing that the building was either torn down or burned down sometime in the early 1940’s. All that now remains of the station is its foundation (Figure 33), hidden by overgrowth, leaves, & branches perhaps 25 feet from the old ROW. (If you’re interested, Webmaster Joe posted a separate story I wrote about the Bergen Hill Station at http://www.raritanriverrailroad.com/bhs.htm.)

Figure 33 – Bergen Hill Station Foundation

Now, regarding that switch just off the bridge in Figure 26, there’s a bit of a story to be told…a story about the demise of RRRR Locomotive #15, a Baldwin 4-6-2.

On 12 Oct 1948 this locomotive, the RRRR’s only Pacific-class locomotive, came off the tracks at Bergen Hill. Part of #15’s run for that day involved getting some cars eastward over the Bergen Hill Bridge and up the grade to the small yard shown in Figure 29. Per Pop Pop, #15 was a quick locomotive but lacked the pulling power of other RRRR locomotives. Therefore, the engineer opted to use #15’s speed to compensate for its low tractive power to get the heavy consist up the grade after exiting the Bergen Hill Bridge. Unfortunately, upon hitting the switch points at speed after exiting the bridge #15 jumped the track (Figure 34 from Page 63 of RUTR).

Figure 34 – RRRR #15 Accident at Bergen Hill

Since the RRRR had recently obtained seven US Army surplus 0-6-0’s that were at most six years old, Mr. Harold Filskov (the RRRR Vice President and General Manager) decided to have the 32 year old #15 cut up on the spot.

It is sad looking at #15 in Figure 34, but that photo has an obscure tidbit of information to offer. The yellow box in Figure 34 surrounds a concrete drainage culvert/pipe. As it turns out, this structure still exists at Bergen Hill and is shown in Figure 35 (that is, if you ignore the poison ivy, the leaves, the sapling in the center of the photo, and the white piece of cardboard at top center). This culvert/pipe allowed us to virtually pinpoint the spot at which #15 rested on its final day of work for the RRRR. In fact, Figure 28 was taken with us standing virtually on the same spot that #15 fell.

Figure 35 – Drainage Culvert/Pipe at Bergen Hill

Other occurrences at Bergen Hill: I remember seeing a newspaper article regarding a boxcar derailment in the area, but there was one other potentially more serious incident that occurred at the Bergen Hill Bridge. On 20 Apr 1981 three Conrail tank cars containing sulfuric acid, highly flammable ethyl oxide, and chlorine derailed along with six boxcars. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, but Conrail shook the public’s faith by keeping the incident quiet. Local officials and residents knew nothing about the potential danger until local police stumbled upon the railroad workers trying to re-rail the cars in the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, the community was upset about not being informed about a potentially hazardous situation.

In closing with respect to Bergen Hill, I’d like to share a memory that’s nearly 30 years old. A good friend of mine and I used to enjoy finding empty bottles, setting them up on a sand embankment next to the RRRR tracks at Bergen Hill, and then throwing stones at them. It may sound boring, but in our minds we were firing lasers (stones) at an attacking force of Cylon Raiders (bottles) as we tried to protect Battlestar Galactica (us). One day we had about 80 bottles set up on that hill when a RRRR SW-900 came across the Bergen Hill Bridge headed toward the RRRR shops. The engineer caught sight of us and our collection of bottles to be sacrificed. Upon realizing what we were doing he laughed and signaled to his co-worker in the cab to take a look. They seemed to get a kick out of our antics. I wonder if Pop Pop was in the cab that day. I should ask him.

#6) Washington Road Overpass to the Pine Avenue Grade Crossing – We departed Bergen Hill heading east toward the site of the old shops. We passed under the Washington Road overpass (Figure 36) and then encountered some serious obstructions toward the Main Street overpass (Figure 37).

Figure 36 – Washington Rd Overpass Figure 37 – Path to Main St Overpass

One can’t help but notice the new home built on the ROW near the Main Street overpass. Figures 38 & 39 show what a difference a couple years make.

Figure 38 – Main St Overpass 07 Jan 2004 Figure 39 – Main St Overpass 12 Nov 2005

We made our way up onto the Main Street overpass and looked down upon the house shown in Figure 39. Just then a man came out of the house and called up to us asking “Are you guys with the Department of Transportation?” Not thinking quick enough we simply replied “No”, but we should have said “Yes, we’re conducting a survey of the area because the rail line is going to be re-established here. We have the eminent domain papers here for you.” I wonder what his reaction would have been. Then again, I wonder if the guy even knew a rail line once ran through his property. In fact, the wreck on page 62 of RUTR (Figure 40) was once in what is now his backyard!

Figure 40 – Wreck at Main Street Overpass

We left the Main Street overpass but did not follow the old ROW due to the residential construction that has occurred on it. We instead walked down David Street, turned right onto Feltus Street, and walked to where a RRRR bridge used to exist over Feltus Street between George and Lefferts Streets. Figure 41 is a 09 Jul 2004 photo showing the west wall that once supported the bridge over Feltus Street. Figure 42 is a picture of this same area during our hike.

Figure 41 – Feltus Street 09 Jul 2004 Figure 42 – Feltus Street 12 Nov 2005

Several years ago many homes were built on George Street just east of Feltus Street. Figure 43 is taken from up on the old ROW just behind the wall shown in Figure 41. Trains used to pass through the space that is now occupied by the 2^nd floors of the homes shown in Figure 43. Like the guy who owns the house near the Main Street overpass, I wonder if these people are aware of what once stood on their property.

Figure 43 – Homes on George Street Between Feltus Street and Pine Avenue

From Feltus Street we walked to where the Pine Avenue grade crossing used to be. Since Pine Avenue descends between Lefferts and George Streets, the grade crossing caused a bump in Pine Avenue. This was re-graded many years ago. Add to this the homes built to the west of Pine Avenue and a playground added to the east, there’s nothing at this location that would indicate trains once passed here (see Figure 44).

Figure 44 – Pine Avenue Grade Crossing (by Robert A. Staples, 09 Jun 1980)

We briefly split up at this point with RRRR4 and me trying to follow the old ROW while the others walked up Pine Avenue to make a left onto Bordentown Avenue. We met on Bordentown Avenue where an overpass used to exist over the RRRR ROW.

#7) South Amboy Shop Area – As far as I know the RRRR had a shop in this area since Day 1. However, the shops most widely recognized are those constructed in 1919. This included the main shop, a 12-stall roundhouse, a turntable, and various outlying buildings. The 12-stall roundhouse was reduced to seven stalls in 1945 and completely eliminated along with the turntable and other buildings in the mid-1950’s. The main shop (Figure 45) served the RRRR into the Conrail years.

Figure 45 – RRRR Shops (by Robert A. Staples, 09 Jun 1980)

After a few years of disuse the main shop burned on 28 Jul 1983. Whatever remained was razed shortly thereafter. Figure 46 shows the floor of the main shop as we found it during our hike.

Figure 46 – Remains of RRRR Shop Floor

Figures 47 & 48 respectively show aerial views of the shop area around 1970 and today (the facility at the top of each picture is South Amboy’s Frog Hollow Swim Club). The rear wall of the roundhouse is easily discernible in the bottom section of Figure 47 but is barely perceptible in Figure 48.

Figure 47 – RRRR Shop Area Circa 1970 (Page 55 from RUTR)

Figure 48 – RRRR Shop Area Now

Figure 49 (taken in Jan 2004) shows a rear portion of the roundhouse wall as can be seen today.

Figure 49 – Remains of Rear Wall of the Roundhouse

The supports for the diesel fuel tank (Figure 50, also taken in Jan 2004) still remain. The tank is the cylindrical object near the bottom of Figure 47. Also remaining is the foundation for the sanding tower (Figure 51 [note the silver tower in the center of Figure 45]).

Figure 50 – Supports for Diesel Fuel Tank

Figure 51 – Sanding Tower Foundation

As for the turntable…we went to great lengths to pinpoint its exact location. The best we could estimate is that it stood where a small warehouse-of-sorts occupied some of the old RRRR property in the 1980’s and 1990’s. This warehouse was removed about five years ago and all that remains is its floor (see Figure 52). Our best clue that we were in the right area for the turntable was the house in the background in the center of Figure 52. This is the same house seen above RRRR #19 in the popular 1953 Homer Hill postcard (Figure 53).

Figures 52 & 53 – Now & Then for the RRRR Turntable

We left the shop area and headed toward the RRRR’s old connection with the New York & Long Branch (today’s NJ Transits NJCL). Figure 54 shows the remains of the RRRR’s Broadway grade crossing (the NJCL is to the left) as it existed in Feb 2004. However, this stretch of Broadway was recently re-graded & resurfaced as part of the new grade crossing being installed across the NJCL a few hundred feet ahead and to the left in Figure 54. There goes one more trace of the RRRR’s existence!

Figure 54 – Remains of Broadway Grade Crossing (Feb 2004)

#8) Downtown South Amboy (RRRR Main Office) – The RRRR maintained its official office on the northeast corner of Broadway and John Street in South Amboy. Figure 55 is a picture of the building as shown on Page 66 of RUTR while Figure 56 shows the building as it stands today. However, I heard this building is scheduled for demolition to make way for a parking deck.

Figure 55 – RRRR Main Office Then Figure 56 – Ex-RRRR Main Office Now

We didn’t spend too much time here since there wasn’t much to see with respect to the RRRR. Before leaving the area at about 3:30PM I grabbed one other shot to create another then & now scene. Figure 57 is from Page 68 of RUTR while Figure 58 is an image of the same spot today.

Figure 57 – RRRR at John St Crossing Then Figure 58 – John Street Crossing Now

Finale) A Visit With Mr. Kipp – A nice end to our hike was an offer by Mr. Robert Kipp, the RRRR’s last Vice President and General Manager, to visit him at his house. Mr. Kipp’s warm welcome and his offering of pastries and coffee were very much appreciated. However, we all became so engrossed in Mr. Kipp’s RRRR collection that I don’t think any of us actually ate or drank anything!

Mr. Kipp was ready for us as he had his slide projector set up and ready to go. We spent at least three hours at Mr. Kipp’s and must have gone through at least 200 slides, seeing tons of RRRR pictures we had never seen before. The ones that got the biggest reaction from the crowd were those of Caboose #5 as it was craned out of the South River. This caboose lost its brakes while sitting alone at Parlin, after which gravity took it from there to the open