Becker Farm Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Becker Farm Railroad (also known as the Centerville and Southwestern Railroad) was located on the Becker dairy farm in Roseland
, New Jersey
. This miniature (2 inch scale, 9 7/16 gauge) railroad featured a live steam
locomotive, small-scale diesel locomotives, and small-scale passenger cars, was the brainchild of Eugene Becker. The railroad dated back to 1938, with the first revenue trips taking place ten years later.
The railroad was modeled after the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
's Sussex Branch, on which Becker had a creamery
at Straders, New Jersey, near the end of the line at Branchville, NJ (about 35 miles (56 km) away from Roseland as the crow flies). After World War II
, the C&S RR was extended to Peachtree Jct., approximately one mile from Centerville Station. Peachtree Jct. was not initially built as a continuous track, but rather as a wye
track (Y-shaped configuration) that allowed the engine to be moved from the front to the rear of the train for the return trip. By 1949, the track had been extended to the edge of the Becker property in a 2,000 foot (600 m) loop that eliminated the need for using the wye track. A total of 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) of track had been laid.
, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. It also operated on Wednesdays during July and August until dusk
. It provided a two-mile (3 km) round-trip ride between Centerville and Peachtree Jct. Originally, a round-trip ticket
cost 20 cents for children and 40 cents for adults (later raised to 24 and 48 cents, respectively, during the early 1960s, and to 25 and 50 cents, respectively, by the late 1960s). Typically, #1501, a 4-8-4
live steam
locomotive
, would pull a train on the hour (10 am, 11 am, noon, etc.) and #1502 or #1503 (miniature diesel locomotive
s) would run on the half-hour (10:30 am, 11:30 am, etc.). Six to eight passengers could ride per car, and trains usually ran with 8-10 cars. On rare occasions, if ridership warranted, #1500 (a smaller 0-4-0
diesel engine) would be called to run as an "extra" with a shorter consist of cars (usually no more than four cars) on the quarter-hour.
As such, trains would originate in Centerville yard and be pulled across the grade crossing (where the ticket booth was located) and into Centerville station where loading would take place. (Only the first runs in the morning would pull into the station empty since trains coming back from Peachtree Jct. would first pass through the station and into Centerville Yard so that the engine could be placed on the opposite end of the train.
On signal from the conductor
, the engineer
(who was typically dressed as an engineer) would blow the horn
or whistle
and then start the train
out of the station. Since the train station
was located at the bottom of a sizeable hill (3½% grade), the train would need to accelerate as quickly as possible before it crossed the short trestle over Foulerton Brook and then across a second grade crossing. From there, the track continued to climb on what was called Pigpen Grade (named after the pigpen
on the righthand side of the tracks) until it reached the crest of the hill, the meeting point for outgoing and incoming trains: Pigpen Siding
The next landmark on the railroad past Pigpen Siding was Horseshoe Curve, a sharp curve in the shape of a horseshoe near the adjacent treeline, which was fashioned after the Pennsylvania Railroad
's Horseshoe Curve
near Altoona, Pennsylvania
, and which restricted trains to 8 mph (13 km/hr). After leaving Horseshoe Curve, a second, lesser-used, siding was encountered, after which the line curved to the right and the Long Fill (about a five foot (1.7 m) fill) where the best speed on the railroad could be made. (Although trains were restricted in revenue service to 12 mph (19 km/hr), locomotive #1500, ironically the least powerful locomotive on the railroad's roster, was known to have attained in excess of 40 mph (64 km/hr) on numerous occasions. However, the lack of a long straight (tangent) track, and the risk of turning over a rail, were concerns that limited "high speed" running on the C&S RR.)
At the end of the Long Fill, the track entered a rock cut and then passed into the woods and approached Peachtree Jct. Although the diesel locomotives would operate without having to refuel, steam locomotive #1501 was required to stop to add coal
to the fire as well as water to the boiler. This was done on the loop track. Due to the construction of #1501, this stop was necessary, and could not be performed while the train was in motion.
On the return trip to Centerville, trains usually stopped and sat "in the hole" at Pigpen Siding to allow the next train to pass. On rare occasions, when only one engine was running, the train would pass through the siding without stopping. When returning to Centerville, the train would pass through the station and into Centerville yard, where the engine would be run around the train (if it were a diesel) or be backed into the turntable
for turning (if it were #1501) and then would be coupled back to the other end of the train. (Number 1502 was the only engine that didn't require turning since it had engineer controls on both ends. Number 1500, although a diesel, had only one set of controls and would also need to be turned on the turntable.) The train would then reverse direction back to the station where passengers would wait for the conductor to unlatch their car door so that they could leave the train.
, in 1965.
Pocono-type steam locomotive.
and live-steam enthusiast, went to great lengths and expense to create the feel of a real operating railroad. The ride was arguably quite scenic as well. Given that the railroad operated in northern New Jersey, where Becker had numerous customers who received milk deliveries—from the milkman
—the railroad was also a unique public relations
tool. From the late 1940s until well into the 1960s, the operation was extremely well patronized by the public.
In addition to the C&S, the Becker Farm also sold fresh vegetables, milk
, chocolate milk
and orange juice
at a farm stand adjacent to the station. A favorite snacking spot was at the banks of Roaring Brook where one could sip one's chilled drink, munch on freshly harvested carrots, and watch the trains pass over the nearby trestle
, all this while cows mooed and pigs oinked in the distance.
that it intended to condemn a large swath of its property on the southwestern edge of the farm for the right-of-way
of Interstate 280
. As projected, the highway would obliterate most of the loop track beyond Peachtree Jct. In a surprising move, the Beckers appealed the proposed use of eminent domain
and even requested the right to place the track under the highway; this was rejected by NJDOT and the highway was built as planned. As a result, the line was cut back to the wye at Peachtree Jct. and, in a throwback to the original operation of the line, locomotives were required to turn at the wye at the junction again.
In the meantime, a new line was built that left the main line beyond Horseshoe Curve and paralleled and then ducked under the Long Fill. The new line circled back in the general direction of Centerville, crossed over a pond on a new bridge (see photo below) and then returned on a new oval track. For a time, trains on the old line passed over the new line on a temporary bridge that had been constructed in the fill. When the new rail line was opened in 1969, the old line to Peachtree Jct. was abandoned. Ridership, unfortunately, continued to decline.
The deathknell to the railroad and the farm occurred in 1972 when the Roseland town council voted to rescind the farm's farm assessment, resulting in the 1000 acres (4 km²) of farmland being assessed as if it were owned commercially. The C&S ran through Labor Day of that year, with the final run having pulling into the station near dusk. The farm was subsequently closed and was converted into a business campus.
Rumors of a business deal between members of the Roseland town council and land developers were never substantiated.
and then later was conveyed into private hands. Its present whereabouts, in 2010, are unknown. Locomotive #1500 was conveyed into private hands in 1965 and was used to operate the Key Western Railroad
, a miniature railroad on Higgs Beach in Key West, FL until 1984. Locomotive #1500, the original locomotive on the C&SRR dating back to 1938, has been rebuilt twice, most recently in 1950 as a switch engine in bright-red livery
. The two miles (3 km) of track, with ties attached, and all the rolling stock, as well as diesel locomotive #1503, a larger single-cab diesel locomotive that was built in 1959, and first ran in 1960, eventually made its way to Middletown Township, New Jersey
and then later to Phillipsburg, New Jersey
. At Phillipsburg, a truncated piece of track is currently in operation during the warmer months which allows #1503 to take passengers on a short, 1500 ft (460 m) trip using some of the original passenger cars from the Centerville & Southwestern Railroad. Originally, plans had been made to rebuild the entire two-mile (3 km) round-trip C&S operation at Phillipsburg as part of the NJ State Railroad and Transportation Museum (Heritage Center), but the needed 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) parcel of land at Phillipsburg was ceded to a townhouse complex and college annex. Although, the C&S continues to run at Phillipsburg, it's unclear whether a return to full operation at Phillipsburg will be possible.
To this day, vestiges of the Roseland operation still remain intact: the concrete bridge abutments of the 1938 and 1969 bridges over Foulerton Brook remain, although the surrounding area has been regraded and looks nothing like it did when the C&S was in operation; Peachtree Jct. can still be identified, particularly since the lead into the junction is through a rock cut (part of the oval right-of-way is still intact as well); the new bridge on the line opened in 1969 is still used by the business campus that occupies the Becker Farm land, where it passes over the same pond, with "C&S RR" still visible in the concrete abutment of the bridge.
The business campus is situated on what became Becker Farm Road. The Becker family's farm house still stands a short distance down the road from the business campus.
, a miniature railroad in the Florida Keys
, will return to New Jersey
in May 2011 for the season opening of the C&SRR in Phillipsburg, NJ.
Phillipsburg Railroad Historians
Roseland, New Jersey
Roseland is a borough in western Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,819...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. This miniature (2 inch scale, 9 7/16 gauge) railroad featured a live steam
Live steam
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that are replicas, scale models, toys, or otherwise used for...
locomotive, small-scale diesel locomotives, and small-scale passenger cars, was the brainchild of Eugene Becker. The railroad dated back to 1938, with the first revenue trips taking place ten years later.
The railroad was modeled after the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
's Sussex Branch, on which Becker had a creamery
Creamery
In a dairy, the creamery is the location of cream processing. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream returned to the skimmed milk....
at Straders, New Jersey, near the end of the line at Branchville, NJ (about 35 miles (56 km) away from Roseland as the crow flies). After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the C&S RR was extended to Peachtree Jct., approximately one mile from Centerville Station. Peachtree Jct. was not initially built as a continuous track, but rather as a wye
Wye
Wye is a historic village in Kent, England, located some from Canterbury, and is also the main village in the civil parish of Wye with Hinxhill...
track (Y-shaped configuration) that allowed the engine to be moved from the front to the rear of the train for the return trip. By 1949, the track had been extended to the edge of the Becker property in a 2,000 foot (600 m) loop that eliminated the need for using the wye track. A total of 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) of track had been laid.
Operations
At full operation, the railroad ran on Saturdays until 5 pm between the beginning of May and the end of October, including Memorial DayMemorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, the Fourth of July and Labor Day. It also operated on Wednesdays during July and August until dusk
Dusk
Dusk is the beginning of darkness in the evening, and occurs after twilight, when the sky generally remains bright and blue. Civil dusk is when the earth has rotated enough that the center of the sun is at 6° below the local horizon...
. It provided a two-mile (3 km) round-trip ride between Centerville and Peachtree Jct. Originally, a round-trip ticket
Train ticket
A train ticket is a ticket issued by a railway operator that enables the bearer to travel on the operator's network or a partner's network. Tickets can authorize the bearer to travel a set itinerary at a specific time , a set itinerary at any time , a set itinerary at multiple times, or an...
cost 20 cents for children and 40 cents for adults (later raised to 24 and 48 cents, respectively, during the early 1960s, and to 25 and 50 cents, respectively, by the late 1960s). Typically, #1501, a 4-8-4
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...
live steam
Live steam
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that are replicas, scale models, toys, or otherwise used for...
locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
, would pull a train on the hour (10 am, 11 am, noon, etc.) and #1502 or #1503 (miniature diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
s) would run on the half-hour (10:30 am, 11:30 am, etc.). Six to eight passengers could ride per car, and trains usually ran with 8-10 cars. On rare occasions, if ridership warranted, #1500 (a smaller 0-4-0
0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven...
diesel engine) would be called to run as an "extra" with a shorter consist of cars (usually no more than four cars) on the quarter-hour.
As such, trains would originate in Centerville yard and be pulled across the grade crossing (where the ticket booth was located) and into Centerville station where loading would take place. (Only the first runs in the morning would pull into the station empty since trains coming back from Peachtree Jct. would first pass through the station and into Centerville Yard so that the engine could be placed on the opposite end of the train.
On signal from the conductor
Conductor (transportation)
A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...
, the engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
(who was typically dressed as an engineer) would blow the horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
or whistle
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
and then start the train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
out of the station. Since the train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
was located at the bottom of a sizeable hill (3½% grade), the train would need to accelerate as quickly as possible before it crossed the short trestle over Foulerton Brook and then across a second grade crossing. From there, the track continued to climb on what was called Pigpen Grade (named after the pigpen
Pigpen
A pigpen is literally a pen that holds pigs, also known as a sty. Pigpen may refer to:* Pig-Pen, a character in Charles M. Schulz's comic strip Peanuts* Pigsty , a film by Pier Paolo Pasolini...
on the righthand side of the tracks) until it reached the crest of the hill, the meeting point for outgoing and incoming trains: Pigpen Siding
The next landmark on the railroad past Pigpen Siding was Horseshoe Curve, a sharp curve in the shape of a horseshoe near the adjacent treeline, which was fashioned after the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's Horseshoe Curve
Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania)
Horseshoe Curve is a famous railroad horseshoe curve in central Pennsylvania, near Altoona in the United States. Called an "engineering marvel", it was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad...
near Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
, and which restricted trains to 8 mph (13 km/hr). After leaving Horseshoe Curve, a second, lesser-used, siding was encountered, after which the line curved to the right and the Long Fill (about a five foot (1.7 m) fill) where the best speed on the railroad could be made. (Although trains were restricted in revenue service to 12 mph (19 km/hr), locomotive #1500, ironically the least powerful locomotive on the railroad's roster, was known to have attained in excess of 40 mph (64 km/hr) on numerous occasions. However, the lack of a long straight (tangent) track, and the risk of turning over a rail, were concerns that limited "high speed" running on the C&S RR.)
At the end of the Long Fill, the track entered a rock cut and then passed into the woods and approached Peachtree Jct. Although the diesel locomotives would operate without having to refuel, steam locomotive #1501 was required to stop to add coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
to the fire as well as water to the boiler. This was done on the loop track. Due to the construction of #1501, this stop was necessary, and could not be performed while the train was in motion.
On the return trip to Centerville, trains usually stopped and sat "in the hole" at Pigpen Siding to allow the next train to pass. On rare occasions, when only one engine was running, the train would pass through the siding without stopping. When returning to Centerville, the train would pass through the station and into Centerville yard, where the engine would be run around the train (if it were a diesel) or be backed into the turntable
Turntable
A turntable is generally a rotating platform, and may refer to:-Music:* Turntable, a motor-driven platform that normally rotates a gramophone record at a constant rotational velocity as part of a phonograph....
for turning (if it were #1501) and then would be coupled back to the other end of the train. (Number 1502 was the only engine that didn't require turning since it had engineer controls on both ends. Number 1500, although a diesel, had only one set of controls and would also need to be turned on the turntable.) The train would then reverse direction back to the station where passengers would wait for the conductor to unlatch their car door so that they could leave the train.
Locomotives
Over its 44-year lifetime, the Centerville & Southwestern had a total of four operating locomotives on its roster, although for much of its lifetime the railroad never had more than three locomotives simultaneously on the property.Engine #1500
Built from a motorcycle engine in 1938, this was the first locomotive to ply the rails in Roseland. A 1940 photo shows 1500 as an odd-looking shell of an engine with open seats and several long levers (brakes and throttle). Subsequently rebuilt twice, the small, bright-red, single-cab, gas-powered engine that emerged was generally used as a back-up for the other engines. The engine was conveyed to a miniature railroad in Florida, the Key Western RailroadKey Western Railroad
The Key Western Railroad was a miniature railroad that operated from 1965 to 1984 in the Florida Keys. The railroad's one train was pulled by locomotive #1500 that originally had operated on the Becker Farm Railroad in Roseland, NJ from 1938 to 1965. After the Key Western Railroad ceased...
, in 1965.
Engine #1501
The railroad's most famous locomotive was built in 1950. A 4-6-44-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
Pocono-type steam locomotive.
Engine #1502
This was the railroad's first true diesel locomotive. Built as a dual-cab (bidirectional) engine, this was the only locomotive on the roster that didn't require turning on the turntable.A favorite with kids of all ages
Although the C&S was a miniature railroad, it was operated as if it were a real railroad. Becker, who was very much a railfanRailfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
and live-steam enthusiast, went to great lengths and expense to create the feel of a real operating railroad. The ride was arguably quite scenic as well. Given that the railroad operated in northern New Jersey, where Becker had numerous customers who received milk deliveries—from the milkman
Milkman
A milkman is a person, traditionally male, who delivers milk in milk bottles or cartons. Milk deliveries frequently occur in the morning and it is not uncommon for milkmen to deliver products other than milk such as eggs, cream, cheese, butter, yogurt or soft drinks...
—the railroad was also a unique public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
tool. From the late 1940s until well into the 1960s, the operation was extremely well patronized by the public.
In addition to the C&S, the Becker Farm also sold fresh vegetables, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, chocolate milk
Chocolate milk
Chocolate milk is a sweetened, usually cold, cocoa-flavored milk drink. It is created when chocolate syrup is mixed with milk . It can be purchased pre-mixed or made at home with either cocoa powder and a sweetener , or with melted chocolate, chocolate syrup, or chocolate milk mix...
and orange juice
Orange juice
Orange juice is a popular beverage made from oranges. It is made by extraction from the fresh fruit, by desiccation and subsequent reconstitution of dried juice, or by concentration of the juice and the subsequent addition of water to the concentrate...
at a farm stand adjacent to the station. A favorite snacking spot was at the banks of Roaring Brook where one could sip one's chilled drink, munch on freshly harvested carrots, and watch the trains pass over the nearby trestle
Trestle
A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, especially referring to a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by such frames. In the context of trestle bridges, each supporting frame is generally referred to as a bent...
, all this while cows mooed and pigs oinked in the distance.
Demise of the Becker Farm
In 1968, the Becker family was notified by the New Jersey Department of TransportationNew Jersey Department of Transportation
The New Jersey Department of Transportation is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey. It is headed by the Commissioner of Transportation...
that it intended to condemn a large swath of its property on the southwestern edge of the farm for the right-of-way
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
of Interstate 280
Interstate 280 (New Jersey)
Interstate 280 is a Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It provides a spur from I-80 in Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County to Newark, and I-95 Interstate 280 (abbreviated I-280) is a Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It provides a spur from I-80 in...
. As projected, the highway would obliterate most of the loop track beyond Peachtree Jct. In a surprising move, the Beckers appealed the proposed use of eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
and even requested the right to place the track under the highway; this was rejected by NJDOT and the highway was built as planned. As a result, the line was cut back to the wye at Peachtree Jct. and, in a throwback to the original operation of the line, locomotives were required to turn at the wye at the junction again.
In the meantime, a new line was built that left the main line beyond Horseshoe Curve and paralleled and then ducked under the Long Fill. The new line circled back in the general direction of Centerville, crossed over a pond on a new bridge (see photo below) and then returned on a new oval track. For a time, trains on the old line passed over the new line on a temporary bridge that had been constructed in the fill. When the new rail line was opened in 1969, the old line to Peachtree Jct. was abandoned. Ridership, unfortunately, continued to decline.
The deathknell to the railroad and the farm occurred in 1972 when the Roseland town council voted to rescind the farm's farm assessment, resulting in the 1000 acres (4 km²) of farmland being assessed as if it were owned commercially. The C&S ran through Labor Day of that year, with the final run having pulling into the station near dusk. The farm was subsequently closed and was converted into a business campus.
Rumors of a business deal between members of the Roseland town council and land developers were never substantiated.
Whither the C&S?
In the aftermath of the closure of Becker Farm, the railroad was completely dismantled and was placed into storage. Locomotive #1501 was donated to the Henry Ford Museum in MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and then later was conveyed into private hands. Its present whereabouts, in 2010, are unknown. Locomotive #1500 was conveyed into private hands in 1965 and was used to operate the Key Western Railroad
Key Western Railroad
The Key Western Railroad was a miniature railroad that operated from 1965 to 1984 in the Florida Keys. The railroad's one train was pulled by locomotive #1500 that originally had operated on the Becker Farm Railroad in Roseland, NJ from 1938 to 1965. After the Key Western Railroad ceased...
, a miniature railroad on Higgs Beach in Key West, FL until 1984. Locomotive #1500, the original locomotive on the C&SRR dating back to 1938, has been rebuilt twice, most recently in 1950 as a switch engine in bright-red livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
. The two miles (3 km) of track, with ties attached, and all the rolling stock, as well as diesel locomotive #1503, a larger single-cab diesel locomotive that was built in 1959, and first ran in 1960, eventually made its way to Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township, New Jersey
Middletown Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a total population of 66,522...
and then later to Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....
. At Phillipsburg, a truncated piece of track is currently in operation during the warmer months which allows #1503 to take passengers on a short, 1500 ft (460 m) trip using some of the original passenger cars from the Centerville & Southwestern Railroad. Originally, plans had been made to rebuild the entire two-mile (3 km) round-trip C&S operation at Phillipsburg as part of the NJ State Railroad and Transportation Museum (Heritage Center), but the needed 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) parcel of land at Phillipsburg was ceded to a townhouse complex and college annex. Although, the C&S continues to run at Phillipsburg, it's unclear whether a return to full operation at Phillipsburg will be possible.
To this day, vestiges of the Roseland operation still remain intact: the concrete bridge abutments of the 1938 and 1969 bridges over Foulerton Brook remain, although the surrounding area has been regraded and looks nothing like it did when the C&S was in operation; Peachtree Jct. can still be identified, particularly since the lead into the junction is through a rock cut (part of the oval right-of-way is still intact as well); the new bridge on the line opened in 1969 is still used by the business campus that occupies the Becker Farm land, where it passes over the same pond, with "C&S RR" still visible in the concrete abutment of the bridge.
The business campus is situated on what became Becker Farm Road. The Becker family's farm house still stands a short distance down the road from the business campus.
C&SRR in Phillipsburg, NJ
It has been announced that locomotive #1500, which left the Roseland, NJ operation in 1965 for the Key Western RailroadKey Western Railroad
The Key Western Railroad was a miniature railroad that operated from 1965 to 1984 in the Florida Keys. The railroad's one train was pulled by locomotive #1500 that originally had operated on the Becker Farm Railroad in Roseland, NJ from 1938 to 1965. After the Key Western Railroad ceased...
, a miniature railroad in the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
, will return to New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in May 2011 for the season opening of the C&SRR in Phillipsburg, NJ.
Trivia
- The original name of Roseland, New JerseyRoseland, New JerseyRoseland is a borough in western Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 5,819...
was Centreville, a section of Livingston, New JerseyLivingston, New JerseyLivingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
. In 1874, a post office was built, which first carried the name Roseland (a possible derivation of Roselyn). The name Centreville (note spelling) had been changed because it conflicted with the town of the same name in Hunterdon County. Roseland officially incorporated (and separated from Livingston, New JerseyLivingston, New JerseyLivingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
) in 1908. - The 1000 acres (4 km²) Becker dairy farm, established in 1880, encompassed nearly 50% of Roseland's total acreage.
- The C&S operation was modelled after the DL&W's Sussex Branch and had several equivalents to the full-scale railroad: Peachtree Jct. (Branchville Jct.), Centerville station (Netcong station), Centerville yard (Port Morris yard), Pigpen grade (Andover grade); the block signals were also similar, as were the speed restriction signs used by the C&S RR, which were similar to those used by the Lackawanna Railroad.
- Peachtree Jct. was named after an orchard of peach trees that originally grew there.
- DL&W locomotive #1501, a Pocono-type (4-8-4), was scrapped by the Lackawanna in 1949, the same year that C&S locomotive #1501 (same wheel configuration) was built.
- The use of switch locomotive #1500 restricted the train to fewer passenger cars and sometimes required the train to be backed as far as possible into Centerville yard so that a run for Pigpen Grade could be made.
- Centerville yard continued back into a building (equivalent to a roundhouse) that allowed winter storage of all of the C&S rolling stock.
- Typically, the signal at Peachtree Jct. displayed an "approach" (yellow) aspect. The block signal system was fully operational and provided three-block protection (red-yellow-green). Signals protected the entire line from Centerville yard to Peachtree Jct. Crossbucks and flashing lights protected the two grade crossings, with gates also in operation at the station's grade crossing.
- Becker Farm often conducted school tours of the farm on Wednesdays and which would include a trip on the C&S.
- The Centerville and Southwestern really did travel in a southwesterly direction from "Centerville".
External links
C&S HomepagePhillipsburg Railroad Historians