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(erielack) Quickie "Totowa Discovery Day I" report

OK, I'll try to make this as brief as possible - I'm literally exhausted
from hiking over six miles in this weather today! :)

First off, thanks to all who showed up, Matt Klemchalk and Rob Schoenberg
(and also to J.P. Mikesh who joined us half-way for about half an hour)....
We utilized a Sheppard diagram book for referencing where the sidings were,
so that's what I'll refer to here.

We started off at Mountain View this morning about 11:15. We hiked to the
start of the line (where the former diamond was between the DL&W Boonton
Line and Erie Greenwood Lake - gone since 1963). The Lackawanna is still an
amazingly tangent line! It goes for about a half-mile through some trees,
then bends to the right. Shortly after the bend, we cross under Parish Drive
and on the left we can see the remains of the Mountain View station platform
(amazingly intact, all things considered!) The ties of the former team track
were across from the station. We could find no signs of the siding for
Western Publishing (though there was a lot of brush there).

Continuing on, we came to the old switch for Continental Can. The switch was
freshly removed, and the siding was torn out completely - so fresh that the
trees had not encroached on the roadbed. The switch timbers were still in
place, but beyond that, ties and rail were gone. Shortly after, we cross a
small deck-girder bridge over the Preakness Brook. In the trees to the
north, a line can be made out in the weeds curving away to the north - on
the map, this track went up to Universal Mfg., but the switch to the track
is completely obliterated. It would appear that this track has been out of
service for a number of years. Here's an odd question: The Sheppard book
references the switch where the line comes in to the industrial track as the
"Airport Switch" - anyone know why? (the only nearby airport is in Lincoln
Park, quite a number of miles away)

We soon hit Taft Road, the only real crossing on the currently active
portion of the line (this is where J.P. met up with us). We continued east,
and finally hit some connected switches! The first was a trailing point
switch that led to Thomas' Bakery in Wayne, which moved out about a year
ago, taking its daily serving of six covered hoppers with it! (ACK!)
Literally 5 feet from the points of this switch is a leading point switch
that branches to the right (and goes down a rather steep embankment,
actually) into what was once the largest concentration of industry on this
line. There are a pair of diamonds (!) in this mess of trackwork that once
served 7 industries. Today, it's not used at all (anyone know the last
shipper here?). Continuing down the Industrial, we come to the location of
the switch that served the aforementioned industrial complex from the other
side, but the switch and about 200 feet of track (up to the diamonds) were
removed. We questioned why they did this? (the removal looked fresh, and
again, they took ties and rail away - maybe to move rail elsewhere?)

Just east of here was a trailing point switch that's not on the map - we
assume this is a post-EL add-on. It was in pretty good shape, and it
appeared to serve a food service place of some sort. Doesn't look like it's
serviced anymore, but looks like it could be... The switch is located
directly under the Riverview Drive overpass. On the right just beyond the
overpass is, apparently, the last active customer on the Totowa Industrial:
Omega Warehousing, on a trailing point switch headed south. The track kinks
rather badly to get close to the two-door building. There was a Cotton Belt
50' boxcar sitting there (I've driven past and seen NS cars there as well).

Heading east again, we come to another siding that's not on the map. Another
trailing point switch, it goes north to a small building with four plastic
pellet silos (it said "PACE" on the silos). The whole place look abandoned,
but the track again was in good shape. After ducking under the next bridge
(Route 80, a LARGE bridge), we came to what used to be known as "Co-Op
Concrete." In more recent years, it was Raia Concrete, and then Blue Circle
Cement (Model Railroader, in fact, did an article on how to construct this
very complex!). Today, it's abandoned. There are a few large piles of
asphalt here (perhaps the county uses it?), and NO signs of the siding that
was once here.

We duck under an *authentic* Lackawanna concrete overpass at Minnisink Road
here, and then the long tangent begins to gently curve to the left,
paralleling Route 80. From out of nowhere, a passing siding comes off the
north side of the line (and dives down about 6 inches). According to the
map, the siding is good for 20 cars. The track and passing siding continue
to curve to the left, and we finally reach the end of the siding and Union
Boulevard. The map also shows a siding at this point that came off to the
south to serve Agway, but there's absolutely no sign of this switch here
(for that matter, there's no sign of an Agway here!)

At this point, there's been some major rebuilding done a few years back -
Union Blvd. overpass is a new concrete structure, and there's a switch
underneath the bridge that's panel track from 1993. The Sheppard book shows
the track curving 90 degrees to the south, with a switchback coming off this
and going back along the original DL&W alignment (making up two legs of a
"wye"). Finally, his book shows a team track switching back off the Bomont
spur, almost completing the wye. Today, the track forks into two under this
bridge, the left fork going to Bomont (following roughly where that team
track was) and the right fork going south. We wandered down the Bomont
siding, but couldn't even venture down that far - several truck trailers
blocked the path!

We went south, past the newly-rebuilt (circa 1994) crossing over Lackawanna
Avenue, and then the track went to hell! It wiggles like crazy, a small
swamp marsh on the right, and an industry on the left (map says it's called
"Federbush," but it's now some down comforter place) - it's just odd that
this is an industry that is ON the line, not on a siding! It doesn't look
like it's received stuff in quite some time (the loading platform is filled
with garbage).

After we hit Route 46, we turn around and retraced our steps. When we got
back, we walked up the Greenwood Lake as far north as the trees would allow
(we got up about a half-mile). It's pretty neat there; it's on a fill that
goes out over a swamp! (great for mosquito bites, we discovered).

Returning to our cars, we drove to the opposite side of Route 46 and quickly
surveyed the remains of the line there (the weeds kept us from walking down
most of it) - the Water Commission facility had two trailer trucks parked
under the unloading platforms :(  and their trackmobile was off to the side
quietly sitting, awaiting a call to return that would probably never come.
The line is in weeds from that point until Caravan, a former customer (and
its siding is still there - perhaps some potential there?). Again the line
goes into weeds, and then it reappears at King Road, and now goes through a
nicely manicured lawn, and makes a curved turn across an employee parking
lot (!!!) at an industry there. It goes into weeds again, and doesn't
reappear before Route 46. Thus ended our day at around 4:45 PM.

So much for a "quick report." Comments welcome - we WILL be doing this hike
again, it was a lot of fun! I took about three rolls of shots, and some will
end up online (whenever I get this photo page done, arrrgh!)

	- Paul






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