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RE: (erielack) Boonton... this hour

Todd Hollritt posted:

>  I saw the recent posts about Drew Chemical and all the 
> changes taking place there, so today I had a chance to 
> sightsee around Boonton NJ. Well, the first thing that you 
> notice as you cross over the DL&W at Wooton Strret is they 
> widened the bridge. Looks like the East side of the old DL&W 
> overpass has been redone to prepare for the new Walmart 
> opening soon.

The bridge widening was nicely done - they even created a DL&W-style concrete face on the east end. The west side of the bridge is still pure DL&W.

Oh, and the Wal-Mart opened last weekend. :(



>   Then, just down Division street you can see Norfolk 
> Southern's newest (And only) customer located at 100 Fulton 
> Street, Dietrich Metal framing. This looks to be a very 
> active operation. lightweight building consruction sheet 
> metal framing is stacked everywhere! lots of flatbed trucks 
> :(  too... but not one freight car in sight. One single track 
> off the Boonton Line enters the building, and what looks to 
> be a trackmobile is parked deep inside the complex. Have they 
> recivied any carloads from NS yet?

Yes, Dietrich has already received several boxcars of steel. In fact, one night I saw a few boxcars stored in the restored remnants of the "new yard" there. It's apparently a very active customer.

Oddity of note: In EL days, there was a switch that came off the "New Yard" located next to the main at this location. This track climbed the hill to the warehouse next door to Dietrich. Does anyone know if the EL ever served a customer there? I seem to remember this track was identified in Bill Sheppard's track diagram book, but I need to check. It's funny that NS has effectively put that track back in service after 25 years.




>   Next, stopping at the former station (NJT uses a modern 
> brick shelter just west of the old station) you can see all 
> the LIRR passenger equipment that had been placed here. ( The 
> nice wood CNJ caboose went to URHS P-burg I think) but what 
> is intresting is the former CNJ coach in the mix. What were 
> these cars used or indended for? Little shops??Plus, what's 
> is the heritage of the two cars east of the main station building? 

Shortly after CR (1977, I think), the Marcello family (who owned the sporting goods store right next to the station) leased the property to build a "strip-mall-inside-passenger-cars," called "The Station at Boonton USA.' I remember as a kid seeing a crane positioning panel track in to get the cars onto their disconnected tracks. Each car was painted a different primary color - what a rainbow! Each car was also lettered for a different railroad. Each passenger car contained a shop (I know one of them had a hobby shop), but it died after a year or two. Sadly, Marcello's sporting goods shop closed down about 7 years ago as well.

There were at least two CNJ coached that had observation ends added onto them. The *real* prize among the railroad "junk" is a street sign that reads "NYO&W Freight House ->" - unfortunately, it is welded onto a steel fence (ugh!)



>   A quick look at the former LACKAWANNA Frieght House...now 
> used as a dance school...well the former concrete structure 
> looks great, but WOW what was the yard and freight siding is 
> a deep green forest now! 

You''d never recognize it as the once-busy "old yard" that stored lots of tank cars for Drew/PVO. <sigh>  At least I can recreate this in model form... ;)

	- Paul

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