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(erielack) Re: age and EL memories



I'm 53. Moved to Morristown from the North Shore Chicago suburbs in '62. 
(Steam: I do remember lots of steam on the C&NW - my Dad commuted from 
Highland Park into Chicago, and we would always go down to pick him up, 
often getting to see them turning steam on the turntable. That would 
have been in what, '55 or '56?)
Oh, how did we get to NJ from IL - on the Broadway Limited! That was the 
easiest way to get 7 kids across the country!
In Morristown my Mom would take us along on her morning errands in the 
VW bus. The Mo'town train station was a regular stop, to watch the 
Phoebe Snow blast through the station. We always put pennies on the 
tracks and were fascinated and excited when the postmaster would come by 
to mount a mail pouch for pickup on the pole near the freight house. I 
remember the train stopping once or twice to pick up somebody important.
When I was in 4th or 5th grade my Mom arranged to have my birthday party 
on the Phoebe Snow, in the Tavern Lounge. She and other Mom's drove me 
and all my little friends (5 or 6 of us in our jackets and clip-on 
ties...) to Summit to board the train. We rode out to Stroudsburg and 
back. The conductors and staff treated us like kings. Lunch in the 
diner, with the train-shaped cake my Mom brought on board. Perhaps I can 
do that again some day (with many  more candles!)
Another birthday was an excursion on the old MU cars from Morristown to 
Summit, Gladstone branch to Gladstone, with birthday party at the pond 
in the town park. The engineer let me ride in the cab and hold down the 
throttle (with his hand over mine of course) for a while.
Needless to say, my Mom was/is pretty special!
I remember freights in Morristown with GP-7s, including watching the 
occasional pickup or setout at the freight house and lumber yard, and 
into the yard across from the station.
Also the M&E  still working Whippany Paper Board.  I  have some photos 
of  early M&E  steam excursions. Will scan and post. We also went to the 
Black River and Western in Chester (hmm, almost DL&W steam! :-))
We often went into Manhattan and always took the ferry while it was 
still running.
Later spent many hours on the MUs going back and forth between 
Hoboken/Mountain Station/Short Hills/Summit/Convent/Morristown/Denville 
visiting girlfriends (who went to Oak Knoll or Saint E's), playing in 
bands and making trouble. Who was the conductor on the Morristown line 
who sort of sang the station names? "Denville, Denville - the Hub of 
Maaaaaaarissss County!" We loved that guy!
Later I had a friend who was a conductor on the Gladstone Branch for a 
while in the last of the M.U. years - Hans Heymann. I have his ticket 
punch, which I treasure.
I think the two things I miss most about the M.U.s are the smells (the 
electric smell of the motors, the hot wicker seats in summer, that rusty 
brake shoe smell...) and the open-able windows (nothing like riding the 
Gladstone train through a hot and humid August night with the dim lights 
flickering on the trees!)
OK, sorry to go on so long...

Dave G.

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