(erielack) age and pecking order

[Ray G <gavlakhmic-groups_@_yahoo.com>]

At 71 I appear to be third oldest, grew up on Grand St in Garfield, NJ. This
street is perpendicular to the Bergen Line meeting it at just about the location
of the switch to the Dundee branch which runs down Monroe St which is parallel
to Grand St. This meant that when I was real young I didn't have much "range"
but from a second floor window I could see the switchers going up and down
Monroe on their way to and from the industrial area they served in Passaic. I
also was able to hear some strange words spoken by my mother and other women
when the 0-6-0 would slip the drivers and rain even more soot and ash on the
laundry. When I reached school age I could roam the block and spent much time
watching the activity at the junction. It was during WW2 so there was an
enormous amount of traffic. Many troop and material trains.  A standpipe was
built there in the mid to late forties.

Our major shopping was done in Passaic, the commercial district being split by
the Erie main line, so frequent trips there provided more watching
opportunities.

Rode the main line behind steam to Jersey City often on the first leg of trips
to Coney Island. This added a ferry ride. I can still remember the unique smell
of the New York ferry terminal and the sight and sound of the "Bulldog" Mack
chain drive, solid rubber tired trucks that ran on the cobblestone streets near
the terminal.

 First St in Passaic, in front of which ran the Dundee canal, the other end of
Erie Dundee Branch and a NYSW branch was another place to watch activity.

Ray Gavlak
ELHS 175

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