>Never say never. I have photo I took just after Conrail with the NYS&W >1800 sitting right on that bridge waiting to make an >interchange movement. >At the time I was Assisitant Passenger Trainmaster and was assigned the >task to determine which >buildings Conrail owned on former EL properpty that could be eliminated. I >was making my study when the SUSYQ showed up. I believe that CR started actually charging for certain switching moves in Croxton from the start, that would have encouraged the NYS&W to do as much switching as possible outside Croxton, especially since the advent of CR killed off Marion interchange. At some point, the NYS&W trackage was disconnected altogether and CR would only interchange at Passaic Jct. (anyone know the date) ? > NYS&W interchanged with EL/Erie at Croxton Yard. NYS&W interchanged with > PRR originally at Marion, but due to the delays in trying to get around > Croxton Yard to get there, the PRR paid to build a bridge over Croxton so > that they could interchange with the Susquehanna in North Bergen. Note > that the NYS&W never used this bridge, even though it's commonly known as > the "Susquehanna bridge." Not exactly. In antediluvian times, the Midland built a single track trestle over Croxton; in 1887-88, it rebuilt and double-tracked the main line -- the last section completed being the trestle, which then became a viaduct/oron bridge of some complication. Keep in mind that the NYS&W still crossed the DL&W at grade -- at one time I believe there were as many as six tracks crossing six tracks -- 36 diamonds (Chicago eat your heart out!) in the plant. The NYS&W having been there first, the rules gave it preference, but I digress. When the Erie opened the Archways, it finally had the capacity to take NYS&W passenger trains to its own terminal. The DL&W then paid to reconstruct the area, with a grade-crossing elimination with the NYS&W (See Tabor for pictures). To make **that** possible, the NYS&W viaduct was demolished, and serving customers at West End (and PRR interchange) then involved the move across Croxton. The Erie charged the NYS&W for crossing Croxrton to meet the PRR; The NYS&W also charged the Erie for its moves south of Croxton to the PRR. The cost was more for the NYS&W, of course, as it involved pulling into the Archways or tunnel, then backing into Croxton, then heading down to the PRR. The NYS&W built a new freight station/office at Marion -- known as West End on the NYS&W (I always get confused when list folk here speak of West End -- on the NYS&W, "West End" was the eastern most point on the railroad in the old days <g>). It was a design similar or identical to "The Beach House" at Edgewater. The bridge/interchange was constructed by the Susquehanna and paid for with NYS&W Trustee's Certificates. There was strong objection from some NYS&W bondholders the assumption of new debt -- especially from WB&E and Paterson Extension holders (the latter represented by the redoubtable Edith Merritt), hence the deal to keep the Viaduct "Off the Books" in the new company. The Susquehanna used it daily from the time is was completed until 1953. When the NYS&W officially emerged from bankruptcy in 1953, the bridge, its lead tracks, and trackage south to Marion Jct was all conveyed to the PRR. An interchange yard was also built north of County Line Road. The Trustees Certificates made it into Penn Central, but were paid off by PC in 1969 -- not very long before the PC bankruptcy. Those Certificates, which included "Henry K. Norton, Trustee" on them, are among the last long term PRR/NYCentral obligations paid off by PC. Cheers, Jim Guthrie The Erie Lackawanna Mailing List Sponsored by the ELH&TS http://www.elhts.org ------------------------------
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