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| #16 sits
in the engine shed along with some MOW equipment. 1985.
Photo by John Humes. |
It was all quiet at the
Rahway Valley's meticulously maintained shops on this day. The doors
are down and locked, not a soul can be seen anywhere. Photo by Tom Piccirillo. |
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#16 & 17 work the yards
in Kenilworth in the 1980s. | In anticipation
of the first diesel's (#16)
arrival in early 1951, the Rahway Valley Railroad constructed a new three
stall masonry building to house its locomotives. The "new" shops (or
engine house or engine shed) were constructed in front of the old,
wooden, two stall
one, that had stood for decades. The new engine house
provided a well lit space, enclosed from the elements, where light
maintenance work could be performed on the railroad's two diesels (#16 and 17). The engine house also
provided some storage space, where some old records and relics were kept.
Until 1959, #15
was stored
here in her retirement from service, before being sold to F. Nelson
Blount.
The diesels were rotated from stall
to stall, one held the in-service diesel and one held the stored diesel
which might of been received some repairs. Never having a third diesel,
the remaining stall would have been used for a variety of things, from
storing #15 to boxcars of
Canadian Whiskey (see Booze on the
Branch).
The shops were always kept in good
repair under Clark
family management, and under the care of George Davis. The three large
doors were originally painted yellow when the shop was erected, but
eventually were repainted a dark green color. Everything was always neat
and tidy, never a broken window pane, never a thing out of
place.
The years went on, Cahill came
to manage the railroad, Davis retired, and the Delaware Otsego
Corporation eventually took ownership of the line from the
Keller family.
Later years took their toll on the engine shed, the structure came to look
disheveled: vandals breaking windows and large plywood boards covering the
broken glass.
Delaware Otsego discontinued service
on the Rahway Valley Railroad in April of 1992 and the Kenilworth Yards, as well
as the engine house, fell silent. Not long after the railroad's closure,
the engine house was torn down.
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This photo was taken in 1970.
You can see O. Winston Link's coach
that he was restoring on the side track. The
caboose on the side track is NOT 102, but an ex-Jersey Central hack
(see the Rahway Valley's 'Other' Caboose
) that someone
purchased and stored here. Collection of George Picyk. |
The shops in
Kenilworth on March 3, 1985. The obervation coach on the left was
part of the rail car rebuilding service
that was located on the
railroad for some years. Collection of Richard J.
King. |
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This is O. Winston
Link's ex-Rutland combine sitting in front of the Kenilworth Shops
in the early 1970's. Link stored the coach in Kenilworth for a
number of years. Link was a fixture in the Kenilworth yards for many
years. Collection of Patty Clark Gilbride. |
#116 owned by the Delaware
Otsego Corporation spent some time on the RVRR in the late 1980s.
#116 is seen here in front of the Kenilworth shops with two ex-NJDOT
E9's that someone had rented space here to work
on. | |
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