Middletown & Orange Excursion Equipment
Miscellanany by Kurt Bell & Howard Pincus
Some of you may be interested in the
info below on the Middletown & Orange excursion equipment operated on the
M&NJ from 1962-1966 by ESRM. I have thought about writing an article in The
Unionville Flyer on this topic; if anybody has any stories or remembrances
please post them on the
M&NJRHS Yahoo Group;
I'd enjoy hearing from you. The messages below were written by Howard Pincus
in response to one of my queries for M&O information. Here they are:
OK Kurt, here ya go----
103 arrived at Middletown on Southern 50 ft flat 51346 on
March 24, 1962; it was shipped from Alabama. ESRM-M&NJ operation was 1962
through 1966, May-October of each year. 103 was shipped on a flatcar from
Middletown to Saybrook in early 1971 (it may have gone in the special move
"hospital train" over PC in late 1970-- I don't remember right now). Made
first (test) trip on VRR the night before VRR's inaugural run, July 29,
1971. Last operated on VRR in 1976; is now owned by RMNE and is currently on
display at Essex.
Yes, Erie Stillwells were occasionally used; one of the Friday night Port
Jervis trains would drop the deadhead cars at Middletown and pick them up
again on Monday morning.
The other stuff: a hospital train special move was made in
Dec 1970 of much of the ESRM equipment at Middletown. It operated via EL to
Maybrook, then Maybrook-Poughkeepsie Bridge-Old Saybrook over PC (NYNH&H
routes-- seems like ancient history to describe this now...). In that move
were the cabooses-- NYOW 8301, Cotton Belt branchline caboose, CNJ outside
braced boxcar, DLW troop sleeper bunk car, LNE gon, CNW 7409 combine, and
one DLW Boonton car. The Brill Model 55 had moved in Nov 1970 on a flatcar.
The Brill was not a passenger configured car (as it is now); it was built
for Sperry as a rail test car and went to Remington Arms in Bridgeport as an
interplant self-powered "boxcar".
The Arsenal Tower Pullman (8 section, 3 double BR, 1 drawing
rm) was not at Middletown, that I recall. Nor was the NYC-D&H heavyweight
diner (D&H 154). Both those cars were stored at CNJ's Elizabethportshops,
and were shipped to Essex in 1969-- they were on-site in theweed-filled
Essex yard in July 1969, along with a CNJ coach owned bySteve Bogen and
CVRA's NH RPO. The "AT" was actually used on acouple of ESRM trips to
Montral from GCT in 1965-66, onthe "Montreal Ltd". It came into RMNE
ownership in 1985, and wastraded by RMNE to Steamtown NPS in 1994.
The CNW 7409 ran on every VRR train from 7/29/71, as Conn Valley409. It came
into RMNE ownership in 1985, and was sold by RMNE toMid-Continent in 1990.
The LNE 728 gon was also a regular on the VRR trains until 1992 orso.
Cotton Belt branchline (not "drovers") caboose was not used
in trainservice on VRR; it went into RMNE ownership in 1985, and iscurrently
stored by RMNE and is available for sale. RMNE has hadinquires from Texas
groups.
The Boonton coach was lettered "Middletown & Orange", and was
one ofthe older DLW cars (standing seam roof, wood windows, etc.). Irecall
it was vandalized at Middletown, and never saw service at VRR(VRR bought 4
nice, newer DLW Boontons in early 1972, fresh out ofservice at Hoboken). It
was scrapped about 1986.
The NYO&W 8301 caboose was sold to ESRM member and VRR
engineerElliot Ferris about 1971; he and his family used it as theirquarters
at Essex. His son Kurt sold it about 1990 to VRR engineerBruce Edgerton, who
moved the car off the VRR to his home propertyin Deep River.
The CNJ boxcar was traded to Steamtown NPS in 1992 for a
Central Vermont outside braced boxcar; the CNJ car and a former RMNE DLW
36-foot wood box were loaded on TTX flats and shipped from Saybrook to
Scranton along with Arsenal Tower in 1995. The DLW car is nowrestored and on
display inside the roundhouse-- it's the "PhoebeSnow" boxcar.
The DLW troop sleeper bunk car was used for many years by VRR
and RMNE personnel, first at Essex, and later at RMNE's Saybrook Yard. It
will be moved to the Naugy, perhaps later this year. It may eventually be
fit for human habitiation again.
There was an LIRR wood caboose at Middletown at one point; it
was burned to the trucks and center sill by vandals and the remains were cut
up on site. The NYO&W cab was slightly damaged in that incident.
So, does that cover it?
Howard Pincus
Also....
While going through some old files, I came across an ESRM newsletter with
more details of the equipment move:
EL moved the stuff-- O&W caboose, LNE gon, CNW combine, DLW
596 coach, DLW bunk car, Cotton Belt caboose and CNJ boxcar- in that order-
from Middletown to Maybrook on April 12, 1971. PC ran the train as a special
move on April 15, 1971, out of Maybrook. PC added a high and wide load to
the head of the train, and a PRR N5 to the rear, and PC C-425 2453 (ex-NH)
took the cars east over the Maybrook Line at 7:45 am. It arrived at Old
Saybrook at 4:00 pm and was shoved up to the VRR leg of the wye.
Of the equipment in that move, the CNW combine and LNE gon were carrying
passengers on the first VRR train three months (and a few days) later.
The ESRM newsletter also mentioned that 103 moved during the previous fall,
not in early 1971 as I had remembered.
Kurt Bell
Railroad Museum of PA (and M&O/M&NJ admirer)
