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The M&NJ's Puzzle Switch
Photos and Text by Dan Myers
The M&NJ's famous
puzzle switch (single slip switch) is no longer. Despite efforts on the
part of the railroad to salvage key components of the switch, Boyce
Excavation turned the puzzle into a pretzel. Please also note that the old
Agway office has been rotated 90 degrees and moved back so that a foundation
can be poured on it's original site. "Rita's Ice Cream" (Agway) will end up
facing Dolson Ave. about where the building originally stood. Photos by
by Dan Myers.
Construction
crews tearing down the old Middletown Agway complex have unearthed
the marvel of the MNJ--the "puzzle switch". The puzzle switch is a
single slip switch designed & installed in the early sixties by LB
Foster. The slip switch allowed the MNJ to turn a single passing
loop into long and short passing loops with a crossover option that
allowed them to access the (bag) feed store. Agway purchased the
sidings from the MNJ as a part of a deal to build their main "break
bulk" complex in Middletown and that's part of the reason why they
were abandoned years ago. When the bulk plant closed Agway
bulldozed dirt over the switch and their other sidings.
This week
crews cut the trees and bulldozed the dirt away. Railroad personnel
are madly unbolting the rails in an effort to save them but the fate
of the puzzle switch is uncertain at best. This morning I cleared
away the rest of the dirt and debris so that I could photograph the
site. The attached
photo looks toward Middletown with Dolson Av. in the background.
Survey tape marks the location of the two switch stands. If you
are coming to the O&W convention the "puzzle switch" is about 200
yards west of the Dolson Av. (17M) crossing. Update and photo by
Dan Myers
Note: THE M&NJRHS DOES NOT
CONDONE TRESPASSING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY.
This is a shot taken by Ray
Brown of the switch still in use
and sent to us by Doug Barberio.
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