Unionville's Engine Facilities By Lee Steele and John Deserto

Unionville had been a sleepy farming village until the last few weeks of 1867 when the tracks of the MU&WG were completed into town. With the completion of the line on Friday December 6 at 3:30 PM and the following Wednesday, December 11th excursion down the newly completed line, the village would bustle with the building of a complete engine terminal for the Erie operated Unionville Branch. Like several neighboring railroads that connected to the Erie, the MU&WG leased its line to the Erie to operate and was built to the Erie's 6' gauge. By May 4 1868 start-up of Erie operation, Unionville was the home terminal for the 2 round trip trains per day, scheduled for 1 hour runs each way. The Middletown newspaper reported that on the first day of operation the 20,000 gallon water tower, 30'x60' engine house, and the freight house were about complete, the passenger station was enclosed and the 50' turntable was underway. William I. Smith was the Unionville station agent.

	Morning	Express	Afternoon		Express	Afternoon	Evening
Leave Unionville	6:00am	11:30am	3:45pm	Leave Middletown	10:30am	2:15pm	7:30pm
Arrive Middletown	7:00am	12:15pm	4:45pm	Arrive Unionville	11:15am	3:15pm	8:30pm

On July 6, an express train was added with stops at Slate Hill and Westtown only, on 45 minute schedule. The turntable and water tank were a hopping place when the Express Train arrived from Middletown and had to be turned for its return run in 15 minutes. The Afternoon Train had a much more leisurely 30 minute turnaround. The Erie's broad gauge engine #64 and also the #90 "Dunkirk" were on regular duty over the Unionville Branch during this time.

For the next several years the Unionville engine terminal bustled with activity as the branch prospered, bringing the increased opportunity of the Industrial Revolution to the farmers of southern Orange County, but great changes were in the wind for the engine facilities in Unionville. The Oswego Midland Railroad, that dreamed of connecting New York City and Oswego New York, was beginning to bloom into fruition. The Oswego Midland needed a connection through New Jersey to the east bank of the Hudson River, and the New Jersey Midland Railroad would fit the bill temporarily and was leased until a wholly owned connection could be worked out. In order for the Oswego Midland to take advantage of this leasing of the New Jersey Midland, a connection between the Oswego's terminus in Middletown New York and the New Jersey Midlands terminus in Deckertown (Sussex) New Jersey was required. The Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad fit this perfectly. Evidence that this was the MU&WG's plan all along is illustrated by the fact that E.P. Wheeler, the MU&WG's President was elected Vice President of the Oswego Midland in March of 1868, before the MU&WG began operations as an Erie branch Line. Wheeler had earned this Vice Presidency by raising large sums of money in the town of Wallkill for the Oswego Midland. (For more details please refer to the article History of the MU&WG in the Unionville Flyer, Vol. 2 numbers 2-4).

On July 3, 1869 representatives of the Erie, MU&WG and the Oswego Midland met at Unionville to discuss the Oswego's offer to lease the MU&WG away from the Erie. While negotiations continued, all through 1870, the Oswego Midland bought up several parcels of land in Unionville New York from the end of track at Main Street south almost to the Stateline. The two southern most parcels were acquired by the MU&WG on September 5 after they were condemned. These parcels, which extended into New Jersey, would be the root of conflict between the S&W and the M&U 40 years later. It was not until May 13, 1871, that the MU&WG was leased by Oswego Midland. On Nov. 20, 1871 installation of a third rail began on MU&WG at Unionville. To speed the eventual transition to the Midland's standard gauge from the Erie's 6 foot gauge. This was completed on November 30, one day before the Oswego Midland was granted the deed to the final piece of land needed to complete the right of way to Stateline and meet the tracks of the New Jersey Midland. On March 31, 1872 the Erie railroad ended service on Unionville Branch and a long period of decline for the Unionville engine facilities was nearing as the Oswego Midland already had engine facilities at Wickham Ave. in Middletown.

A Decline In Usefulness Under The Oswego Midland

The night of March 31-April 1 was one of frantic work all along the MU&WG as the last portions of standard gauge rail was cut in around the switches necessary for the operation of the Oswego Midlands standard gauge trains. By morning a standard gauge Midland train rolled into Middletown from Unionville on the regular schedule that the Erie had maintained on the branch. Because the Midland continued operating the line as normal until the tracks were completed through New Jersey, the facilities at Unionville were probably also reguaged and continued their work storing, turning and watering Oswego Midland engines for the next two and one half months. An omen of things to come steamed by Unionville on June 15 as an excursion train from Paterson NJ to Ellenville NY passed through using the new connection. While the station and water tank continued to see daily use, the need for the turntable and engine house declined. On June 21 1872 Unionville was no longer the terminus of a branch, but officially a station stop on a through route from New York City to Liberty and Ellenville (the Oswego Midland tracks were not yet completed further up the line). Three regularly scheduled passenger trains passed through Unionville from Ellenville and Liberty on their way to NYC. While the water tank was an important stop for thirsty locomotives, the turntable and engine house were sparsely used. The exception was a period in the Fall and Winter of 1872 when the west bound Middletown Way freight tied up in Unionville and not Middletown on its trip from Jersey City. reason unknown It was also found that on December 1, the Crawford Train with engine #28, the "Crawford" ran to Unionville from its name sake branch. It presumably would have used the turntable and received a tank of water before returning to Pine Bush with its train. It is unclear if this was a one time event or a regular operation.

While the Oswego Midland needed to provide water for its trains at Unionville, the other Unionville engine facilities were dealt a death blow as the Oswego Midland moved and expanded its shop complex in Middletown from Wickham Ave. to Wisner Ave.. In early March 1873, the Oswego Midland purchased a 1/2 acre of ground with springs and water privileges in Unionville from Issac E. Tolend for $250. This would feed the tank in Unionville which was the only one between Middletown and Franklin N.J.. In July of that year, the Oswego Midland began building shops at Middletown New York and on the 10th of that month the 1st regularly scheduled through trains between Oswego and Jersey City began. These trains ignored the crestfallen Unionville engine turning and storing facilities as soon as the Middletown shops could handle them. While the Oswego Midland only ran over the Water Gap for a short 12 month span, this operational pattern of relying on engine facilities in Middletown continued for the next 41 years.

Continued Neglect By The Susquehanna

The financial panic of 1873 unfortunately dovetailed very nicely with the completion of the Oswego Midland. After only a month of complete operation, the Oswego Midland had to give up the lease on the MU&WG, severing its outlet to New York City. For the next several months, the New Jersey Midland operated into Unionville, and it is unknown at present if they used the turntable and engine house that presumably was still standing in Unionville. Even if they did, that use would be short lived as the Oswego Midland soon gave up the lease of the New Jersey Midland on October 1, 1873. New Jersey Midland owners soon realized that terminating in Unionville left them unable to tap the lucrative milk trade that had developed along the MU&WG, or a connection with any other railroads. The New Jersey Midland soon decided to lease the rest of the MU&WG on November 22, after approximately 2 months of independent operation. With the leasing of the MU&WG by the New Jersey Midland, the engine house and turntable at Unionville were left to rot as trains only stopped to fill their water tanks or to exchange freight on the 44 car sidings behind the station and passengers, Middletown became the end of the line.

The New Jersey Midland and later the NYS&W, built new turning, storing and fueling facilities in Middletown, at the foot of Charles St. were their trains terminated or originated while the facilities in Unionville rotted. It is currently unknown if the turntable that was installed in Middletown by the S&W, came from Unionville, or if anything from Unionville was reused. It is known that in the latter half of 1881 the newly created NYS&W replaced all stations south of Middletown, including the Unionville station. The era of New Jersey Midland control over the MU&WG, began the ascendence of the Middletown facilities and Unionville became very quiet. It was just another stop for trains from somewhere, going to someplace else. The Erie takeover of the S&W on February 1, 1898, only meant that the MU&WG was again part of Erie. No great change in Unionville. Somewhere during this time Unionville even lost their water tank. A Middletown branch map dated Nov. 1904 and a 1909 S&W timetable, showed a 50,000 gal capacity water tank in Quarryville and a March 18 1913, notice in the Middletown paper noted that the S&W had stopped taking water at Slate Hill and Quarryville and only use the Middletown and Sussex water tanks. This seems to point out that the Unionville tank had not been in use for some time. This Sussex water tank did not show up on the 1904 map and may have been new in 1913.

The state of neglect that the Unionville engine facilities suffered was typical of the financial neglect the MU&WG suffered after the Erie gained control over the S&W. MU&WG bond payments that were the responsibility of the S&W/Erie to pay off were past due in 1909 and 1911. By late 1913 a group of MU&WG bond holders successfully foreclosed and the MU&WG became the independent Middletown and Unionville Railroad. This blossoming of the line into an independent shortline marked the beginning of a resurgence for the engine facilities in Unionville. The M&U with a complete set of engine facilities in Middletown inherited from the S&W era, still needed at least turning facilities on the south end of the line near the new connection with the S&W at Stateline. The S&W also found itself in need of turning facilities after this cut-back from Middletown. The next 33 years of M&U steam power rejuvenated the Unionville engine facilities and thanks to J.A. Smith, General Manager, who was a prolific writer and archivist, we historians can reconstruct a great deal of the story about these facilities.

   The rebirth of the Unionville engine facilities under the M&U included another important aspect that even in its heyday as the terminus of the Erie's Unionville Branch this portion of the line had not received, interchange point. This added operational responsibility adds a great deal of interest to the Unionville facilities. It also complicated the start of operations over the newly independent shortline. The planed starting schedule of the M&U had 8 daily trains plying the line that connected with the S&W trains that ran down the rest of the Hanford Branch. M&U east bound Trains #2 and #6 would connect at the Unionville station with S&W east bound trains #904, 908,906 and 1008 to Jersey City and intermediate stations south of Unionville. M&U west bound Trains #1 and #3 connect at the Unionville station with S&W west bound trains #901, 903, 1001 and 1003 from New York/Jersey City and intermediate points.

   The owners of the M&U had purchased a locomotive and several passenger cars to handle the business, but only one of the coaches was delivered by December 1, 1913, the day the M&U officially began operations over the line. The new company had to make due with a leased Susquehanna engine, #126 and a borrowed Pennsylvania coach along with their own coach for the next few weeks. On opening day the S&W baggage car carrying mail and express on train 903 was turned over to M&U so it could complete its run to DG yard in Middletown because the car that the M&U had purchased had not been delivered yet and the PRR replacement car had been rejected by postal authorities as to small. The M&U agent a Unionville must have earned his $55 per month salary because the tracks surrounding the station were a lively place with the transfer of passengers and the interchange of freight taking place in Unionville. This continued until a transfer switch could be built at Stateline on the S&W. Even though the foreclosure proceedings had taken several years, the S&W seemed unprepared for the loss of the Middletown engine facilities and lacked even a siding for storing interchange traffic at the new end of it's line at Stateline/Hanford.

    Even before the M&U began operations, General Manager JA Smith began to establish a water source in Unionville for the M&U's engines. On November 21, 1913 he contacted the Unionville Water Works Company to ask about the cost of the water and for permission to use the (very leaky) fire plug just north of the Unionville passenger station with a hose to fill the tender. This was acceptable and on December 1, 1913 the M&U's make shift watering facility was in operation, and it was used a great deal by the M&U's borrowed S&W engine. In fact, this S&W engine helped blow apart the rate deal that Smith was negotiating with the Water Works. Smith had proposed a $5.00 per month flat rate with the Water Works, which would have been beneficial to the railroad. All you can drink for $5.00. During this time in early December, the M&U was using S&W #126 which, according to the General Managers Diaries and some subsequent letters had a small 3,500 gallon tender and was very leaky. This engine required refilling much more than the real M&U engine, #1, which had a 5,000 gallon capacity and didn't leak as much. The S&W was also using the fire plug and the Water Works people most likely didn't differentiate the real S&W engines from the S&W engine that the M&U was using. So the Water Works balked at the thought of receiving just $5.00 per month to fill these unquenchable iron horses, it didn't make business sense. The water company countered with and received a rate of .35¢ per 1,000 gals for one engine, .25¢ per 1,000 gals for two engines. The S&W was later billed .50¢ per refill, which were half of the S&W engines 4,500 capacity at .25¢ per 1,000 gallons. In a final irony, this rate was established on December 11, 1913, as the leaky S&W engine was back on home rails and the M&U's engine #1 with a 5,000 gallon tender capacity and a water tight mechanical system took over duties on the line. This incident is one of the first, but not the last incident of the S&W-Erie making life hard on the M&U.

M&U and S&W water use in Unionville in December 1913.
DATE Railroad Amount Tender Capy aprox. amount
Dec. 2 M&U 1/2 tank 3,500 gal. 1,750 gal.
Dec. 4 M&U 1/2 tank 3,500 gal. 1,750 gal.
Dec. 5 M&U 1/2 tank 3,500 gal. 1,750 gal.
Dec. 6 M&U 1 1/2 tanks 3,500 gal. 5,250 gal.
Dec. 7 M&U 1/2 tank 3,500 gal. 1,750 gal.
Dec. 8 M&U 1/2 tank 3,500 gal. 1,750 gal.
Dec. 13 S&W 1/2 tank 4,500 gal. 2,250 gal.
Dec. 20 S&W 1/2 tank 4,500 gal. 2,250 gal.
Dec. 27 S&W 1/2 tank 4,500 gal. 2,250 gal.

The joint M&U - S&W car inspector in Unionville wasn't told to keep track of S&W use of the M&U's make shift watering facility until December 12. In his hand written water report for the month he noted that the S&W had topped off 8 times before the 13th but he had forgotten the dates. The S&W was billed .50¢ for each tank of water, which was the same rate the M&U was paying the Water Works.

   Work soon began in Unionville and Stateline by M&U and S&W crews to provide the necessary facilities and trackage for these new operating requirements. On the December 1 start-up day General Manager, JA Smith noted in the diary that workman had begun to clear the old turntable site near the Unionville station and the M&U was planning on purchasing a 60' turntable from the O&W that had been used in Ellenville for 20 years. Smith seemed less than excited about buying a used turntable and putting it into a swampy hole and began to persuade M&U President Henry to invest in a wye.

Click to view a 1916 trackmap of Unionville, NY

Wye or Wye-not

   While Smith was working on the problems of starting a railroad from scratch, the relationship between the M&U and the S&W was obviously strained. Engine crews using the leased S&W engine #126 complained about its performance and the S&W substituted another engine, #38 on December 6,7,8,9. This engine was no better and prompted Smith to note that the S&W were playing horse with them. In several other instances the lack of cooperation between these two railroads reminds one of sibling rivalry. Needles to say, the M&U was happy when their own engine, #1, could takeover the schedule on December 11, 1913. During this time the question of whether it would be best to put in a wye or a turntable was not yet settled, but held the highest priority. With no way to turn yet available in Unionville, M&U trains were operating tender first on the way back to Middletown. J.A. Smith wrote to President Henry on December 16, asking if this was illegal, to which he responded no but it should be stopped as soon as possible. In case of accident, the M&U would be liable of gross negligence if operating its cars in this manner. Not surprisingly Henry wanted an update from Smith concerning the possible sale of land from Mr. Clark of Westtown necessary in erecting a wye in Unionville. In another letter dated December 26 President Henry states "We should not delay about the turntable, unless Mr. Clark can promise you an early answer as to the land at Unionville on which you are considering building a wye." General Manager Smith notes in the diary a few weeks later on January 12, 1914 that the M&U just received option on balance of land at Unionville necessary for the construction of a wye in Unionville. Two tracts of land were involved, one cost $600 per acre and other $300 per acre. He arranged for transfer of unused portion taken in second tract. The total estimated cost of (land $600, rails $1,026, ties $350, frogs and switches $300, other material $100, labor $200) constructing the wye $2576. This was largely in excess of estimate for turntable, but the turntable would be expensive to maintain and being 20 years old and already remodeled he believed it would be liable to give them a lot of trouble. In researching this article, I found numerous notations concerning derailments and other problems with the turntable in Middletown. I believe history points out that JA Smith made the right decision in Unionville. Two days later in a diary notation Smith wrote that they were using new #80 rails on the main track and 2nd hand #70 for construction of wye. He hoped that the weather would permit immediate construction, noting that cold weather made the job more expensive and work would not be done as satisfactorily.

   In a letter dated January 31 1914, to General Manager Smith, President Henry approved the plan for the wye, and ordered grading to begin. Two weeks later Smith's fears about the weather were realized as work was suspended on February 14 due to the frozen condition of the ground and the foot of blowing snow. Work was resumed when the weather moderated and the wye was ready for use on April 14, although due to the swampy nature of the site ashes were constantly needed to raise the tracks as mud came over the ties every time the engine went around. This wye served faithfully until the end of the steam era on the M&U. When completed the one acre of ground on Unionville, 1273 feet of track, 3 switches put the final cost of the wye at $2665.93, almost $90 more than estimated due to weather.

   Coal and storage facilities in Unionville didn't have the priority that the wye and water did. Because the engines were based out of Middletown, no engine house was needed in Unionville, nor was there an immediate need for coal. The facilities in Middletown filled the tender and the short trip to Unionville and return could be handled without replenishment.

   By April 1914 the M&U had fulfilled its immediate engine requirements in Unionville with the completion of the wye and the fire plug water facility, but the S&W still had no way to turn or water engines on the northern end of the branch. In an attempt to reach a satisfactory solution M&U General Manager Smith and various S&W - Erie officials negotiated for several years to reach some joint use agreement. Records were uncovered that show the S&W using the DL&W wye at Franklin Jct. to turn engines from Hanford. In a very awkward move, the S&W engines would run backwards light from Hanford after dropping their train and turn on the wye then return, again backwards to Hanford to take the train back down the branch (more S&W - M&U operations will be covered in a future article)

   The negotiation between the M&U and S&W generally revolved around turning and watering engines in Unionville, as the M&U hoped that the S&W would share the Unionville facilities and therefore the cost. As the joint car inspector at Unionville, Mr. H.S. Elmer had noted in his report several S&W engines had taken water at Unionville during the opening days of M&U operations. An undated contract was located in JA Smiths files between the M&U and S&W stated that the M&U's interchange tracks were behind the Unionville station and were 1129' and 740' long. It also granted trackage right to the S&W from Stateline to 1,000' west (north) of Unionville station in order for them to interchange cars, passengers, mail, baggage, express and to turn, hostle and coal its locomotives. In return the S&W would pay a proratta share of expenses to maintain, repair and operate these facilities and receive monthly bills from M&U. It is doubtful that this was very put into practice for a series of letters and diary notations stretched out over the next three years between the M&U and S&W concerning the price of turning and watering S&W engines at Unionville. These would have been unnecessary if the joint use contract was in place.

   These letters between the M&U and S&W provide and interesting insight into the relationship between the two companies. On May 29, 1914, in a letter from the S&W to the M&U they asked if the wye in Unionville finished, what would the M&U charge for turning S&W engines, and finally was water available?

   M&U General Manager Smith responded on June 1 that the wye was completed over a month ago and the M&U had no use for water at Unionville so they have no facilities except from city water works. He noted that the management was thinking of building a tank in Unionville. Smith offered a $2 per engine charge for turning which included trackage rights from Stateline and a $2,000 minimum charge per month OR a joint use of facilities and S&W would pay portion of maintenance, plus minimum charge $250 per month.

   Shocked, the S&W responded on June 5 that the $2 per turn fee was not acceptable and that the L&NE charged them .25¢ per turn, but they would consider a $1.25 per turn fee. The L&NE had a turntable at Sussex, NJ - ??? miles south of M&U Jct.. To reach this turntable the S&W engines would have had to use the interchange track, then run over a portion of the L&NE mainline, which would have been difficult operation. The M&U responded with a new price on June 11 and the S&W again declined in a letter on the 16th.

   Things cooled until Sept. 26, 1914 when the S&W offered a .35¢ per engine price for turning on the Unionville wye. General Manager Smith notes that this equals 1.30 per day (either this was an average over a period of time or he was bad at math). Smith counteroffered .50¢ per turn and noted in the diary that the reason the S&W low balled their price was due to the M&U using the S&W interchange track at State Line. I guess the M&U's interchange track north of Stateline hadn't been completed yet (if this is true, it was way behind schedule).

   In the Fall of 1914, things again heated up in Unionville due to an investigation of S&W operations in Hanford over unsafe conditions for passengers trying to make a connection with the M&U. In November the M&U again offered the S&W use of the Unionville engine, freight and passenger facilities. M&U General Manager Smith reminded the S&W - Erie that this would not only be cheaper for them , but would satisfy the safety charges of the S&W passengers. They would no longer have to walk the track at night from the S&W's Hanford station, cross the railroad bridge over Stateline Creek to reach Unionville. Smith also offered run through coach service between the two railroads and S&W trackage rights to Unionville to allow connecting passengers a more comfortable experience.

   Negotiations continued into 1915 with a Jan. 4 letter to the S&W from General Manager Smith quoting the price of $1 per engine per turn, 2 or more .80¢ each. Water was available for .50¢ per tank which is just what the M&U paid the Unionville water company. Smith noted this price would be modified after the M&U could erect their own tank, and a supply was installed.

   Apparently this newest price was also to steep for the S&W and they declined, which prompted another letter from Smith to A.J. Stone VP&GM Erie on April 2,1915, defending his price and trying to build support for the joint use of the Unionville facilities. He noted that it cost the Erie/S&W $20 per day at Hanford to turn engines at Franklin Jct. not including Hostler and Inspector. 1 agent $1.84 per day, (Train #901 engineer $1, fireman .50, brakeman .46, one ton coal 2.90),(Train #903 engineer $1, fireman .50, brakeman .46, one ton coal 2.90), (Train #907 engineer $1, fireman .50, brakeman .46, one ton coal 2.90), (Way Freight engineer $1, fireman .50, brakeman .46, one ton coal 2.90) for a total of $19.44 per day.

   In the midst of the negotiations Smith noted in the General Managers Diaries that the S&W had detoured extra #87 on Saturday August 14 from State Line at 9:25 PM to Middletown at 10:15 PM to deliver 8 milk cars to Erie as per American Railroad Association detour agreement. S&W was charged .50¢ to turn engine on Unionville wye, which was the last quoted price by the M&U.

   Getting nowhere with the S&W, on Dec. 8, 1915, Smith turned to the DL&W asking the fee they charged foreign roads using their wye at Franklin Jct. NJ. Assuming they would quote the price for S&W engines, they coyly responded that they don't charge the L&HR for the use of the wye, but in they're opinion the price would not be less than $1.

   Again getting nowhere, Smith again changes tactics and tries to force closure on this questions by writing to A.B. Shafer Supt. of the S&W on Dec. 28 by stating that the M&U had an offer to dispose of their water supply in Unionville and that the M&U had no particular use for at the time. He reasks if the S&W wanted to use the wye and water.

   After several months go by and one letter of reminder from Smith, the S&W responded on Feb. 7,1916, that the S&W had not made a decision yet. Smith fired a letter back stating that the sale had been lost and the interested party was offered a better location in Sussex near L&NE.

   Smith notified the S&W later on Feb. 29 that the party returned to negotiate with M&U on sale of the spring and land at Unionville and they would close the sale on March 5 and this would terminate the offer of .50 per tank of water in case the S&W used the wye. On March 2 the S&W responded that it had made no decision yet, but will advise.

   Interestingly, in a March 30, 1916 letter to the M&U, the S&W asked if the .50 per tank price of water at Unionville was still good. Smiths reply a few days later was that the price by the Unionville Water Works still good until we can erect a tank and supply our own water. Apparently the sale of the water supply in Unionville had fallen through.

   These fruitless negotiations continued until May 15, 1917, when the S&W informed the M&U that they had decided to install their own turning facilities at M&U Jct. So ended 3 and a half years of haggling between the two companies.

   After the initial burst of activity involved with recreating some of the facilities in Unionville, things settled into a routine. The wye quietly served to turn the M&U's steam engines on their daily travels to this end of the line, occasionally being noted as a site of a derailment as on September 14, 1916 when O&W engine #37 derailed on the west end of the wye. Also in 1916, the ICC had required all common carrier railroads to provide a complete survey map of their line. This produced the Sept. 30 1916, map of the M&U which showed what was, and what was not, still in Unionville.

   Starting at the south end of the property at Stateline the map showed the 433' long siding with a derail just north of the Stateline. The switch was on the northern side of the track in the area 1/2 way between Stateline Creek and actual boundary of Stateline. In Unionville itself, the map shows the wye, station, freight house and two interchange tracks behind the station. It also shows the location of the water tank, which as we know from JA Smiths letters was not put in yet in 1916 but the map was updated several times in latter years. The map and a separate insurance document list show the old Water Gap turntable pit and engine house as well as the track leading to the engine house and the track leading to the turntable. These are all listed as abandoned on the April 24, 1916, insurance document. The make shift Unionville watering facility was getting a good workout in early 1916. From January 1 to March 31, the M&U tanked up 12 times and took a total of 14,000 gallons. The Water Works relied on the M&U to keep track of the amount of water used, and the method used by the engine crews to do this was very imprecise. In a letter to General Manager JA Smith, engineer Charles Featherman (he later became a conductor on the M&U) stated that the hose from the hydrant discharged about 1,000 gallons in 5 minutes, and that is how he kept track. There was also discussion about getting rid of the hose and attaching an iron pipe to the hydrant for a more permanent facility. It is unknown if this modification ever materialized.

   During this era the M&U began experimenting with railbuses in response to the competition from newly installed asphalt road that paralleled the line from Slate Hill south. Schedules for these buses show that service was extended south from Unionville proper, down to M&U Jct. on the Susquehanna. This was undoubtedly due to the S&W not running up into Unionville to make the connection as they had done since the start of M&U operations. Fares for a trip on the Rio car south from Middletown was .40 to Unionville, .45 to M&U Jct. during the last week of March in 1919. When this switch to M&U Jct. from Unionville for passenger interchange started is unclear.

   In 1921 after 8 years of daily use in a swampy location, the wye required some maintenance along with several other items in Unionville. After eliminating a sag that had developed in the tracks behind the Unionville station, and fixing a problem with the water pipe into the station, the south leg of the wye was raised 5-6" and several rails were replaced that had caused a derailment. The ashes were added and the track tamped at this time. This work was completed on November 17, 1921. It was also noted at this time that the back end of freight house was badly bulged. The water table sill had rotted and weight of the coal inside the building was forcing the boards loose. The records were not clear as to the purpose of this coal, if it was for the freight house or station stove, or an emergency supply for the locomotives. It was planned that as soon as the stake pockets were removed from the flat cars that they could distribute the coal and repair building at least temporarily until next the spring.

   There was a very interesting (confusing) entry in the General Managers Diary for July 19, 1922. It stated that the turntable had arrived at Houston Ave for installation at Stateline to turn the (rail)buses but no points were available to install switch to the site. No further mention was made in the diary entries currently available. In an article on the M&U in the August, 1947 issue of Railroad Magazine noted two turntables present on the line. "Reminiscent of the roads steam engine days are some unused and rotting wooden water tanks, two turntables, and a "Y" at the Unionville end of the line where the steamer was turned in former days". No other references been found to shed light on the multitude of questions this raises. There was a notation in the General Managers Diaries on May 26 1926, that the Gramm-Berstein railbus derailed on east leg of wye on train #8. Its rear wheel mounted and derailed as it was backing around the wye.

   After the O&W's engine #158 derailed on the wye on August 18, 1922 prompted the M&U began a program to repair many areas in Unionville. In November of 1922, 200 new ties and rails from Waterloo were relaid in wye. Also mentioned was that a stand pipe also put in at Unionville. First mention of a temporary standpipe was made in August 1922, when JA Smith asked engineer Featherman to measure up some pipe and fixtures needed for the installation of a standpipe in Unionville. Work on the stand pipe was halted when a problem with the water companies pipe was discovered. In the spring of 1923 William Hanford, the agent at Unionville, was asked by JA Smith to see if the Water Company had resolved the problem and if the pipe connection could now be completed. Smith mentions that if this project couldn't be completed he would abandon it and put in a gas tank to fuel the railbuses instead. The next mention of the stand pipe was in the diary, that the new standpipe had been erected at Unionville. Interestingly, the entry date was Jan. 7 1924. It apparently took the water company some time to fix the problem. It was useful because later that year engine #2 ran low on water an cut off train #14 at Johnson to go to Unionville for water.

   In 1927 the M&U's highway transportation business, the Middletown and Sussex Bus Company, had a major impact on the Unionville facilities. On June 13, the Yellow Coach bus of the M&S started laying over in Unionville in the building that had formerly been the freight house. This freight house was remodeled into a garage during May and June by removing the freight platform (which had just been refurbished at a cost of $78.77 for labor and materials in the fall of 1924) and floor. This building was then referred to as the bushouse in Unionville, not to be confused with the railbus house in Middletown that currently serves as the M&NJ engine house. The limited business that the freight house had been used for was transferred into the passenger station which had also been modified with a new freight room and platform. The bill for materials for this work came from Mannings and Clark Lumber and Feed in Unionville (an M&U customer) and cost $209.36

   An October 13, 1927, list of insured property on the M&U, showed the wood framed and metal roofed Unionville passenger station was insured for $1,000; the wood framed metal roofed freight house (bus house) was insured for $800; the tool house for $50; and a wooden water tank and supporting steel tower were insured for $1,000. This is the first mention of the M&U's water tank in Unionville. This new tank was located between the freight house/bus house and the station in Unionville it had a 24,000 gal capacity, its dimensions were 20'x10' and was feed by a 1300' pipeline from the reservoir which presumably was the springs that have been mentioned previously. The old Water Gap tank was to the north of the freight house. The current assumption is that it was erected in 1927 due to the fact that the insurance premium on the structure was so high and the notation on the ICC map labeled the "new water tower" in the same grouping as the information about the freight house remodeling that was completed that year. We also have letters showing the M&U using the standpipe and paying the Unionville Water Works in early January, 1926. At one point in the letters, General Manager Smith notes his displeasure at the high cost of Unionville water. (During the 1920's the M&U was suffering from the loss of all types of business to trucks and private automobiles.) Granted this is very slim evidence as to the date of the water tower, if anyone has more conclusive evidence please contact me. As a final note for 1927, the bridge over Stateline Creek between Unionville and M&U Junction was replaced on the afternoon of November 22 by a work train powered by engine #2. The next day the same crew and train replaced the bridge over Rutgers Creek in Johnson.

   After having been a dormant question for over ten years, the S&W did start using the M&U's turning facilities in Unionville, but only while their turntable at Stateline was being repaired. The first hint of problems appeared in April of 1928. On the 24th of that month, Erie engine #895 had to run up to Unionville to use the wye because of problems with the S&W turntable (the S&W was owned by the Erie at this time and Erie power was common on the S&W). A temporary repair must have been done because no more S&W trains needed the Unionville wye until late July of that year. A bill to the S&W showed that on the following dates these S&W engines used the wye at Unionville:

July 25 S&W engine #901, 902
July 26 S&W engine #903, 942
July 27 S&W engine #935, 942
July 28 S&W engine #943, 942
July 29 S&W engine #943
July 30 S&W engine #941, 942

For each one of these turns the M&U provided a pilot to the S&W crew, which they charged the S&W for 1 hour of service.

   March 5,1929, the S&W again visited Unionville as engine #2496 took 7,000 gal. water. The S&W engines that were turned the year before didn't receive water in Unionville (it would have shown up on the bill) so this was an emergency filling for the S&W, what caused it we could only guess. That spring was chilly and General Manager Smith noted several times in the diary about lighting the furnace in the Unionville bushouse. While the stock market crash was still several months away the M&U's finances were such that WD Hanford, the agent at Unionville from Jan. 17, 1917, pay had been reduced $20 to $100 per month, effective June 1. Hanford's name continued to appear in the General Managers Diary in 1930, "April 11 CH Kollbocker ? (handwriting difficult to read) to relieve WD Hanford today; April 14 WD Hanford went to hospital this AM; April 25 WD Hanford, agent Unionville died." We must remember that history is about humans.

   The following year brought more changes to Unionville with new faces being seen around the tracks. On November 5 it was decided that the agents in Unionville and Slate Hill should be changed to reduce expenses. On November 10, 1931, W. T Wintermute checked out as Unionville agent and Charles Thompson checked in. On December 9 the M&U started laying over the engine at Unionville for the night. Engine #5 and crew would begin and end their day at Unionville, not Middletown. No reason for this change was given, and if any modifications were required to the existing yet sparse Unionville facilities it was not mentioned. This short lived arrangement continued until February 15, 1932, when the #5 returned home to DG yard in Middletown for the night.

   1932 was not a good year for water in Unionville. By this date the tank was being fed from the fore mentioned springs and not the Unionville Water Company. This could possibly be due to the fact that by this date the M&U was running fewer steam trains and the motor car had taken over the 1st class trips resulting in fewer tankings that the springs were able to recover from. On February 1 agent Thompson wired in that the pump was not working in the Unionville water tank, and in August a new water pump was installed for the tank. This situation was not helped by the fact that during cold weather this tank frequently froze up. Ironically this wasn't the problem on February 26 when the felt packing underneath the tank caught fire, which required the services of the Unionville Fire Company. On Oct. 13, Floyd Terry notified Mr. Thompson the agent at Unionville that the Unionville Water Company was going to shut water off to station because the M&U didn't pay water rent.

   The next score of years brought continued use and decay to the engine facilities. While pinch hitting for M&U engine #5 Aug 11, 1933, O&W engine #271 derailed on wye at Unionville on train #14 (during this engines time on the M&U, it derailed all over the place). Later that same year on October 21, the tool house burned. The fire was discovered at 11:45 by Edward Hanford. The freight house was still being used as a bus garage and storage building in 1934. The Brill car and highway bus operations discontinued on June 25 and the Dodge bus stored at Unionville. Since the only customers on the bus and Brill car were students traveling to Middletown High School it was common to end this service during summer vacation. In 1936 the Unionville freight house that served the last 9 years as a bus garage burned. A notation appeared in the General Manager Diary dated Sept. 21, 1940, stating that until further notice the S&W would leave waybills at Unionville and M&U would do same, the S&W's M&U Jct. would no longer be used. In a final record from the steam era on the M&U, the June 23, 1942, offer from A.A. Morrison to buy M&U for scrap value of $45,000 only one water tank was listed for the entire line (the one in Middletown). The tank was still in Unionville but was unused.

Death Due To The Diesel

When the M&U dieselized in 1946 the remaining facilities in Unionville were rendered obsolete. The bi-directional 44 tonner #1 no longer needed to turn on the wye, requiring only a passing siding, so the wye was removed. The water tank was dismantled on March 16, 1948 by Frank House. The station was still active and received a telephone on March 10, 1949, but the phone was removed 7 years later as the role of the Unionville agent was eliminated. Unionville was the last station, excluding Middletown, to be closed with the agent handling all the Johnson, Westtown, Unionville and M&U Jct. paperwork. When the S&W abandoned and removed the Hanford Branch in 1958 the only remaining purpose for the Unionville station disappeared and all the paperwork was completed in Middletown. The station itself was leased to Manning Feed and Lumber as a sales office on July 21, 1958, and the unused portions of the building were boarded up. On July 26 the brush was cut from the station to the Main St. crossing in preparation for its transformation into a team track for Sussex area business.

So ended the Unionville engine facilities, born as the primary facilities of the Erie's Unionville Branch, then ignored by the Oswego Midland and the Susquehanna in favor of the facilities in Middletown, reborn as a secondary facility for the M&U, then dismantled as obsolete due to technology. Some of the tracks are still present in Unionville if you know where to look in the underbrush that has overtaken this portion of the line. A visit brings mixed emotions; visions of the turntable with an Erie 4-4-0 being turned for its next run up the line; the excitement of the M&U #1 meeting a Susquehanna train at the Unionville station or the foreboding of the #7 with a meager train of interchange from the S&W turning on a weedy wye, passing a dilapidated water tank; and loss from the two steel rust streaks that surface from the dirt as you hold back briars and pricker bushes while trying to identify locations and remember details from a map that you don't have with you.