Nostalgia & History > Instamatic Shot of EL SW9 in South Hackensack NJ

In late August or early September of 1976, I rode my ten-speed Schwinn down along the tracks of Conrail's Pascack Valley Branch in search of a train. At South Hackensack (quite away from home) I found this Erie Lackwanna SW9. You have no idea my excitement. Sadly I had a 110 Instamatic, so this is the best we can get of the image... but you can't go back.

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Great story and interesting photo.  You definitely can't go back.
ALLEN
 

1st NJNY local  AKA  the "lower Hack job"   It was frequently a 16 hour job, and sometimes needed a relief crew.   There were about 60 active industry sidings in the Carlstadt-Teterboro-Hackensack industrial area back then.
Locals working on the erie side out of croxton would leave the yard in  the AM, with caboose behind the engine.    They typically would work that way all day, and then leave the caboose on the hind end when reversing direction to go back to Croxton in the eve.

436 was in the Croxton switcher pool for a long time.  It became NJT/NJDOT 436 and worked Hoboken terminal later in life..up thru the 1990's.
Then donated to the URHS, Boonton, NJ and restored to orig erie colors



 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/23 23:20 by pdt.

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Quite the bike ride, on typical crappy North Jersey roads. Well before the days of bike lanes (or bike helmets). Good job.

 

Good story. South Hackensack and the whole NY&NJ used to be switch after switch with all the sidings and shippers.

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I was always excited to see them switching the sidings next to the McDonalds in River Edge.  You photo follows what I always saw - the caboose next to the engine, not at the end of the train.  Even as a kid, I "knew" the caboose was supposed to be at the end of the train!  This was confirmed by our trips to Main Street and seeing the NYS&W trains with the caboose at the end where it belonged!

You must have lived very close to me. I grew up at the corner where Oradell, Paramus, and River Edge met.

njmidland Wrote:
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> I was always excited to see them switching the
> sidings next to the McDonalds in River Edge.  You
> photo follows what I always saw - the caboose next
> to the engine, not at the end of the train.  Even
> as a kid, I "knew" the caboose was supposed to be
> at the end of the train!  This was confirmed by
> our trips to Main Street and seeing the NYS&W
> trains with the caboose at the end where it
> belonged!

The Reading ran their local switcher kobs witrh the caboose next to the engine and like E-L would hang it on the hind end for the quick trip home. If they had a lot of work in each direction the caboose just stayed with the switcher.
Gonut

erielackawanna Wrote:
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> You must have lived very close to me. I grew up at
> the corner where Oradell, Paramus, and River Edge
> met.
>
Yes - Roosevelt Ave, just off of New Bridge Road in New Milford.  My mother never had a drivers license so we went everywhere by bus and train (or walking)!

> njmidland Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I was always excited to see them switching the
> > sidings next to the McDonalds in River Edge. 
> You
> > photo follows what I always saw - the caboose
> next
> > to the engine, not at the end of the train. 
> Even
> > as a kid, I "knew" the caboose was supposed to
> be
> > at the end of the train!  This was confirmed
> by
> > our trips to Main Street and seeing the NYS&W
> > trains with the caboose at the end where it
> > belonged!