Becker Farm Railroad

The Becker Farm Railroad (also known as the Centerville and Southwestern Railroad) was located on the Becker dairy farm in Roseland, New Jersey. This unique miniature (2 inch scale, 9 7/16 gauge) railroad, which featured a "live" steam locomotive and small-scale diesel locomotives, was the brainchild of Eugene Becker and commenced operatation in 1938, although the first revenue trips were not run until ten years later. The railroad was modeled after the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad's Sussex Branch, on which Becker had a creamery at Straders, New Jersey near the end of the line at Branchville (about 35 miles (56 km) away from Roseland as the crow flies). After World War II, the C&S RR had been extended to Peachtree Jct., approximately one mile from Centerville Station. Peachtree Jct. was not initially built as a continuous track, but rather as "wye" (Y)-shaped configuration that allowed the engine to be moved from the front to the rear of the train for the return trip. By 1949, the track had been extended to the edge of the Becker property in a 2,000 foot (600 m) loop that eliminated the need for using the wye track. A total of convert|7000|ft|m of track had been laid.

Operations

At full operation, the railroad ran on Saturdays and Wednesdays between, and including, Memorial Day and Labor Day and provided an approximately two mile round-trip ride between Centerville and Peachtree Jct. (The trains never ran on Sundays, although they would operate on the Fourth of July.) A round-trip ticket was 24 cents for children and 48 cents for adults. Typically, #1501 would run on the hour and the half-hour and #1502 on the quarter-hour. Four passengers could ride per car, and trains usually ran with 8-10 cars. On rare occasions, if ridership warranted, #1503 (a smaller diesel engine) would be called to run as an "extra" with a shorter consist of cars (usually four).

As such, trains would originate in Centerville yard and be pulled across the grade crossing (where the ticket booth was located) and into Centerville station where loading would take place. (Only the first runs in the morning would pull into the station empty since trains coming back from Peachtree Jct. would first pass through the station and into Centerville Yard so that the engine could be placed on the opposite end of the train.)

On signal from the conductor, the engineer (who was typically dressed as an engineer) would blow the horn or whistle and then start the train out of the station. Since the station was located at the bottom of a sizeable hill (3½% grade), the train would need to accelerate as quickly as possible before it crossed the short trestle over Roaring Brook and then across a second grade crossing. From there, the track continued to climb on what was called Pigpen Grade (named after the pigpen on the righthand side of the tracks) until it reached the crest of the hill, the meeting point for outgoing and incoming trains: Pigpen Siding. On hot summer days, the pigs could be counted upon to be wallowing in the mud while train riders held their collective noses as they passed. (Passengers in trains waiting at the siding weren't so lucky.)

The next landmark on the railroad past Pigpen Siding was Horseshoe Curve, a sharp curve in the shape of a horseshoe near the adjacent treeline, which was patterned after the Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, Pennsylvania, and which restricted trains to 5 mph (8 km/h). After leaving Horseshoe Curve, a second, lesser-used, siding was encountered, after which the line curved to the right and the Long Fill (about a five foot fill) where the best speed on the railroad could be made. Although trains were restricted in revenue service to 12 mph (19 km/h) on the convert|8|lb|abbr=on stick rail, steam locomotive #1501 was thought to be capable of topping 25 mph (40 km/h) and diesel locomotive #1502 was reportedly capable of topping 40 mph (60 km/h). However, the lack of a long straight (tangent) track, and the risk of turning over a rail, were concerns that limited "high speed" running on the C&S RR.

At the end of the Long Fill, the track entered a rock cut and then passed into the woods and approached Peachtree Jct. Although the diesel locomotives would operate without having to refuel, steam locomotive #1501 was required to stop to add coal to the fire as well as water to the boiler. This was done on the loop track. Due to the construction of #1501, this stop was necessary, and could not be performed while the train was in motion.

On the return trip to Centerville, trains usually stopped and sat "in the hole" at Pigpen Siding to allow the next train to pass. On rare occasions, when only one engine was running, the train would pass through the siding without stopping. When returning to Centerville, the train would pass through the station and into Centerville yard, where the engine would be run around the train (if it were a diesel) or be backed into the turntable for turning (if it were #1501) and then would be coupled back to the other end of the train. (Number 1502 was the only engine that didn't require turning since it had engineer controls on both ends. Number 1500, although a diesel, had only one set of controls and would also need to be turned on the turntable.) The train would then reverse direction back to the station where passengers would wait for the conductor to unlatch their car door so that they could leave the train.

A favorite with kids of all ages

Although the C&S was a miniature railroad, it very much had the feel of a real railroad. Becker, who was very much a railfan and live-steam enthusiast, went to great lengths and expense to create a real operating railroad. Everything about the railroad was well-done. Further, since the railroad tranversed Becker's picturesque farm property and travelled a significant distance, one had the sense that one was really riding a railroad, rather than an amusement ride. Clearly, this was not a rinky-dink operation. And given that the railroad operated in northern New Jersey, where Becker had numerous customers who received milk deliveries--yes, from the milkman--the railroad was also a unique public relations tool. And throughout the 1950s and most of the 1960s, the operation was extremely well patronized by the public. Indeed, it seemed that everyone enjoyed riding the C&S, young and old, and most were repeat customers.

In addition to the C&S, Becker Farm also sold fresh vegetables, milk, chocolate milk and orange juice at a farm stand adjacent to the station. A favorite snacking spot was at the banks of Roaring Brook where one could sip one's chilled drink, munch on fresh carrots, and watch the trains pass over the nearby trestle. Cows mooed and pigs oinked in the distance. It was an experience that this customer never tired of, and which is sorely missed to this day.

Demise of the Becker Farm

Following the death of HENRY Becker in 1964, the Becker family sold Becker Farm to Alderney Dairies, although the Becker name was retained at the farm. The facilities at Straders and Orange, New Jersey were closed. (This had a ripple effect on the aforementioned Sussex Branch, since Becker's facility at Straders was a major reason why the Sussex Branch remained in operation into the 1960s and when the creamery was closed, the fate of the Sussex Branch was also sealed. The section from Newton to Branchville was abandoned in 1966.) The familiar Becker Farm milk trucks also disappeared and home delivery of milk and eggs was discontinued. The C&S, however, remained more or less unchanged, but ridership began to drop, probably due to a combination of lack of public visibility and perhaps because railroads in general, as far as the public was concerned, had entered into a period of disfavor with the public.

In 1968, the Becker family was notified by the New Jersey Department of Transportation that it intended to condemn a large swath of its property on the southwestern edge of the farm for the right-of-way of Interstate 280. As projected, the highway would obliterate most of the loop track beyond Peachtree Jct. In a surprising move, the Beckers appealed the proposed condemnation and even requested the right to place the track under the highway; this was rejected by NJDOT and the highway was built as planned. As a result, the line was cut back to the wye at Peachtree Jct. and, in a throwback to the original operation of the line, locomotives were required to turn at the wye at the junction again.

In the meantime, a new line was built that left the main line beyond Horseshoe Curve and paralleled and then ducked under the Long Fill. The new line circled back in the general direction of Centerville, crossed over a pond on a new bridge and then returned on a new oval track. For a time, trains on the old line passed over the new line over a temporary bridge in the fill. When the new rail line was opened in 1969, the old line to Peachtree Jct. was abandoned. Ridership, unfortunately, continued to drop, no doubt exacerbated by the new line, which although travelled on brand new rail--where does one get convert|8|lb|abbr=on rail anyway?--was a second-class experience when compared to the old line.

In 1972, the death of the Becker Farm--and the C&S--was precipitated by a decision of the Roseland town council to rescind the farm's tax assessment. In a move that had political implications--Prudential insurance company made a bid on the property shortly thereafter (or was it before?) --the farm was forced to close, as the 1000 acres (4 km²) of farmland would now be assessed as if it were owned commercially. In spite of this, the C&S ran through Labor Day of that year, with the final run having pulling into the station near dusk.

Whither the C&S?

In the aftermath, the railroad was completely dismantled and was placed into storage. Locomotive #1501 was donated to the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan and then later was conveyed into private hands. The mile of track, with ties attached, and all the rolling, as well as two diesel locomotives, eventually made its way to Middletown Township, New Jersey and then to Phillipsburg, New Jersey. At Phillipsburg, a short piece of track is currently in operation which allows #1502 to take passengers on a short, 500 to convert|600|ft|m|sing=on, trip. Originally, plans had been made to rebuild the entire two-mile (3 km) round-trip C&S operation at Phillipsburg as part of the NJ State Railroad and Transportation Museum (Heritage Center), but the needed 35 acre parcel of land at Phillipsburg has recently been ceded to a townhouse complex and college annex. Although, the C&S continues to run at Phillipsburg, it's unclear whether a return to full operation at Phillipsburg will ever be possible.

To this day, vestiges of the Roseland operation still remain: the concrete bridge abutments over Foulerton Brook remain, although the surrounding area has been regraded and looks nothing like it did when the C&S was in operation; Peachtree Jct. can still be identified, particularly since the lead into the junction is through a rock cut (part of the oval right-of-way is still intact as well); the new bridge on the line opened in 1969 is still used by the business campus that occupies the Becker Farm land, where it passes over the same pond, with "C&S RR" still visible in the concrete abutment of the bridge. The business campus is situated on Becker Farm Road. The Becker's farm house still stands a short distance down the road from the business campus.

Trivia

*The original name of Roseland, New Jersey was Centreville, a section of Livingston, New Jersey. In 1874, a post office was built, which first carried the name Roseland (a possible derivation of Roselyn). The name Centreville (note the spelling) had been changed because it conflicted with the town of the same name in Hunterdon County. Roseland officially incorporated (and separated from Livingston, New Jersey) in 1908.
*The 1000+ acre Becker dairy farm, established in 1880, encompassed nearly 50% of Roseland's total area.
*The C&S operation was modelled after the DL&W's Sussex Branch and had several equivalents to the full-scale railroad: Peachtree Jct. (Branchville Jct.), Centerville station (Netcong station), Centerville yard (Port Morris yard), Pigpen grade (Andover grade); the block signals were also similar as were the speed restriction signs used by the C&S RR,
*Peachtree Jct. was named after an orchard of peach trees that originally grew there.
*DL&W locomotive #1501, a Pocono-type (4-8-4), was scrapped by the Lackawanna in 1949, the same year that C&S locomotive #1501 (same wheel configuration) was built.
*The use of switch locomotive #1500 restricted the train to fewer passenger cars and sometimes required the train to be backed as far as possible into Centerville yard so that a run for Pigpen Grade could be made. This author was personally on one trip that required three runs at the hill (we stalled on Pigpen Hill for the first two attempts), with the final--and successful--run starting at the farthest end of Centerville Yard.
*Centerville yard continued back into a building (equivalent to a roundhouse) that allowed winter storage of all of the C&S rolling stock.
*Typically, the signal at Peachtree Jct. displayed an "approach" (yellow) aspect. The block signal system was fully operational and provided three-block protection (red-yellow-green). Signals protected the entire line from Centerville yard to Peachtree Jct. Crossbucks and flashing lights protected the two grade crossings, with gates also in operation at the station's grade crossing.
*Becker Farm often conducted school tours of the farm on Wednesdays and the highlight of the tour was a trip on the C&S.
*The Centerville and Southwestern really did travel in a southwesterly direction from "Centerville".

Photographs

*This link, courtesy of the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians, has photos of the original C&S RR operation in Roseland, NJ and operations at the railroad's current home in Phillipsburg, NJ. (Note - Use Table of Contents arrows on individual pages to access additional photos. The timetable in color is from 1969 and shows a map of the new trackage that replaced the run to Peachtree Jct.) [http://www.trainweb.org/prrh/c_s/index.html]

*Another link to additional photos of the C&S RR courtesy of the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians. [http://www.angelfire.com/nj/prrh/c_s_index.html]