Ken,
A few details for your photos...
Your picture in Reply #26, searching for Overbrook Depot...
The Caldwell Branch went OVER the road on a deck bridge. The bridge and it's concrete were removed in the early 90's. When I was young, I was quite nervous about crossing that bridge on my bike, as it was a deck bridge without any walkways. I would stop short and walk my bike over it. I did the same thing when I reached the bridge in Cedar Grove over Peckman's river. The spur into Overbrook Hospital came off the Branch, went into a shed with a pit below the track for unloading coal cars, then divided into two spurs next to a warehouse. The warehouse was on the "straight" lead, and the adjacent track next to it. The warehouse / storehouse was located on the east (compass) side of the tracks and a loading dock ran the entire length of the building. Both spurs were in pavement, as shown in your photos; but I didn't see the warehouse anymore. The spurs didn't have "bumping blocks" at their ends, the rails simply ended in the pavement. I vividly remember seeing coal hoppers sitting there as well as a rare boxcar spotted at the warehouse.
The Verona depot and freight house ...
Depot torn down very long ago; maybe after the end of PAX service in '66? The green freight house / shed was still standing at least 5 years ago; "Verona" was located on... guess? The corner of Depot Street and Personnette Ave.
The Caldwell Branch lost freight service in June or July 1975 account washout at Overbrook. Heavy rain / flash flood took out a couple hundred feet of the lightweight cinder ballast, leaving the rails and ties dangling in mid-air just east (timetable) of the Overbrook spur turnout. The EL intended to make repairs, even had ballast cars sitting at Great Notch yard for the job. I believe the only customers left in '75 were Overbrook, Bahr Lumber, WEBSCO, Caldwell team tracks, and high/wide cars for the M&E RR at Essex Fells that couldn't fit under the M&E catenary between Dover and Morristown. The Branch was losing about $100,000 a year due to NJ taxes in the '70's, and in the pre-Staggers Act days of 1975 it was tough for a railroad to abandon a piece of track that had customers on it that they could provide service to. Well, the washout gave the EL a reason to embargo the line (not abandon) while the EL tried to fix their bankruptcy problems. Conrail was decided as the "fix", the ballast cars went elsewhere, the EL never travelled down the line again, and the Branch was left with EL's estate (not Conrail) for disposal; materials were salvaged and property sold.
Other info can be found in this forum under the "Caldwell Branch" topic...
