DL&W Chester Branch

Hello, Sorry if this has been posted and answered before. I can't find the info. For the Chester Branch, How much further did it go past the current terminating point of the line? I heard it doesn't go to Chester anymore but the original are that it terminated in is not far at all. I was told maybe 12 miles at most. Also is the old Chester Station still standing or has it been demolished? Was there a rail yard there? When did passenger service end? Also is it ever possible to re extend the line for a short line freight/tourist line purpose or not? Are there any railroad artifacts left on the old portion of the old ROW?

Thanks

The line went to downtown Chester until 1933. The Righter Road crossing (just south the current end by Kuiken) still remains, but may be paved over. Beyond that, nothing remains (except for some culverts). Restoring any track would be almost impossible by now.

R36 Combine Coach wrote:The line went to downtown Chester until 1933. The Righter Road crossing (just south the current end by Kuiken) still remains, but may be paved over. Beyond that, nothing remains (except for some culverts). Restoring any track would be almost impossible by now.

Actually, IIRC, I don't think the DLW Chester branch made it up into town, although it is possible there was a spur into town briefly in the early days (1800's). It stayed in the valley along the Lamington River, terminating at a iron furnace just on the west side of what is now Rte 206. The DLW Chester depot was near what is now the corner of Oakdale and Hillside, down in the valley about a mile north of town. 1933 does sound about right for when this end of the DLW line was abandoned.

The CNJ Chester branch came in from the west into same valley, from the town of Long Valley, but it did then go up into town, going up a very steep grade (5%?). I thought it lasted into the 50's or 60's and served a lumber yard or coal dealer or similar just west of 206 and south of Main St. Down in the valley it connected to the same furnace or siding for it as the DLW, but from the other end, more or less, I believe. Somewhere on the web I've seen great pictures of what it all looked like in its heyday 100 + years ago. Hard to believe NJ used to be one of the top iron mining and iron furnace states in the country. There is a great old book by Lowenthal titled "Iron Mine Railroads in Northen NJ" or something like that with good maps.
JS

Morris County owns the track from Chester Junction to Horseshoe Lake. This portion of the Chester Branch is served by the Morristown & Erie Railway one or two days per week. Customers are Holland Manufacturing and Kuiken Brother Lumber in Succasunna. From Horseshoe Lake, thru Randolph, to just outside of Chester is a linear recreational park (hiking n' biking).

If you zoom in on http://www.maps.google.com in map mode, you can see a "Black River Wildlife Management Area Trail" on the east side of Pleasant Hill Rd north of Chester. That is the old DLW.
On the other side of 206 there is a "Patriots Path", which is more or less the CNJ CHester Hill branch going up into the town of Chester. The former lines of both the CNJ and the DLW to the iron furnace by Furnace Rd are not shown. To see them, go to http://www.historicaerials.com and go to CHester NJ and select one of the early topo maps.

Here is a site with some pictures of relics. http://www.markbetz.net/2008/05/09/iron ... chester-2/ Somewhere I read the DLW Chester station was torn down in 1991. Some maps call the river north of Chester that the DLW ran along the Lamington River and some the Black River, it seems. JS

Info and photos of DL&W Chester station: http://www.historicchesternj.com/people ... roads.html

I asked over on the CNJ Yahoo group where a lot of the CNJ old-timers seem to be. The Chester HIll branch came out in 1962. Before it came out, the Black River and Western RR ran on it very briefly when it was founded (hence the name) before it moved to its current site at Ringoes.
Also, here is a link with a map 1/2 way down on the page showing Chester Furnace with both the DLW and CNJ coming in from opposite ends (click to make it bigger), and a few pics.
http://chesterhistorytrail.wordpress.co ... /industry/
JS