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From: JG at graytrainpix graytrainpix AT hotmail DOT com
Date: Sun, 6 Apr 2008 12:57:50 -0400
Subject: More Dereco Memories - BJ Tower
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While I have some old blocksheets out from BJ Tower (Rutherford Jct., NJ), I thought I’d share two with the List. First one is from July 3, 1968, a Wednesday. John Tulino had the first trick, and Bill Sheppard held down the second. Note that John, an old Erie man, identifies himself as “Oper”, i.e. Operator, while Bill lists his occupation as “Towerman”, more in keeping with DLW tradition.

It was a relatively normal day, but the 1056 on the Rutherford Drill (BJ) is a tad unusual, as the 1000’s generally stayed west of Hornell. The 6341, an F unit, ran east as a light engine at 840 AM, and something “EX” with “1740” came east at 1:38 PM (N&W SD-45??). Just as Bill comes on duty the Dundee engine (DD) heads east at 232 PM, about their usual time. Bill then had the TC-4 at 642 PM with the 3609 in the lead, followed by a Wrecker eastbound with the 2456 at 7 PM, followed by the Garfield Drill at 7:40 PM, and NY-98 with the 2510 at 8:13 PM (Dereco would soon change this symbol to Hammond 100, and then SFE-100, RI-100 and MILW-100). Then we see the Rutherford Drill (BJ) heading home for Croxton at 9:25 PM; business must have been pretty good that day.

Going west, we have the Dundee engine (DD) at 8:40 AM, the Garfield Drill (GK) at 9:42 AM, then two “EX” jobs, probably a BT Man and an Ordinary, with the 2551 at 1028 AM and the 2408 at 1130 AM. Unfortunately, Mr. Tulino didn’t see fit to record the road freight symbols this day. The Rutherford Drill (BJ) showed up from Croxton at 12:55 PM. After the commuter rush hour we have a w/b Ordinary at 733 PM with the 7111, and the ND-91 goes by at 904 PM with the 3624.

Second one is for Saturday, August 9, 1969. BJ Tower has less than 3 months left at this point (will be controlled from HX in October), and is usually closed on Saturdays. But Artie Erdman has been called in to throw some switches for the Rutherford Drill (RV), which is making a rare Saturday run. The Rutherford regularly worked Saturdays up until sometime in 1967.

It’s a quiet day, as no passenger runs are scheduled. The Rutherford shows up at 1220 PM and goes west on the Bergen County Line to Saddle River (SD), to work Grand Union and some other industries. It gets back to BJ at 121 PM (shown as 1321, as the EL is now using military time per N&W directive), and backs up onto the Carlton Hill Branch at 126 PM. At 158 PM the TC-6 with the 3640 rolls east for Croxton. Then at 329 PM an Ordinary goes west behind the 3648 (which is still a new engine at the time). The Garfield Drill is also working Saturdays at this point, and rolls east at 4 PM.

The Rutherford Drill gets back from Royce Chemical and other duties on the Branch at 430 PM, and it looks as though he pulled west thru the crossover from track 2 to track 1, so as to run east to HX on westbound track 1 (which is actually reverse signaled east of BJ, allowing this to be done without a train order; perhaps Croxton Yard wants to take the Rutherford in on the westbound lead from HX Tower, which does not have a facing-point crossover to allow this from track 2). The Rutherford passes BJ on track 1 at 435 PM headed for HX, and Artie locks the door to the tower at 439PM.

Jim Gerofsky
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