The CMoye1 Pages - Steam Trains - Black River & Western RR

Black River & Western Railroad

The Black River & Western Railroad is a shortline railoard operating over sixteen miles of ex-CNJ and ex-PRR track in central New Jersey. The line, which originally ran from Flemington to Lambertville, was opened by the Flemington Railroad and Transportation Company in 1854. Since then, freight operations have never ceased on the line. In about 1870, the line was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The PRR operated freight along the line up until 1970, and interchanged their freight with the Belvedeire and Delaware Railway in Lambertville.

The Central Railroad of New Jersey also operated passenger service on the line up until the early 1930s. Service was run north past Flemington; the CNJ line ran from Flemington to Somerville over the ex-Lehigh Valley line. Unfortunately, the line from Three Bridges north to Somerville was ripped up sometime in the 1970s, though the right-of-way and all but two bridges still exist.

The BRW started operating steam excurstion service in 1965 under trackage rights from Flemington to Ringoes by the PRR. Five years later, the PRR put the Fleminton to Lambertville line up for abandonment, and so the Black River purchased the entire line. Six years later, the CNJ was absorbed into the Penn Central, and the BRW purchased the Flemington to Three Bridges branch. Also at that time, the Belvediere and Delaware Railway was abandoned from Milford to Trenton, and so the Black River began interchanging freight in Three Bridges instead. The BRW operated freight along the entire line up into the 1990s, but now only operates freight from Ringoes to Three Bridges; currently, the southern-most seven miles of track from Ringoes to Lambertville is out-of-service, with no definite plans of restoration.

The pride and joy of the Black River & Western Railroad has got to be their 1937 ALCo Consolidation, #60. This engine pulled the first official train of the BRW in 1965, and has since been the only steam engine to remain on the railroad. (Two others, 0-6-0T #14 and 4-6-2 #148 also operated on the railroad, but not since the 1970s.) #60 was built for the Great Western Sugar Company in Colorado in August of 1937, and operated there until the Black River purchased her in the early 1960s, where she will spend the rest of her life.

Up until the early 1990s, the railroad also used mainly ALCo deisels (RS1s, an RS3, along with 2 CF7s, an SW1, and a couple others), but has now switched to EMDs. The railroad owns 2 GP7s, 3 GP9s, 2 SW1200s, an NW2, and a Mack BR. The BRW operates freight not just along its home rails, but in Easton and Bound Brook as well. Also of note is that the Black River has recently purchased the Belvedeire and Delaware Railway from Milford to Phillipsburg from Conrail, and now operates freight along the line. With the founding of the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation museum in Phillipsburg, who knows... maybe we will see passenger service along that line again!

The BRW operates regular excursion service on weekends and holidays from April through mid-December, and on Thursdays and Fridays in July and August. There are many special events throughout the year, including the mixed freight! Chartered cars, cabooses, and whole trains are also available. For more information, visit http://www.brwrr.com/, The Unofficial Black River and Western Homepage, or give the Ringoes station a call at 908.782.9600

Photo Shoots

Older Photos -- This is a collection of video captures of BRW #60 that I took with an older camcorder during 1999. Also included are a few other random images I have found elsewhere on the web.
May 20, 2000 Photos -- One rainy day, I decided to take a shot at some black and white photography, and these are the results. Mostly BRW #60, with a few other random BRW shots thrown in.
May 21, 2000 Photos -- Just a few more shots from the black and white rolls of film, taken the following day.
June 26, 2000 Photos -- I recently received a Sony TRV-900 digital camera, and so I had to try the still capture ability of the camera. I was quite impressed. The shots include a few BRW deisels and miscelaneous equipment besides consolidation #60.
September 8, 2000 Photos -- Recently, I accompanied a friend to the Black River for an assignment. For her art project, she decided to photograph trains and railroad signs. While showing her around, I had to get off a few shots of my own, so...
September 16, 2000 Photos -- In an effort to keep a small record of what has become of the Black River, I decided to photograph a small chunk of the Lambertville branch. This mainly included a baggage car, a NJ Transit F unit, and a dining car that are stranded on the two mile long quarry track just North of Lambertville, but as a couple other shots as well.

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