Freight Cars

Prior to 1979, the RV, nor its predecessors, owned any freight equipment which travelled off the railroad in inter-line freight service. There were, however, at least two freight cars utilized for the company’s own purposes. 

The NOFJ owned a secondhand boxcar which was not equipped with air brakes or the standard type of coupler. 

A contractor doing construction work on the RV left behind a single flatcar. The railroad never owned this piece of equipment but utilized it. The flatcar was discarded in December 1934. 

By the 1970s, there was a general shortage of boxcars throughout the United States. Railroads were slow to upgrade freight car fleets after World War II. A decline in the railroad industry prevented investments into freight cars. The United States Congress authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to enable an "incentive per diem" program, starting in April 1970. Owners of regular boxcars (Class XM) would receive an additional per diem charge beyond the extant one. The additional fee would incentivize the return of boxcars from consignees and provide funds to construct new fleets. 

Larger railroads were unable to take full advantage of the new rule. IPD funds had to be used only to acquire new equipment and not for maintenance on existing cars. In order to use the funds, a railroad's boxcar fleet had to already be as larger, or larger, than its average fleet size between 1964 and 1968. Thus, most big railroads, with large boxcar fleets, were unable comply. 

Leasing companies were quick to take advantage. The lessors sought short line railroads with outbound loads but with small or nonexistent boxcar fleets. The leasing company would buy new boxcars, put the short line's marking on them, and lease the fleet to them. The lessor would take care of the maintenance, car routing, accounting, etc. The lessor also received most of the revenue. The short line would get a percentage once car utilization passed a certain benchmark. 

Several leasing companies sprung up for the sole purpose of car hire. ITEL Rail Corporation was among the biggest. About 43,500 new IPD boxcars were introduced between 1974 and 1979. 

On September 19, 1978, the Rahway Valley Railroad signed a lease with ITEL for a fleet of one hundred 50-foot boxcars. The lease was filed with the Surface Transportation Board on February 14, 1979. Initially, the boxcars were to be numbered 1000-1099; however, the total number was reduced to seventy-five. The cars came in two orders, 1000-1024 in 1979, and 2000-2049 in 1980. The initial order saw service hauling plastic sheeting from Monsanto in Kenilworth, New Jersey, to Proctor & Gamble in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania, as Monsanto wanted a steady supply of clean cars. 

The plan was for the IPD cars to have a high utilization rate, where they would travel from railroad to railroad in service and spend little, if any, time on the RV. Unfortunately, Conrail would often route the cars right back to the RV  - which gave them little opportunity to get in circulation around the country. Furthermore, the ICC ended the IPD program in August 1980. 

A large portion of the seventy-five boxcars found their way home to the RV. The railroad lacked a yard of any kind but had a number of miles of embargoed track and had disused industrial sidings. Boxcars were stored wherever there was room: Mike's Coal siding in Kenilworth, the old Unionbury team track in Union, Jersey Tab Card siding in Union, etc. Some were kept in the Conrail yards at Roselle Park and Aldene, for a time, but Conrail made the RV move them. A large cut of boxcars was shoved up Springfield Mountain and intentionally derailed to prevent their rolling back down the hill.

Despite their limited use in service, the RV continued its lease of the boxcars until 1990. The lease was cancelled by Delaware Otsego Corporation, the RV's corporate parent after 1986. Prior to the lease's cancellation, several ended up in the hands of the Lake Erie, Franklin, & Clarion Railroad.