History
Summer 1892 - Ohio-native Charles W. Manahan, Jr. (1844-1901) moves to Elmira, New York and entices the likes of Matthias H. Arnot, Robert Grimes, William S. McCord, William W. Cole, Ray Tompkins, Charles M. Tompkins, Albert M. Bennett, Platt V. Bryan, Howard H. Hallock, and George W. Robinson. The men form the Elmira Industrial Association and develop the village of Elmira Heights.
1894 - The Elmira faction forms the New Orange Industrial Association, to develop a swath of farmland along the Union and Cranford border into a thriving manufacturing town.
April 1895 - Louis Keller creates the Baltusrol Golf Club - utilizing a portion of his farm in Springfield.
May 6, 1897 - The New York & New Orange Railroad is incorporated by Robert Grimes, William S. McCord, Charles W. Manahan, Jr., Dennis Long, Nicholas C. J. English, Theodore C. English, and George B. Frost.
Summer 1897 - J. Wallace Higgins and Anthony Grippo survey the initial stretch of the NY&NO.
July 1897 - Contractor Frank H. Bailey of Elmira begins construction of the NY&NO.
October 1897 - The NY&NO is connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) at Aldene. Ties were laid and six carloads of new steel rails arrived shortly thereafter.
October 10, 1897 - Tracks are laid across Westfield Ave. during the middle of the night at Aldene.
March 1898 - Ballasting of the railroad is completed with steam locomotive cinders.
August 1898 - The Ricca Manufacturing Co. opens in New Orange - the first factory to do so.
October 1898 - The half-mile Lehigh Valley Branch is surveyed by Higgins to give the railroad connection to the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV).
December 1898 - Robert Grimes, President of the NY&NO, suffers a paralyzing stroke.
May 1899 - The cornerstone of Upsala Collage is laid in New Orange.
May 1899 - The Palmer Leather Co. is founded by Theodore D. Palmer. The company constructs a tannery on the banks of the Rahway River.
July 1899 - The NY&NO's first locomotive, No. 1, is acquired.
July 18, 1899 - The New Orange Industrial Association contracts with Max Ernst, a clothing manufacturer, to relocate his factory in New Orange. The factory is to primarily employ the Jewish population being relocated to New Orange by the Baron de Hirsch Fund.
August 1, 1899 - Regular passenger service commences over the NY&NO between Aldene and New Orange.
September 1, 1899 - A NY&NO train collides with a horse drawn wagon at Westfield Ave.
September 5, 1899 - The Upsala College campus is opened in New Orange.
September 8, 1899 - The Central Station in New Orange is opened.
April 1900 - C. A. Millard, the railroad's first Superintendent, leaves the railroad. He is supplanted by Horatio F. Dankel.
1900 - The population of New Orange is reported to be a scant 657 people in the US Census.
July 1, 1900 - Charles M. Tompkins, President of the New Orange Industrial Association and General Manager of the New York & New Orange Railroad, dies after a bout with appendicitis.
Fall 1900 - The "Rahway River Extension" is constructed from N.19th Street to the Palmer Leather works.
November 8, 1900 - The NY&NO is foreclosed upon.
December 3, 1900 - The Central Station in New Orange is broken into by thieves.
Late 1900 - The Charles E. Wright Co., a manufacturer of bandsaws, locates in New Orange.
1901 - The New Orange Decorative Leather Co. locates in the factory building never occupied by Max Ernst.
1901 - No. 3, an ex-PRR 4-4-0 "American"-type, is acquired.
February 4, 1901 - The New Orange Four Junction Railroad (NOFJ) is incorporated by William W. Cole, William S. McCord, Charles W. Manahan, Jr., Platt V. Bryan, Albert M. Bennett, Dennis Long, and Nicholas C. J. English.
February 16, 1901 - The NOFJ purchases the NY&NO at auction.
November 14, 1901 - Charles W. Manahan, Jr. dies at his home in East Orange, New Jersey.
1902 - No. 1 is scrapped after less than three years in service.
1902 - The American Circular Loom Co. and Monarch Roofing & Covering Co. locate in New Orange.
September 10, 1902 - The Cross-Country Railroad (CCRR) is incorporated to build a railroad between New Orange and Summit. Louis Keller, Howard H. Hallock, William W. Cole, and Ray Tompkins are among the incorporators.
October 1902 - The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) purchases Tin Kettle and Press hills in New Orange, to be excavated for fill material for Wavery and Greenville yards, and the approaches to the North River Tunnels. The first contracts for excavating are given to Shanley & Co.
1903 - No. 2 is discarded by the railroad, leaving No. 3 as the railroad's sole locomotive.
May 1903 - H. S. Kerbaugh & Co. is given a contract to excavate 600,000 cubic yards of fill from Tin Kettle Hill for use in Waverly yard in Newark, New Jersey.
December 8, 1903 - Robert Grimes dies in Elmira, New York.
January 1904 - Two hundred carloads, reportedly, are being excavated daily from Tin Kettle and Press hills.
May 11, 1904 - Conductor William H. Harding is seriously injured in a coupling accident, dying two days later. He is replaced by Albert D. Bell.
July 18, 1904 - The Rahway Valley Railroad is incorporated by Louis Keller, Horatio F. Dankel, Nicholas C. J. English, George B. Frost, Charles W. Webb, W. Irving Scott, and Edward G. Thompson.
November 1904 - Construction of the RV between New Orange (Kenilworth) and Summit commences at the southern end where connection is made with the NOFJ.
December 1904 - Several of the laborers constructing the railroad incite a riot upon the house of Paymaster Baldwin of J. N. H. Cornell & Co. over a misunderstanding in compensation.
December 27, 1904 - Several of the laborers constructing the railroad incite a riot upon the house of Paymaster Baldwin of J. N. H. Cornell & Co. over a misunderstanding in compensation.
March 1905 - The New Orange Industrial Association is reorganized as the Kenilworth Realty Company.
March 1, 1905 - The New Orange Four Junction Railroad and Rahway Valley Railroad are consolidated into one company.
April 4, 1905 - The RV lays tracks across Mountain Ave. in Springfield in the middle of the night. The railroad had encountered much opposition from Union County over the crossing.
May 1905 - New Orange is renamed Kenilworth.
May 1905 - Abutments of the Rahway River bridge were nearing completion.
May 1905 - Grading crews reach Summit.
May 25, 1905 - Louis Keller declares the RV open between Aldene and Springfield. A special private car is chartered for the occasion for personal guests. A luncheon is held at the Baltusrol Golf Club.
August 1905 - No. 4, an ex-DL&W 2-6-0 "Mogul"-type, is acquired from Fitzhugh-Luther Co.
August 4, 1905 - The first freight shipment arrives in Springfield - three carloads of coal for Sickley Coal & Lumber Co.
August 7, 1905 - The RV operates a special inspection train between Springfield and Aldene for the organizers of a Sunday school excursion to Asbury Park and Ocean Gate.
August 10, 1905 - The Sunday schools of Millburn, Short Hills, and Springfield operate an excursion from Springfield to Asbury Park and Ocean Gate.
August 15, 1905 - Regular passenger train service commences between Aldene and Springfield.
August 28, 1905 - A passenger coach is placed into service.
September 1905 - An engine house is constructed in Kenilworth to house the RV's locomotives.
October 5, 1905 - The City of Summit tears down the RV's Ashwood Ave. bridge which had encroached upon the street.
October 17, 1905 - Nicholas C. J. English, the railroad's legal counsel and Union County Prosecutor, arranges terms with the City of Summit to reconstruct the Ashwood Ave. bridge.
November 1905 - The Lehigh Valley is sending two locomotives to New Orange daily to fetch strings of gondolas of fill material from Tin Kettle and Press hills.
January 1906 - H. S. Kerbaugh purchases a new locomotive for the Tin Kettle Hill excavation project.
January 1, 1906 - Passenger train service to Baltusrol is inaugurated.
February 21, 1906 - Excavating activities at Tin Kettle and Press hills are completed.
March 24, 1906 - A runaway coal hopper slams into locomotive No. 3 at the Springfield stop, badly injuring Engineer James B. Gray. No. 3 is so badly damaged that it is scrapped.
April 1906 - No. 5, an ex-CNJ 0-6-0T, is acquired from J.E. Bowen of Norfolk, Virginia.
July 26, 1906 - The RV is completed between Aldene and Summit.
August 2, 1906 - The first train operates over the completed RV. It was an excursion of the Union Hose Co. to Red Bank via the CNJ.
August 6, 1906 - Regular passenger train service commences between Aldene and Summit.
September 1906 - The Lehigh Valley's experimental "Baltusrol Special" through-train service between New York and Baltusrol is tried.
October 3, 1906 - The RV applies to the DL&W for a connection in Summit.
December 1, 1906 - DL&W denies the RV's request to form a connection in Summit.
December 4, 1906 - No. 6 is purchased from the Southern Iron & Equipment Co. of Atlanta, Georgia, former Silver Lake Railroad No. 3.
February 5-6, 1907 - A blizzard strikes the area. Two locomotives are required to bring a single passenger car over the two-mile stretch from Kenilworth to Aldene to fetch the morning mail.
April 9, 1907 - The RV's Board of Directors vote to mortgage the property to the Chemung Canal Trust Co. for $400,000, in order to pay outstanding debts.
June 5, 1907 - The pump house for the water tank at Kenilworth is completely consumed by fire. RV locomotives are temporarily obliged to take water from the tank at Summit.
June 18, 1907 - The Borough of Kenilworth is formally incorporated from portions of Cranford and Union.
June 24, 1907 - The Baltusrol Railroad Co. is formed to construct a 1,400' spur to the Commonwealth Quarry Co. in Springfield.
July 1, 1907 - The Chemung Canal Trust Co. issues four hundred, $1,000 par value, 5% mortgage bonds agains the RV.
January 30, 1908 - Traffic on the RV completely stalls on account of a negligent hostler allowing the water in the boilers of Nos. 4, 5, and 6 to freeze overnight.
March 17, 1908 - The RV orders a new locomotive from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia for its seventh locomotive, at a cost of $11,400.
May 8-9, 1908 - The all steel motor car "Irene" of the Strang Gas-Electric Car Co. of New York is tested over the RV.
May 26, 1908 - Passenger service between East Summit and Summit is temporarily suspended by a derailment at the Muchmore & Hotchkiss switch.
May 27, 1908 - A tornado strikes Kenilworth and completely destroys the railroad's engine house.
May 27, 1908 - Never having been constructed, the Baltusrol Railroad Co. is dissolved.
June 20, 1908 - No. 7 arrives new from Baldwin under its own power.
June 24, 1908 - After appeals made to the Interstate Commerce Commission by Elmer L. McKirgan, the RV's legal counsel, the ICC orders the DL&W to connect with the RV at Summit.
August 15, 1908 - While making preparations to connect with the DL&W, No. 4 wrecks at Summit and topples over to one side. The DL&W sends a locomotive to block the RV from making any connection at the contemplated point.
August 24, 1908 - William S. Kenney, the DL&W's legal counsel, files suit with the United States Circuit Court to have the ICC's decision overturned.
October 22, 1908 - Judge Lacombe grants a preliminary injunction against the connection at Summit, stating that the ICC had exceeded its power. An appeal was filed with the United States Supreme Court by the ICC.
1909 - No. 5 is reported to be in poor repairs. The RV leases locomotives from the Wharton & Northern Railroad to supplant its own motive power.
February 27, 1909 - Louis Keller forms the Rahway Valley Co., Lessee to lease and operate the railroad.
July 16, 1909 - A silent film, "The Escape from Andersonville," is released by Kalem Film Manufacturing Co. The film was shot along the RV.
June 10, 1910 - A silent film, "An Engineer's Sweetheart," is released by Kalem. The film was shot along the RV and stars Alice Joyce.
March 1910 - Justice Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. delivers the opinion of the court in ICC v. DL&W. The opinion affirms the lower court's decision. The DL&W is within its purview to prohibit the RV from connecting to their tracks at Summit.
February 1912 - The Public Utilities Commission grants the RV a rate increase.
May 1912 - No. 6 is sold to General Equipment Co. of Paterson, New Jersey.
July 1912 - A Type-C motor car of the Railway Motor Car Co. of Philadelphia is tested over the railroad. The RV purchases two of the units, becoming Nos. 10 and 11.
December 29, 1912 - A fire destroys the American Veneer Co. in Kenilworth, which occupied the former plant of the Ricca Manufacturing Co. The bells and whistles of the RV locomotives were rung and blown to give alarm to the Kenilworth Volunteer Fire Department. A boxcar on the company's siding was destroyed.
April 1, 1913 - "The Exposure of the Land Swindlers" is released by Kalem. The film is shot along the RV and stars Guy Coombs and Alice Joyce.
June 2, 1913 - No. 5 is retired and set out in Kenilworth.
June 12, 1913 - Horatio F. "Harry" Dankel dies. J. Spencer Caldwell becomes Secretary and General Manager of the railroad.
December 19, 1913 - A fire destroys the Straight Philament Lamp Co. in Kenilworth which occupied the former plant of the Palmer Leather works.
About 1913 - No. 4 is scrapped.
July 1914 - J. S. Caldwell moves his family to Kenilworth from Trenton.
August 1914 - A new freight house is built in Springfield, adjacent to the depot. The railroad had been requested to do so as the location of the original freight house, opposite Mountain Ave., caused traffic to tie up on the roadway. A old freight house is ceded to Sickley Coal & Lumber Co.
February 1916 - Louis Keller purchases No. 8 from the General Equipment Co., former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad No. 9319. Keller leases the locomotive to the railroad for $10/day.
December 1917 - No. 9 is purchased from General Equipment Co. of Paterson, New Jersey, former Pennsylvania Railroad No. 506.
Late 1917 - No. 7 is sold to General Equipment Co. of Paterson, New Jersey.
February 1918 - No. 10 is purchased from General Equipment Co. of Paterson, New Jersey, former Pennsylvania Railroad No. 396.
June 1919 - Passenger service is discontinued.
July 1920 - The railroad acquires two Kelly-Springfield buses and fits them for rail service. A passenger schedule is instituted. Turntables are installed at Kenilworth and Baltusrol for the buses.
February 16, 1922 - Louis Keller dies in New York City, aged sixty-four, of an intestinal illness.
March 7, 1922 - Louis Keller's Last Will and Testament is probated with the Union County Surrogate's Office, giving rise to the Keller Estate. The assets of the estate (including majority ownership of the RV) are held in trust with Keller's nephew, Charles Keller Beekman, as trustee.
October 1922 - Nos. 9 and 10 are traded to the General Equipment Co. for No. 11, former Grafton & Upton Railroad No. 5.
1923 - Roger A. Clark is promoted to President of the railroad by the Board of Directors.
April 1923 - No. 8 breaks a set of springs and is out of service for the majority of the year.
September 1923 - Louis Lawrence, Keller's nephew, files a complaint in court to have portions of his uncle's will declared void as, he felt, certain portions were overly vague and violated laws against perpetuities.
September 1925 - Courts decree that the ultimate right of property, in the Keller Estate, lay with Keller's next of kin, Louis Lawrence, one-half, and Charles Keller Beekman and Catherine Beekman Huger, the other one-half.
1927 - A new roadway is constructed across the RV in Springfield, stretching between Springfield Ave. and Morris Ave. Originally known as the "Springfield Ave. Extension," the roadway becomes known as Meisel Ave.
1927 - The State of New Jersey absorbs Chester Road into NJ State Highway 29, stretching from Trenton to Newark. The new highway becomes the RV's most travelled (and most dangerous) grade crossing.
September 1927 - The RV purchases No. 12 from the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad, formerly their No. 96. Harry Reifsnyder rides the locomotive back from Greenville, Pennsylvania to Kenilworth, New Jersey.
May 27, 1928 - Former Lehigh & New England Railroad (L&NE) No. 19 is purchased from Georgia Car & Locomotive, becoming No. 13.
August 22, 1928 - Former Lehigh & New England Railroad (L&NE) No. 20 is purchased from Georgia Car & Locomotive Co., becoming No. 14.
September 1928 - Nos. 13 and 14 arrive on the property. No. 12 is retired.
April 1929 - No. 8 is sold to General Equipment Co. The locomotive is towed to their yard in Paterson, New Jersey and scrapped.
March 22, 1930 - The connection with the DL&W is opened at Summit.
October 3, 1932 - Roger A. Clark dies at his home on Morris Ave. in Union, aged sixty-two.
1933 - No. 11 is retired.
January 1935 - No. 11 is scrapped.
1936 - Carl Nees fashions No. 13 a home-built snow plow.
1937 - George A. Clark begins using a playful drawing of a child's dogcart bouncing along the rails, with the caption "Just a short line," atop his typed correspondence.
February 1937 - Caboose No. 102 is purchased. The caboose is ex-Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad No. 613.
July 28, 1937 - No. 15 is purchased from Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Co. of Birmingham, Alabama. The locomotive is former Oneida & Western No. 20.
August 28, 1937 - No. 15's first operating day on the RV.
1938 - No. 14 is fitted with a Franklin Power Reverse gear.
1939 - A pre-fabricated machine shop is constructed by Geiger Engineering & Manufacturing Co. of Union alongside the engine house in Kenilworth.
July 18, 1939 - No. 13 is run under its own power to the DL&W shops in Scranton, Pennsylvania for overhaul.
1940 - A grade crossing is authorized for a set of lanes for specifically westbound traffic on NJ State Highway 29 (now US Route 22), with the old roadway becoming strictly for eastbound traffic. George A. Clark objects to the construction as it adversely affects switching moves at Branch Junction.
December 1940 - A study shows that 9,540 vehicles use the westbound and eastbound crossings of NJ State Highway 29 (now US Route 22) between 8 AM and 5 PM.
February 25, 1941 - The trustee of the Keller Estate, Charles Keller Beekman, dies.
April 1941 - A few stray sparks from an RV steam locomotive set fire to the clothes line of Mrs. Rose Formichella at 39 Ashwood Ave. in Summit.
May 1941 - The courts appoint Morton G. Bogue and Benjamin T. Smith as co-trustees of the Keller Estate. Both men later serve on the RV's Board of Directors in the interest of the Keller Estate, the railroad's largest shareholder.
June 18, 1941 - George A. Clark throws a summer party for employees, customers, and friends of the railroad, as well as officials of the CNJ, LV, DL&W, and Pennsylvania railroads at Seidler's Beach Restaurant in Laurence Harbor, New Jersey. Guests were bussed to the restaurant from Kenilworth.
October 1941 - No. 14 is shopped by the CNJ at Elizabethport.
November 1942 - No. 12 is sold for scrap to a Newark, New Jersey junk firm. A pair of laborers begin cutting up the locomotive at Kenilworth and hauling off the scrap metal in trucks.
February 24, 1943 - The scrapping of No. 12 is completed.
1944 - The CNJ expresses interest in purchasing the RV and conducts an exhaustive study of the railroad. Ultimately, however, the purchase is never made.
March 1946 - The RV puts on a second crew for approximately three weeks, utilizing Nos. 14 and 15. Anton Glutting acts as dispatcher and trainmaster, issuing train orders from the Kenilworth depot.
April 1947 - George A. Clark allows Eddie Weber, of nearby Chatham, New Jersey, to ride in Caboose No. 102.
December 25-26, 1947 - A blizzard hits the area, dumping twenty-six inches of snow. No. 13 is fired up and fitted with its home-made plow. No. 14 derails in Cranford yard several times.
1948 - George A. Clark permits Mr. David Walker to temporarily store his laboratory car, the Explorer, on the Summit team track in exchange for "one good ten cent cigar."
October 1948 - Carl Nees retires as the railroad's Master Mechanic after thirty-six years of service with the company.
November 1948 - No. 13 is shopped by the CNJ at Elizabethport.
May 31, 1950 - No. 14 is retired due to expired flue time.
June 26, 1950 - No. 14 is fired for a few hours after Nos. 13 and 15 are placed out of service. However, the fire is dropped after several hours after leaking staybolts and a cracked flue sheet are discovered.
October 1950 - Geiger Engineering & Manufacturing Co. constructs the RV a single stall engine house in Kenilworth.
October 23, 1950 - The RV places an order with General Electric for a 70-ton diesel-electric locomotive.
November 25, 1950 - The Great Appalachian Storm strikes. The water spout is ripped off the tank at Kenilworth. A portion of one side of the engine house is heavily damaged.
December 1950 - A diesel fuel storage tank and pump house is constructed in Kenilworth.
December 1950 - George A. Clark treats a local group of Boy Scouts to a ride in Caboose No. 102
January 29, 1951 - The RV's first diesel-electric locomotive, No. 16, arrives at the Lackawanna interchange at Summit from General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania.
January 30, 1951 - No. 16 makes its first run over the RV. No. 15 strikes a truck at the W. Webster Ave. crossing on the Lehigh Valley Branch (read more).
January 31, 1951 - George A. Clark throws a party at Kenilworth to show off the RV's new diesel-electric locomotive to officials of the nearby Morristown & Erie Railroad. Meanwhile, No. 15 derails at NJ State Highway 29 with 18 cars behind it. No. 16 is brought out to pull the cars off and assist with re-railing.
February 26, 1951 - No. 13 is damaged by a swinging concrete pipe being handled by a crane near the Garden State Parkway overpass. The locomotive is placed out of service, is later repaired but never used again.
December 15, 1951 - No. 14 is shipped out in two gondola cars for melting at Bethlehem Steel Co. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The locomotive had been cut up by J. Kerzman & Sons of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
November 26, 1953 - No. 15 is fired up after No. 16, suffering from mechanical troubles, is pulled out of service.
November 28, 1953 - The fire is dropped on No. 15 for the last time - ending steam operations on the RV (read more).
1954 - George A. Clark suffers his first heart attack.
January 11, 1954 - The RV places an order with General Electric for another 70-ton diesel-electric locomotive.
February 2, 1954 - No. 17 arrives at the Lackawanna interchange at Summit from General Electric in Erie, Pennsylvania.
December 14, 1954 - An automobile, driven by Joseph V. Manno, strikes an RV train at the US Route 22 grade crossing. Manno sues the RV for damages.
1955 - Manually operated flashers are installed at the US Route 22 grade crossing.
April 1955 - No. 13 is cut up for scrap by Newark Iron & Metal Co. in Union.
Mid 1956 - The water tank in Kenilworth is dismantled.
January 21, 1959 - The RV's entire four-man section crew walks out after failing to secure a pay raise.
April 29, 1959 - An agreement is reached with the United Railroad Operating Crafts Union and the section crew returns to work.
May 1959 - No. 15 is sold to F. Nelson Blount.
June 5, 1959 - No. 15 is shipped to Pleasure Island in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
December 1959 - The coal bin in Kenilworth is pulled apart.
July 19, 1960 - A tractor trailer hauling pharmaceuticals, driven by Leonard S. England, strikes No. 17 at the US Route 22 grade crossing, derailing the locomotive.
October 17, 1960 - The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad merges with the Erie Railroad, forming the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad.
1961 - O. Winston Link brings his ex-Rutland combine to Kenilworth to restore.
February 27, 1964 - Caboose No. 102 is burned at Kenilworth by the RV.
July 9, 1964 - The remains of Caboose No. 102 are junked.
1965 - The RV declares its first ever cash dividend after paying off its indebtedness to the Keller Estate.
1966 - The RV's Board of Directors give approval to abandon the Newark Heights Branch beyond Rutgers Street.
May 11, 1966 - The Baltusrol depot burns in Springfield.
May 1, 1967 - The Aldene Plan goes into effect, rerouting CNJ trains to Newark Penn Station via the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Preparations for the plan's implementation necessitated the rearrangement of the RV's interchange yards with the CNJ and LV over the course of the previous two years.
July 25, 1967 - A car collides with an RV train at the S. Michigan Ave. grade crossing in Kenilworth. The passengers of the vehicle sue the driver and Frank Froat, the engineer of the train, for damages.
April 7, 1969 - George A. Clark dies of a massive heart attack in the Kenilworth station, aged sixty-eight years. His son, Robert G. Clark, succeeds as President and General Manager of the railroad.
March 1970 - A motorist, blinded by sun glare, crashes into an RV train.
1971 - Frank Froat, the RV's engineer, retires after thirty-seven years continuous service with the company.
July 19, 1971 - The ICC gives approval to abandon the Newark Heights Branch between Hollywood Memorial Park in Union to the end of track in Maplewood.
1972 - George Davis, the RV's Superintendent, retires after forty-five years with the company.
1973 - The Newark Heights Branch is ripped up between Hollywood Memorial Park in Union and the end of track in Maplewood.
August 20, 1974 - A fire breaks out in the Kenilworth depot and badly damages the attic portion of the building.
September 1974 - Robert G. Clark leaves the Rahway Valley Railroad.
February 1975 - Bernard J. Cahill is appointed President and General Manager of the railroad.
June 14, 1975 - Robert G. Clark dies at his home in Bayville, New Jersey, aged forty-five.
1976 - Nos. 16 and 17 are repainted in a matching Cornell red and white paint scheme.
April 1, 1976 - The CNJ, LV, and EL, among others, are folded into Conrail. Afterward, the RV closes its interchanges at Summit and Aldene - consolidating operations to Roselle Park.
1978 - The RV makes its last mortgage payment to the Chemung Canal Trust Co., retiring the seventy-one year long indebtedness.
1979 - The Kenilworth depot is torn down.
1979 - The RV embarks on a $909,000 track rehabilitation project. T. Regan Co. is contracted to relay heavier rails between Roselle Park and Kenilworth.
February 1979 - The RV leases seventy-five boxcars from ITEL rail for interline train movements.
1980 - The RV's logo is introduced and added to the locomotives.
June 9-15, 1980 - The railroad operates a shuttle service between Kenilworth and Baltusrol, to bring attendees of the 1980 US Open to the Baltusrol Golf Club.
June 16, 1980 - Bernard J. Cahill hosts the Kenilworth Rotary Club on a train ride between Liberty Ave. in Union and Colfax Ave. in Kenilworth - the last passenger movement on the railroad.
1985 - The railroad considers abandoning trackage west of Route 22 in Union.
March 19, 1986 - The RV operates its last train as an independent carrier.
March 20, 1986 - Operations of the railroad are assumed by Delaware Otsego Corp.'s subsidiary, the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway, under contract.
December 22, 1986 - The RV is sold by Louis Keller's relations to Delaware Otsego Corp. for $1.1 million.
1987 - The connection with the former CNJ trackage at Aldene is reopened, enabling the NYS&W to service both the Staten Island Rapid Transit line and the RV without a change of locomotive. Interchange activities are consolidated to the Conrail interchange at Staten Island Junction in Cranford on the SIRT.
March 30, 1988 - Kasten Rail Car begins storing four E-8 locomotives in Kenilworth.
April 1988 - The Conrail interchange at Roselle Park is closed.
January 1989 - The NYS&W relocates its RV-1 crew, which operates both the SIRT and RV, to Kenilworth.
Mid 1989 - Service on the RV is cut to three days per week.
November 30, 1989 - Monsanto Corp. in Kenilworth, the railroad's largest customer, ceases operations.
April 13, 1990 - The last train operates on the Rahway River Branch in Kenilworth.
Fall 1990 - Southward Salvage Co. of Rockaway, New Jersey dismantles the Rahway River Branch.
February 1991 - Track is embargoed west of Route 22 due to poor track conditions.
March 29, 1991 - The four E-8's stored in Kenilworth are removed from the property.
January 1992 - The Lehigh Valley Branch and Conrail interchange are dismantled.
March 30, 1992 - Delaware Otsego Corp. files for abandonment of the RV.
April 21, 1992 - The last train operates on the Rahway Valley Railroad from Kenilworth to Aldene.
August 27, 1992 - Abandonment of the RV is approved by the ICC.