This page is for the former Erie Railroad lines from
Secaucus, NJ to Binghamton, NY.
Notice, this page will be undergoing a major renovation very soon with many new images
Most pictures here are from 1973 to 1976. Click on the thumb pic's to view a full size image.
Croxton Yard was the main freight yard in the New York City area for the E-L. Originally an Erie yard it was expanded after the Lackawanna merger in 1960.
The E-L handled quite a few piggyback trains, particularly for UPS. The former Erie was preferred for these trains as it was faster than via Scranton.
An
eastbound arrives off the old Erie side at Croxton in 1974.
Compare the image above to this one taken in
2009. Thirty-five years can make a lot of difference!
Another
train arriving at Croxton with U25B 2523 leading.
A long set of power in the Croxton Engine Terminal area. Paul Carpentino
photo.
The Erie had a network of commuter lines throughout northeastern New Jersey. All are still operated by New Jersey Transit today.
In the late 1960's the State of New Jersey purchased several GE diesels and commuter passenger cars for use on the Erie routes in NJ to replace the very old Erie Stillwell coaches and the E-L RS-2 diesels.
Ridgewood
is where the Main line via Paterson and the Bergen line via Rutherford joined
back together. This photo is technically a Conrail shot, but not much is
different from E-L days except for the sign on the tower.
Here
a set of newer equipment rounds the famous Waldwick curve in Waldwick, NJ in
1974.
Most
commuter trains on the mainline terminated at Suffern, NY. This was where
the Erie originally had to swing east to reach the Hudson River since it was not
allowed to enter New Jersey. After the political silliness was settled the
Erie finally made it to Jersey City.
Train
TC-4 is swinging off the main and onto that track mentioned above. It
was making a setout at a local industry. A cold, snowy evening in 1975.
The tower at Suffern was known as "SF" or the leaning tower of Suffern
for after the New York Thruway was built one of the bridge piers was sunk too
close to the old wooden tower causing it to settle and lean after a few
years. It is long gone now.
The E-L maintained a freight yard at Suffern called Hillburn Yard to service the Ford plant in Mahwah, NJ. This was torn down several years ago and Sony bought the property.
A
'Paterson Ordinary' with SD45 3631 heads west passing the famous Tuxedo rock
falls, Tuxedo,NY, 1974
Near Harriman, NY the newer Graham line split off from the original main via Middletown.
Two main stations on the old line were Goshen and Middletown.
Goshen,
Nov 1975 
Middletown Station 
The track to the left of Goshen station was the former Lehigh and New England from Maybrook yard. GP-7 1226 sits by the Middletown freight house. Note the sign on top of the building.
Just
north of Middletown, NY the Graham line rejoins the old main at Howells
Jct. Here an eastbound local drops cars on the old main for Monday's
Middletown local to switch.
Here
the same train a few miles further east begins to set out some cars for the
Lehigh & Hudson River Railway at Campbell Hall Jct. The big bridge
carried the Erie over the former New York, Ontario and Western main. A New
York Central branch also came into Campbell Hall.
A short distance north of Campbell Hall was Maybrook. Site of a large New Haven Railroad yard that had the L & HR, Lehigh New England, NYO&W and Erie Railroads all interchange with the New Haven for traffic to and from New England. The NYO&W shutdown in 1957, the LNE in 1961 and finally the merger of the New Haven into the Penn Central in 1970 all lead to the closure of Maybrook. After the Poughkeepsie bridge burned in 1974, everything was finally abandoned.
Here
a set of E-L GP-7's sit at the engine house in Maybrook in spring 1973.
Port Jervis is as far west as commuter trains to New York travel. The E-L used E8'a and the last of the Stillwell cars for this service since it was beyond the New Jersey lines.
The very old Erie Stilwell
coaches were still in service in 1973.
Here are a few shots of E8's waiting on a Sunday for the Monday morning trip to Hoboken.
Several freight units could usually be found here for the locals to Croxton.
This was 1973, not post Conrail.
Beyond Port Jervis the Erie ran along the Delaware River as far as Deposit, NY where it swung over into Pennsylvania for a few miles before reaching Binghamton, NY.
Narrowsburg,
New York
Same
train just back a bit at Callicoon, NY
Picking
up orders at Deposit, NY
Crossing
the famous Starucca Viaduct in Lanesboro, PA
To continue west of Binghamton, click this picture:
To view the former Lackawanna side page, click this picture:
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