Welcome to the O Scale Newark & E'port Terminal Railroad
T
H E - I R O N B O U N D
This is a progress report in pictures
as of August, 2014
The
Ironbound's
reason for being is
simple: interchange with The
Pennsylvania
RR
and CNJ from their freight lines running through the industrial
section of Newark.
Freight
is distributed to a number of industries such as the Dutch
Boy Paint Factory,
which lie along our very urban line, weaving its way through the back yards of the
Ironbound section, under the New
Jersey Turnpike, parts of
Kearny and
Elizabethport (E'port to Jerseyans).
The
Ironbound TRACK PLAN (Revised)
Take a fun YouTube video trip on the Ironbound
The Ironbound hosts limited
CNJ passenger service at the Railway Express Agency Depot
which also serves as a modest
passenger
station for commuters who work in this area.
The Jersey Turnpike runs over top of the Pennsylvania RR freight line
in background.
This afternoon,
a handful of passengers await the four-times daily CNJ RDC which
provides basic
passenger service to the East
Newark Station via Ironbound tracks.
Across the tracks from the Station is Betty's
"Flying Saucer"
Diner, where diners
see plates, cups and saucers fly across the formica counters night after night.
In the small engine yard, just beyond the old concrete coaling tower (now used
as a sand hopper), an ex-Rock Island SW1200 idles in the small loco shop
enjoying a bit of well-deserved maintenance by the night shift crew.
After work, the crew often heads over to The Clam Bar, where the
pool table is pretty flat and Julie the barmaid, well, isn't.
Trains run behind old town structures, well out of
sight of tower operators, so it's
not unusual to find train crews who might be
working late shifts making unauthorized
stops at the
local White
Castle. Or maybe running into the
soda fountain for
something sweet. Like Marion, our good-lookin’ neighborhood sweater girl.
My guess is the crew spotted our camera and wisely
will wait till they get to
Zak's for vittles. Then there is the corner
hang-out for the enthusiastically
unemployed. Let's not even get into McGinty's
and its wicked upstairs!
Rolling
stock on the Ironbound:
Here's
a wider view
of the
industrial yard area. The massive Western
Electric
plant appears in the center background. The Kearny Steel Fabricators
building
stands like a rusting hulk on the far left, dwarfing Ironbound
Tower which controls
the over-all traffic movement in the rail yard. In the foreground,
little Newark
Terminal Rwy GE
45-tonner with side-rods brings ties to the
track gang, whose
work is never done in this busy yard. Our old pal Humph and his dog Duke
man the elevated crossing shanty protecting Railroad Ave. That's
Humph's
immaculately Simonized '49 Ford parked behind the tower.
One
of the oldest customers
served by the
Ironbound is Debski & Sons Scrappers.
A look at Debski's
inventory reveals a landscape of
angles, twisted
metal
and rust.
The
Clambucket makes quick work of
loading scrap metal into waiting gondolas.
The sun is setting in more ways than one on Geiling
Chemicals,
another industry which contributes its share in creating that
unique Ironbound
atmospheric bouquet which, on a summer
day seems thick enough to spread on your bagel.
A closer look at Geiling reveals how some Geiling employees
like to live dangerously, throwing all caution to the wind.
Life
around the Ironbound:
If
you were around back in the day, remember what a thrill it was hearing
the
jingling bells of the Good
Humor truck comin' down your street, and
mom or dad
would treat you to your favorite
ice cream? Mine was the creamsicle. And look at
that hobby shop window! A sale on Lobaugh model trains. Now that's what
I call
the good ol'
days! Leave it to the Newark Police to know the
good pizza joints.
They like Piancone's
Pizzeria so much they put their station
right
next to it.
There's
something
almost sexy about
a
dump truck ...don't you agree?
Farther on down the street, near the venerable Mt. Olive Cemetery,
you can
get your '55 Crown Vic gassed up at Nick's
friendly Texaco Station.
Nick will cheerfully fill your tank, clean your
windshield and check your tires
all for under five bucks! Here's a view of the same
corner after hours.
Nick's closed for the night. And I'll take my
cue from that.
Come
back again,
we add more Ironbound pic's as soon as somebody shoots 'em!
"trainutz.com"
and "The Ironbound RR" © 2014 by Andy Romano.
Images at this site may not be copied without written consent.
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