BALTUSROL
Baltusrol was located at MP 5 and was named for the nearby Baltusrol Golf Club. Louis Keller purportedly built the Rahway Valley Railroad to carry passengers to his golf club. The depot was located near Baltusrol Way, at the bottom of the curve that began the climb up Springfield Mountain.
Page Contents
Facilities
Baltusrol depot
Team Track
Industrial Sidings
Other facilities
Grade Crossings:
Baltusrol Way
Briant Ave.
Overhead Crossings:
I-78
Industries:
Andrew Wilson, Inc.
Baltusrol
The Baltusrol depot was located on Baltusrol Way in Springfield, Ground was broken on the depot in September 1905 and it was constructed by “Ced” Silvers. The first regularly scheduled train to the depot was on January 1, 1906. It measured 20’ 3” x 35’ 4” x 13’ to the eaves and 22’ to the peak. It was made of clapboards on the outside and wainscoting on the inside with a shingle roof. The roof hung seven feet all around. The depot originally had no platform but one was built in 1916 that measured 100’ x 20’. According to the 1919 ICC valuation, one half of the waiting room was later partitioned into a freight room measuring 15’ 4” x 20’ 4” x 18’ 9”. Inside, there was a ticket office and waiting room. The ticket office contained one telephone and various furniture with a total value of $10. The waiting room contained several benches worth a total of $22.
L. H. Reeses was the Baltusrol agent through 1911. He was replaced by Harry Gleason (1856-1936), a Louisiana native. Passenger service was discontinued in June 1919 and the responsibilities of the Baltusrol agent were eventually placed with the Springfield and Summit agents.
The locale of Baltusrol received a post office in 1893, which first occupied a small building painted brightly in yellow. In 1907, the post office moved into a portion of the depot with Peter J. Shaw, the Springfield agent, commissioned as the postmaster. Gleason became the postmaster in 1911 and served until his death in 1936. Mrs. Mary P. Cunningham was the last postmaster and the Baltusrol Post Office was closed in 1943 after patronage had fallen to just a handful of folks.
After the postal service vacated the building, the depot was leased to Andrew Wilson, Inc. who thereafter paid for all repairs. The depot was completely destroyed by fire on May 11, 1966.
(Springfield Public Library Collection)
Team Track
There was a team track (E) located at MP 4.90. It was noted in 1910, 1919, and 1923. It had a length of 347 feet. There was a turntable located at the end of the siding for the Kelly-Springfield railbuses acquired in 1919. The siding was later shortened to MP 4.93 for use as an industrial siding for Andrew Wilson, Inc.
Other Facilities
A toilet measuring 6’ x 3’ 10” x 8’ to the eaves and 11’ to the peak was noted in 1918.
A coal box measuring 8’ x 5’ x 8’ was built in 1913. It was noted in 1918.
Industrial Sidings
MP 4.93 - This siding was modified from the original team track at Baltusrol. It was disconnected from the mainline sometime between 1963 and 1966. This siding was for Andrew Wilson, Inc.
MP 4.94 - This siding was constructed next to the Baltusrol depot in 1934. It was disconnected from the mainline sometime between 1963 and 1966. This siding was for Andrew Wilson, Inc.
Baltusrol Way
Baltusrol Way (MP 5.00). One track (main), plank crossing, asphalt macadam road, vehicular traffic medium, 1 P.U. sign (description from 1944).
Briant Ave.
Briant Ave. (MP 5.08). This crossing was removed as part of the construction of I-78 and the roadway realigned.
I-78
Interstate 78 (I-78) crossed the railroad overhead at MP 5.05. Construction of the highway through this area began in the 1960s.
(John Nolan Photo)
Industries
Andrew Wilson, Inc. (c.1922-1966).
Baltusrol Way, Springfield.
Manufacturer of insecticides, weed killers, DDT products, disinfectants, fertilizers, agricultural chemicals, and arborist, landscape & greenhouse supplies.; inbound sacks of buckwheat hulls.
Andrew Wilson founded Andrew Wilson, Inc. as a manufacturer of insecticides in 1903. The company moved to Baltusrol about 1922. By the mid-1960s, the company’s sidings had become disused and it was receiving infrequent carloads through the Springfield team track. The company had moved to 875 Ball Ave. in Union by 1969.
