Milltown Freight Station

 

 

(Click on links for larger 800x600 pictures)

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown1.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

The Milltown Freight Station is one of the best known and still existing landmarks of the Raritan River Railroad.  The station is located in Milltown NJ just off Washington Rd.  At one time there was a passenger station here too somewhere, but so far I was unable to find out exactly where.  The Raritan River Railroad was absorbed into Conrail in 1980, and I presume that someone bought the station at that time.  It is amazing that after all these years, and through the many owners, that the old Raritan River sign survived!

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/sign.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

The station, and most of all, the huge sign, still exists after all these years as a reminder of the great little railroad that used to run through this town.

 

 

Maps

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/MilltownMap2.JPG

Location of Milltown Freight Station

Just off Washington Rd

 

Note all the spurs and tracks in the Milltown area.  This was quite a busy place at one time.

 

 

 

 

Current Condition

 

 

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown9.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/DSC01771a.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/DSC01772a.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

 

 

 

Years Ago

 

The station used to have a manual signal semaphore and a passing siding in front of it, and box cars could be seen on front of the station in the early 70s.

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown1971a.jpg

Winter 1971

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown1971b.jpg

Winter 1971

 

This is a great shot, as it shows the semaphore, as well as a formally unknown “Milltown” sign on the side!

 

 

Milltown is full of RRRR history.  The old Meyer, then Michelin, tire factory is a huge complex of old buildings and rails that served many industries over time once Michelin shut down in 1930, most receiving freight via the RRRR.  I thought the old buildings are also on the National Register of Historic Places.  This will hopefully preserve it, and keep the buildings and rails in tact for years to come.

 

 

 

NJ DEP - Historic Preservation Office

New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places

Page 3 of 11

//www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/middlesex.pdf

 

Update:  Milltown has a number of sites on the NJ Register of Historic Places.  The entire Meyer/Michelin

Factory as well as the entire “Raritan River Railroad Spur - Raritan River Railroad to

Meyer/Michelin property, crossing Main Street and Lawrence Brook. 

Check out page three of the above document!!!!!

This could preserve the RRRR forever, at least in Milltown!!!!!

 

 

 

 

The old Meyers Tire factory was served by a spur that left the mainline about 1/10 mile before the freight station.  This spur, at one time, had a branch that broke off and continued south to the Fresh Ponds sand pits.

 

Maps

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/MilltownMap1.JPG

From Fred’s “Rails up the Raritan

 

The bridge that crosses a small stream that the spur uses to get the Myer Tire Factory still exists behind the post office.

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/RRRRMiltownTrestle1995.jpg

1995 - The Post office trucks can be seen on the right side of this photo.

 

 

In fact, to everyone’s surprise, the rails were re-laid on Main St when it was repaved in the late 90s.  Maybe it has something to do with its Historical Significance.  Maybe the spur was never abandoned.

 

The Freight station has seen many small owners over the years.  The last time I saw it used in 1995, a general contractor was using it as storage.  Lately many people are questioning exactly who owns the station.  Apparently, many people want to own it, and have different ideas on who actually owns it.  It would be nice to actually see the station owned and restored to its former glory.  This will need to be done soon, as the longer it sits and begins to leak, the harder it will be to preserve.

 

 

Here is a great old shot of the RRRR working around the Milltown Freight Station in the late 70’s.

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/rrrrmilltownsta2.jpg

Note that the semaphore is now gone.

 

 

 

 

Inside the Station!!!!!

 

Here are some super rare, and never seen before pictures of the INSIDE of the Milltown Freight Station.

 

Back on the RRRR Field Trip #3, as I was heading back to PA, I stopped by Milltown and realized that the side Freight Door had a large hole cut into it.  Through this hole, I was able to see INSIDE the station.

 

The pictures are really poor.  The auto focus had a real hard time focusing on the pitch black, so some of the pictures are fuzzy.  But look at the dark red wood on the walls and the ceiling.  This would be an amazing building to restore, I hope someone acts soon.

 

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown5.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown6.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

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November 13, 2004

 

www.raritanriver-rr.com/MilltownStation1/Milltown8.JPG

November 13, 2004

 

The inside of this station is like none other that I have seen.  Even the ceiling is a beautiful red wood!

 

I hope you have enjoyed my write-up of the Raritan River Railroad Freight Station in Milltown, NJ.  If you have comments or suggestions, or can shed some light on exactly who owns the station, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I love to speak to anyone and everyone who has a story to tell about this great little railroad.

 

 

Back to Main Page

 

 

 

 

Other Fine Sites Dedicated to the Raritan River Railroad

 

www.RaritanRiverRailroad.com

 

http://www.geocities.com/transit383/rrhist.html

 

http://jcrhs.org/raritanriver.html

 

 

Here is an entire forum dedicated to discussions of the RRRR!

 

www.railroad-line.com/forum/forum.asp?forum_id=2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composed by Tom Everett Reynolds, February 2005.

Tom_E_Reynolds at yahoo.com