Beckers Farm Railroad Roseland N.J.

I rode on it many times as a kid but that's

all I know.

here is a short article from 2010 on the Centerville & Southwestern Railroad.

4-8-4 #1501 is talked about from time to time on chaski.org...

http://www.nj.com/news/index.s..._bring_steam-po.html

Is this it?

That's it!!! I remember it very well, and went there many times in the mid to late 1950s. I'm sure I have a bunch of photos, plus one of Mr. Becker's booklets about the railroad. The Centerville & Southwestern was 15" gauge, and as you can see, that 4-8-4 was nice and large. I remember receiving a ride on the rear of the tender, and she sure made a racket ascending "pig pen hill".

Like Hot Water, I remember the Centerville & Southwestern well. Rain water was collected for that 4-8-4, and her boiler was in superb condition. Last year I came across a DVD. I scanned the jacket and attached it.

The diesel remnants of Becker's Farm RR are alive and operating in Phillipsburg, NJ.

Operated now by Phillipsburg RR Historians, the C&SW RR is at the museum site adjacent to former CNJ mainline, now owned by NJ Transit but operated by NS.

Walter M. Matuch

Very nice!

The Centerville & Southwestern was absolutely my favorite!  It is so sad that the Henry Ford Museum decided to auction off steam locomotive 1501 so that now it is in obscurity in private ownership!  The memory is alive and well at the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians in Phillipsburg, NJ with locomotives 1502 and 1503.  On occasion, restored locomotive 1500 makes a guest appearance from Michigan.  Keep Henry Becker's Dream Alive!

1500 Alive and well in Michigan!

Is that in your house and how did you get that? I also have to try and get one of those DVD's.

You can get the DVD at PRRH.org it is great and if you are ever near Phillipsburg, N.J. you can pick up a DVD and ride the train! Check their schedule on their website also. The 1500 is owned by a trust I am storing it and maintaining it after restoring it a couple of years ago. It is in my office.

Yes, I too rode the trains at Becker's Farm.

Beckers Farm was also a customer for the Morristown & Erie..

My friend worked there (in Summer) His chores included emptying out boxcars.

There was a siding at the Roseland station. Feed for the famous herd of cows

was shipped up there from Florida. Becker also continued to deliver milk (by horse power) --going into the early 50's. It was always fun to stop playing stick ball and feed the horse.

Eric Clapton was a fan too?

"I'm going down to Roseland, take my rider by my side."

that was Rosedale, but still train related.

a stop on the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad (Y&MV).

Wow! This really brings back memories - I was fortunate enough to work for Mr. Becker in the late 60's.  I was teaching school in Roseland and in the summer I worked on his farm during the week and on the train on weekends.  He had a 1917 (I think) Dusenberg located in his garage.  The train operated on weekends - of course, Mr. Becker was the engineer and I rode on the last car making sure the kiddies kept their arms in.  During the week he assigned me chores to do around the farm such as slopping pigs, cleaning out the silo, picking corn etc.  It was a fun job.  A couple of years ago I was contacted by someone who was writing a book about the train - he wanted to know my experiences - he told me that the engine was somewhere in PA.  Haven't heard anything about the book or the engine's return as of yet -

Thanx for the memories!