Rahway Valley Railroad Collection
The Rahway Valley Railroad (RV) operated in the northern New Jersey communities of Roselle Park, Kenilworth, Union, Springfield, Summit, and Maplewood. As it only measured 11.8 miles in length, it was called a "short line" in railroad parlance. Started as the New York & New Orange Railroad in 1897 to develop the planned community of New Orange (now Kenilworth), it was later acquired by Louis Keller and extended to serve his Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. The railroad eventually developed as a busy freight carrier, serving numerous lineside factories, warehouses, and coal and lumber yards. The RV connected with the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ), Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV), and Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (DL&W). Operations concluded in 1992.
The Mike Del Vecchio Library & Archive contains a large collection of Rahway Valley Railroad archival materials, assembled over a period of years through the collective efforts of Corinne Clark, Pete DeFellipo, Mike Del Vecchio, Lisa Famular Ellis, Bob Hart Jr., Jeff Jargosch, Michael Kaplonski, Richard King, Ed Leonard, Donald Maxton, John Nolan, Don Oberding, Ron Pietranowicz, Jack Stanier, Walt Switz, William S. Young, and others. The collection includes:
- Letters and correspondence
- Photographs, including negatives, prints, and slides.
- Payroll ledgers
- Locomotive manuals
- Promotional material
- Ledgers
- News articles
- Tickets
- Schedules
- Keys
- Maps, blue prints, etc.
- Additional supporting records and ephemera
These materials have been housed with the Tri-State Railway Historical Society, in an effort to preserve them and make them available to the public for research. The collection will be organized and made available as volunteer processing progresses.