Still Going Strong since 1903

This locomotive on the front of the post card is seen on the stormy evening of July 26, 1988. It is at Whippany, New Jersey for the National Railway Historical Society Convention. The locomotive was originally built for the

New York Central Railroad in December of 1967. It is an ALCO Century 430 owned by the Morristown & Erie Railway. This short-line (very short line, I might add) railroad company still operates today. Because they are still alive today, I took the history of the company from their website: https://www.merail.com/about The story of the Morristown & Erie – now over a century long – has always been that of overcoming obstacles and adapting to changing times. Since its founding, the M&E’s small but dedicated team has been big on personable and professional service to its diverse set of customers, living up to its slogan, “Service is Our Business.” The Morristown & Erie (M&E) is a short-line with a long and proud history of serving the communities along its rails in Morris and Essex Counties, in northern New Jersey. For more than a century, the M&E has hauled freight down its short but vibrant mainline, built originally to serve the paper mills in Whippany, NJ. The progenitor of the M&E, Robert McEwan, was no railroad baron. McEwan was a Scottish immigrant who had come to the United States in early manhood, penniless. Through hard work and determination, he and his seven sons developed a thriving set of paper mills in Whippany, New Jersey. The McEwans realized the continued growth of their enterprise was hindered because the nearest railroad, the Lackawanna Railroad in Morristown, was four-miles distant over poor roads, making transportation costly. To bridge this gap, the McEwans retained a local railroad contractor to construct and operate their railroad named the Whippany River Railroad, for the meandering river it was to follow. The contractor had employed such crude and haphazard methods in the railroad’s construction that, within a year, its route had to be largely realigned and rebuilt. The McEwans took charge and sought to grow their little railroad and tap new markets. They formed another company, the Whippany & Passaic River Railroad, to construct a six-mile eastward extension. The new line tapped the Erie Railroad in Essex Fells, NJ, affording the railroad’s growing clientele access to more competitive freight rates. The two Whippany railroads were merged on August 28, 1903, forming the ten-and-a-half mile long Morristown & Erie Railroad, so named as it connected Morristown with the Erie Railroad. Passenger service was operated, too. The railroad’s genial conductors would entertain their passengers with harrowing tales of the railroad’s earliest days, endearing themselves to the local populace. The M&E even ferried passengers in a self-propelled railbus, for a time. Passenger service was discontinued in 1928, when increased automobile competition prompted its cessation. In 1929, the Great Depression struck the nation with devastating effects. Through their resolute determination, and that of the McEwan management, the railroad overcame the economic calamity. In 1940, the M&E proudly announced that it had paid off the last of its indebtedness. In 1944 and 1946, the M&E purchased the three most powerful steam locomotives in its history. After WWII had concluded, the railroad continued to prosper. In 1952, to reduce costs, the M&E retired its three costly steam locomotives and replaced them with a diesel-electric locomotive, purchased new the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The McEwan family, by then in its third generation, invited businessmen, from outside the rail industry, to join the M&E’s management team. They were moderately successful in attracting new rail customers; however, an attempt to diversify the M&E’s earnings led to the investment in numerous non-rail business ventures, which proved calamitous. The M&E declared bankruptcy in 1978. A group of local businessmen, driven by a desire to revitalize the railroad and their own passion for the industry, acquired the railroad in 1982. Led by Benjamin J. Friedland, these businessmen worked to reinvigorate the railroad and its image. Over the ensuing years, with its big red ALCOs (longtime favorites of local rail buffs), the M&E grew to become a vibrant and visible part of northern New Jersey’s railroad freight operations. Ben Friedland, whose efforts to revitalize the M&E made him a well-respected member of the short-line railroad industry, suddenly passed in 1998. Changes in circumstances led to the last railroad operating contracts to conclude in 2017. Again, in the face of adversity, the M&E’s dedicated employees and management, now led by the Weis family, persevered. In the past several years, the M&E has refocused its efforts on developing and diversifying business along its original stretch of track, between Morristown and Roseland, NJ. The M&E has turned its Morristown, NJ, shop complex into a nationally respected passenger car rebuild and repair facility. The shop complex, coupled with the redevelopment of the Whippany, NJ, yard as a private car storage facility, makes the M&E a premier location for Amtrak-certified private passenger cars. The M&E operates, annually, The POLAR EXPRESS™ train ride for Rail Events Productions, one of their most successful operations nationwide. Also, the M&E had been a proud participant in the preservation of railroad history, frequently working with the Whippany Railway Museum, United Railroad Historical Society of NJ, and Tri-State Railway Historical Society, all 501c3 nonprofits, to support their efforts.

The photograph was taken by Steven Hepler. The post card was published by Audio Visual Designs out of Earlton, New York. They are the source of almost 10% of my post card collection. I have 333 post cards from them. This is understandable because they were founded to share pictures of trains. AVD was started in 1964 by Carl Sturner for the sole purpose of providing railfans with sound recordings of locos and trains as well as with photochrome postcards of trackside photos. These stunning color images were taken all over the country by some well-known photographers such as David Sweetland. The history and product line of AVD can be found on the company's website at www.audiovisualdesigns.com